Philly Front Office

Standings updated through the games of April 13

UPDATE 2: THE FLYERS HAVE COME ALL THE WAY BACK AND CLINCHED THE PLAYOFFS!!!

UPDATE: The Bruins and Senators have clinched the two wildcard spots and the Red Wings and Islanders have been eliminated. The Penguins have clinched the 2nd Metro spot. There is now 1 playoff spot left for 3 teams.

I figured it was time to update the ol’ Flyers Playoff Countdown since things have changed a bit over the last two weeks. We are in the final week-ish of the regular season, for the most part, and have 4 teams vying for 1 spot 6 teams vying for only 2 spots. The “for the most part” part is that the unlucky teams in the Atlantic Division (Ottawa Senators and Detroit Red Wings) only have one spot open while the Flyers and the other teams in the Metro Division (New York Islanders, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Washington Capitals) have both spots to shoot for.

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Playoff Picture

For the uninitiated, the NHL playoff format takes the top three teams from each division in each conference then the next two teams with the highest point total for eight teams total per conference. The Tampa Bay Lightning, Buffalo Sabres, and Montreal Canadiens will represent the top 3 from the Atlantic Division while the Carolina Hurricanes will win the Metro Division followed by the Penguins in 2nd. The Boston Bruins and Ottawa Senators will get the wild cards. Currently, the Flyers hold the final Metro birth with 96 points.

Clinching Scenarios:

The Flyers controlled their own destiny. Controlled it right to the playoffs.

The Flyers both control their own destiny and have no fallback options. One win over the Hurricanes or Canadians OR overtime losses to both the Hurricanes and Canadians get them to the playoffs. However, since the Blue Jackets and Capitals play each other on Tuesday and the Flyers lose all tiebreakers, either or both of those teams could finish with 94 points with the Capitals topping out at 95.

Here are the schedules and playoff odds for the final 3 teams vying for the last playoff spot:

WC2 – Ottawa Senators (A) – 97 Points – 100% Chance of Playoffs

• Win vs Tampa Bay Lightning – 4/7
• Win vs Florida Panthers – 4/9
• Win at New York Islanders – 4/11
• OTL at New Jersey Devils – 4/12
• vs Toronto Maple Leafs – 4/15

M3 – Philadelphia Flyers (M) – 94 Points – 100% Chance of Playoffs

• Win at New Jersey Devils – 4/7
• Loss at Detroit Red Wings 4/9
• Win at Winnipeg Jets – 4/11
• Win vs Carolina Hurricanes – 4/13
• vs Montreal Canadiens 4/14

Washington Capitals (M) – 93 Points – 0% Chance of Playoffs

• Win at Toronto Maple Leafs – 4/8
• Win at Pittsburgh Penguins – 4/11
• Win vs Pittsburgh Penguins – 4/12
• at Columbus Blue Jackets – 4/14

Columbus Blue Jackets (M) – 92 Points – 0% Chance of Playoffs

• Win at Detroit Red Wings – 4/7
• Loss at Buffalo Sabres 4/9
• Win at Montreal Canadiens – 4/11
• Loss vs Boston Bruins – 4/12
• vs Washington Capitals – 4/14

E – New York Islanders (M) – 91 Points – 0% Chance of Playoffs

• Win vs Toronto Maple Leafs – 4/9
• Loss vs Ottawa Senators – 4/11
• Loss vs Montreal Canadiens – 4/12
• vs Carolina Hurricanes – 4/14

E – Detroit Red Wings (A) – 91 Points – 0% Chance of Playoffs

• OTL vs Columbus Blue Jackets – 4/7
• Win vs Philadelphia Flyers – 4/9
• Loss vs New Jersey Devils – 4/11
• at Tampa Bay Lightning – 4/13
• at Florida Panthers – 4/15

Playoff Odds: Moneypuck.com

Photo: Kyle Ross / Imagn Images