Lecavalier injured in Flyers' loss

As if blowing a 3-0 lead wasn't bad enough, the winless Flyers suffered another injury in Saturday's 4-3 shootout loss to the speedier Montreal Canadiens at the Wells Fargo Center.

Vinny Lecavalier walked painfully out of the arena with a boot on his left foot. The 34-year-old center was hit by a shot taken by teammate Mark Streit, but he remained in the game and even took the Flyers' first shootout attempt.

No word on whether Lecavalier will be able to play Tuesday against visiting Anaheim. If not, the Flyers will have to recall a player from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

Lecavalier played 16:10 on Saturday and had the primary assist on Wayne Simmonds' second goal of the night (see story).

Berube on loss. Coach Craig Beube was asked if he was baffled by how the Flyers (0-2-1) could play so well in the first 40 minutes before blowing a 3-0 lead and getting outshot, 19-4, in the third period.

"Well it's not baffling.  It's a mental thing," he said. "I think we went through it last year at times at the start of the season, the same kind of thing where we had leads in the third period....and lost them."

Emery brilliant. One of the bright spots for the Flyers was the play of backup goalie Ray Emery, who was superb in the loss. Emery made 35 saves, many of them acrobatic.

"They took it to us," Emery said of the Canadiens' third-period domination. "I think we respect that team. We know what they've got and how they can buzz around. It's unfortunate that we can't hold a lead like that because we definitely should be able to. It's frustrating."

Added Emery: "A positive is we got a point against a tough team, but there's no excuse for games like that _ and you just have to learn from it not let it happen again."

Shootout woes.

The Flyers’ shootout problems continued. They have a 27-52 record since shootouts were adopted by the NHL.

"I don't even want to comment on the shootout; it is what it is," said Simmonds after scoring two goals for the second straight game. "I don't think it's any way to decide a hockey game, but unfortunately that's the way it is and we've got to make sure we're getting better at that."

Lecavalier, Claude Giroux, Sean Couturier and Matt Read failed to connect in the shootout.

Look for Pierre-Edouard Bellemare to get a crack in the Flyers' next shootout.

Phantoms win debut. Chris VandeVelde scored two goals Saturday to spark the Lehigh Valley Phantoms past host Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, 5-2, in the team's first AHL game since relocating to Allentown.

Brandon Alderson, Mark Alt and Nick Cousins also had goals for the Phantoms, and 33-year-old goalie Rob Zepp (21 saves) notched the win.

Follow Sam Carchidi on Twitter @BroadStBull.