There were three Game 6 tilts on Sunday and each one ended with a handshake. The first of the day, the Flyers 1-0 shutout loss to the Capitals in Game 6, officially ended their season. The last one, a 2-1 double-overtime win for the New York Islanders, was their first series win in 23 years.
That goes back to April of 1993, when the Islanders claimed advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals with a Game 7 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. They would fall to the Montreal Canadiens in five games, starting a 23-year drought.
In that time, the Flyers have won 18 playoff series, made five trips to the Eastern Conference Finals and two Stanley Cup Final appearances.
Here is a breakdown of the results.
- Total Series played since 1993 Stanley Cup Playoffs: Islanders 10, Flyers 36
- Series Records: Islanders (3-7), Flyers (18-18)
- Eastern Conference Finals Appearances: Islanders 1, Flyers 5
- Stanley Cup Final Appearances: Islanders 0, Flyers 2
The Islanders season continues as they get to face the Tampa Bay Lightning in the second round of the playoffs, but a series win for them has been a long time coming.
The Flyers, by virtue of dropping Game 6 and the series against the Capitals, have now gone four seasons without a playoff series win, their last coming over the Penguins in 2012.
To put that in perspective, however, the Flyers have missed the playoffs just four times since 1993 over the 23-year period the Islanders did not win a playoff series. The Islanders missed the playoffs 14 times in the 23-year drought, including playoff appearance droughts of seven years — from 1995 to 2001 — and five years — from 2008 to 2012.
The Flyers have not missed the playoffs in consecutive seasons since a five-year drought from 1990 to 1994.
The Flyers will return for their 50th season in 2016-17, looking to build on the franchise history that has experience quite a bit of playoff success. It may not feel like it one day after seeing the season end in defeat once again, but the Flyers have been one of the most consistent franchises in the NHL when it comes to making the playoffs and making playoff runs. A look at the Islanders 23-year drought wholeheartedly proves that.
Kevin Durso is managing editor for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on Twitter @Kevin_Durso.
