Since 81 games wasn't enough, the Flyers and Rangers each waited to determine their place in the post season until the 82nd game.  And since that wasn't enough, the game went to overtime.  And since overtime too failed to determine a winner, the game went to a shootout.  And since all's well that ends well, it's fair to say now that, for Flyers fans, it was worth the wait.

Jody Shelley, still disagreeable over having to be called by not one but two girls names all his life, scored for the Rangers on a tip 3:27 into the first period, deflecting a Michal Roszival shot from the point past Brian Boucher high to the stick side.

The Flyers dominated from there on, but remained in a 1-0 hole due to the stellar play of Rangers' goalie Henrik Lundqvist.  The Flyers outshot the Rangers by the ridiculous margin of 30-13 through two periods, but Lundqvist rose to the occasion each time, and was saved by posts on a couple other occasions.

But the Flyers did not fold, cashing in on a power play about a third of the way into the third.  Matt Carle pinched in to put a Jeff Carter rebound past Henrik Lundqvist, evening the game at 1-1 and giving the Flyers new life.

The Flyers continued to have more chances through the remainder of the third period, and into the overtime frame as well, as the Rangers seemed to be stalling, waiting for the inevitable shootout in which they hoped Lundqvist would pull them through.  The stall worked, and the shootout began.

Danny Briere went first, making about fifteen moves close in to open up Lundqvist's glove side, putting it past him to get the Flyers off to a 1-0 lead.  Brian Boucher then stepped up to stop Erik Christensen, giving the Flyers a huge 1-0 lead after one pair of shooters. 

Mike Richards opted to pull up and shoot on Lundqvist, but Lundqvist got a piece of it.  Boucher then backed himself almost completely into the net against the next Ranger shooter, PA Parenteau, allowing Parenteau to score and improve his career NHL shootout conversion record to 3-for-3.

Claude Giroux, shooting third for the Flyers, took half a page out of both Briere's and Richards' playbooks, making several moves before stopping and shooting the puck through Lundqvist's ridiculously large five hole.  Olli Jokinen, the Rangers' last hope, skated several wild circles before taking the puck, eventually putting it into a splayed Brian Boucher, who stopped it inches before the goal line and then exploded into a celebration of jumping, stumbling, and hugging, joined quickly by his teammates and the rest of the Philadelphia area.

I still hate shootouts.  Hate hate hate.  But after that one, I am happy.  Very, very happy.

The last article I wrote on BSH was about the Capitals DVD set, which involved copious amounts of mockery for its dwelling on the recent past.  But man, the next time the Flyers come out with a set of all-time great games, today's classic had better be on it.

As of writing this, the Sabres and Devils are still going, so we don't yet know who the #7-seed Flyers will be facing in the first round.

The Flyers' next game will be some time this week.  The Rangers' next game will be in October.

After the jump: questions answered, a comment of the game, and more celebration and speechlessness (the speechlessness might be harder to see with the naked eye).

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Chris McGrath - Getty Images

4 months ago: NEW YORK - APRIL 09: Jody Shelley #45 of the New York Rangers celebrates scoring a goal with team mate Brandon Prust #8 and Artem Anisimov #42 against the Philadelphia Flyers during their game on April 9, 2010 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

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What is there to say? There were bright spots, there were weak spots. There were hits, there were misses. There was discipline, there was restraint.

There was Mike Richards' leading by example. Chris Pronger with a gorgeous stretch pass. Dan Carcillo drawing a penalty, Dan Carcillo taking a penalty. Lapses in effort. Overwhelming effort. Pronger the victim of a bad bounce. Terrible plays by Brian Boucher, and gorgeous plays by Brian Boucher all at the same time. Matt Carle getting in the way -- in the wrong way. Scott Hartnell being dumb, over and over again.

Game 81 of the season was a microcosm of the entire Flyers 2009-10 season. In the end, they came up short. Let's just hope they don't do the same with it all on the line on Sunday.

After the jump, questions with answers and the comment of the night.

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Holy Brian Boucher.

With the Flyers up just one measly goal late in the third period, the pesky Leafs were swarming. The puck was thrown out in front, it bounced off of Braydon Coburn and toward the empty goal. Boosh threw his paddle out and got a piece of it to deflect it just wide of the cage. It preserved the victory. It preserved our sanity. Quite possibly, it preserved the playoffs.

