One: This game had a physicality to it that was very playoff-like. The Flyers had lost their last four and the Blue Jackets had won just two of their last twelve games. There was intensity on both sides of the puck. Columbus managed to dictate the pace in the first period, and that forced Philly to take three penalties.
Two: Yes, they are playing their second game in two nights. But, as they stare up at the hill they have to climb, they can ill afford to have heavy legs. In the second period they stopped skating, became somewhat haphazard and lost some of the discipline they showed to start the game. That's not good, no matter how you try and dress it up.
Three: By having to chase the score, they had to play at the Flyers pace for long stretches of the game. Couple having to take extra chances with sloppy play and it becomes that much harder to come back from a two-goal deficit. The Flyers wanted to snap their four-game losing streak more than the Blue Jackets wanted to win this game.
