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Flyers-Predators observations: Leaders need to step up

Also, who said that success in the faceoff circle leads to victories?

Wayne Simmonds (17) moves the puck ahead of Predators left winger Kevin Fiala during the first period.
Wayne Simmonds (17) moves the puck ahead of Predators left winger Kevin Fiala during the first period.Read moreMark Humphrey / AP

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Five observations from the Flyers’ fourth straight loss, a 4-0 defeat in Nashville on Tuesday night:

No pushback

Much has been made about the Flyers and slow starts this season. They have allowed the first goal in 25 of 39 games.

But this stat is even more alarming: They have fallen into a 2-0 hole in 15 games — or a staggering 38.4 percent of their contests. They have won just one of those 15 games.

In other words, the Flyers have not been Team Resilient this season, and that falls on the team’s leadership group.

Breakaway failures continue

The Flyers must lead the league in failing to score on breakaways.

It happened twice Tuesday, and shortly after Wayne Simmonds was stopped, Viktor Arvidsson scored on a breakaway 39 seconds later to give the Predators a 3-0 third-period lead.

It’s been a common theme: An opposing goalie outplaying the Flyers netminder.

Neuvy solid

Despite allowing four goals, Michal Neuvirth was solid for the Flyers and could be faulted on only one of the tallies. Defensive breakdowns, not Neuvirth, were the problem.

Faceoff dominance

Former Flyers coach Peter Laviolette used to preach that teams that dominate the faceoff circle usually control games. The Flyers are an exception.

They were soundly defeated Tuesday despite winning 73 percent of the faceoffs. They won 60 percent of the draws Monday in a 3-1 loss in Carolina, and took 71 percent in their 2-1 defeat Saturday in Florida.

The Flyers lead the NHL in faceoff percentage, but are tied for 28th out of 31 teams in points.

Power-play futility

This is not a recording: The Flyers failed to score on the power play Tuesday. They went 0 for 2 for the fourth straight game (all losses), and continue to have the league’s worst power play.

Jake Voracek was moved to the point on some of his power-play time Tuesday, and the Flyers had some good opportunities and came close to turning on the red light. But they again were blanked on the PP, and had one shot (Claude Giroux’s) carom off the crossbar. They have a power-play goal in just four of their last 24 games.

Interim coach Scott Gordon, who met with the players after the loss and pointed out their defensive breakdowns that led to Nashville’s goals, tried to look at the bright side. Nashville was also 0 for 2 on the power play.

“I think if you compare power plays, you would take ours over what they did on their power play,” Gordon said. “Neither team scored, but we certainly had good possession time and moved the puck well. We had some looks, but at the end of the day, it’s not in the net again.”