Flyers Close, but Precarious. Inside the Wild 3 Day Sprint That Will Decide the East Playoff Race

The East Will Be Over in 72 Hours

My hope you’re in this article will be to make it as easy as possible to understand this crazy playoff race that’s going on in the east right now. But where every single game now directly eliminates someone.  We’ve got five days left in the NHL season…But the truth?  This thing will be decided in the next three.

Where It Stands (The One Thing That Matters)

The Philadelphia Flyers sit at 94 points.

They we’re very impressive last night in Winnipeg to push themselves to 94 points.  And you’d love to think that’s enough to get them into the playoffs… but unfortunately for them, it’s probably not.  Cause here’s the catch—and it’s a massive one: They lose every tiebreaker.

So for Philly, 94 isn’t a cushion…its really now a target fro everyone else..

But the Flyers are in control.  Win and in… not easy…

The Chasers (All With 2 Games Left)

• Columbus Blue Jackets — 92 points
• Washington Capitals — 91 points
• New York Islanders — 91 points

Because of tiebreakers…. If any of these teams reach 94…they pass the Flyers.

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TODAY: Two Games…Everything Moves

• New York Islanders must win (or at least get 3 of 4 possible points total)
• Montreal Canadiens are fighting for playoff seeding

This is desperation vs motivation. Montreal wants home ice vs Tampa or Buffalo..The Islanders want to live another day.  The Canadiens are 8-2 in their last ten and they are clicking,,,  That’s a dangerous mix.

• Washington Capitals are really coming together as a team at the right point and they are starting to look incredibly dangerous
• Pittsburgh Penguins are resting stars

And hanging over all of it?    It’s hard to imagine that the playoff race might actually be the subplot of this game, but the actual real plot of this game is the future of Alexander Ovechkin.  

Is this his last game as a Washington Capitol in Washington? 

 If they don’t make the playoffs, it could be.   He’s been I think very classy and not announcing what he’s gonna do…. 

And also looking around at what the Capitals have in their youth movement is coming through…. if I was him, I might want to stick around another year.. 

Tickets are insane. The building will be shaking…

They jump to 93 points. And suddenly… They’re one point behind Philly.

MONDAY: The Flyers’ Moment

Philadelphia Flyers vs Carolina Hurricanes. This is it.  A regulation win puts Philly at 96 points.

• Islanders can’t catch them
• Capitals can’t catch them.
• Columbus  would need to beat the Bruins on Monday to stay alive.

Two teams eliminated instantly.

Is the Montréal Canadiens lose today to the New York Islanders, then Tampa, with Wind here would land Montreal in third place in the division.  Why is this important?  Because on Tuesday the Flyers play the Montréal Canadiens and if Montreal is already locked into third they rest players ….otherwise they’re all in…

If the Flyers lose outright, Then this race goes nuclear.

TUESDAY: The Day That Decides Everything

This is where it all converges…

• Washington Capitals
• Columbus Blue Jackets

Both chasing the same spot.  Winner stays alive.Loser is likely done.

The isles are in a tough spot here because the capitals and blue jackets play each other.  

Therefore the Isles could be eliminated already if these teams both those teams win Game 81.

• Philadelphia Flyers
• Montreal Canadiens

And here’s the twist… Montreal might still be fighting for seeding…Or they might have nothing to play for…

• A playoff-level battle
  or
• A massive opportunity for Philly

This is a great deal of fun if your team isn’t involved.   It’s kind of awful if your team is but at the same time a lot of these teams haven’t played for a playoff race for a while so it’s fun to watch them and their fan bases engaged…. To me Columbus and the Islanders have been too inconsistent and they have had too many chances to take this and they haven’t.  The Flyers had an unbelievable run to get here and were considered very much eliminated  just a month ago.   The Capitals have been back-and-forth on this wagon, but the reality is they also are very inconsistent… the loss to the Rangers the other night would’ve made this whole playoff race much different.

• Flyers control their fate…barely
• Capitals are surging at the perfect time..and get a schedule break with Pitt.
• Islanders are hanging by a thread
• Blue Jackets are lurking with just enough room

And because of the tiebreakers?

94 points might not be enough.

TODAY’S UPDATED BUZZTRON STATS:

LAST 235 GAMES: (64 % OF THE TIME CORRECT)  

149  CORRECTLY PICKED WINNERS

PERCENTAGE WINNING NIGHTS

Nights with more winners than losers: 25-6-2   

848 winning percentage BY NIGHT.