3 minutes and 59 seconds.

That's how long it took the Flyers to exact revenge on Darcy Tucker for the dirty hit he put on Sami Kapanen in the playoffs two years ago.

From that point on, sadly, it was all downhill. The Leafs controlled play for most of the game, a result of sloppy play and a handful of unnecessary penalties on the part of the Flyers. The Leafs dominated the Flyers along the boards and did a better job at controlling the puck and creating scoring opportunities. The Flyers appeared to start clicking halfway through the second period, when they cycled well down low and created dozens of good scoring opportunities. Unfortunately, they couldn't push the puck past backup goaltender Mikael Tellqvist, who did a fantastic job of keeping his eye on the puck and controlling his rebounds. With a couple minutes left in the period, the Flyers' top line of Forsberg, Gagne, and Knuble took the ice and refused to return to the bench without a goal, which they finally got when Gagne put the puck in the back of the net to tie the game at two. The third period featured a piss-poor penalty killing unit and mediocre goaltending as Esche, who left far too many juicy rebounds in front of the net, was badly outplayed by Tellqvist. The Flyers dropped to a 1-2 record after the 4-2 loss capped off by goals by rookie Kyle Wellwood and former Flyer Eric Lindros.

Three games into the season, Hitchcock has a lot of work ahead of him. Their power play looks anemic, to say the least, scoring one goal on 19 chances so far this season. Their penalty kill, which has allowed 5 goals in three games, has been overwhelmed as the extended offensive zone and increased number of passing lanes seems to be too much for them. The offense has sputtered as, thus far, only the Forsberg line has generated any significant scoring chances. And then there's Esche, who has looked nothing like the goaltender who took the Flyers to game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals two years ago.

Another worry with a young team in this new age of the NHL is that because the game is so much more fast-paced, decisions must be made more quickly, and odds are that a young team will make more mistakes. For that reason, it's crucial that Esche be solid in the net to save the Flyers when mistakes are made. So far, he has failed to do so.

On the bright side, it was the third game of the season, most of these guys haven't played hockey at this level in 16 months, and a certain period of adjustment is to be expected. And yes, this Flyers team is exceptionally young, and these guys have only been playing together for a few weeks, so surely we weren't expecting perfect chemistry overnight. Right?