The Flyers are keeping it loose before Tuesday’s potential playoff-decider vs. Washington
The Flyers didn't get any help scoreboard-watching on Monday night.
A big cheer rang out when a puck got past Ivan Fedotov. Tyson Foerster had a big smile on his face after another goal was scored, and Travis Konecny spiked the puck in from behind the net off the back of the 6-foot-7 goalie before receiving a couple of hugs.
With one game left — and a literal must-win coming up on Tuesday — the Flyers are loose. As coach John Tortorella said, succinctly: “They’re ready to play.”
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“It was good energy today,” center Morgan Frost said. “It’s fun to practice when you can practice like that and everyone’s cheering each other on. So I think a lot of that [can be attributed] to a lot of the rest that they’ve given us. You can see we have energy out there and I think you practice better that way.”
After winning consecutive games for the first time since the four in a row after the All-Star break, and despite recently losing eight straight, the Flyers are the epitome of Rocky — or Chumbawamba. They get knocked down but get up again ... and again ... and again. But will the end be Rocky or Rocky II?
Before they hit the ice on Monday, the Flyers may have had a general sense of where things stand. One thing they know right now, regardless of every scenario, is they need to beat the Washington Capitals on Tuesday at Wells Fargo Center (7 p.m. on NBCSP). Entering Monday’s games, it wasn’t not a win-and-they’re-in situation, like in 2010. But if they lose, their playoff hopes end, too.
No pressure, right? It’s why having good vibes at practice helps settle things down.
“I think that’s why you play the game, for games like this and the build-up of it and to have this chance, this opportunity,” center Scott Laughton said. “[We] had a couple of good games the last two and we need to follow it up. Have another strong performance of not letting teams get easy ones and making it hard on Washington.
“We’ll see what happens here, but yeah, it’s exciting. You get that little pit in your belly and you know it’s going to be a good one tomorrow.”
The Flyers enter the game with a 1-1-0 record against the Capitals. The win was a 4-3 shootout victory in mid-December where Bobby Brink scored the winner. On March 1, the Flyers lost 5-2 despite taking a 2-0 lead after the first 20. This is a different team almost six weeks later.
“We’ve obviously found our game a little bit more [lately],” defenseman Travis Sanheim said. “[We’re] playing well defensively, back to our structure, which we’re familiar with for most parts of the season. We’ve got to be confident going into [Tuesday’s] game. Obviously, another challenge and we’re looking forward to it.”
So what’s the scenario?
Well, here we go.
With Washington and Detroit both winning on Monday night, they both sit two points ahead of the Flyers at 89 points entering Tuesday’s action. Pittsburgh’s win over Nashville also saw them pass Philly by a point to move to 88. All four teams have one game remaining.
Here’s the breakdown after Monday’s games:
Since the Capitals beat Boston 2-0 on Monday night, the Flyers now have to beat Washington in regulation to have a chance at the postseason. If the Caps get a loser point, they would edge the Flyers by a solitary point.
Much to the Flyers’ chagrin, the Red Wings rallied from 4-1 down to earn a dramatic 5-4 overtime win over the Montreal Canadiens on Monday. The Wings play at Montreal on Tuesday and a point by them would eliminate the Flyers. The Flyers need Montreal to win in regulation — they would have the tiebreaker over Washington and Detroit if all three finish on 89 points (if the Flyers win Tuesday in regulation).
The Penguins’ 4-2 win over the Nashville Predators on Monday means the Flyers will be rooting for the New York Islanders to beat Pittsburgh in regulation on Wednesday. If the Pens get a point, the Flyers, despite being even on 89 points, would be eliminated by the non-shootout wins tiebreaker, as Pittsburgh would have one more such win in that scenario.
While the fans surely had their eyes glued to their TVs, social media, or the NHL app, the players did, too. As captain Sean Couturier said with a laugh: “What else am I going to do?”
Frost said he doesn’t watch too much hockey normally but would have NHL Network dialed on Monday night to see the Capitals game. Sanheim knows the Flyers’ playoff chances are a little out of the team’s control but he’ll be aware. Laughton, who says the focus will be on Tuesday’s game regardless, said he would be keeping an eye on the NHL App in between dinner and a movie for his wife’s birthday.
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As for the bench boss, he said he’ll need to know what the scenario is before the game but he’s not attached to his phone.
“People are going to fill me in on what’s going on. I’m not going to be there on my phone,” Tortorella said. “What happens, happens. I know how we’re preparing for our game, so there’s no sense of getting too locked into the other stuff. We need to take care of our stuff.”
Breakaways
It shouldn’t come as a surprise, but the forward lines and defensive pairings were the same in practice as in the past two games. ... Tortorella said following Saturday’s win that goalie Sam Ersson has “got one more.” So, expect Ersson to be in net for the finale.