Flyers Remain in Control of Their Own Destiny

By Jeff Quake, Sports Talk Philly staff writer 

After Thursday night’s vigorous 4-3 win over the Carolina Hurricanes, the Philadelphia Flyers are only one point away from securing a spot in the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The current clinching scenarios for Philadelphia are as follows.

If the Flyers gain one point in any fashion against the New York Rangers or the Florida Panthers fail to gain one point in either of their final two games, which are at home against the Buffalo Sabres and on the road the Boston Bruins, the Flyers are in.

Ultimately, it means the Flyers are in control of their own destiny when it comes to clinching a playoff spot.

The game against the Rangers on Saturday is vital, but if the Orange and Black want to absolutely secure a spot for more hockey in mid-April, it would be a good idea for head coach Dave Hakstol to put Travis Konecny back on the top line with Claude Giroux, who is now at the 99-point mark after a two-point performance in Thursday game, and Sean Couturier. Konecny still played well on the third line, as he was replaced by Michael Raffl on the first line against Carolina.

It would also help if Hakstol put Jordan Weal back in the lineup to replace Jori Lehtera due to speed and skill.

The other important question to ask is who will be in net? Brian Elliott made his return in net after missing 25 games due to surgery for a core muscle injury he suffered during a shootout victory against the Arizona Coyotes back in February. He didn’t play his best hockey but you have to start somewhere as he shook some of the rust off. "Moose" stopped 19 of 22 shots faced for an .864 save percentage on the night.

Despite that, the Flyers made their decision. Elliott took Friday's practice in the starter's net and was confirmed to be the netminder for Saturday.

"He’s a big reason why we have the opportunity to continue to be in control of our own destiny," Hakstol said of Elliott after Thursday's game. "Believe me, that is nothing against Petr Mrazek or Alex Lyon. Petr has done a hell of a job for us. He’s also a big reason why were in a situation where we continue to control our own destiny in terms of playoffs. At the end of the day, Moose is our number one guy and he was ready to go." 

Jake Voracek summarized the Flyers wild ride to the final game of the regular season pretty well after a game that mirrored the season.

"We had a lot of up and downs this year, and we never gave up," Voracek said. "So obviously I don’t think everyone expected us to get into the playoffs after we lost 10 games in November, but obviously we battled back and the game is in our hands on Saturday. We have a lot more experience and young players playing well so we should be good."

It all comes down to this — Game 82, against the New York Rangers. And if the Flyers win they are in the playoffs.

Sound familiar? It should.

Eight years ago, the Flyers defeated the Rangers, 2-1, in a shootout to propel themselves into the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and would eventually go all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals against Chicago.

If the Flyers clinch a playoff spot, it would be a great experience for some of the younger key players such as Shayne Gostisbehere, Ivan Provorov, Nolan Patrick, Travis Konecny, Travis Sanheim and Robert Hagg.

Overall, the Orange and Black should be greatly impressed with how they turned this season around and into what looks like it could be another year of playoff hockey in the City of Brotherly Love. It could, and it will with one more winning effort on Saturday.