How bad is it for Flyers?
Daily News Flyers blog
How bad is it for Flyers?
OTTAWA -- So, just how bad is it for the Flyers?
Exactly one week ago, after their all-important victory over Pittsburgh at the Consol Energy Center, the Flyers were in the driver’s seat and appeared destined to clinch the top seed in the Eastern Conference.
They moved to three points up on second place Washington. They were a full four points ahead of Pittsburgh in the Atlantic divsion. And with just five games to play, they had one game in-hand on each team.
Their magic number to close out Washington was just 7 points. For Pittsburgh, it was down to 3 points.
Since then, the Flyers passed on two opportunities to eliminate both New Jersey and Atlanta from playoff contention - allowing other teams to do the dirty work for them - and also two chances to clinch their first Atlantic division title since 2004.
Guess what?
The Flyers have lost 13 of their last 19 games. The magic number in the Atlantic division is still at 3 points.
And the Flyers’ probability to win the Eastern Conference has plummeted from 88 percent last Wednesday to just 12 percent today.
They now have a 47 percent chance to pick up the second seed. More alarmingly, they now have a 28 percent chance to lose the Atlantic and finish in fourth place, since the NHL seeds division leaders, which would setup a date with Tampa Bay in the first round.
Washington’s magic number to close out the Flyers is now down to 3 points, which means the Flyers would likely need to win both of their remaining games against Buffalo and the Islanders to have a shot at the No. 1 seed.
All of which is the long way of saying that the Flyers are in the middle of an epic collapse. The fear of every Flyers fan for the past month has been validated. They need to stop praying for the playoffs to get here. It could be a quicker exit than they’ve been banking on.
For the latest updates, follow Frank Seravalli on Twitter: @DNFlyers
Get exclusive videos and analysis in our new app for iPhone and Android. Download it here.
One and done.— crkreg- free fallin— SyddBarrett
Comment removed.- Where are all the worshipers now??— ed_m
- That's what happens when you build a team that is only made for the regular season. No grit...No toughness. They are purely finesse.— RDiddy2580
- So shouldn't the Flyers be coasting along and then lose in the first round like Washington did last year? — logicandreason
- House cleaning in the off-season, starting with the Petulant Captain. They can't take the "C" away - as they should - so trading him will be the necessary wake-up call that the team needs. He is the team's 3rd team center after all. Really now... how many fans really like this guy? The guy is always miserable. McNab Light, he is no leader. Trading him will restock the shelves and bring in some veteran leadership that Pronger and O'Donnell need help providing. Just look at what Rechi has brought to Boston.— PhilaSota
- Im thinking that they are forgetting its baseball season....They can become irrelevent in a week...heck its almost irrelevent now!
Other teams have fire... Flyers of today are all finesse when they should be banging.... Ottowa? Ottowa?
— Prausch - Embarrassing & frustrating. They are becoming a joke. Teams in 6th, 7th and 8th are trying to finish in a matchup with them in the first round.— Flyers37
- The coach has lost the team. The captain can't do anything about it. Unacceptable.— shawnmac
- Only thing missing is Gene Mauch.— Mr. Baseball
- UH-OH!— wmcdowell1
Luckily this year we won't have to rely on winning a shootout to get into the playoffs.— ej610- I keep hoping that Laviolette walks off the bench with his coaching staff in the middle of a game to show these lazy players that if they don't care why should the coaches. Absolute leadership void on this team. I'll be surprised if the Flyers can push the first round series to 5 games. I'm expecting a sweep by whoever they play. Epic collapse.
- Im frustrated and annoyed at this team, but im not jumping ship and giving up on this team yet— fig
