The Philadelphia Flyers looked like a dead team walking. After last Tuesday’s blowout loss in Montreal, the Flyers were firmly out of a playoff spot thanks to an eight-game losing streak in which they got outscored 42-18. It was a stretch of games against bad teams that ended up getting even worse results.
It would’ve been easy for the Flyers to pack it in. They were set for a date against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden to close out a four-game road trip. The Orange and Black hadn’t beaten the Rangers in over two years with seven straight losses against their rival. But the Flyers did show up in a big way to keep their playoff hopes alive.
Not only did the Flyers beat the Rangers but they looked like they belonged. They looked like the team that was so fun to watch for the first six months of the season.
That continued on Saturday evening with a shutout win against the Devils with the patented power kill scoring the lone goal.
Sure, the Flyers still need some help to make the playoffs after holding a postseason spot for months, but they’re back in it. The boys have a chance to knock out the Capitals and potentially clinch a playoff berth on Tuesday night.
“We played to get our game Tuesday to mean something,” Tortorella said after Saturday night’s win. “So that’s all we have to be concerned about”
The polarizing head coach took some heat in recent weeks for how he’s handled healthy scratching Sean Couturier, the lineup in general, and taking accountability, among other things. Ultimately, though, he’s got the team bought in and playing well again ahead of the season’s penultimate game.
“We coached them, they listened. We talked about things, showed them tape. You have the answer to it, right?” Torts said. “You play that badly your last game as far as structure, we certainly have to teach. But I think they’re the ones that have to play and I’m happy for them. I’m happy for them.”
This is a Flyers team that has played for each other all season long. That was evident on Saturday with guys selling out to block shots, break up passes, and win battles. Just live to see another day.
“We had a lot of great contributions. Ersson was great again, guys laying out on the line. Hathaway and Seeler, guys like that blocking shots, diving all over the place,” Scott Laughton said. “Everyone contributed and it feels good, it feels good to win at home like that. Hearing a crowd like that at the end, gives you a nice jump.”
While these aren’t playoff games, Saturday’s crowd was one of the most playoff-like atmospheres at the Wells Fargo Center this season. That’s important for a young team with a focus on culture like the Flyers.
“You say playoff atmosphere, this isn’t even close to playoff atmosphere. That’s what I want them to taste is playoff atmosphere,” Tortorella said. “These are obviously, everybody’s saying this is our playoffs, if that’s the way you want to put it. But it’s nowhere near a playoff atmosphere, but it’s our step that we’re taking to playing these types of games at the end of the year to get in. We’re close. I think it’s a great process for us.”
Travis Sanheim, Travis Konecny, Scott Laughton, Sean Couturier, and Joel Farabee are the only players on the current roster who tasted the playoffs with the Flyers back in 2020, and only those first four have played a playoff game in Philadelphia. Guys like Owen Tippett, Morgan Frost, Tyson Foerster, and Cam York, among others, are hoping to get a taste of playoffs at The Farg.
All in all, no matter what happens this week, the Flyers were able to remind everyone of their potential over the final few games of the season. What once looked like a potential double-digit-game losing streak to end the season has turned into a possible playoff berth.
“I’m just glad they showed us who they are, ’cause they’ve been that all year long,” Tortorella said. “I think that’s very important for the group.”
