Danny Briere quietly made playoffs the goal and Flyers delivered

To the public, the message was clear. Making the playoffs was not necessarily the number one goal for the Flyers. While there was recognition that the team was improving, they still wanted to see further improvements. Danny Briere did his part, making offseason acquisitions that have proved key to the team's success.

Briere traded for Trevor Zegras, acquiring him for a rather low price due to some down years, injuries, and likely falling out of favor in Anaheim. He signed Christian Dvorak to steady things down the middle. And needing to find an upgrade in net, Briere brought in long-term backup Dan Vladar to compete for the starting job.

All three of those moves have, on their own, paid dividends for the Flyers. Zegras has broken out, and his confidence has more than returned. Dvorak set career-highs offensively and paced the team in the faceoff dot. But no one has been more important to the team than Vladar.

And it was fitting that he settled things down and came through for the team when they needed it most. That's why, when the team was celebrating in the locker room after a shootout win sent them to the playoffs, Vladar let it be known this was the goal the entire time.

"(Briere) told us at the beginning of the year, I hope he's not gonna get mad at me, but he said the goal is to make the playoffs," Vladar mentioned after the team clinched. "There was always a belief in this room. Obviously, we knew that, even if it was the media or outsiders who didn't really believe in us, we always had the belief here since day one."

Flyers took Danny Briere's message and made it a reality

It didn't always look like a possibility. The Flyers started the season rather well, winning six of their first 10 games in October. November was largely the same, collecting wins in seven of 13. Things slipped a little in December, as they won six of 15. But where it really went downhill was in January. The Flyers lost 11 of their 15 games and saw themselves lose six straight at one point.

The Olympic break could not have come at a better time for a struggling Flyers' team. Counting the two games in February before the break, they lost 12 of 16. And their final game against Ottawa was a lifeless affair. They were eight points out in both the wild-card race and division. It seemed like it was going to be another late-season collapse.

And maybe in a normal year, the Flyers don't recover from that. There certainly wasn't a ton of outside belief that they could pull it off. Despite points in seven of their first 10 games after the break, Money Puck had them at a 3.8 percent chance of making the playoffs. So what did the Flyers do?

They won six of their next eight games, and by the end of March, they bumped that number up to 27.7 percent. Still a long way to go, but it was a start. Two key losses to the Red Wings in the final month could've cost them everything. However, they took down every other opponent they faced in April. And while they got some outside help, the Flyers did what needed to be done themselves.

Which is why the clinching game against the Hurricanes brought an excitement level this city hasn't seen in a long time. Everyone in that locker room knew what this moment meant. Probably no one more than Sean Couturier, Travis Konecny, and Travis Sanheim. They are the last three remaining from the Flyers' last postseason run in 2020. The first two are the only ones left from the last time the Flyers and Penguins met in the playoffs in 2018.

And Couturier has been through some tough times over the last few years due to multiple back surgeries and his overall health. There was a chance he wouldn't be here for this. But he wasn't ready to focus on that. This moment was for everyone to share.

"I'm just more proud of the team, the organization, where we're at today compared to a couple of years ago. There's been some tough times, some ups and downs. Just happy for the city, the fans. They've been behind us through the ups and downs and the rebuild. I think it's deserving for everyone." Couturier said.

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