Flyers are right back in the playoff race, but schedule may not be on their side

The Philadelphia Flyers are, against all odds, right back in the thick of the extremely tight playoff race in the Eastern Conference. They're carrying a 37-24-12 record, one game over true .500, and have 86 standings points--that's fifth in the Metropolitan Division, but only two points behind the Columbus Blue Jackets for the second wildcard spot and three back of the New York Islanders for third in the Metro.

The Flyers have a game in hand on the Blue Jackets and two games in hand on New York. They've been one of the hottest teams since the Winter Olympic break, and Porter Martone, one of the best prospects in all of hockey, is making his NHL debut tonight against the Washington Capitals. They might actually make the postseason for the first time since 2020.

There is, however, the small issue of actually getting the job done and making the playoffs, and they only have nine games left to make up the ground they lost in January. There's a reason Money Puck has their odds at 27.7 percent, too. According to Tankathon, the Flyers have the ninth-most difficult schedule in the league, plus they lose any tiebreaker with so few regulation wins. They won't be able to breeze into the postseason by beating up on lesser teams like, say, the Pittsburgh Penguins, who have the 23rd most difficult schedule left. The Flyers' easiest matchups come against the Capitals tonight, then the New Jersey Devils and Winnipeg Jets next week.

The good news is that the New York Islanders, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Boston Bruins — all teams ahead of the Flyers in the standings — have the three most difficult schedules remaining. The Flyers play the Islanders and the Bruins once each, and those will be critical four-point swing games. They've got the Detroit Red Wings two more times, too, and hopefully they can put the hurt on them as they did in their first meeting.

Winning against the Dallas Stars on Sunday, a game written off as an expected loss, provided a huge boost to their playoff odds. It also showed that, if the Flyers do make it, they're going to be a handful and can handle playoff-style hockey. The schedule ahead may be difficult, but you can't pick your opponents, and the Flyers will have to make do with the games they're given.