The Game: 7:00 p.m. EST on NBCSports Philadelphia, ESPN+/Hulu, and 97.5 The Fanatic
It really is coming down to the last game of the season, huh? Well then, let’s do it.
The Flyers won back-to-back games last week for the first time since February, against the soon-to-be-President’s-Trophy-winning New York Rangers and the New Jersey Devils. The Rangers win was impressive: they dismantled the best team in the league, and finally broke through against a team that they’d come so close to beating earlier in the season but never could. The win against the Devils was a defensive clinic, smothering an offensively stacked team (even without Jack Hughes) and snagging a gritty 1-0 W. It’s a bit late in the season for moral victories, but those two games showed the eight-game skid was an anomaly, a fluke–this team won’t let their season be defined by that losing streak.
That streak still happened, though, and it opened the door for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals, New York Islanders, and Detroit Red Wings to get back into the playoff race. Worse for the Flyers, all four of those teams won their games last night, making the chances of the Flyers making the post season exceptionally more slim. The Islanders win locks them into third in the Metro, and if the Wings or Pens earn a single point in their final games of the season, the Flyers will be eliminated from contention.
Of course, none of that matters if the Flyers don’t win tonight’s game against the Washington Capitals.
The Caps turned around a miserable start to the season and got here on the back of a career-making turn from goaltender Charlie Lindgren, and Alex Ovechkin remembering he’s Alex Ovechkin and deciding to score goals again. Washington even sold at the deadline, sending Evgeny Kuznetsov to the Carolina Hurricanes, Joel Edmundson to the Toronto Maple Leafs, and Anthony Mantha to the Vegas Golden Knights. Credit to head coach Spencer Carbery for getting this much out of one of the oldest rosters in the NHL. They need a win tonight just as badly as the Flyers, so expect one of the most entertaining games of the year to cap off the season.
And what a season it has been! Win or lose, this Flyers team far exceeded expectations: young players took impressive steps forward, vets either rebounded or proved that last year’s success wasn’t a mirage, and a couple new guys proved their worth and became fan favorites (looking at you, Garnet Hathaway). Even head coach John Tortorella says the team has no regrets. If the Flyers win: woo! Playoffs! If they lose: what a ride. Thanks for coming along with us this year, loyal BSH readers, and hope to see you in the ‘yoffs.
Players to Watch
There’s a theme for today’s players to watch–at least on the Flyers side: potentially the last time they wear the Orange and Black. It could be trades, retirement, or non-renewal in free agency, but this could be their final game in a Flyers sweater.
Travis Konecny
Full disclosure: I put TK here before he turned it back on in the last two games. During the eight-game skid, there was speculation that Konecny just doesn’t have “it,” whether “it” can be defined as clutchness or performance under pressure–and that led to speculation TK wouldn’t be here come September. During the losing streak, Torts said he believes that skill can be taught–and it looks like he might be right. With rumors swirling of a contract extension coming July 1 for TK, he probably isn’t going anywhere, and may end up being a Flyer for life.
Scott Laughton
Scooty Loots. Laughts. The first (and for a while, only) player to wear a letter under Tortorella’s coaching tenure. Laughton’s name has been in trade rumors for what seems like forever (last year’s deadline, last off season, this past deadline, the next three years), and with the off season comes roster flexibility for contending teams and teams that convince themselves they’re one Scott Laughton away from postseason success. The Flyers probably aren’t actively looking to move him, but if a big offer of future assets comes across their desk, they’re going to have to take it.
Joel Farabee
Listen. I don’t think Joel Farabee is getting traded, and I think it would be foolish to do so. But he’s been invisible for months after an exceptionally strong start to the season. Is it injury? Fatigue? The same lack of clutchness that Travis Konecny was briefly saddled with? Who knows–but his name’s been popping up more in speculative trade proposals across the corners of Flyers internet, so he’s on this list despite career highs in goals (22) assists (28) and points (50). Capping the season with a hat trick to hit 25 goals for the first time in his career and send the Flyers to the playoffs would silence the doubters.
Marc Staal
Nope. Not going to waste words on Erik Johnson, either. Or Denis Gurianov, who played all of four games with the club.
Cam Atkinson
Ah, Cam. Cam, Cam, Cam. The most he’s done for the team lately is taking a penalty against the New Jersey Devils, which allowed the Flyers power kill to strike for the first time in what seems like ages and score the only goal of the game. He’s got one year left on his contract, and it’s up in the air whether he plays it out or not: he has an M-NTC, which limits trade options (and it’s unlikely any teams are interested even with 50% retention), which puts a buyout on the table. That, or he’s next year’s Marc Staal of the forward group: the veteran guy who just hangs around with the rookies and jumps in occasionally.
Alex Ovechkin
Who else? After a lackluster start to the season, Ovechkin remembered what he’s trying to do: break the all-time goals record. He’s at 30 goals this season, with 21 (21!!) of them coming since the All-Star break. When the Flyers last faced the Capitals at the beginning of March (the game that shattered the Flyers’ season, in my opinion), Ovi put up just one goal–but he’s scored 48 goals and 79 points in 73 games against the Flyers, so the Flyers are going to have to keep him marked. We’ve seen enough one-timers from the faceoff circle on the power play for one lifetime, thank you.
Projected Lineups
Philadelphia Flyers
Tyson Foerster – Ryan Poehling – Travis Konecny
Owen Tippett – Morgan Frost – Bobby Brink
Noah Cates – Sean Couturier – Garnet Hathaway
Joel Farabee – Scott Laughton – Cam Atkinson
Cam York – Travis Sanheim
Nick Seeler – Jamie Drysdale
Egor Zamula – Erik Johnson
Sam Ersson
(Ivan Fedotov)
Washington Capitals
Alex Ovechkin – Connor McMichael – TJ Oshie
Aliaksei Protas – Dylan Strome – Tom Wilson
Max Pacioretty – Hendrix Lapierre – Sonny Milano
Beck Malenstyn – Nic Dowd – Nicolas Aube-Kubel (NAK!)
Martin Fehervary – John Carlson
Alexander Alexeyev – Trevor van Riemsdyk
Lucas Johansen – Vincent Iorio
Darcy Kuemper
(Charlie Lindgren)
Gameday Tunes
“Well, we’ll float on, good news is on the way.” Regardless of the outcome tonight, it’s been a pleasure, BSH readers, and this team’s given us a lot to get excited about as the rebuild continues. Go Flyers.
Stats via Hockey Reference
