Flyers Rivals in New East Division
Let’s look at the history of all seven teams the Flyers will face this year
There are eight teams in the NHL’s east division including the Flyers.
The orange and the black will take on each team in the division eight times.
Oh boy!
So here’s a quick refresher on why Flyers fans don’t like any of the teams in their division this year. This includes recent games and some history as well.
Pittsburgh Penguins
This one is pretty obvious. We know our neighbors to the west very well. Whether it be Crosby’s, “I don’t like em” comments, or Giroux’s OT goal in the 2019 Stadium Series, the Flyers have had no shortage of good moments with the Pens. They are 157-94-30-11 against the Penguins and are just 21-20 against them in the playoffs. One of those wins courtesy of Keith Primeau’s goal in a fifth overtime game back in 2000
One thing fans always like to bring up to Pittsburgh fans is the streak. They didn’t lose to the Penguins at the Spectrum from 1974-1989, going 39-0-3 in that time. So yeah the Penguins might have won five cups since the Flyers won back to back cups in 1974-1975, but they’re still the team that almost ended up in Kansas City.
Boston Bruins
No Philadelphia fan likes the city of Boston. The Bruins are constantly one of the thorns in the Flyers side. The Bruins have the edge in the all-time series with a record of 102-68-21. The Bruins also lead the all-time playoff series 18-13.
Eight of those wins, however, are pretty memorable. The first four came when Philadelphia won their first Stanley Cup in 1974 in a thrilling six game series.
The other four came in 2010 when they famously rallied four straight wins after falling behind 3-0 in their semi-finals series against the Bruins. Thanks Simon Gagne!
In 2011 the Bruins swept the Flyers, learning their lesson from the year before.
Oh there’s also this amazing moment.
Buffalo Sabres
There isn’t a a lot to hate about Buffalo now, the two teams are in separate divisions in a normal year. Plus the Flyers are, let’s face it, much better than the Sabres
However they have played the Sabres nine times in playoff series and have a 6-3 record in those series.
The most notable of these series comes in 1975 when Philadelphia won their second Stanley Cup, beating the Sabres in six games.
Their most recent playoff series was in 2011 when the Flyers beat them yet again, this time in a thrilling seven game series capped off by a 5-2 win in game 7.
New York Islanders
The Flyers hate the Islanders because of last year. Forget the rest of the history between the two teams. They want revenge on the team that knocked them out in the second round of the playoffs last year… and they’re going to get it.
New York Rangers
Much like Boston, no Philadelphia fan likes the city of New York. This rivalry goes back far when the Flyers beat the Rangers 3-2 at the Philadelphia Spectrum in 1967.
Since then the two teams have met 354 times. Philadelphia leads the all-time series with a record of 161-147-37-9.
There have been no shortage of good playoff matchups. The Flyers defeated the Rangers in the 1974 semifinals in seven games en route to a Stanley Cup. What’s weird is that Philadelphia won all their games at the Spectrum and New York won all of their games at the Garden.
Another memorable moment between the two teams was the day Eric Lindros was traded to both teams in 1992. That’s right, Quebec traded one guy to two teams and it was ultimately Philadelphia who would end up with number 88. The trade basically won the Avalanche multiple Staley Cups, but that’s a different story for a different day.
New Jersey Devils
I’ll be honest, don’t expect much from this once heated rivalry this season. The Devils aren’t very good, but they used to be.
The Devils beat the Flyers twice in 1995 and 2000 en route to Stanley Cups. However it wouldn’t be the Flyers-Devils rivalry without talking about one man in particular.
Scott Stevens, one of the nastiest player in NHL history.
Philadelphia would get revenge in 2004 and 2010 though, beating the Devils in 5 games in each of those series. The last playoff meeting between the teams came in 2012 when Ilya Bryzgalov was playing about as well as Goldberg from the Mighty Ducks.
Washington Capitals
The team with by far the worst and most annoying goal horn in the league! The Caps and Flyers rivalry is one that many fans won’t forget.
The team fell victim to what was once Washington’s biggest goal in franchise history. In 1988 Dale Hunter scored “the goal” that beat the Flyers in the first round of the playoffs.
There’s also the time Ray Emery beat the living day lights out of Brayden Holtby in 2013, it’s one of my favorite videos ever.
Overall it should be interesting to watch the Flyers play each of these teams eight times this year. There are definitely gonna be some good scraps and some good hockey.