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It’s the most wonderful time of the year.
Despite the Flyers’ regular season exit and finish just outside the bottom three, the 2024-25 NHL season is entering its most exciting phase – the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Though there’s not much to watch for in terms of Orange and Black, there should be no shortage of storylines and surprises in the coming weeks as some of the game’s best duke it out for a shot at Lord Stanley.
With 16 playoff teams spanning the two conferences in total, let’s take a look at some of the Flyers’ rivals in this year’s Eastern half of the bracket.
Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Ottawa Senators
The Battle of Ontario. Though the Leafs won the Atlantic Division with 108 points and 9 of their last 10, Ottawa decisively swept this year’s season series, 3-0.
For Ottawa, it’s their first playoff appearance since 2017, and the first time their tenacious Captain Brady Tkachuk will see postseason ice. It’s also former Flyers Captain Claude Giroux’s first playoff berth since 2020’s Covid playoffs, when the Flyers played in the “bubble,” where else but, Toronto.
In Toronto the pressure is on to win. They’re heavy favorites, but despite qualifying for the last nine consecutive postseasons, they’ve etched only one series win. Another loss would yield pandemonium-level disappointments and likely a roster shakeup that could include a path forward without both John Tavares and Mitch Marner. For Flyers fans, Oakville native and career Flyer Scott Laughton, who the Leafs acquired at the deadline, will also be suiting up for his first playoff hockey since 2020, and former goalie Anthony Sto
Former Flyers: Claude Giroux (OTT), Zac MacEwen (OTT), Scott Laughton (TOR), Philippe Myers (TOR), Anthony Stolarz (TOR), Craig Berube (TOR, Head Coach)
Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Florida Panthers
In what will probably be one of, if not the most physical series in the first round, the Battle of Florida should be a war. Though both teams came into the league in the early 90s, they didn’t meet in the playoffs until 2021 and will have now met 4 of the last 5 seasons.
While it’s hard to bet against the defending Cup champs in the first round, the all-valuable Matthew Tkachuk hasn’t skated since being injured at the 4 Nations Face-Off back in February. The Panthers will also be without top defenseman Aaron Ekblad for the first two games as he is serving the final two games of a 20-game suspension handed down to him in mid-March for violating the NHL’s Enhancing Substance protocols.
This could be enough to sway things in Tampa’s favor, who, despite trailing Florida nearly all season, finished 4 points ahead of them in the final Atlantic Division standings. Though Tampa no longer has its playoff great Steven Stamkos on the roster, Nikita Kucherov quietly put up 121 points this year, good enough for a spot in the Hart Trophy conversation.
Lastly, between the pipes, it’s a showdown between Russian greats and Stanley Cup champion goalies Sergei Bobrovsky and Andrei Vasilevskiy.
Former Flyers: Sergei Bobrovsky (FLA), Nick Cousins (FLA), Cam Atkinson (TBL)
Washington Capitals vs. Montréal Canadiens
While much of the focus was on Alexander Ovechkin’s breaking of Wayne Gretzky’s regular season goal record, what goes a bit under the radar is how miraculous the Capitals’ turnaround was this year, from being expected to be a bust to finishing second in the NHL. In the offseason, the Caps brought in several veteran players like defensemen Jakob Chychrun and Matt Roy, and forward Andrew Mangiapane. They also brought in Québec native Pierre Luc-Dubois, who grew up just an hour outside of Montréal and should relish one of the game’s biggest stages – playoffs at the Bell Center.
While the Capitals roster is full of veterans, including the Great 8 himself, the Canadiens made history this week by becoming the youngest team ever to qualify for the playoffs. Propelled by likely-to-be rookie of the year Lane Hutson, it took Montréal all 82 games to punch their postseason ticket. Nonetheless, the team is playing with a lot of moxie at the moment and could give Washington more of a run for their money than most may think. Bolstered by the 19-year-old Russian, Ivan Demidov, who nixed his KHL contract with SKA St. Petersburg to make an early debut in Montréal just two games ago, has already set the city on fire with a goal and an assist in his debut last week.
Washington hasn’t won a playoff series since their Cup victory over Vegas in 2018, and if the Habs can find a way to steal one of the first two in D.C., there’s a real chance they can ride that Bell Center hype into a possible upset.
No Former Flyers
Carolina Hurricanes vs. New Jersey Devils
The Hurricanes-Devils matchup is a bit of a wild card, as both teams have shown some uncertainties and “backed” into the playoffs.
After surging through March with 8 consecutive wins, the Canes won just 6 of their last 15 to still finish third in the Metropolitan Division, putting them well ahead of New Jersey, which despite a strong start, has won consecutive games just three times since December 29. Injury was added to insult when the Devils lost arguably their most valuable player in Jack Hughes for the season on March 5.
The two teams faced each other in the playoffs just two years ago in 2023, though Carolina blew them out 4-1 before being swept by the Cinderella running red-hot Panthers in the conference final. While Carolina is certainly the favorite, they’ve been a bit streaky this year, with 32 of their 99 points coming from two separate eight-win streaks.
Former Flyers: Shayne Gostisbehere (CAR), Sean Walker (CAR), Rod Brind’Amour (CAR, Head Coach)
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