The Flyers play 17 games in March. How about the rest of the division?
The Flyers start the month with three games in Pittsburgh, where they will stay all week. It's like a baseball trip with a hockey playoff schedule.
The Flyers generally play about 15 games in March, so the 17 they have this season aren’t that much of a stretch. But they have games in hand with the three teams ahead of them in the East Division standings, and with talk of allowing fans back into arenas, there’s some home-ice advantage jockeying to be done by the time the playoffs start in May.
Here’s what’s cooking for the next four-plus weeks:
March 2, 4, 6: at Pittsburgh. March 7: Washington. March 9: Buffalo.
March 11, 13: Washington. March 15, 17: at N.Y. Rangers.
March 18, 20: at N.Y. Islanders. March 22: N.Y. Islanders.
March 23: New Jersey. March 25, 27: N.Y. Rangers. March 29, 31: at Buffalo.
East Division
The Flyers are in fourth place in the East but have the top points percentage. They will play every team in the division in March except for Boston, which is good news considering the Bruins are responsible for five of the Flyers’ seven losses this season (0-3-2).
March on Washington
The Flyers are three points back of Washington, but with three games in hand and three head-to-head meetings upcoming. Barring any further disruptions to the schedule, by the end of the month, they will have played the same amount of games as the Capitals. Here’s a look at the month ahead:
» READ MORE: Finally healthy, Flyers trying to open some distance against Penguins in tight East race
From the notebook
Washington has won three in a row and six of eight (6-1-1). Goaltender Ilya Samsonov returned on Sunday after missing nearly six weeks with COVID-19.
Boston is in a 3-for-22 slump on the power play. The Bruins are 8-for-16 against the Flyers (50%), 7-for-40 (17.5%) against everyone else.
N.Y. Islanders: Only team in the NHL without a regulation loss at home (7-0-2). The Flyers play up there March 18 and 20.
Flyers: With Travis Konecny set to return to the lineup, the question is where will he play. Is Nolan Patrick headed for the fourth line?
Pittsburgh: The Penguins are 7-1-0 at home, where they play 12 of their 16 games this month. The next three are against the visiting Flyers (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday).
N.Y. Rangers are 1-2-0 without Artemi Panarin, who remains on an indefinite leave of absence.
New Jersey: First-year captain Nico Hischier did not play in Sunday’s loss at Washington after taking a puck to the face shield the night before. He missed Jersey’s first 11 games with a broken fibula and then COVID-19 quarantine.
Buffalo: The wheels are coming off for the Sabres, who are 2-6-1 since returning from a two-week COVID-19 disruption.
» READ MORE: ‘It definitely takes a [mental] toll on you’: A look back at the Flyers’ COVID-19 shutdown