After a gutsy victory in Minnesota, the Philadelphia Flyers had some life again in the playoff race, only to watch it fade a little further in a critical game on Saturday night.

The Columbus Blue Jackets secured a shootout win, 2-1, over the Flyers, gaining a point on the Flyers as their playoff hopes grew more dire with 16 games to go in the regular season.

How It Happened

The Blue Jackets got on the board first at 4:21. Kirill Marchenko was able to clean up after a netmouth scramble for his 25th goal of the season.

The Flyers evened things up at 10:24. Alex Bump deflected the shot by Emil Andrae off the post and in for his second goal to make it a 1-1 game.

That score held up through the final two periods and overtime. The Flyers had four power-play opportunities and were not able to capitalize.

In the shootout, the only goal went to Marchenko in the third round, sealing the result for Columbus.

Box Score1st Period2nd Period3rd PeriodOvertimeShootoutBy the NumbersShots: Flyers: 18, Blue Jackets: 28Power Play: Flyers: 0-for-4, Blue Jackets: 0-for-1Faceoffs: Flyers: 47.5%, Blue Jackets: 52.5%Goalies: PHI Dan Vladar: 27 saves on 28 shots, CBJ Jet Greaves: 17 saves on 18 shotsKey Performers

⭐ Kirill Marchenko — Marchenko was in the center of the action, scoring the only goal for Columbus in regulation, then scoring the shootout winner.

⭐⭐ Jet Greaves — Greaves turned aside everything in the final two periods and the shootout, helping the Blue Jackets stay the course and inch closer to the playoffs.

⭐⭐⭐ Dan Vladar — Easily the best Flyer of the night, Vladar once again kept the Flyers in a game and gave them a chance at the win. Unfortunately, he allowed the only goal of the shootout in the loss.

The Takeaway

You can’t help but feel a sense of false hope from this one. The Flyers desperately needed the two points in this one and come up short. The power play struggled again when given a golden opportunity to change the narrative. The Flyers allowed the first goal of the game again, having to chase the game, though only briefly. And in the wake of their shootout loss, just about everybody else gained or maintained position. So a day that could have been promising turned out to be a huge blow to what remains of the Flyers’ playoff hopes.

Up Next

The Flyers start a West coast trip on Wednesday night, taking on the Anaheim Ducks at 10 PM.

Kevin Durso is Flyers insider for 97.3 ESPN. Follow him on social media @Kevin_Durso.

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