The Philadelphia Flyers can still make the NHL playoffs. Here's what needs to happen.
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - It all comes down to Game 82 and a lot of help, but the Philadelphia Flyers still have a chance at making the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Flyers' regular season ends Tuesday night in a must-win regulation game against the Washington Capitals at Wells Fargo Center.
A regulation win … and the Flyers could be playing playoff hockey.
"It's a very important game. It's a very exciting game to be involved in," Flyers head coach John Tortorella said Monday. "Whatever you want to call it, call it. I just want us to play the right way, watch how people react and as a group - individuals and as a group - and hopefully we get a result."
Are the Flyers eliminated from the playoffs?
No, but simply put, it doesn't look great. The Flyers must beat the Capitals in regulation on Tuesday. An overtime win or loss or regulation loss means elimination.
But even if Philadelphia beats Washington in regulation, it doesn't secure a playoff berth in itself. The Flyers need help.
What needs to happen for the Flyers to make the playoffs
Here is how the Flyers would make the NHL playoffs.
The Flyers have to beat the Caps in regulation and the Detroit Red Wings must lose to the Montreal Canadiens in regulation and the Pittsburgh Penguins must lose to the New York Islanders in regulation on Wednesday.
The first round of the NHL playoffs will begin on Saturday, April 20.
How did the Flyers get in this position?
In the big picture, the Flyers took major steps forward in their rebuild in 2023-24. For most of the season, the Flyers were in playoff position and were perhaps the biggest surprise in hockey. Not many forecasted the Flyers even being here.
The Flyers were in playoff position until Game 78 before officially falling out of the postseason picture with a 6-2 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets, the seventh of a season-long eight-game losing streak.
Philadelphia won its last two games, beating both the Rangers and New Jersey Devils, but received no help Monday.
Pittsburgh kept its playoff hopes alive with a 4-2 win over the Nashville Predators. Washington beat the Boston Bruins in regulation, and the Detroit Red Wings beat the Habs in overtime.
The Flyers are still rebuilding
The Flyers entered the season in year 1 of a public rebuild. After last season, Keith Jones took over as president of hockey operations, Danny Briere was named the full-time general manager and Dan Hilferty took over as Comcast Spectacor CEO and Flyers governor after Dave Scott retired.
Jones told CBS Philadelphia's Pat Gallen in May 2023 that the Flyers "need to get younger."
"We need to get more talent," Jones said. "We need to make sure we draft extremely well and we need to develop some of the young talent that we have within our system."
At the time, the Flyers had Cutter Gauthier as their top prospect and then drafted Russian winger Matvei Michkov a month later.
Since then, Gauthier refused to sign with the team and Briere traded him to the Anaheim Ducks for Jamie Drysdale and a second-round pick. Then in February, goalie Carter Hart was among five players from Canada's 2018 world junior hockey team charged with sexual assault.
On the ice, though, the Flyers took a major leap this season in Tortorella's second year as head coach. The Flyers enter Game 82 with a 38-32-11 record and a chance at making the playoffs.