Sure, they’re still all the way down in the 7th spot in the Metropolitan Division, but take a quick peek at the standings this morning. Your once-dead, depleted, awful, embarrassing Philadelphia Flyers are now just two points out of the final playoff spot in our pathetic division.
In case you need refreshing on the new playoff format: The top three teams in each division automatically qualify, and the other two playoff spots in the conference are determined by wild card. The Atlantic Division is soooooooooo much better than the Metro, so as of now, those two wild card positions are both their property. The Flyers are six points back in the wild card race.
BUT in the division race, they’re just two points behind the third-place Rangers — with a game in hand. (Thanks, Boston, for beating New York last night.) The Flyers have a bunch of teams to climb over, of course, and sure, it’s way too early to be thinking about playoff positioning. But with a game that should be easy against Buffalo on Thursday and a head-to-head meeting against the sixth-place Islanders on Saturday, things are certainly looking up after a dismal start.
See what one good week can do to make you feel good about a season?
