Kevin Durso

On Thursday, the NHL officially announced that the Flyers will face the Chicago Blackhawks to open the 2019-20 season in Prague, Czech Republic.

When it came down to it, the Flyers ran out of gas. Montreal was the hungrier team early, opened up the lead and let their goaltender do the rest. The regulation loss pushed the Flyers further back in the chase for the playoffs, and likely closed the book on an unlikely comeback.

With 10 games remaining on the schedule, it remains to be seen if the Flyers take this win and turn it into some magical last-gasp playoff run that gets them in, but it kept their playoff hopes alive for now.

The Capitals didn't win Thursday's game with their stars, but their depth, getting good goaltending when they needed it and players to step up. For the Flyers, it was a reminder that a young defense can still pay the price for costly mistakes and that the depth needs to improve.

The Flyers did what they had to against the Ottawa Senators. After falling behind in the first period, they stayed the course, got their legs, took the lead in the second and handled business against the NHL's worst team this season in a 3-2 win.

Jake Voracek was given a two-game suspension as a result, the NHL's Department of Player Safety announced on Sunday. This will force Voracek to miss Monday's game against the Ottawa Senators and Thursday's game against the Washington Capitals.

The Flyers didn't get much help in the playoff race, but did close the margin to five points with another convincing win over the Islanders, and the margin will remain until the team takes the ice again on Monday night.

Erasing a five-point deficit and at least one seven-point deficit is not favorable or likely for the Flyers, especially with just 15 games to play in the regular season, but for now, there is a path to do it.

According to reports, the Flyers will open the 2019-20 season with a European trip. While speculation is that the team will play in Prague, Czech Republic, no further details have been confirmed. The location and opponent is to be announced. An official announcement is set for March 21.

GM Chuck Fletcher updated the status of four injured Flyers on Tuesday after practice.