The Flyers finished the preseason Saturday night with a 5-1 loss to the Capitals at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
Jamie Drysdale scored the club’s only goal. This gave the Flyers a 1-0 lead in the second period, which lasted just 4:01 minutes.
“Ugly, that’s the only way to talk about this game,” Drysdale said. “It was bad, but that’s not how we’re going to play hockey. It’s just not a winning score any way you slice it. We’ll be better.”
Rick Tocchet’s club dominated Washington 37-24 in the evening.
“We had a lot of chances, we didn’t score,” Tocchet said. “Then all of a sudden, they get a few. Every time they shot, they scored. And then the guys were frustrated. I’m really happy we lost 5-1. It’s a little humiliating, which is good for us. … Sometimes you’re not as good as you think you are.”
The Flyers were 1-3-0 in the preseason. They open the regular season in four days.
“I don’t think we had a great effort tonight,” Owen Tippett said. “I think we let that get away from us. We definitely could have made it a little less ugly. But we’re super confident, especially after last year. Morale is high, we had a good camp and it’s great to be back with all the guys.”
• Aleksei Kolosov was not precise in front of the net. The 24-year-old prospect conceded all five goals on 24 shots.
The fourth came at the start of the third period thanks to a saved shot from Theodor Niederbach.
The Flyers allowed three goals in the second period.
During the first intermission, Danny Briere said he thought David Jiricek “played well” in training camp and preseason.
“Nobody beat him to losing his job,” the Flyers general manager said. … “He’s going to start on the roster and it’s going to be up to him to show us that he deserves the minutes and he deserves to stay in the lineup.”
The 22-year-old defender had a difficult second period. He committed a turnover that led directly to the Capitals’ 2-1 goal thanks to Maxim Schafer. Less than five minutes later, Washington scored on a power play after Jiricek was whistled for high-sticking. He finished at minus-3.
“He had a tough night,” Tocchet said. “Three or four guys had a tough night, but as a pro you have to bounce back. We’re going to get to him, make a video for him, make him understand some things. You’re going to have a tough night. You just have to make sure you stay consistent.”
Jiricek, a product of last season’s Bobby Brink trade, is no longer waiver exempt. That likely factored into the Flyers’ decision to keep him on the big club roster for now. He will be under pressure to show that he is ready to help the Flyers on the power play and that he will not be a liability defensively.
• The Flyers went 0 for 4 on the power play.
They had eight minutes of power play in the first period, but couldn’t convert. They did, however, look good.
“We have to bury,” Drysdale said. “Honestly, we got a lot of looks. It’s just about putting the puck in the net. That’s kind of all we have to focus on now.”
• Briere had some good news regarding Dan Vladar’s upper body injury. He said the goaltender’s status looks “very promising” and that Vladar “should be ready” for the first game of the regular season.
The 29-year-old took part in an hour of skating on Saturday morning.
“He probably could have played if we played the regular season tonight,” Briere said. “But we just wanted to play it safe and let him get closer to 100 percent for the start of the regular season.”
Denver Barkey, who is dealing with a lower-body injury on a daily basis, may not be available for the opener.
“He’s going to miss a little time,” Brière said. “It shouldn’t be too long. I don’t know if he’ll be ready for the first game. If not, it shouldn’t be very long after that.”
The Flyers’ season-opening roster is pretty much set. Cole Knuble and Jett Luchanko were among the team’s cuts Friday. Both prospects had strong performances and should play a big role with AHL affiliate Lehigh Valley.
“You’re in a situation where there aren’t a lot of jobs available,” Tocchet said Saturday morning. “But that doesn’t mean they’re not pushing, it doesn’t mean something can’t happen in a week. You’ve got to be ready. They’ve obviously had a really good camp, I think both of them have had really good camps. I mean, Cole pushes people.”
• The Flyers are scheduled to practice Sunday and Tuesday before hosting the Penguins in the opener Wednesday at Xfinity Mobile Arena (7:30 p.m. ET/TNT).
Flyers Pregame Live will be on NBC Sports Philadelphia at 6:30 p.m. ET.
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