While last week started on an immense high as the Flyers smoked the Anaheim Ducks, it hasn't been too fun since. Bobby Brink and Jamie Drysdale left the game early due to injury, with Drysdale ending up on injured reserve. Then, against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Travis Konecny left with an apparent upper-body injury. It seemed like he might be set for Monday's rematch against the Tampa Bay Lightning, but in practice, he took a puck off a nerve in the knee, so that is to be determined.
Drysdale's already ruled out to start the week, but could come back as soon as Wednesday's game, while Brink is officially day-to-day and could reappear in the lineup at any time. Jury's out on Konecny, so we'll have to wait and see, but after that lopsided 7-2 loss to the Lightning, the team sure could use him. With consecutive losses, the Flyers could be staring down a losing streak if those three miss additional time.
This is a critical week for the Flyers, as all four of their opponents are vying for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference--and two of these games are against rivals in the Metropolitan Division. The Flyers are barely hanging onto third in the Metro and, with the East as crowded as it is, they could find themselves in last in short order. Even GM Danny Briere said last week, the team "can win two games and be in first place or we can lose three and be in last place in our division;" this is the kind of schedule that could see that play out.
Flyers next four games hold significant importance in playoff race
In a scheduling quirk, the Flyers face the Bolts again this week. Didn't we just see this movie? And it's not even a home-and-home, as the Lightning play in Philly twice in a row. Hopefully, the sequel is better than the original, because the Flyers got lit up for seven goals by Tampa over the weekend. After that awful performance from Sam Ersson, expect Dan Vladar to reprise the leading role and give the Flyers a fighting chance.
If the Flyers end up in a wildcard spot and the Lightning win the Atlantic Division, this could be a preview of the first round of the playoffs.
Next up, the Flyers hit the road in Buffalo. The Sabres hold a wild-card spot in the Atlantic, but they've been one of the hottest teams in the league since the middle of December (10-game win streaks will do that for you), and at the time of writing, they're 9-1-0 in their last 10 games. Last time the Flyers played in Buffalo, they got embarrassed by the Sabres.
In the two-game series, each winning team has scored five goals. Here's hoping the Flyers flip the script and get a much-needed win.
After that is a rivalry matchup in Pittsburgh. And what are the Pittsburgh Penguins? They've looked terrible for stretches this season, then go on major win streaks and are 7-3-0 in their last 10--and they just got Evgeni Malkin back in the lineup. The Flyers and Pens are neck-and-neck in the standings, so these are a big two points on the line.
While the Penguins aren't as formidable as they once were, you'd be foolish to bet against Malkin, Sidney Crosby, and Kris Letang in a playoff race. The Flyers will need their A-game to maintain their place in the standings.
The final game of the week is where the Flyers could really kick a rival team while they're down.
Things have really fallen apart for the Rangers: the Adam Fox injury was bad enough, but losing Igor Shesterkin--their MVP--might be the final nail for their season. They got utterly spanked by the mediocre Boston Bruins, too, where two different Bruins registered hat tricks, David Pastrnak had six assists, and the Rangers lost 10-2. Maybe the Flyers can take advantage of a team in free fall and bank some divisional points, because it looks like the Rangers may be falling out of the race--time to create some distance in the standings.