Philadelphia Flyers: The cream always rises to the top
Your Philadelphia Flyers just secured the top seed in the Eastern Conference for the first time in 20 years.
For the first time since the 1999-00 season, the Philadelphia Flyers have secured the top seed in the Eastern Conference. This surely didn’t seem possible back on January 8th when the Orange and Black returned home from an abysmal road trip which saw them go 1-4-1, including some ugly losses out West.
On January 8th, the Flyers began their run to the top with a huge 3-2 win over the Washington Capitals. This propelled the Flyers to finish the season 19-6-1 over their final 26 games before the NHL season, and really, the entire United States came to a screeching halt due to COVID-19.
There was a good amount of concern around Philadelphia that this stoppage would end up working against the Flyers, considering they were arguably the hottest team in the sport at the time. As we have come to find out, this couldn’t be further from the truth.
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The Flyers picked up right where they left off, and you could even argue that they have gotten even better. The stoppage allowed the team to get healthy and get some important role players back on the ice, including James van Riemsdyk, Philippe Myers, and deadline acquisition Nate Thompson.
The Orange and Black entered the NHL’s resumption of play as the number 4 seed in the Eastern Conference, which ensured they would be safe from elimination in the qualifying rounds, and essentially would be playing for seeding with the other top 3 seeds. This put the team in an ideal spot, as they could not drop any lower than the position they entered this round-robin-style tournament, the only place to go was up; and that is exactly what they did.
If the hockey world was not paying attention beforehand, then they sure as heck are paying attention now. The Flyers swept all three opponents in the round-robin (Tampa Bay, Boston, and Washington) with a combined score of 11-3. Yes, you read that correctly, the Flyers have asserted themselves as the BEST team in the Eastern Conference.
This sets the boys up for a first-round date with the 12th seeded Montreal Canadiens; who remarkably enough entered the qualifying round as the lowest-seeded team in the entire tournament (24th) and made quick work of the Pittsburgh Penguins, winning their best of five series 3-1.
The last time the Flyers and Habs met in the postseason was back in the spring of 2010. The Flyers dispatched the Canadiens in five games on their way to becoming the champions of the Eastern Conference.
While I do hear some fans voicing concern over having to face goaltender Carey Price, I understand that sentiment. However, if you’ve been watching this hockey team all season long – well at least since January – you know darn well they should not fear anybody. The shoe is finally on the other foot, and the other teams in the NHL need to fear this Flyers team. So with that said, the Canadiens making waves as the lowest seed in the playoffs is a nice story, but that story is set to have an unfortunate ending at the hands of the Philadelphia Flyers.
Next. The Philadelphia Phillies can learn from the NHL playoffs. dark
As the old adage goes, “the cream always rises to the top”, and that’s exactly what the Flyers have done.