John Tortorella rips into Flyers after 5th consecutive loss - "They don't have a clue how to play" 

Philadelphia Flyers head coach John Tortorella didn't mince his words after his team's disappointing fifth consecutive loss, slamming his players' performance in a scathing post-game assessment.

Following a lackluster showing against the New York Islanders, Tortorella voiced his frustration with his team's play, particularly highlighting their second-period performance as "embarrassing."

In a fiery press conference, Tortorella didn't hold back, criticizing the team's overall effort and singling out individual players for their lack of execution on the ice:

"Soft. One guy played - the goalie," Tortorella said.

The Flyers, who are in the midst of a crucial playoff race, have been unable to find their footing in recent matchups against teams outside of playoff contention. With a string of losses against lower-ranked opponents, including a recent 4-2 defeat to the New York Rangers, the Flyers' playoff hopes are hanging by a thread.

The good news was that the Flyers at least got a point out of their matchup against the Islanders, but allowing two against the team chasing them is also not a great result.

John Tortorella and Flyers in free fall amidst of playoff race

Tortorella's frustration was palpable as he lamented the team's inability to rise to the occasion in high-stakes situations:

"There are certain people, they don't have a clue how to play. Or just don't have it in them to play in these types of situations," Tortorella said on his team.

The Flyers drawing overtime does help them a bit, as they move up from the second wild card spot into third in the conference over the Washington Capitals. However, the Capitals have three games in hand and are only a point back of the Flyers.

A precarious position for the broad street bullies, and with critical games looming on the horizon, Tortorella knows that his team must regroup quickly if they hope to salvage their postseason aspirations:

"And this is why I'm glad we're playing them, because we have to figure things out as far as what we're going to become as a team here. That was embarrassing, the second period for the Philadelphia Flyer uniform, the way we played. Embarrassing. High marks as far as how we came back in the third. Some guys."

The Flyers face mighty pressure in the standings now after a rough stretch of games at the pointy end of the season. The Flyers have three days off, and they'll have to watch teams chasing them play games first as they wallow in thier five previous defeats.