Photo Credits: FNG’s Rob Windfelder
It’s the month of May and your Philadelphia Flyers are still playing hockey games. It feels like that hasn’t happened in forever. The Flyers have been telling us this was going to happen ever since the Olympic break.
People were laughing and smirking when they would say it. The Flyers would say stuff like we believe in this team, or we believe in each other. People would shake their heads like the players were being delusional or didn’t understand just how deep of a hole they had dug for themselves.
By mid March most still had them dead to rights, down and out, no way, never, not a chance. 3.8 all that good stuff. I remember seeing Captain Coots talking about the playoffs in a post game interview and thinking to myself, I guess that’s the way to go into it but does he really believe what he’s saying?
They didn’t have to win just a handful of games. They needed to sustain a spectacular record from February 25th through April 14th. Amazingly, they did exactly that.
The Flyers became one of the hottest teams in the NHL. Between the Olympic break and the final game of the regular season the Flyers strung together an impressive 18-7-1 record thus securing 3rd place in the Metropolitan Division and their first trip to the post-season since 2020.
Every day the standings changed as teams battled for the final spots. The division and wild card races could not be any tighter.
The Flyers had been two points out of 1st place behind Carolina at Christmas. If it weren’t for a free-fall in the new year that saw them losing 13 of 16 games they wouldn’t need to worry about all of the last minute jostling.
The Flyers clinched their playoff berth winning game 81 in a shootout vs the Hurricanes on April 13th. There was a euphoric celebration on both sides of the glass as Dan Vladar made the game winning save.
“Even if they get swept”
After the Flyers historic run to the post season they were scheduled to face the cross-state rival Pittsburgh Penguins in Round 1. The teams had finished tied in the Metro with 98 points each. The Penguins were awarded home ice advantage for having more regulation wins.
During this Flyers “season to remember” they were battling it out to the bitter end night after night. They were 16-0-12 in games decided after regulation. Nothing came easy for these guys. They had to work for every point.
Before the 1st round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs began it was not uncommon to hear folks say “even if they get swept it will be a great experience for the young players”. Which was true, just not very encouraging.
This young, rebuilding, upstart Philadelphia Flyers team just pulled off a months long come-back that will be talked about for years yet this was a common reaction. People are cautious, it’s understandable. This had been a long time coming.
You gotta play the games
If this team has taught us anything over the course of this season it’s this, you gotta play the games and see where it takes you. Focus on one game at a time, anything can happen on any given night.
The Flyers beat the Pens in game one and some called it a fluke. They shocked the hockey world by shutting out the veteran Pittsburgh team in game two. The Flyers brought the series home and whooped the Penguins 5-2 in Game 3 pushing them to the brink of elimination.
If the Flyers had swept the series it would have been their 7th win in a row. It would have been their 10th win in the last 11 games. It would have been Pittsburgh’s 7th loss in a row. That’s a lot to ask. The Penguins won games 3 and 4 before being eliminated by the Flyers in 6 games. The Flyers once again proved the “experts” wrong and they were off to the 2nd round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
“We’re also happy for the city for the fans. They have supported us through the ups and the downs”. Flyers Captain Sean Couturier
House Money
After battling relentlessly to get to the post season then soundly defeating the eternally annoying Pittsburgh Penguins what we are hearing now is. They’re “playing with house money nobody expected them to get this far”. House money? Really?
It’s baffling to hear folks still using that term when it no longer applies to the situation at hand. The Flyers had nothin’ to loose back when they were up 3-0 in the 1st round. That was house money time.
Right now their entire season is on the line. All their chips are on the table. All of their blood, sweat, and determination was leading up to this moment in time. It doesn’t give them the credit or the recognition they deserve to talk about the 2nd round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs as if it is some sort of bonus round.
They ran into a buzz saw in Game 1 in Carolina. The Hurricanes swept the Ottawa Senators and had a week at home to rest up and study the Flyers Penguins series. The last minute scheduling for Round 2 left the Flyers with little time to prepare for Game 1. The Flyers were still on a reconnaissance mission while the Hurricanes were already set on search and destroy.
The chips are down
Carolina easily outmatched the Flyers in the opening game on Saturday night. In Game 2 on Monday it was a totally different story. The Flyers came out to take an early 2-0 lead. The Hurricanes eventually tied the game and it went to overtime.
The Flyers dominated the overtime period. They had the mighty Carolina Hurricanes back on their heels. The Canes were lucky to score the sudden death game winning goal after being outplayed for much of the game. That is where things currently stand. The Flyers are now facing yet another uphill battle after losing the 1st two games of the series.
The Philly home barn will be rockin’ when the team takes the ice for Game 3 on Thursday night. There’s nothing like playoff hockey in Philadelphia. The fans know it, the players know it, this is what it’s all been about from the very start.
We all know this roster isn’t the finished product. All the pieces are not yet in place as the rebuild continues. That should make us respect this group of players even more. This is the squad that finally brought playoff hockey back to the City of Brotherly Love. They’re only two games into this 2nd round series and Thursday night will be their first “‘must win” of the post season.
They never stopped believing in their team as they battled against all odds to get here. They didn’t do that for a participation trophy and a pat on the head. That’s not what this is all about. Not to mention, it ain’t over yet and folks are already dealing out cope. It’s not time yet to be happy with how far they’ve come.
The Flyers battled through months of adversity for this chance to compete against the best of the best. A shot at winning the greatest trophy in all of sports. They deserve to be here, they’ve earned it.
Things will change over the off-season, some of these players may never be this far along again. It’s fine to look ahead at what promises to be a bright future for the Orange and Black, but in the meantime don’t miss out on the here and now. It’s go time. Throw caution to the wind. Get loud, get proud, get behind your team. Don’t tell them “they shouldn’t be here”. Tell them to go all in and you’ll go there with them. Fly or die boys …go for it.
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