Game 82 and the Flyers’ playoff hopes are in the balance against the Capitals.
VOORHEES, N.J. — The final game of the regular season will hold plenty of meaning for the Flyers.
But, other games matter, too, if the Flyers' rebuild wants to meet the playoffs. And John Tortorella's team didn't get any favors Monday night.
The Flyers host the Capitals on Tuesday in the regular-season finale for each club (7 p.m. ET/NBCSP). Two days ago, on a busy Saturday in the race, the Flyers learned they could not finish in third place of the Metropolitan Division. The Islanders ended up nailing down that spot Monday night with a 4-1 win over the Devils.
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The Flyers and three other teams are left battling for the Eastern Conference's second and final wild-card berth. Those three teams — the Capitals, Red Wings and Penguins — all played Monday night to catch up to the Flyers in games played.
After the results of those games, the Flyers trail the Capitals and Red Wings by two points and the Penguins by one.
The Capitals climbed to 89 points with a 2-0 blanking of the Bruins in regulation. The Red Wings also moved to 89 by rallying from a 4-2 third-period deficit to beat the Canadiens, 5-4, in overtime. And the Penguins went to 88 points, jumping the Flyers with a 4-2 win over the Predators.
At 87 points, the Flyers entered Monday with an 18 percent chance to make playoffs, according to MoneyPuck.com, and a 3.5 percent chance, per Hockey-Reference.com. Their odds will dip heading into Tuesday.
NHL
Here's the schedule over the next two days for the four remaining teams:
Tuesday
PHI vs. WSH — 7 p.m. ET
DET at MTL — 7 p.m. ET
Wednesday
PIT at NYI — 7 p.m. ET
There was scoreboard watching Monday night for the Flyers and that will continue Tuesday and possibly Wednesday.
"There are so many different scenarios and we still have tonight's games to play," Tortorella said Monday after practice. "People are going to fill me in on what's going on. I'm not going to be there on my phone. What happens, happens. I know how we're preparing for our game, so there's no sense of getting too locked into the other stuff. We need to take care of our stuff."
The Flyers must win in regulation and also get help in the other two games. Here's what the Flyers need in order to clinch the second wild-card spot.
Beat the Capitals in regulation
Even with Washington's win tonight, the Flyers can still pass the Capitals. But they must beat Washington in regulation. If that happens, the teams would be knotted in three tiebreakers — regulation wins (31), regulation/overtime wins (35) and overall wins (39).
So the tiebreaker would come down to points in the head-to-head regular-season series. The Flyers, with a regulation win, would edge the Capitals with four points compared to Washington's three.
If the Flyers win after regulation, the Capitals would still finish ahead of them with 90 points.
Red Wings can't get a point
Even if the Flyers win in regulation, they can't make the playoffs if Detroit wins or loses after regulation against the Canadiens.
The Flyers need the Red Wings to lose in regulation. At that point, they would both have 89 points and the Flyers would hold the tiebreaker in regulation wins.
Penguins can't get a point
If the Flyers win in regulation and Detroit loses in regulation, Wednesday's Penguins at Islanders game will decide the fate of Tortorella's club.
Pittsburgh would have to lose in regulation for the Flyers to clinch the second wild-card spot. If the Penguins earn a point with a loss after regulation, they'd hold the tiebreaker over the Flyers because of more regulation wins.
Update: Promise followed by drop-off, Flyers' 2023-24 season ends on final day
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