The Flyers fought.

On Saturday, they went toe-to-toe with the Eastern Conference juggernaut Rangers and battled them down to the wire, but fell one more bounce, one more look short. Then on Sunday, they were right back at it in Pittsburgh to complete a back-to-back, constantly falling behind to the rival Penguins, but just as constantly climbing back to give themselves a chance. They just gave up one goal too many.

It was a tough weekend, though not an entirely disheartening one. The Flyers did play well in a lot of respects, but at the same time, they still went 0-2 in two major games late into the season and in the thick of the playoff race. 

Ideally, they needed to leave the back-to-back with at least a couple of points in hand. Instead, they have none, and while the team did acknowledge the positives in their game to move forward with, they were well aware that these results weren't going to cut it – not at this point in the year.

"You're chasing it, you're trying to get back, we were close," Scott Laughton said after Sunday's 7-6 loss in Pittsburgh. "We were close and played 'til the last minute there, but it's not good enough at this time of year and guys know it, so we gotta be better. Those are four huge points that are wasted away with the good effort yesterday [against the Rangers] and coming in here. Gotta get back to the drawing board, get in a good practice, and get back at it."

Until then, here are five thoughts...

Points on the table

OK, so in isolation, Saturday's loss to the Rangers is far from any kind of backbreaker. In a lot of ways, it can even be taken as a mark of progress. 

The last time these two teams faced one another back in November, the Rangers flew right past the Flyers in a show of how much of a gap there really was between a known Stanley Cup contender and an unknown roster that entered the season in an openly-stated rebuild. 

But Saturday at the Wells Fargo Center was a different story. The Flyers came at a Rangers team riding a nine-game win streak checking like crazy, blocking shots left and right, getting stellar goaltending from Samuel Ersson, and generating numerous chances off the rush – doing so even with leading scorer Travis Konecny out of the lineup because of a minor upper-body injury. 

It was a really well-played game, though one stopped short of a mark in the standings because of Alexis Lafrenière being left all alone to shoot, another shot through traffic that Ersson couldn't see, and star goaltender Igor Shesterkin at the other end stopping 39 of 40 Flyers shots. 

It was a tough loss to take, but a manageable one, and at the hands of one of the league's best. You can deal with that. 

The loss to the Penguins though? Yeah, that one was a bit of a harder pill to swallow. 

Even though Sidney Crosby is as formidable of a skater as ever – putting up four points in Sunday's game – the Penguins have been middling all season and have been hanging on to playoff hopes by the thinnest of threads.

The Flyers needed to put that game away, for the sake of their own standing in the postseason chase and for the sake of burying a bitter rival with the clock ticking down to the March 8 trade deadline. And they could've, but there was always just one play on Sunday that kept putting them short of it. 

"They played great," head coach John Tortorella said postgame. "They played hard. To come back like that as many times as they did, we weren't playing safe. We were playing. I give our team a lot of credit for their resiliency to keep on coming back."

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And for the time being, they're still in decent shape, continuing to hold on to third in the Metro division with 67 points through 59 of 82 games played. 

But things are a bit tighter now than they were before Stadium Series just over a week ago. 

The Devils, at 62 points with a game in hand following a weekend split, are still hanging in there, the Capitals and Penguins are still somewhat on the fringe too at 61 and 60 points, respectively, and the Red Wings (70 points) and Lightning (69 points) have been gaining a firmer hold on the two Wild Card spots. 

The weeks ahead for the Flyers will have Tampa Bay at home on Tuesday night, a trip to Washington to play the Caps on Friday, and then a Saturday tilt back in South Philly against Claude Giroux and the Ottawa Senators. 

There are some major points to be gained here. 

They can't leave them on the table. 

The Drysdale concern

Defenseman Jamie Drysdale took a hard open-ice hit trying to get a handle on the puck midway through Sunday's game in Pittsburgh and laid on the ice clutching his left shoulder.

He was taken up the tunnel and didn't return. 

The 21-year-old's status is still awaiting an update, but given his injury history, that sequence was concerning. 

Drysdale tore the labrum in his left shoulder early into the 2022-23 season with Anaheim and the resulting surgery and ensuing recovery went on to cost him the rest of that campaign. 