Not that the season would've been over with a loss tonight or anything. No, far from it. The two teams chasing the Flyers -- the Rangers and Thrashers -- both lost tonight. But that's what makes this win so much more important. Thanks to the Rangers loss to Buffalo (appreciated, Sabres), the Flyers magic number to clinch the playoffs is now just two.

What's that mean? Any combination of Flyers points gained and Rangers points relinquished that adds up to two puts the Flyers in the postseason. A Rangers loss against these same Leafs tomorrow puts the Flyers in the playoffs. Atlanta was eliminated tonight.

Tonight's game was by no means the best game of the year. The Flyers had a ton of chances and only scored one 'real' goal. Of six power plays, five were terrible. But the penalty killing was downright epic tonight, with Ian Laperriere and Blair Betts, as always, earning the accolades. Their play went a long way toward this victory tonight.

Jean-Sebastien Giguere played great for the Leafs, but in the end, the difference was Boucher. Giggy was no match. He looks confident, he sounds confident, and that one save may have hoisted a city full of fans behind him again. You can't downplay the importance of that at this time of year.

After the jump, questions with answers and the comment of the night.

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It was tense. It was stressful. It was... playoff hockey, basically.

Needing a win desperately, the Flyers flew out of the gate and Dan Carcillo, fresh off of his two game suspension, scored on the first shot of the game. The Flyers would jump out to a 2-0 lead before a few unlucky goals got Detroit back into the game by the end of the period.

But the orange and black didn't give up, continuing to assert themselves like a playoff team should. They'd get the two goal lead back by the end of the second period, but the Wings wouldn't go away, scoring early in the third to get within one. Detroit spent most of the third period in the Flyers end, but with a little luck, some solid defense and solid goaltending from Brian Boucher, the good guys were able to hold on for the win.

They needed a big performance against a really, really strong opponent who hadn't lost in regulation in 12 games. Everybody chipped in and got the job done. One down, three to go, right?

After the jump, questions with answers and the comment of the day.

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First things first: anybody who says that the Philadelphia Flyers didn't show any heart tonight is an idiot. Anybody who says the Flyers didn't have what it takes tonight is an idiot. Plain and simple. I don't throw insults out there like that often, but people are just irrational. It's beyond frustrating; even more frustrating than this bi-polar team has been all season.

Last night in Long Island, frustration was understandable. But when the Flyers play like they did tonight, from Brian Boucher to Braydon Coburn to Chris Pronger to Ville Leino to James van Riemsdyk, and still don't get a win, you need to stand up and hand it to the other team. Jaroslav Halak did everything he needed to do for the Montreal Canadiens tonight, and as a result, the Habs win the game.

Be disappointed, and be angry that the Flyers have put themselves in this current situation. But don't get down on them. Not tonight, not after they just laid it all on the line in an attempt to get two points. We're fans, so let's try and act like it. Is being negative at this time of year really going to make a difference anyway?

Okay, now that that's out of the way, it's time to digest the hard truth. The Flyers are in eighth place. Montreal takes sixth with the win, and idle Boston moves up to seventh because they've played one fewer game. Ninth tenth-place Atlanta plays Pittsburgh on Saturday at 1 PM, while the Bruins play Toronto at 7.

One more team to worry about, now: the tenth ninth-place Rangers, who also now sit just two points behind the Flyers in the Eastern Conference standings. Of course, we have two games with them next weekend. Luckily, the Flyers hold the 'number of wins' tiebreaker over Atlanta and New York, but we can't have the mentality of looking at tiebreakers.

The Flyers need to take care of their own business the rest of the way. They control their own destiny still, believe it or not. The way they played tonight is the way they need to play the rest of the season. If they fail to do that, then fine, we can pack it in right with them. But if they play like they do tonight, there's no reason not to get behind them the next four games and hopefully beyond. Why don't we try that out?

After the jump, questions with answers and the comment of the night.

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5 months ago: UNIONDALE, NY - APRIL 01: Blake Comeau #57 of the New York Islanders celebrates his second goal of the first period against the Philadelphia Flyers on April 1, 2010 at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

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No effort. Sometimes you have to wonder why we even bother.

With Boston and Atlanta losing tonight and Montreal idle, the Philadelphia Flyers had a gigantic chance to put some separation between themselves and the rest of the bubble teams in the Eastern Conference playoff race. Instead, they laid an egg.

