Stop me if you’ve heard this story before: The Philadelphia Flyers had a third-period lead in a matinee game in Boston and found themselves on the losing side after the final whistle. They were able to defend one losing point, but the way the game was going they should have had two.

Matvei Michkov scored two goals in the first period to give the Flyers a 2-0 lead, and Cam York scored two goals late in the second period to give them a 3-1 lead. Then the wheels fell off in the third period.

The Bruins scored two goals in 10 minutes to tie the game, and although neither of those goals came on the power play, the Flyers played a man down for six of the final nearly 14 minutes of regulation.

The penalties in the third period were clearly in the Bruins’ favor, and John Tortorella made that clear in his postgame press conference.

“Let me start. One thing I teach my team is not to dive. Maybe I should teach them that,” he said. “The way this went, the way things are going, maybe I should teach them how to dive.”

“I am proud of the team. I have no concerns about our team.”

Hear from Torts after a 4-3 OT loss in Boston.#PHIvsBOS | #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/wxx3zZZsAj

– Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) December 7, 2024

While the Bruins scored three power plays in the final frame, the Flyers failed to gain a man advantage despite some borderline plays from Boston.

“I won’t go into it too deeply. One of the things we talk about most as a team is that we’re going to play an honest game. There is no fraud,” Tortorella continued. “There are no embarrassing referees. They don’t embarrass the referees. What happened here tonight is simply ridiculous. I’m proud of the way our team played. Have we screwed anyone else? Yes, but other people had a bit to do with it too.”

He didn’t have to accept Travis Konecny’s interference penalty that started the save to the box in the third period, but the tripping incident on Garnet Hathaway was a delicate matter at best.

Boston gets an extremely late whistle on this call…

John Tortorella is AMAZING. #Flyer pic.twitter.com/NT4kTSFv91

— Flyers Nation (@FlyersNation) December 7, 2024

Konecny ​​was pulled from the concussion monitor after his penalty and the Flyers’ leading scorer did not see the ice again, although he returned to the bench.

“It got pulled by the spotter and I stopped playing it,” Tortorella said. “He’s undisciplined, he’s just too undisciplined.”

Ultimately, the Flyers should have gotten two points in this game, and it could end up being a major point in the playoff race – if that sort of thing matters to you. The Flyers definitely do.

“I am proud of the team. I have no concerns about how our team played,” concluded Tortorella. “For me, our fight is never a question. This is a given in our room here. That’s what keeps us afloat.”

The Flyers will continue to fight when they return home to host the Utah Hockey Club on Sunday night.