Red Wings continue their losing ways in Philadelphia, 3-0

Philadelphia - Only 10 games left for the Red Wings. Judging from some of the social media comments, the end can't come soon enough.

But coming on the heels of Saturday's 3-0 loss in Philadelphia, you can understand the fans' disappointment.

The Flyers (28-32-12), who are suddenly only three points behind the Wings (31-32-9) in the overall standings (good or bad news, because of Entry Draft lottery odds?), swept the three-game season series against the Wings.

The Wings went 0-for-7 on the power play and couldn't solve Philadelphia goaltender Carter Hart, who made 29 saves.

"That was the difference, our inability to execute on the power play," Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde said. "That was the difference. You get that many looks and not to generate a goal, that was the difference.

"That, and flirting with too many odd-mans (rushes against). It's frustrating because this game was very winnable. It was there. Our inability to execute on the power play and a little credit to their goalie, he had an exceptional game."

Kiefer Bellows and Scott Laughton scored second-period goals, and Tyson Foerster added an empty-net goal for Philadelphia, while Hart was exceptional in net, as the Wings lost for the 12th time in the last 15 (3-11-1).

"When you have that many (power plays), you have to score at least one," Red Wings forward Andrew Copp said. "It was a missed opportunity for us. We pushed decently (in the third period) but it feels like it comes a little too late sometimes. We have to figure out a way to just get a little more jam in our game."

Laughton's goal (18th) was pivotal, with the teams skating four-on-four and the Wings about to go on a power play. David Perron couldn't keep the puck in the zone, the Flyers took off on a two-on-one rush and Laughton kept the puck and beat goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic from the hashmarks at 19:24 of the second period, making it 2-0 Philadelphia.

The timing the goal, late in the period and with Philadelphia holding a narrow one-goal lead, and the way it occurred with the odd-man rush, stung the Wings.

"That was a tough one," Lalonde said. "The way we pushed in the third (period), I was pretty comfortable we weren't going to get shut out, and just we had some real good looks in the first 10 minutes of the second but we were a little unfortunate we weren't able to get one (goal).

"But the two-goal lead is a lot different, especially with the power play not clicking and we're having trouble to produce offense right now."

Nedeljkovic, making his first NHL start since Dec. 8, stopped 19 shots. Nedeljkovic was sent to Grand Rapids when he lost playing time to Ville Husso and Magnus Hellberg took over the back-up job.

"I tried to not make more of what it was," Nedeljkovic said. "It's been a while since I've got a start but I tried to not think about it that way. Just another game, and keep doing what has been making me successful and for the most part, I was able to do that."

Bellows opened the scoring with his third goal, at 10:10 of the second period. Bellows drove to the net and put back a rebound of Owen Tippett's drive from the slot, putting the loose puck past Nedeljkovic.

BOX SCORE: Flyers 3, Red Wings 0

Visiting Philadelphia hasn't been an overly enjoyable experience for Red Wings teams over the years. The Flyers are 18-1-1 against the Wings over the last 20 games in Philadelphia.

ted.kulfan@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @tkulfan