Game 3 started off so promising for the Flyers. Before the game, there was a heart-warming tribute to late Flyers owner Ed Snider, who brought expansion hockey to the city in 1967. Then, less than a minute into the game, Philadelphia took a 1-0 lead on a Michael Raffl goal.
Before long, though, it all went off the rails.
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Washington led the game 2-1 heading into the third period, where the Capitals scored four more goals to run away with the win. It was a brutal collapse by the Flyers, but it really got ugly and “embarrassing” after Pierre-Edouard Bellemare hit Dmitry Orlov from behind with an ugly check.
As the refs were handing out penalties for that play and the scrum that ensued, Flyers fans started throwing bracelets they received before the game on to the ice. The bracelets were given out as part of the pre-game Snider ceremony. One of them was even thrown at Orlov, as he was recovering from Bellemare’s hit on the bench.
The arena’s PA announcer asked fans to refrain from throwing the bracelets on to the ice or the home team could be issued with a delay of game penalty, just as the Panthers were in a late-season game when rats littered the ice. Play resumed, but a few minutes later, more bracelets were thrown and the Flyers were given a two-minute minor.
Minutes after the penalty, “embarrassing” was trending on Twitter in Philadelphia.
Naturally, fans (of both the Flyers and the NHL in general) took to the social media platform to air their disgust in the lack of decorum shown by the home side. Here’s a taste:
