Sidney Crosby

The Flyers play on Tuesday night on the road against the Pittsburgh Penguins, a team that now sits atop the Metropolitan Division, albeit with several games in hand for their competitors. There is some history on the line for one superstar player, as the Flyers look to avoid a third-straight loss entering a daunting stretch of games that could produce another historic streak. 

Thursday's 3-2 Flyers loss to the Bruins was one final game in a calendar year that has been as frustrating and disappointing as ever. Another loss in regulation brought the team’s current losing streak to six, and put a fitting conclusion to a 365-day period to forget.

With the Flyers shorthanded, it was nothing short of a blood bath. The Penguins scored three goals in the first and never looked back, handing the Flyers a 6-2 loss at Wells Fargo Center.

While the Flyers deal with a depleted lineup from COVID and injuries, the Pittsburgh Penguins are in town on Thursday night, fresh off their ninth straight win.

If not for excellent goaltending again, the Flyers would not have been in position to win this game. They would certainly have not gained a point in the standings, which could certainly prove valuable later. Despite that, it is hardly a moral victory for the Flyers. Another sloppy game is showing a troubling trend as a difficult month is just getting started.

Kris Letang scored on a wraparound that required review in overtime, handing the Flyers a 3-2 loss to Pittsburgh.

The Penguins are dealing with various health issues, some injury-related and some COVID-related. Most notably, Penguins captain Sidney Crosby will be out for Thursday's game after testing positive for COVID on Wednesday. Crosby had missed the first seven games of the Penguins' season recovering from offseason wrist surgery and just returned for his first game of the season on Saturday. Nonetheless, Pittsburgh is off to a 3-3-2 start without having Crosby or Evgeni Malkin in the lineup, so this is still no easy task for the Flyers.

With more preparations happening on the ice, the story of Day 2 of training camp came off it. Kevin Hayes was not on the ice, as he begins recovering from abdominal surgery earlier this week. He did meet with the media, his first appearance in front of them since the passing of his brother, Jimmy Hayes.

The Penguins put the finishing touches on the season series with the Flyers with a four-goal third period in a 7-3 decision at Wells Fargo Center.

Tuesday night marks the final meeting of the season between the Flyers and Penguins, the very matchup that opened the 2020-21 season for the NHL nearly four months earlier. One team is headed for the playoffs in another three games, seeding to be determined. The other has a critical offseason ahead, but before that begins, four more games remain.