The Flyers acquired Drysdale in the Cutter Gauthier trade with the Ducks back in early January and they've held high belief in his skating and continued development as a blueliner. 

He put up a good showing upon his arrival to Philadelphia too, but has since cooled off a bit as he works to refine his game at his own end of the ice. 

Still, he's a player that takes up a lot of minutes on the Flyers' backend and his ability to fly down the ice and contribute offensively is something that always has to keep opponents on alert. 

The Flyers will definitely miss him if he's out for any extended period of time, especially with Rasmus Ristolainen out due to injury as well and his status to return not all that clear. 

Fearsome Foerster

Tyson Foerster was a big reason why the Flyers were able to hold up as well as they did this weekend without Konecny. 

After missing several games following a blocked shot that sidelined him, Foerster returned to the lineup Saturday against the Rangers and was immediately one of the notable Flyers skaters pushing the puck up ice. 

He skated 21:01 against New York and put home the Flyers' lone tally when Laughton fed a wrap-around pass to him from behind the net that left him with a wide-open goal to shoot on. 

Then the next day against the Penguins, he netted the tying 2-2 goal early into the second and the power-play goal late into the third that kept the Flyers alive against a 7-6 deficit and just over two minutes still to work with. They just couldn't get that one more chance to cash in. 

Foerster returning with a three-goal weekend is a solid boost though. The 22-year -ld has done a lot of the little things right all season long and has a quick and fluid shot that stands to net a lot of goals in the future. He just needs to find his opening with it, and now is definitely as good of a time as any.

Laughton's outlook

Laughton, who fell into an inconsistent stretch and has had his name pop up on the deadline rumor mill, has caught fire of late as well. 

The longtime veteran had the assist on Foerster's goal against the Rangers then put up a two-goal, three-point showing against the Penguins while skating 20:50 to extend a seven-game point streak.

The 29-year-old has been noticeably more aggressive on the puck these past couple of weeks, which has translated into offensive production and something he credits to a shift in mindset since coming back from the All-Star break.

"Yeah, I feel good," Laughton said postgame in Pittsburgh on Sunday. "I think I'm getting the opportunity, going out on the power play, things like that. I'm starting to feel the puck a little bit better. Since the break, I think I've kinda shifted my mindset of what I want to do here, who I want be, so that's kinda been my focus here of not only try to be the best teammate but contribute positively on the ice."

"That's a big part of who Laughts is, is the mindest, is the pro in him," Tortorella said. "He knows he's been inconsistent. He knows it's a very important time of the year, and that's what you respect about a guy like that. He stepped up tonight...He understands where we are as a team, and I think he's trying to take it upon himself."

Laughton's future in orange and black isn't quite certain with the March 8 trade deadline looming, but the belief has long seemed to be that the Flyers would much prefer to keep him unless an offer comes in that they can't refuse.

OK, the goalies...

Ersson was excellent on Saturday against the Rangers and was one of the main reasons the Flyers were able to stay in it. He's the No. 1 now and gives them their best shot to win. I don't think there's too much argument about that at this point. 

Cal Petersen got the start Sunday in Pittsburgh, and while some of the Penguins' seven goals can be chalked up to flukey bounces, there were others scored at angles the Penguins never should've been able to score from and where Petersen should've arguably been much fast to hug and steel up the nearest post. 

Nine times out of 10, six goals should be more than enough to win a hockey game. This was not one of those nine. 

Petersen managed a win with a relatively light workload (17 saves on 19 shots) in his last start on February 10 against Seattle, but Sunday at a heavier shot volume went the opposite way, which could point to a much bigger problem for the Flyers the rest of the way here. 

The NHL is a two-goaltender league. Ersson has been great, especially given the circumstances under which he's been required to step up in, but he can't start every game. 

There needs to be a stable option behind him, and the concern is that the Flyers might not have one right now in Petersen or another look at Felix Sandström. 

What makes it even trickier too: They might not do anything about it as far as looking for another goalie. Given where they're at as an organization, it's probably ill-advised to go spend on one in the big picture. 

They might just have to ride this one out and hope for the best. 

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