It was clear that the Philadelphia Flyers were tired on Saturday night. In the second game of a back-to-back, the Flyers fell 4-0 to the Dallas Stars.

The Flyers started the game flat. After almost 15 minutes of gameplay, Philly had just one shot on goal and was being dominated by Dallas. It did not even feel close. For most of the period, it looked like Dallas was skating with an extra man – they were that dominant.

The Flyers could not maintain possession and were hemmed in their own defensive zone by the Stars’ attack. Early in the first period, Lian Bischel got the scoring started with a shot from just in front of the blueline, with just about everyone on the ice screening Dan Vladar.

With the 1-0 lead, the Dallas attack started to pound Vladar with shots. Despite that, Vladar held his own and kept Dallas to just the one goal after 20, stopping nine of 10 shots in the first.

In the second period, the Flyers looked much better. It was not an over exaggeration to say the Flyers had no good chances in the first period. They finally generated some good chances, making Jake Ottinger’s job tough.

Unfortunately, the Flyers ran into a hot goalie, who stopped all 11 of their second-period shots. Ottinger was not the only player who got hot for Dallas.

Jason Robertson had scored three goals in his last two games before Saturday night’s matchup. He would add two more to his totals.

Robertson scored not once, but twice in the second period. The Flyers certainly played better in the second period, but so did the Stars. Dallas took the 3-0 lead into the third period.

Flyers finally score, but it’s too little too late

The Flyers started the third period a bit slower than in the second period, but still better than in the first period. Their job would not get any easier. Just over eight minutes into the third period, Tyson Foerster would get called for a high stick. About a minute later, Robertson would get his third of the game on the power play, and the Stars would have the 4-0 lead.

Christian Dvorak (6) would get the Flyers on the board, scoring his third goal in two games.

It looked like the Flyers finally had life, despite the unlikely comeback. That comeback would become even harder after Tyler Seguin scored the Stars’ fifth goal of the game.

Read More: Flyers Game 18: Lines, Notes, & How to Watch vs. Stars

Flyers Observations

Flyers Look Tired

Back-to-backs are hard. That was never in question. It’s not uncommon for NHL teams to play worse in the second game of a back-to-back – especially on the road.

The Flyers had a tough task, taking on a really tough Stars team following a late-game that went to the shootout, as well as traveling to Dallas. No matter what, there is no excuse.

You could tell what kind of game it was going to be from the start. The Flyers had little to no energy from the jump. Things did pick up as the game progressed, but never enough to truly be in it.

As a result, the Flyers were never able to establish any dangerous offensive possessions. The Stars were able to pretty much have their way with the Flyers in their offensive zone and controlled the neutral zone. It was never really close.

Goaltending competition: NOT OVER

After Friday night’s game, and Sam Ersson’s performance in goal, it looked like Dan Vladar had a real opportunity to take hold of the goalie competition. It feels like a safe assessment to say that he did not do that, and the door is still open.

Vladar gave up five goals on 28 shots – a .821 SV%. Yes, Vladar certainly did not get much help from the play in front of him. The Stars had many dangerous chances. However, three or four of the goals allowed by Vladar, he probably wants back.

Don’t get me wrong, Vladar has clearly been the better goaltender this season. But it seems like every time Vladar has a chance to pull ahead of Ersson, a game like Saturday happens, keeping the competition open.

Dvorak line looks like it could be something

When a line has a great game, that’s one thing. Whether or not they can keep it up is a whole different question.

The Owen Tippett–Christian Dvorak–Trevor Zegras line was on fire Friday night. Clearly, no Flyers line was “on fire” on Saturday. But you could tell the trio was buzzing once again.

For starters, Dvorak scored the only Flyers goal, assisted by Tippett. Speaking of Tippett, one of the team’s closest chances came from a Tippett shot that ran the goal line and almost snuck under Ottinger’s skate.

Tippett had a few more good chances, and so did Trevor Zegras. Once again, it felt like if the Flyers had a good look, it came from one of those three.

What’s next for the Flyers

The Flyers will head back to Philadelphia, where they will have a bit of a break. They do not play again until Thursday, when they host the St. Louis Blues at Xfinity Mobile Arena, starting at 7:00 p.m. EST.

Read More: Flyers Analysis: Holy Zegras! New Line Powers Flyers