No, Mr. Coburn has not suffered another puck to the eye, but it’s just about that time of year once again. I can promise you though that he wants his team to be in the best possible position when next weekend is over and done with. In order for that to happen the Flyers can either win out or get some help. They haven’t technically clinched the playoffs yet, but that is just a formality. I will show you why.
Below you will find the current standing records of the 4th place Flyers and the 9th place Panthers who are just now coming off of a 4-2 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins. As of right now the Panthers are the only team in the NHL that could technically end our playoff dreams. The odds of that happening though are about the same odds as Jeff Carter putting in 49 more goals in his last 4 games to pass Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record of 92 goals in a season.
Flyers
78 GP : 42-25-11 : 95 Points
GF/GA : +26
Panthers:
79 GP : 39-29-11 : 89 Points
GF/GA : 0
The max amount of points the Panthers can get is 95 so if the Flyers do not get another point in the next four games it would go to a tie. When it comes to standings in the NHL there are four different tiebreakers: 1) Points percentage, but it wouldn’t matter if both teams have played the same amount of games. 2) The greater number of wins, but the max amount wins that the Panthers can get is the same amount we already have. 3) Season series, and the Panthers are 2-0-1 against us while we are unfortunately 1-2-0 against them. 4) The differential between goals forced and goals against.
So if it came down to a tie the Panthers get the tiebreaker with a better season series. However the Flyers play the Panthers Tuesday, and getting even a point there would seal the deal. The Flyers would technically be in the playoffs no matter what happens for the rest of the season. Should the Flyers somehow blow another game Tuesday then they have ample opportunity to get a point with two games against the Rangers and one against the Islanders to close out the season.
But just making the playoffs is not what we want. The Flyers in essence want to keep 4th place and even jump into 3rd if possible. If by some stretch of the imagination Philadelphia wins out the last 4 games and New Jersey loses their 3 games, then the Flyers would jump into 3rd place. That doesn’t help us much though if we have to play the wrong team.
So here are the rules:
- Cheer for the Flyers no matter what.
- Cheer for the Hurricanes no matter what.
- Cheer against the Penguins and Rangers no matter what.
- Cheer for the Canadiens only against the Penguins next Saturday.
- Depending on current standings as of next Saturday you will have to either cheer for the Devils or the Hurricanes when they meet for the final game of the season for both teams.
No other teams really matter all that much. The goal: to get home-ice advantage against the Carolina Hurricanes.
