(Kate Frese/Sports Talk Philly)
By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 
For many of the Flyers junior prospects, the playoffs are either over or hanging by a thread. But for the two top minor leagues of hockey, the playoffs are just around the corner.
The Phantoms are poised to clinch a playoff spot this week while the Royals start their Kelly Cup Playoffs run this week.
AHL
Just three games remain in the Lehigh Valley Phantoms season and the playoffs are well within reach. Just one point in the standings in the final three games locks up a playoff spot, giving the Phantoms their first playoff appearance in seven years.
Last week, the Phantoms suffered an overtime loss to Hershey on Wednesday and were shut out by Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for the third straight time, but responded with a win over Springfield on Saturday to reduce their magic number to one.
Recaps of those games, courtesy of our Phantoms beat writer Tommy Hendricks, are available below.
Wed. vs. Hershey
Fri. vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton
Sat. at Springfield
The Phantoms face Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on the road on Wednesday, play their regular-season home finale on Friday against Providence and close out the regular season on Saturday against Binghamton.
ECHL
It was a successful weekend for the playoff-bound Reading Royals, who swept out the final weekend of the season with three wins over Norfolk.
The Royals finished the season with a 41-25-3 record, good for second in the North Division. They will face the Brampton Beast in a first-round playoff series that starts on Thursday night.
Juniors/College
Merrick Madsen – The Flyers prospect goalie played admirably in the Frozen Four, making 36 saves on 38 shots in the National Semi-final on Thursday. But a late goal by Minnesota-Duluth’s Alex Iafallo with 27 seconds left sealed Harvard’s fate in the 2-1 loss that ended their season.
Madsen finished the season with a 28-6-2 record and a 2.11 GAA.
Carter Hart – The Everett Silvertips and Carter Hart are not off to a great start in their second-round series against Seattle. Hart and Everett suffered losses in the first two games of the series. Hart made 30 saves on 33 shots in Game 1 and just 11 saves on 15 shots in Game 2.
Felix Sandstrom – It’s been a tough series for Sandstrom with Brynas IF. Brynas trails the series, 3-2, after a 4-0 Game 5 loss to Frolunda. Sandstrom made 23 saves on 27 shots in the Game 5 loss.
Earlier in the series, Sandstrom suffered losses in Games 2 and 3, before making 17 saves on 20 shots in a Game 4 win.
Oskar Lindblom – It’s also been a tough series for Oskar Lindblom, at least in terms of points. In the five games against Frolunda, Lindblom has three points, all assists. But the forward has consistently the best forward for Brynas and continues to be a standout despite the lack of points. Brynas plays in Game 6 on Thursday with their season on the line.
Philippe Myers – The Flyers prospect defenseman has one assist through two games in Rouyn-Noranda’s series against Chicoutimi. The series is tied at one with Game 3 coming on Tuesday night.
German Rubtsov – The Flyers 2016 first-round pick is done for the season. Rubtsov had successful surgery on a fractured hand, ending his season. His QMJHL team, Chicoutimi, is tied at one game apiece with Rouyn-Noranda in a second-round playoff series.
