Their chance at the two points Saturday started slipping away on the game's first shift, when Ondrej Palat skated the puck around defenseman Jamie Drysdale and then chipped it between forwards Travis Konecny and Owen Tippett to send Nico Hischier in alone on a breakaway. His goal gave the Devils a 1-0 lead 32 seconds into the game.
"Obviously, it's tough to give it up first shift," Sanheim said. "We actually got off to a really good start and they get a great break for a breakaway and they capitalize on it. Not ideal, but in saying that, we were staying patient. We knew we were going to get looks. We got a lot of looks, just couldn't capitalize like we wanted to."
That was especially true in the second period, when the Flyers had 27 shots on goal, the most in a single period in NHL-outdoor game history.
Tippett scored two goals, but Philadelphia allowed two and also had to kill off two penalties, including one on Konecny 39 seconds into a power play. The Flyers ended the period losing 4-2.
"I thought the most important part of the game was when we got it rolling in the second period, we started taking penalties," Tortorella said. "Not so much being man down, but we're man down, 4-on-4.
"We needed another goal in the second period. I thought we were right there knocking on the door, but then we took some penalties and it took us out of our flow."
Hischier scored his second goal of the game 2:48 into the third to make it 5-2. Nick Seeler scored his first goal of the season to cut it to 5-3 at 9:07 of the third, but that was as close as Philadelphia could get.
"It's frustrating," Konecny said. "We had some really good looks. It's just one of those games where [Devils goalie Nico Daws] was giving us some opportunities on rebounds and their guys were doing whatever it took to keep them out. It's sometimes going to go that way."
It was the Flyers' first regulation loss in six games since the All-Star break (4-1-1), and although they missed their chance to widen their lead for a playoff spot, they remain a confident group.
They'll also be well-rested for the final push, with four games in the next 10 days.
"Obviously, we knew it's an important game in a lot of aspects, especially in the standings," Philadelphia goalie Samuel Ersson said. "We know they're chasing us. They're a good group, good team. I think after the break we've really stepped up, before this game we had nine out of 10 points.
“We lose the game today, and that's kind of what it is. It's a loss. We know it's going to happen. We have to deal with it and move on and keep building on what we've been building up here after the break."
