The Flyers seemed to be comfortably stuck in 4th place in the Eastern Conference, but honestly, due to some really terrible play, they have now been bumped to 5th, and have lost home ice.

Well ain’t that grand. Everyone else in the conference seems to be getting hot, unlike the Flyers who just lost 3 of their last 4, and are 5 and 5 in their last 10.

5 and 5 doesn’t cut it in the stretch boys. I’m not the only one that agrees. Ask Paul Holmgren, the GM:

“We’re at a critical point. We’re in a playoff position now, but based on how we’re playing, it’s certainly not a sure thing, and we need to play better,” Holmgren said. “I think that’s our key guys.”

Jeff Carter, Mike Richards, Mike Knuble and Scott Hartnell “need to step up now,” the GM said. “They’ve done their share for most of the season. They’ve played fairly consistently, but now it’s all about sealing the deal and getting ourselves into a sure playoff position.”

Even normally quiet John Stevens has had enough:

“I don’t think we dug in and did the little things necessary to win,” Stevens said after yesterday’s practice in Voorhees. “That’s three games in a row we’re playing catch-up, and that’s a tough way to play. We have to do the little things better early.”

I think Stevens is a bit like big Andy Reid. He rarely shows emotions where other people can see it. He rarely gets angry or even shows much emotion. Being a hothead, I’m not used to that. I think we need to light a fire under some of these guys. Give us your thoughts Scotty Hartnell:

“We didn’t come in with an attitude,” Hartnell said. “It was pretty evident in the way we played. We were soft; we weren’t involved. We didn’t go to the hard areas. We didn’t play with a Flyers attitude.”

That about sums it up. It seems hard to believe. The orange and black were at the same point last year, but went on a 7-1-1 run at the end of the season to seal the deal for the playoffs. The stretch is when they usually play their best and most inspired hockey. This year, the point totals are too close, and honestly, something better change or I think they will be on the outside looking in…