James van Riemsdyk

It was another disappointing season for the Flyers. Another slow start through the first 25 games. Another season of chasing in the standings. Another season of chasing the game on a nightly basis.

The Flyers didn't get much help in the playoff race, but did close the margin to five points with another convincing win over the Islanders.

For a change, the Flyers got off to a quick start and never looked back, leading nearly wire to wire in a 5-2 victory over the Buffalo Sabres.

On a rain-soaked night, Claude Giroux marked a special occasion with his 800th NHL game, only the third Flyer to reach that mark in franchise history. He celebrated by capping off one of the Flyers most dramatic wins.

In the end, the Flyers streak ends at eight, and they are left to regroup and find a way to get right back to the win column, because it is too crucial for their season not to.

Last week, Carter Hart was named the NHL's Rookie of the Month for January. On Monday, another honor came in.

The Flyers picked right back up where they left off before the break. The result was a fourth straight win, a 3-1 defeat of the Winnipeg Jets that started off slow but finished solid and steady.

For all of the reasons that the Flyers have struggled this season, one area that has really been a primary reason for their lack of success has been an ongoing slump for the power play.

The Flyers did not have a good recent road trip by any stretch and they brought their poor play home with them in another loss to the Hurricanes.

If the Flyers did everything they could to eliminate chances in front of Carter Hart in the first two games of his career, they didn't do him any favors in his third game.