Needless to say, Tuesday's game against the Rangers is going to be the first of three important games this week as the Flyers try to get home ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Barring any serious last minute shakeups, it looks right now as if the Flyers will be facing the Penguins in the first round. But it still remains to be seen who will come away with home ice.
In addition to playing the Rangers on Tuesday, the Flyers then host the Sabres on Thursday, and travel to Pittsburgh on Saturday in what could very easily end up being the deciding factor for home ice. The Penguins have a very tough final three games as well as they travel to Boston on Tuesday, host the Rangers on Thursday, and then host the Flyers on Saturday.
Hopefully Bryzgalov can return on Tuesday and play well in the final three games to help the Flyers get home ice for the first round. I'm definitely excited by the Flyers offensive surge in past few games, but I will be even more excited if they can at least put up a fight against the Rangers.
The Rangers have beaten the Flyers five times this year, and the Flyers faithful at the Wells Fargo Center need to come out completely fired up on Tuesday night.
All in all I think we are in store for a very exciting week of hockey. Keeping track of the Flyers progress and the Penguins is all going to culminate in a Saturday match-up that could have major playoff implications.
While I would love for the Flyers to win on Tuesday against the Rangers, ultimately I think they are going to drop one of the two during the week. The Rangers scare me because they are the Rangers, and the Sabres scare me because right now they are just two points behind the eighth place Washington Capitals. They are going to be absolutely clawing and scrapping for any type of victory on Thursday, and the Flyers are definitely going to have their hands full.
The Penguins also have a tough schedule as they will be facing the Bruins and Rangers during the week. While it would be nice for them to drop both games, like the Flyers I think they will win at least one. Ultimately I think it's going to come down to Saturday's game to see who gets the fourth seed.
We can only hope that the offense stays hot, and that Bryzgalov can return healthy and ready to go for the important week of hockey. One thing is for certain: playoff hockey is almost here.
No comments:
Post a Comment