The letters lied: Flyers leaders - and other veterans - wilted when it mattered most

Garnet Hathaway had his Orion Kerkering moment in the Flyers come-from-ahead, 5-4 overtime loss to the Mammoth in Utah on Wednesday night.

An empty net staring at him on a mini breakaway. He just hade to guide the puck toward the net, it would have gone in and the Flyers would have won the game. 

But, with a guy who has just one point on his resume for the season, he was probably lacking a little on the confidence side as far as scoring - even on an empty net - and wanted to get a stride or two closer to feel better about his chances of locking down the win. 

Instead this happened.

This is crazy. Garnet Hathaway had his pocket picked on a routine empty netter, then Clayton Keller scores a minute later to tie the game then wins it in OT for Utah. Point lost for the Flyers 🥴 #LetsGoFlyers #TusksUp pic.twitter.com/BVCSdyEHEw

— NHL News (@PuckReportNHL) January 22, 2026

Because the Flyers ended up losing the game, that moment will haunt him - and possibly the team. That's twice this month where they gave away a point that they should have earned. This one was more glaring because they led the entire game until the final minute or so. 

Losing in overtime to Toronto a couple weeks ago was more about missed opportunities. This one the door was closed on a win. Hathaway just needed to turn the deadbolt. 

He didn't. Clayton Keller struck twice more, and the Flyers lost for the seventh time in eight games (1-5-2). 

Hathaway didn't talk to the media in attendance after the game. He didn't have to. I mean, what was he going to say that wasn't already obvious?

He knows he botched it. You know he botched it. Would you feel better if you heard him say he botched it?

"What are you going to say, he knows it," coach Rick Tocchet told reporters. 

Here's the thing. This might be the viral video moment of the season for the Flyers. More than one million people may end up watching that clip this week - just like they watched Orion Kerkering face the music after the Phillies were eliminated. 

And just like that Kerkering gaffe for the Phillies, it wasn't the sole reason the Flyers lost a game in Utah. 

You could tell in his media availability that of all the things that went wrong on Wednesday, Hathaway not shooting at an empty net was down on the list of things that annoyed Tocchet. 

You know what bothered him the most? His veterans not handling pressure well. 

And you know why? Because the pressure only mounts from here. 

"That's unacceptable, what happened tonight," Tocchet told reporters. "There's really not much to say. We sunk in pressure situations. (That's) something that we've got to get out of this team. You've got to rise to the occasion. You've got ot want to be out there in pressure situations, and certain guys sunk in certain situations. That's the bottom line."

And for all those people who think Tocchet doesn't call out his veteran players - here it is. 

Look at the two goals by Keller. The game tying goal and the game-winner. You know who are responsible on those plays. 

The Travii. 

First it was Travis Sanheim getting beat down the wall on a rush.

My jaw is on the floor

CLAYTON KELLER pic.twitter.com/8P8Eh2V9vF

— Cap’n Cook 🏔️ (@JazzePinkman) January 22, 2026

You can't defend that way. 

Then it was Travis Konecny who had his pocket picked in overtime.

ELITE OVERTIME DUO: DYLAN GUENTHER AND CLAYTON KELLER! 🤯 pic.twitter.com/lHd49WRYDn

— Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) January 22, 2026

You can't have that happen either. Overtime is all about possession. When you have the puck, unless you are making a play to try and score the winning goal, you have to guard that thing with your life.

Look, both of these guys are very good players. Sanheim is an Olympian. Konency didn't make it to the Olympics for Canada this year, but was on their Four Nations roster a year ago. 

Sanheim is the Flyers best defenseman. Konecny is arguably one of the Flyers top three forwards.

 And even if they ultimately they are being asked to play a little higher in the lineup than their skillset calls for, they've been in the league long enough that they need better situational awareness. 

This isn't Denver Barkey or Matvei Michkov making a mistake that young players sometimes make. These are your veteran leaders. 

They each wear a letter on their sweater. When the team is scuffling, these are the guys who are supposed to help pull them out of their rut, not dig the hole further. 

And the Flyers were thisclose to seeing daylight once again. A second win in a row against a good opponent on the road as part of a very tough road trip would have been a very good elixir.

Instead, the guys they lean on the most let them down at the most inopportune time. 

That makes the loss - even though it was still worth a point - sting even more. 

There's also Noah Juulsen taking a retaliatory penalty with about eight minutes to play that leads to a power play goal for Utah that trims the Flyers lead from two to one. 

Juulsen isn't a leader, per se, but like Hatahway he's a veteran who should have a better sense of time and place.

"I love (Juulsen), but take a punch in the mouth. Youv'e got to win the game," Tocchet told reporters after the game. "Then the PK - you've got ot come out an block the shot and play aggressive. We sunk. Guenther is one of the best shooters in the league. We unraveled and we've got to put the pieces back."

Who was on the ice for the penalty kill?

Sanheim (who didn't block the shot), Cam York, Sean Couturier, and Christian Dvorak.

Or read another way, veteran, veteran, veteran, veteran.

Look, there were mistakes earlier in the game, too. Lane Pederson had a bad turnover that led to Utah's first goal. Emil Andrae couldn't control a puck in the slot in front of his own goal and that led to the second Mammoth goal. 

Those are mistakes that shouldn't happen either. They all add up. 

But those didn't occur in the highest leverage moments of the game. The ones that did were from players who should be well past succumbing to pressure at this point in their careers. 

Stuff happens from time-to-time. You're never happy with any mistake, but everyone makes them - veteran players included - but when they happen to the same group of guys with more frequency than you'd like, then you have to start to ask yourself why. 

And until you can come up with a truthful answer - and not just one manufactured in moments of emotion - but something that is tangible, then you need to provide the solution. 

Otherwise, the same thing is going to keep happening again and again, and eventually it will bite you one too many times.