from Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer,

Four games ago, general manager Ron Hextall tore into them for their listless effort in a 2-0 loss to the Rangers. After Monday’s 1-0 shootout loss to the Islanders and again after their latest defeat Wednesday, coach Craig Berube criticized some of his players’ effort.

Berube said some players are "not competing hard enough, and it results in goals against. It can’t happen. You need everybody on your team competing at the highest level, otherwise you will not win."

In addition, the players took turns speaking out in a closed-door meeting Wednesday that delayed the media from entering the locker room.

"You never want it to have to come to that, but at the same time... when you look at the standings, it’s pretty easy to see things slipping away," goalie Steve Mason said. "You see points up for grabs, and other teams are grabbing them and you’re not. You’re slowly falling behind."

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