Flyers’ playoff-clinching scenarios and NHL standings with two games left to play
The Flyers can clinch a postseason berth with a win over the Hurricanes on Monday.
If the Flyers beat the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday, they’re in the playoffs.
The playoff clinching scenario can be that simple — but it’s not the only way the Flyers can get into their first postseason since 2019-20. They currently hold the third spot in the Metropolitan Division. Here’s a look at the latest standings and how the Flyers lock up a first-round playoff series against the Pittsburgh Penguins …
Eastern Conference standings
The Flyers are in third in the Metro — and that’s the only route they have to the playoffs. The wild card is not an option, because if the team records enough points to catch the Ottawa Senators for the second wild-card spot, it would also have earned enough points to secure the final Metro spot. In other words, if they fall out of the division race, they’d also fall out of the wild-card race.
The Flyers (94 points) are currently one point ahead of the Washington Capitals and two ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets, but have a game in hand on both those teams. The Capitals and Blue Jackets can at most finish with 95 and 94 points, respectively, and both hold the tiebreaker over the Flyers.
If the Flyers earn two or more points in their last two games
With two games left to play, two points in any fashion, whether it’s two overtime losses or one win, clinches the playoffs. That would put the Flyers at 96 points, one ahead of the maximum the Capitals or Blue Jackets can reach.
If the Flyers earn one point ...
If the Flyers earn just one point from an overtime loss across their last two games, they will be stuck scoreboard watching the Capitals-Blue Jackets regular-season finale. If the Capitals win, the Flyers are out. A Capitals loss in any fashion would earn the Flyers a playoff berth.
» READ MORE: Playoff-bound? Here are four reasons no team wants to face the Flyers in a first-round series.
If the Flyers earn no points ...
No points means the Flyers are out. Since the Capitals and Blue Jackets, the two remaining teams in the playoff chase in the Metro, play one another in their final regular season game, it ensures that at least one team will earn two more points.
Remaining Flyers schedule
The final two games are by no means easy wins. The Flyers will face Carolina on Monday and then the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday — both teams that have already clinched playoff berths.
That could work in their favor. The ‘Canes have been resting some of their players with the Metro Division clinched, but they’re still on a three game win streak. The Flyers are 0-4-4 against the Canes in their last eight, with the last win coming back on Nov. 15, 2023.
» READ MORE: Five things to know if you are just jumping aboard the Flyers’ playoff bandwagon
