St. Louis Blues

Four teams remain with a chance to advance to the Stanley Cup Final: the Carolina Hurricanes, Boston Bruins, St. Louis Blues and San Jose Sharks/Colorado Avalanche. How we got here in Around the NHL.

Last week, it was already known that the President’s Trophy winners, the Tampa Bay Lightning, were eliminated, as were the Pittsburgh Penguins. Six other teams have joined, and many of them were near the top of the regular-season standings.

The Tampa Bay Lightning, a team that tied an NHL record with 62 wins in the regular season, were swept by the Columbus Blue Jackets in four games. The Pittsburgh Penguins, the Stanley Cup champions in 2016 and 2017, were also swept by the New York Islanders in four games.

In total, eight goals were scored in the first period between the two teams, including seven in the first 9:41 of the game, as the Flyers fell into a 5-2 deficit by the midpoint of the first period on the way to a 7-3 defeat to the Blues on Thursday night.

There are just two games left on the Flyers schedule, including one final game away from home which the Flyers will play on Thursday against the St. Louis Blues.

An updated look at the playoff race, Nikita Kucherov’s impressive MVP season, the new St. Louis Blues under Craig Berube and Jordan Binnington and Columbus’ struggles since the trade deadline.

Another coaching change, a big extension for Auston Matthews and some trades among the Metropolitan Division teams, all this week in Around the NHL.

In a battle between two of the NHL’s bottom five, the Flyers were the inferior team, making things rather easy for Jordan Binnington, the 25-year-old rookie making his first NHL start. The 3-0 loss to the St. Louis Blues was the team’s seventh straight, and just another step to a forgettable season.

The lifeless and sleepy Flyers were shut out by a rookie goalie making his first NHL start and fourth NHL appearance in a 3-0 defeat to the St. Louis Blues. It was the Flyers seventh straight loss.