Stars 6, Flyers 2: Limping to the 2018-19 finish line

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A predictable result unfolded Tuesday night at American Airlines Center.

The Flyers lost, 6-2, to the playoff-hungry Stars, who needed just one point to clinch a postseason berth.

The Stars (42-31-7) emphatically got two points, while the Flyers (37-35-8) continued to look like a team struggling to find motivation as it plays out the string.

After going 18-4-2 in their previous 24 games, the Flyers are 3-8-0 in the last 11 and have been outscored 42-25.

• The NBC Sports Philadelphia broadcast showed Nolan Patrick looking rather animated on the bench as he talked to interim head coach Scott Gordon following the Stars' fourth goal.

The discussion didn't escalate by any means. It appeared Patrick and Gordon were trying to understand each other's points on the play. Tyler Pitlick swooped right into the slot to bury a pass as Patrick and Ivan Provorov were late in coverage.

Gordon has been great with the Flyers' younger players. At this point, there was clearly frustration from both sides as the Flyers went from digging out of a two-goal hole during the middle stanza to putting themselves right back in one by period's end.

• Patrick provided one of the lone positives for the Flyers. After going scoreless in his previous eight games, the 20-year-old center made an aggressive play to the net, which resulted in Oskar Lindblom putting home a rebound for the Flyers' first goal.

Next season will be about consistency for Patrick, Lindblom and Travis Konecny. Hopefully we can see more of that line over the final two games.

• Well, it was nice to see somewhat of a response from the Flyers in the second period. They showed the pride many wanted to see Sunday when the Flyers lost, 3-0, to the rebuilding Rangers in their first game since being eliminated from playoff contention.

The mini surge didn't last long, though. After the Flyers tied the game at 2-2, the Stars answered with two more goals before blowing things open in the third. Dallas looked like a team eager to clinch.

• Who knows what the Flyers will do with pending unrestricted free agent Cam Talbot in the offseason. They haven't given him many auditions. Making just his third start since being acquired in mid-February, Talbot was ambushed by the Stars and finished with 24 saves on 30 shots.

• Unsurprisingly, Dallas was ready out of the chute.

The Stars dissected the Flyers early by showing their skill on a pair of first-period goals.

Jason Dickinson and Tyler Seguin teamed up for a pretty goal just 1:34 into the action. Dallas jumped on a turnover as Dickinson dropped off a pass to Seguin, who patiently fed the puck back to Dickinson for the 1-0 lead.

Less than three minutes later, Esa Lindell beautifully redirected a pass through his legs and past Talbot top shelf for a power-play marker. The Stars went on six power plays and scored twice.

A Samuel Morin tripping penalty put Dallas on the man advantage for the Lindell goal, but those are high-end plays from the Stars that gave them a 2-0 lead at first intermission. It's OK to give credit to the opposition sometimes.

On the season, the Flyers have been outscored 86-59 in the first period. In their defense, though, they didn't play terribly in the opening stanza Tuesday and could have gotten a call or two (or more throughout the game).

• Speaking of Morin, he did a nice job to break up a potential odd-man rush for the Stars. The tripping penalty happens. Morin still looks a bit tentative at times, which is understandable with the 6-foot-7 defenseman just three games in after recovering from a torn ACL.

• Claude Giroux (assist), Sean Couturier (scoreless), Jakub Voracek (assist) and James van Riemsdyk (scoreless) were held to two points.

Alexander Radulov, the Stars' second-leading scorer, put up four points on two goals and two assists.

• The Flyers play their final road game of 2018-19 Thursday when they visit Brayden Schenn and the playoff-bound Blues (8 p.m./NBCSP+).

They come home Saturday for the regular-season finale against the Hurricanes (7 p.m./NBCSP).

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