Just three games remain in this 2014-15 Flyers season, which will ultimately go down as a season to forget. It hasn't been the easiest team to watch, and by now, we've all heard the narrative about two missed playoff berths in three seasons.
For much of the season, the Orange and Black (save for a handful of players) didn't look like a team that could even beat a Mites on Ice squad. But they also had stretches where they played with pure dominance, and four of those meetings came against the rival Pittsburgh Penguins.
With Sunday's 4-1 win over the Penguins (see recap), the Flyers swept their Keystone State rivals for the first time since the 1983-84 season (the Penguins did get the last laugh that year, sadly, as they were able to acquire some Québécois player in the draft). Dating back to the 2013-14 season, the Flyers have won eight of their last nine matchups against the Penguins — with Pittsburgh last winning on Oct. 17, 2013.
So what is it about the Flyers that has them playing some of their best hockey against the Penguins? What is it about the Penguins that has them getting routinely whipped by the Orange and Black?
You can trace it back to 2012, when the Pens were heavily favored to beat the Flyers in the Eastern Conference quarterfinal round of the playoffs — a series that featured Claude Giroux's epic shift in one of the most memorable Game 6s in recent Flyers history, as well as some classic Chris Therien and an NHL record for goals through four playoff games.
It's as if the Penguins just can't match the intensity and physicality that the Flyers provide. For the most part, the Flyers have stifled them offensively — represented in the seven goals that the Penguins could only muster in this year's four-game series. Stifling hockey always leads to frustration, which the Penguins have expressed time and time again (see also: Chris Kunitz shooting on an empty net in yesterday's game.)
It wasn't that long ago that the Penguins were the class of the NHL, much to the (justified) chagrin of Flyers fans. That distinction, of course, gave the Pens a metaphorical target on their backs. But the Flyers' big-time upset victory in that 2012 series brought the Penguins down several notches, and playoff implosions over the next two seasons only validated the Pens' has-been status.
Sure, the Flyers' epic winning streak against the Penguins won't go on forever, as excellent as that would be. But it's still worth enjoying for now, and undoubtedly a bright (arguably the brightest) point in an otherwise dismal season.
Follow Rob Riches on Twitter @Riches61
