Flyers: Stanley Cup Playoffs, round robin await…now what?
I have no idea what to expect from the Philadelphia Flyers once the NHL resumes.
When the National Hockey League made an announcement about resuming the 2019-20 season that surprised no one, it created some certainty for the Philadelphia Flyers, while also inviting even more questions. We all knew that the league’s 24-team playoff format was going to include a “bye” for the Flyers, but the question of seeding and format remains undecided. Simply put, once the Flyers start the “playoffs”, they could be facing the Penguins or the Canadiens. Or the Rangers. Or the Hurricanes. Or just about every team aside from the Atlanta Thrashers. Man, this is wild.
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I wrote previously about how the pessimistic fan (me, usually) might see these playoffs as a potential no-win scenario. But now that we have concrete steps toward a conclusion to the season, excitement will start to build. Maybe, somehow, the 2020 Stanley Cup will end up feeling like it’s on the same level as any other year. For the Flyers, though, the obstacles will be many.
Let’s start with the round robin tournament that will supposedly be used to determine seeding. The Flyers will play games against the other East teams with a bye – Boston, Tampa Bay, and Washington –with the results determining seeding. Does it even matter, though? Who cares if you’re the #1 seed or the #4 seed when there won’t be any true home ice advantage? The games won’t be in your building, and the stands will be empty.
I’d have to say that the main purpose of these three glorified exhibition games will simply be to help everyone get some semblance of pace and timing back while trying to avoid any injuries. Yes, it’d be nice to win at least one of these tilts, but don’t expect to see maximum effort from anyone. The problem then becomes whether or not the Flyers can ramp up their intensity for whichever team advances to play them, and I think this could put them at a big disadvantage.
Whether it’s the Penguins or some other club, someone will have to play meaningful games to advance, and they’ll come in with a playoff mentality that the Flyers will have to quickly try and capture. Fail to do so, and this could be over in the blink of an eye. I believe that the Flyers are well-equipped to win a series against almost every Eastern Conference team, all things being equal. But in this case, “equal” just isn’t possible. This will be a big test.
Even though the supposed start of these playoffs is probably STILL two months away, the league’s formal announcement is enough to generate a kernel of excitement among hockey fans in general and Flyers fans specifically. Hopefully we can build on it day by day until the games finally arrive, until it reaches an intensity level that is at least a reasonable facsimile of what a “normal” NHL postseason would bring.
Next. Flyers 2019-20 regular season team grades. dark
The Flyers and their fans have as good a reason as anyone to get jacked up about this, but I’m still not convinced about how “official” this thing is going to feel. Maybe check back in with me in a few months after we’ve seen how far the Flyers end up going. Still, on a base level, it’s probably for the best that this impressive Flyers team will at least get a shot to build on the regular season they were having. It’s not ideal, but it’s what we’ve been given, so let’s all try to enjoy the weird ride of summer hockey. I’m skeptical now, but I’ll probably be extremely excited once the puck drops.