Looking to the playoffs which begin tonight, I was wondering just how far our Flyers might go in these playoffs. In considering this, I came to concur with what Travis said in an article on the SBNation NHL page. That how far the Flyers advance is all about matchups. That is, some roads to the Conference Finals and beyond are easier/tougher than others. I decided to go through just what those roads would look like, and thought I would share:

First Round Winners: Seeds Left = Flyers 2nd Round Opponent, then Would-Be ECF Opps

A) OTT, WAS, NJD, PHI: 8,7,6,5 = 8 OTT, then 7 WAS or 6 NJD

B) OTT, WAS, PHI, FLA: 8,7,5,3 = 7 WAS, then 8 OTT or 3 FLA

C1) OTT, NJD, PHI, BOS: 8,6,5,2 = 6 NJD, then 8 OTT or 2 BOS

C2) WAS, NJD, PHI, NYR: 7,6,5,1 = 6 NJD, then 7 WAS or 1 NYR

D1) OTT, PHI, FLA, BOS: 8,5,3,2 = 3 FLA, then 8 OTT or 2 BOS

D2) WAS, PHI, FLA, NYR: 7,5,3,1 = 3 FLA, then 7 WAS or 1 NYR

E) NJD, PHI, BOS, NYR: 6,5,2,1 = 2 BOS, then 6 NJD or 1 NYR

F) PHI, FLA, BOS, NYR: 5,3,2,1 = 1 NYR, then 3 FLA or 2 BOS

Apparently we could play ANYONE in the 2nd round (as would the Pens if they win our series).

Here are some interesting takeaways:

The easiest scenario (A) is obviously the one where we play 8 OTT then 7 WAS, if we go purely by seeding.

(E) and (F) are very tough if we play BOS/NYR or NYR/BOS.

(C2) is the only one where we can beat all 3 Atlantic Division rivals (PIT, then NJD, then NYR).

Which Scenario do you think is best for the Flyers to win the East? Any other observations?