Kevin Durso

Two Flyers prospects advanced to the Memorial Cup. Matthew Strome and the Hamilton Bulldogs are representing the OHL. German Rubtsov and the Acadie-Bathurst Titan are representing the QMJHL. For Morgan Frost, the season came to an end.

Up 3-1 in the series entering Game 5 on Saturday night, the Phantoms put the finishing touches on the Charlotte Checkers, winning the game, 5-1, and claiming the series, 4-1.

Round 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs came to a close with the Vegas Golden Knights, Tampa Bay Lightning, Washington Capitals and Winnipeg Jets advancing to the Conference Finals.

Alex Krushelnyski ended the longest game in AHL history, scoring at 6:48 of the fifth overtime to give the Lehigh Valley Phantoms a 2-1 win and a 3-1 series lead on the Charlotte Checkers. Alex Lyon made 94 saves on 95 shots, coming four saves short of an AHL record in the win.

Despite getting outshot, 35-20, the Phantoms rolled to a 5-1 win in Game 3 in Charlotte to take a 2-1 series lead.

It was just one of those games where everything that could go wrong, did go wrong, as the Lehigh Valley Phantoms dropped Game 2 to the Charlotte Checkers, 6-0, at PPL Center on Saturday night.

The Phantoms got a 2-1 Game 1 win over the Charlotte Checkers on a late power-play goal by Greg Carey, but the win came at a cost as Travis Sanheim was helped off the ice after a late knee-on-knee collision.

The Flyers have signed forward David Kase to an entry-level deal, GM Ron Hextall announced on Friday.

There are certainly varying opinions of the Flyers captain across the spectrum of the league. Even after posting the best season of his career at age 30, making the switch to the wing and essentially carrying the Flyers into the playoffs down the stretch, Giroux’s legacy remains cloudy.

While this is an offseason where the Flyers will have some cap flexibility and be able to push forward in their building process, much of what is already part of the roster has been built through the draft. That will not change this season either, now that the Flyers have two picks and the potential to strike big again at the 2018 Draft.

Four Flyers prospects have advanced to the finals in their respective leagues in the CHL, putting them on the cusp of playing for the Memorial Cup.

Maxim Lamarche scored the game-winning goal with 1:24 left in overtime, giving the Phantoms a 4-3 win and sending them to the second round of the Calder Cup Playoffs with a 3-1 series win.

The draft lottery was held on Saturday night, and the Blues, who had the second longest odds to get a lottery pick, did not get one of the top three spots in the draft, meaning the Flyers will retain the pick at 14th overall. The Flyers hold the 19th overall pick from their result this season.

In an offseason where the Flyers are coming off another year without advancing in the playoffs, there is the sense that after six years of being defined by being a one-and-done team or not making the postseason altogether, the Flyers has become indifferent to the results. GM Ron Hextall spoke to the media on Thursday and focused on the continuation of the Flyers process to becoming a contender.

The offseason may be four days old, but Dave Hakstol is still feeling the effects of Sunday’s Game 6 loss to the Penguins that ended the season for the Flyers. Clearly, the coach thinks the Flyers should still be playing.

For several teams who have been waiting since finishing off their series, the second round is set to begin as soon as Thursday night. In this week’s trip Around the NHL, we look at who has advanced and the four series on tap in the second round.

The Flyers held their breakup day on Wednesday with exit interviews with both management and the media for several players. Here are a few of the noteworthy things to come out of breakup day.

The Flyers made the playoffs this season, against all odds based on the path the season took. That said, this offseason doesn’t get any easier for the Flyers as the build-up to next season begins. Next season could prove to be a make or break season for several key figures, most notably the GM and head coach.

Flyers forward Wayne Simmonds is one of three finalists for the Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award.

Despite what the standings showed, which was a third-place finish in the Metropolitan Division, the Flyers are not a team ready to run with the league’s elite team. Not even close by the Penguins standards. With the season and a rather one-sided playoff series in the books, time for some evaluation from the Flyers at all levels.

There will certainly be a lot of things to look at moving forward for the Flyers now that the 2017-18 season has come to a close. For starters, here’s a look back at Sunday’s game and the series as a whole.

The Penguins got the game tied by the end of the second period, as Jake Guentzel scored the tying goal with 54 seconds left. In the third, Guentzel scored three more goals, giving the Penguins a 8-5 win over the Flyers in Game 6 and bringing the Flyers season to an end.

The Flyers returned to Pittsburgh down 3-1 in the series and found a way to beat the Penguins and get the series back to Philadelphia. That sets the stage for Game 6 at Wells Fargo Center on Sunday.

A hot start set the Bruins off to a first-period lead. The Phantoms rallied back to tie the game going to the third before ultimately dropping Game 2, 5-3, at Providence, evening the series at one game apiece.

Danick Martel scored two goals, while Alex Lyon backstopped the Phantoms to a 3-2 win over the Bruins in Game 1 to take a 1-0 lead in the series.

It turned out that the biggest lineup addition was a leading player gutting it out. Sean Couturier missed Game 4 and was a lingering question mark for Game 5. Not only did he play, he scored the biggest goal of the season for the Orange and Black.

Sean Couturier scored with 1:15 left in the third period to give the Flyers the lead in a 4-2 win over the Penguins on Friday night in Game 5, sending the series back to Philadelphia for Game 6 on Sunday.

It’s a tall task to try to beat the defending back-to-back Stanley Cup champions in three straight games, but all the Flyers can do is focus on Friday and deliver a better effort. That, of course, is easier said than done when the powerhouse Penguins are playing in their home building with a chance to advance on the line.

The end of the season is now in sight and the Flyers possible final act in front of the Wells Fargo Center crowd was another embarrassing showing with no effort.