For the first time in 12 years, NHL players participated in the Winter Olympics--and just like that, it's already over, with Team USA winning the gold medal game 2-1 over Team Canada. The Philadelphia Flyers had three Olympic participants, one who made a case for why he was a worthy inclusion to his national team, and one whose trade value has likely never been higher. For all three, they surely return to Philadelphia energized and ready for the final 26 games of the 2025-26 NHL season.
The Flyers had a disastrous January, and are 5-8-4 since the calendar flipped to 2026. Their 61 standings points are tied for third-to-last in the Eastern Conference with the Florida Panthers, and only the New Jersey Devils (58 points) and New York Rangers (50 points) are below them in the standings.
To get back into a playoff position, the Flyers would need to go on a heater and have the teams ahead of them collapse down the stretch. While the latter is possible--Sidney Crosby, the engine of the Pittsburgh Penguins, was injured during the Olympics, and the Islanders are theoretically retooling (they are second and third in the division, respectively)--the Flyers have rarely been able to string a number of wins together this season. The most they've managed are two three-game win streaks in October and November; that inability to win multiple games in a row doesn't seem likely to change anytime soon, especially if their depth players don't pick up some slack.
If they have any hope of pushing back into the playoff conversation, they'll need to get some points in a road back-to-back against the Metropolitan Division rival Washington Capitals and New York Rangers on the first two days after the break. The Capitals are fifth in the Metro standings (four points ahead of the Flyers), and are 5-4-1 in their last 10 games--a surprising drop after last year's runner-up finish for the President's Trophy. They have some important players back in the lineup (namely P.L. Dubois), and could be well positioned to make a late playoff push.
The Capitals' drop off is not nearly as surprising as the New York Rangers', though. The Rangers, President's Trophy winners themselves in 2023-24, are on track for another playoff miss: they sit in last place in the Eastern Conference, and just traded star winger Artemi Panarin to the Los Angeles Kings ahead of the break. With injuries to Igor Shesterkin and Adam Fox and in the midst of a four-game losing streak, the Rangers are closer to drafting first overall this summer than they are a playoff berth.
The final match of the week for the Flyers, back at home, is against the Boston Bruins. The Bruins have been a bit of a surprise this season after last year's playoff miss and sell off, and they're clinging to the second wildcard spot in the East. This is one of those "four point" games for the Flyers, bordering on a must-win if they want to battle for a wildcard spot.
The stakes are high and the margin for error is low
The season's not over yet, but it is getting dire for the Flyers. According to Money Puck, the Flyers have a 10.6 percent chance of making the postseason--those aren't great odds. However, if they win the first game of the week against the Capitals, their odds jump to 14.92 percent; if they lose in regulation, they fall to 7.22 percent. Those are the stakes coming out of the break, where a single game can dramatically swing the Flyers' playoff chances.
To improve their odds, they're going to need their goaltenders to hold the line, and at least one of them has. With a back-to-back to begin the week, Sam Ersson is almost certainly guaranteed a start and, given his .856 save percentage (SV%) and 3.51 Goals Against Average (GAA), it's hard to have confidence in the Flyers for whatever game he gets the nod in. At least it's likely to come against a Rangers team in freefall.
There's still a slim path back to the postseason for the Flyers but, if they can't bank some points this week against teams in their conference, that'll likely be the end of it--just in time for the trade deadline.