They allowed the New York Islanders, who have nothing to play for but... well, nothing, and who hadn't beaten Philadelphia in 15 straight games, to completely walk all over them. It doesn't matter that the other teams in the playoff race lost tonight, because the Flyers were just absolutely horrible. It doesn't matter that the Flyers actually somehow made the score respectable tonight.

Jeremy Duchesne, who was playing in the ECHL a few weeks ago and allowed a goal from center ice in the Phantoms loss a night ago, entered the game in relief of Brian Boucher during the third period. The question all the media types seem to be asking tonight is whether or not Duchesne (whose name, by the way, I cannot spell right on a consistent basis for the life of me) will get the start tomorrow night in what is quite possibly the biggest game of the year.

Is that even a question? Boucher looked terrible tonight, but seriously? Jeremy Duchesne? I'm sure he's a nice guy and everything, but he's an ECHL-caliber goaltender and is in the NHL by sheer luck. Peter Laviolette said post game that he hadn't made a decision yet, but I shudder thinking about Duchesne getting a start against Montreal.

After the jump, questions with answers and the comment of the night.

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Well, we might never know where that came from, but it doesn't really matter. The Philadelphia Flyers just played a complete hockey game, and in the process, they cruised to a 5-1 victory over the New Jersey Devils.

From top to bottom, everything went right for the orange and black tonight. Brian Boucher played a solid, sometimes lucky, game. The Flyers jumped out of the gate and right down the throats of the Devils. They established position in the Devils end, they moved the puck well once they got down there, and it ultimately led to excellent scoring opportunities.

When you play like that and create chances for yourself, good things happen, and that certainly happened for the Flyers tonight. The line of Simon Gagne, Danny Briere and Ville Leino was absolutely fantastic all night long. The power play looked good. The Flyers got themselves in some penalty trouble in the second period, but the penalty killers bailed them out five times in total with a little bit of that luck and a nice, solid dose of hard work.

On defense, the entire unit was positionally sound all night long. Matt Carle looked solid in his return to action after missing a few games with a minor injury. The one down side of this game was a Dan Carcillo match penalty in the third period.

There was no replay on the CSN broadcast, but reports say that Carcillo cross-checked a Devil in the face. Match penalties call for a game misconduct and automatic review by the league for supplemental discipline, so we'll see where this goes.

In any event, the Flyers need to build off of this win. It's a huge one, but in the end it's just two points. They need to make this the end of the slump -- the building block they use as they head toward the playoffs. If not, playoffs are no guarantee.

After the jump, a look at the playoff race, questions with answers and the comment of the night.

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The Philadelphia Flyers may not be as good as the Pittsburgh Penguins. They might not have deserved to win today at Mellon Arena. But there is absolutely no way in hell that they deserved this fate, either.

We'll start with Johan Backlund, who looked pretty darn solid in two periods of action today. He didn't control his rebounds good enough, but he was solid in his positioning and he looked good enough. It was promising, at least. But as the third period began, Brian Boucher replaced Backlund, who suffered a groin pull.

Who knows how long he'll be out at this point, but we really should have expected it, the way this season has gone. Even more so, we should have expected it the way this game had gone to that point.

There were weak penalty calls all afternoon, but the most egregious came in a 1-1 game during the second period. A Simon Gagne goal was waived off after Ville Leino made incidental contact with Marc-Andre Fleury outside of the goal crease. Never mind that Rule 69.1 clearly states that if incidental contact is made outside the crease, the goal should be allowed.

You know, never mind what the rules say.

From that point on, the Flyers lost all the wind in their sails. Maybe that's the reason why this team isn't going anywhere this season. Maybe it's because when they face adversity, they just crumble in on top of themselves like the building they played in today will in a few months.

But as Ben Feldman said in the game thread, when you're facing adversity and all you're dealt is more adversity -- like losing your goalie or a phantom penalty on Scott Hartnell after he touched Sidney Crosby in the third period or Fleury throwing his stick and the Flyers not getting a penalty shot, for example -- it's hard to over come.

Boston won 5-0 today, so the Flyers are now in eighth place. Speaking of Boston, Matt Cooke had another dirty hit today... this time on Claude Giroux. Luckily, G was fine. Doesn't mean Cooke still isn't a scum bag though.

After the jump, questions with answers and the comment of the day.

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