After going winless in a four-game Great White North swing, the Flyers return home, with playoff hopes as slim as ever. Just eight games remain for the Orange and Black, and they sit 10 points out of the last spot — not to mention that they'd have to leap-frog a Boston team that has two games in hand, as well as a surging Ottawa team and Florida.
Essentially, the Flyers are a team that'll just have to play with pride from here on out. Maybe even do their best to play a spoiler's role, as they'll play several teams (namely Chicago, Pittsburgh and the New York Islanders) that are essentially locks for the playoffs.
But with these eight games remaining, there are still several storylines that Flyers fans can look forward to.
First and foremost, Kimmo Timonen is set to return to Wells Fargo Center on Wednesday, as the Flyers host the Blackhawks. The game will be Timonen's first game at Wells Fargo Center in an opponent's uniform since Nov. 29, 2006, as captain of the Nashville Predators. To put in perspective how long ago that actually was, John Stevens was in his first season as Flyers coach, Derian Hatcher was a top-pair defenseman and Antero Niittymaki was between the Flyers' pipes. Undoubtedly, the night will be one of the most emotional for the Orange and Black this season.
The Flyers also have a pair of games against the Penguins, heading to Pittsburgh on April Fool's Day and hosting them on Easter Sunday. As plagued as the Flyers have seemed to be this season, some of their brightest spots have come against the Pens, as they've beaten them twice in two matchups — 5-3 on Oct. 22, and 3-2 in overtime on Jan. 29 (arguably their best game of the season).
The Flyers will also close out their season series with the Carolina Hurricanes, with two games on April 4 and April 9. Despite posting up in last place in the Metropolitan Division for the bulk of this season, the Hurricanes have managed to beat the Flyers twice in three meetings — including a sound 4-1 victory in their last meeting on Feb. 24.
Along the way, the Orange and Black will take on the Islanders, and host San Jose for the first time since Feb. 27, 2014. They'll close out their regular-season slate on April 11 when the Senators come to town — Fan Appreciation Day, when the always-fun team awards are handed out in a pre-game ceremony.
From a non-scheduling standpoint, fans can also see how Jakub Voracek fares in the neck-and-neck race for the Art Ross Trophy. His 73 points tie John Tavares and Alex Ovechkin for second in the league, and they each trail Sidney Crosby by just a point. No Flyer in franchise history has claimed the Art Ross Trophy — can 'Scoracek' be the first?
Sure, the Flyers are en route to their second play0ff-less season in the span of three years — a stretch of mediocrity not seen since the Russ Farwell era. It may not seem like there's a whole lot to play for with eight games left — and believe me, there isn't too much — but there are still some storylines of interest, as the season begins to come to a close.
Rob Riches is a contributor to Flyerdelphia. Follow him on Twitter @Riches61
