Flyers

The season will ultimately be known for the failure to meet expectations, to take that next step in the development of a contender, and the massive fallout behind it.

The Flyers called up defenseman Mark Friedman from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms ahead of Saturday's season finale and sent down Phil Myers, GM Chuck Fletcher announced on Friday.

Whether the Flyers stick with interim head coach Scott Gordon or look elsewhere for a new head coach, GM Chuck Fletcher said the search will not last long.

The Flyers have signed forward Michael Raffl to a two-year extension, GM Chuck Fletcher announced on Tuesday afternoon. The deal is worth $3.2 million with an average annual value of $1.6 million.

Two weeks ago, the Flyers had closed the gap to a playoff spot from 16 points to three points. In the seven games since, they have gone just 2-5-0 as a difficult schedule simply became too much.

Forward Joel Farabee has signed an entry-level deal with the Flyers, following his freshman season with Boston University.

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.