Philadelphia Flyers moving into first place in Metropolitan Division seems unreal
By Dan Parzych
Thanks to Monday’s win over the Montreal Canadiens, the Philadelphia Flyers moved into first place all alone in the Metropolitan Division.
Ever since the Philadelphia Eagles pulled off their epic Super Bowl LII victory over the New England Patriots, the Philadelphia Flyers and Philadelphia 76ers seemed to have been playing with a little extra motivation by becoming two of the hottest teams in their respective leagues. In fact, not only do the Flyers have a 10-0-2 record since the Eagles pulled off the unimaginable by hoisting their first Lombardi Trophy in franchise history, but also the team pulled off a little magic of their own by taking over first place in the Metropolitan Division on Monday.
Thanks to Sean Couturier scoring the game-winning goal in a shootout on Monday that resulted in a 1-0 win over Montreal, Philadelphia moved into first place in the division, which nearly seemed impossible a few months ago. That’s right, the same Flyers that only won two of 13 games all of November, and seemed to be heading towards another season of missing out on the playoffs are all of a sudden in the driver’s seat in the Metropolitan Division, which is an amazing feeling.
Sure, the argument can be made there’s no reason to make a big deal at the point since Philadelphia only holds a one-point lead over the Washington Capitals at the moment. But when seeing how far this team over the last few months while getting hot at the right time after the Super Bowl, the Flyers have every reason in the world to be feeling confident at the moment as arguably the hottest team in the NHL.
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Now, the question becomes whether Philadelphia can carry this success over into the month of March to keep themselves in good shape when it comes to securing a spot in the playoffs come April. The Flyers still have a long way to go with plenty of hockey left, but when looking at how well this team has been playing over their last 12 games, this team has to like their chances of winning the division since the pressure of catching up to their rivals in the standings is officially off their shoulders. Not to mention, Philadelphia doesn’t seem to be slowing down any time soon, as nobody wants to face Dave Hakstol and company.