Ad Disclosure
Flyers Playoff Chances May Ultimately Hinge on Tonight’s Outcome
Published:
Prior to the Olympic break, did anyone think we’d be talking about the Flyers having their biggest game of the season on April 7? No? Bueller? Bueller? Well, here we are gang, as tonight’s Flyers at Devils matchup may ultimately decide if the orange and the black make their way into the NHL playoffs for the first time since 2020.
How did this happen? Two months ago we were lamenting the Flyers yet again being in hockey’s version of purgatory….not bad enough to draft an impact player in the 2027 draft, not good enough to make the playoffs yet again. But since the Olympic break, the Flyers have been THE hottest team in the entire league, winning 14 of their 20 games for a 14-5-1 record, surging up the standings to find themselves as the third seed in the Metro Division with 90 points. The problem? Three teams are within three points of their tenuous grasp on a playoff spot with just five games remaining in the regular season.
Their opponent tonight, the Devils, are within seven points of the Flyers and would inch closer to being mathematically eliminated from the playoffs with a loss. It’s a huge game for both teams, but even bigger for the Flyers playoff chances when you look at the percentages.
According to Moneypuck.com, a win in regulation or overtime for the Flyers tonight leaves their chances to make the playoffs to 70.3%, a 16.1% increase from their current 54.2% chance to nab a postseason spot. A loss in regulation will plumet their chances to just 36.6%, a 17.6% decrease from their current position.
An overtime loss would not have much of an impact on their postseason chances, dropping them a meager 1.4% to an overall 52.8% chance to make the playoffs.
So my god, the Flyers need to AT LEAST get a point out of tonight’s game against the Devils in North Jersey. I’m having intense flashbacks to the late 90s and early 2000s when every massive game against the Devils resulted in a 1-0 or 2-0 loss with the Flyers ultimately outshooting the Devils by 53-10, but Martin Brodeur dominating and whatever flotsam or jetsam the Flyers had between the pipes would give up a horrendously soft goal for the loss.
But tonight will be different. Time to exorcize the demons of Maxime Ouellet, Robert Esche, Scott Stevens, and Patrick Elias…to hell with the Devils, to hell with the percentages, to hell with everything that has plagued this year for the Flyers.
Listen to Bryce Harper. Let’s have a night!
I have no merits or accomplishments worth noting. Founder of Philadelphia's most trusted sports blog, The Coggin Toboggan. Can I just take a minute of your time to share the good word about our lord and savior Jesus Christ?