Philadelphia Flyers Week Ahead: Schedule & Storylines – Kids Lead the Way, Playoff Outlook, and More – The Hockey Writers – Philadelphia Flyers

Before the Olympic break, the Philadelphia Flyers had sub-10% playoff odds, according to Hockey Stats’ model. After dropping 11 of 13 games at one point to fall well out of the running, things seemed bleak. But they’ve managed to turn it all around, occupying the third-place spot in the Metropolitan Division at the 11^th hour.

In this week-ahead piece, we look at how the kids are driving the success, the Flyers’ playoff odds, and the schedule that awaits them.

Flyers’ Youngsters Are Leading the Way

It almost feels like an eternity ago, considering how much has happened since then, but Porter Martone made his NHL debut last Tuesday. Despite being 19 years old and thrown into the fire a bit, his addition to the lineup was crucial. He and the other kids are driving the Flyers’ success.

Losing to the Washington Capitals and Detroit Red Wings to begin the week was tough, but thanks to favorable out-of-town scores and clutch wins against the New York Islanders and Boston Bruins, the Flyers are in a playoff spot.

The wins against the Islanders and Bruins were driven by three players in particular: Alex Bump, Porter Martone, and Matvei Michkov.

Against the Islanders, it was the Bump and Michkov show. After being a back-to-back healthy scratch, the former recorded a goal and an assist in what was statistically the most important game of the season. He worked his magic exclusively next to the latter, who recorded a goal and two assists in the 4–1 victory. Bump and Michkov were dominant at 5-on-5, putting up a 96.6% expected goal share in 6:35 (via Hockey Stats).

From the jump, it was evident that the Flyers’ only chance of beating the Bruins was through Martone. He made a terrific read to set up a 2-on-1 rush in the first period, leading to a goal. That was enough to force overtime, where he notched his first NHL goal on a 5-on-3 power play. That brought him up to three points in four career games—an impressive pace.

The Flyers’ veterans certainly did well in those games—namely, Travis Sanheim and the goalies. But the biggest difference-makers have been the kids. It’s encouraging.

Breaking Down the Flyers’ Playoff Odds

The Flyers’ most obvious path to make the playoffs is through maintaining the third-place spot in the Metropolitan Division. Fortunately, there’s reason to believe they can do it.

Related: 2 Takeaways From Flyers’ Massive 2–1 OT Win Over Bruins

With the New Jersey Devils being all but mathematically eliminated, there are three teams that are truly a threat to the Flyers right now: the Islanders, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Capitals.

To start this quick breakdown, it’s important to understand that the Flyers will all but certainly lose any tiebreaking scenario due to their lack of regulation wins. However, they have 90 points in 77 games and control their own destiny.

New York and Washington both have 78 games played, meaning they have ground to make up. Sitting on 87 points, the Capitals are in quite the predicament—they essentially have to be perfect. The Islanders, meanwhile, are closer, but things have spiraled so much that they fired head coach Patrick Roy. They have lost four regulation games in a row.

Since they have 77 games played, just like the Flyers, the Blue Jackets are the team to look out for. They have 88 points, so if they can get a win on Tuesday (at Red Wings) and the Flyers lose in regulation (at Devils), the third-place divisional spot would belong to Columbus. The Flyers, on the other hand, would at least momentarily be out of the playoff mix.

The odds favor the Orange and Black, however. Hockey Stats gives the Flyers a 60% chance of making the playoffs, whereas the Blue Jackets (23%), Islanders (21%), Capitals (7%), and Devils (<1%) fall well short. Entering the week, third place is the Flyers’ spot to lose.

Flyers Schedule April 6–12