BACK WHEN they were finishing in first or second perennially during the Lindros era, the Flyers would often drive their fans crazy by dropping games against second-division clubs. Those teams would treat the game as a barometer to their progress or potential. The Flyers would see it not necessarily as a night off, but one that did not require maximum effort.
Sometimes they were wrong, leaving the false impression that something was lacking in their mettle. More often, they were right, although sometimes not without a frantic finish. Either way, it was not the indicator the lesser team believed it to be.