Flyers playoff picture: Updated standings and wild-card chances

So you’re saying there’s a chance ...

The Flyers enter the final week of the regular season squarely in the mix to land their first playoff berth in six seasons.

The last time the Flyers made the playoffs was during the 2019-20 season, where, in the COVID bubble in Toronto, they eventually lost in the second round to the New York Islanders. The Flyers haven’t hosted a playoff game in Philly since the 2017-18 season.

Things looked bleak a few months ago, when the Flyers lost 12 of 15 games heading into the Olympic break. But the team put together a solid string of wins since then, including Saturday night’s blowout of the Winnipeg Jets.

Entering Monday night’s matchup against the Carolina Hurricanes, the Flyers have an 80.5% chance to make the postseason, according to Money Puck, up from 22% just two weeks ago.

One path remains for Philly to end their postseason drought. Here’s what the Flyers’ playoff picture currently looks like:

The top three teams in the Metropolitan Division by points will secure playoff spots.

The Flyers enter Monday in third place, one point up on the Washington Capitals and two on the Columbus Blue Jackets, who lost Sunday.

That means a win by the Flyers Monday night would clinch a playoff spot.

A loss and everything would come down to Tuesday night’s matchup against the Montreal Canadiens in South Philly, while the Capitals and Blue Jackets also face off.

Outside of the top three teams in the Metropolitan and Atlantic divisions, the top two remaining teams in the Eastern Conference will secure wild-card spots in the playoffs.

If the Flyers drop out of a divisional playoff spot, they would currently miss the playoffs, as the Ottawa Senators have already clinched the final wild-card spot.

The Flyers will almost certainly need to land a playoff spot outright, as they are unlikely to win any tiebreaker.

Regulation wins are the NHL’s first playoff tiebreaker, and the Flyers have by far the fewest among the teams they’re competing with for a postseason spot.

Here are the NHL’s tiebreakers if two or more clubs are tied in points when the regular season ends:

Technically, the first tiebreaker is fewer number of games played, leading to a better points percentage. But since all NHL teams are scheduled to play 82 games, this is mainly used in-season to determine standings.