Taylor Hall

Two goals in the first and two more in the second handed the Flyers a 5-0 loss to the Hurricanes at Wells Fargo Center

This is a game with two teams going in opposite directions. The Flyers have lost five straight games going back to Dec. 30. The Bruins are fresh off a 5-1 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday night and have won five of their last six games since New Year's Day.

The Flyers are 6-0 after a loss this season. They face another of those situations, as the Flyers welcome the Boston Bruins back to Philadelphia for the second time this season on Saturday night.

The dividends that are being paid from several new faces are very clear. Three of those newcomers had multiple points and helped the Flyers get off to their best scoring start through three games since 1983-84 with another six-goal outburst.

Cam Atkinson scored two goals in the game, a 6-3 victory for the Flyers, on Wednesday night at Wells Fargo Center.

You can imagine how the result looked when the Boston Bruins, playing in their first preseason home game, took the opportunity to load up with roughly 90 percent of the NHL roster. It's hardly a way to evaluate how one team looks against another. It did present some early warning signs that need to be addressed and cleaned up with exactly two weeks remaining until the regular season opener.

The Bruins came away with a 4-2 win over the Flyers in the second game of the preseason for the Orange and Black.  

Less than 24 hours before the trade deadline, the Flyers were left with a stunning defeat to the Buffalo Sabres, the NHL lowest team in the standings, handed a loss by lowly Buffalo for the second time in two weeks. It was the most fitting of endings for a team that has continued to get in their own way all season.

The Flyers take the ice again on Sunday afternoon, this time to face the Buffalo Sabres. A win could move them back to within two points of the Boston Bruins for the final playoff spot in the East, pending the result of Boston's game later on Sunday night. 

The Flyers face the Sabres again on Wednesday night. The Flyers are continue to try to keep their dimming playoff hopes alive, while the Sabres look to avoid carrying their winless streak to 19 games.