Make no mistake about it, after achieving what they set out to do, the Flyers 2-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Sunday definitely has them in the playoff race. After the win, they are five points out of a playoff spot with 26 games to play.
If only the action – or lack thereof – on the ice proved it.
The Flyers did manage the necessary victory on Sunday and closed the gap in the playoff race, only making the three points lost in overtime over the previous four games harder to digest. At the same time, this was the result of playing the worst team in the NHL.
When the Flyers faced the Sabres on Jan. 17, that too required a third-period push to ultimately get the desired result. It shouldn't have been as difficult as it was. The Flyers can hang their hats on the fact that they held on for the two points that absolutely had to be had – playoff implications or not. But the challenge posed by the lowly Sabres is enough to quell the playoff chatter.
The Flyers second period effort may have been one of their worst of the season. When you factor in the opponent, it makes the outlook even worse.
Still, the Flyers did finish the task at hand in the third, but there were times where it looked like they were heading for another point lost.
"We talked about it. We let a couple points slide in overtime the last few games," Ray Emery said. "With the win tonight, it's a pretty good road trip for us. We got it done when we needed to."
"We knew we have to find a way to win," Michael Raffl said. "It doesn't matter what the score is. I think we did play pretty well in the third period."
Raffl's goal at 12:45 of the third proved to be the difference. It was an unlikely goal for the Flyers, as Raffl beat Michal Neuvirth on a wrap-around attempt.
"I think [Michael Del Zotto] did a good job keeping the play alive, pinching down and [Ryan White] got me the puck behind the net. I think their goalie didn't know what was going on. I just tried to jam it at the net and it went in."
Defensively, the Flyers played a solid game. The Sabres chances were limited in the first period and their only goal came on a 5-on-3 power play. It wasn't until the late stages of the third period that Buffalo started to get chances for a second goal in an attempt to tie the game. Emery served as the team's top player again in those moments.
"It's just a battle," Emery said. "You're working in there, trying to find pucks. You just try to stay patient."
One collective positive of the Flyers play recently is their nine-game points streak. While the Flyers have gone 6-0-3 in that time and haven't gained much ground in the standings, they are consistently getting points. In today's era of hockey, any points streak of that length is significant – playoff implications or not.
"We knew it was going to be a process," Claude Giroux said. "I think we kind of relaxed and played the game and have fun doing it. I think we're playing a good team game right now."
"Overall, hockey's been pretty good," head coach Craig Berube said. "We're getting real contributions from everybody, goaltending's been solid, just all-around game has been pretty solid."
The Flyers remain long shots in their bid for the playoffs, especially given their play on the ice. However, the players remain upbeat about making a playoff push as the Flyers schedule shifts to home ice.
"We've believed all along, we just have to keep going," Wayne Simmonds said. "That game's over now. We've got to put that behind us. We've got a big homestand here and we've been playing well at home all year. We've got to put our heads down and keep going forward."
"We need to find ways to win," Raffl said. "We start with one and we keep going game-to-game and see what happens."
The quest continues on Tuesday against the Blue Jackets before the Flyers face the same Sabres team on Thursday night. Then the grind is really on as the schedule gets significantly tougher in the final six weeks of the season.
Kevin Durso is managing editor for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on Twitter @Kevin_Durso.
