Flyers Playoff Push: Watching Guide for Thursday’s Action

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PHILADELPHIA , PA - JANUARY 06: Philadelphia Flyers center Trevor Zegras #46 celebrates his second goal during the game between the Anaheim Ducks and the Philadelphia Flyers on January 6th, 2025 at the Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia, PA. (Photo by Terence Lewis/Icon Sportswire)

The Philadelphia Flyers’ playoff push survived a tough loss vs. the Washington Capitals on Tuesday. While the Flyers could have been in a playoff spot with a win, they avoided falling behind with four of the teams in the fight losing with them.

All four of the Red Wings, Senators, Islanders, and Blue Jackets failed to earn a point on Tuesday as well. At 86 points, the Flyers remain tied with the Red Wings and Senators, sit two points back of the Blue Jackets, and three shy of the Islanders.

If any of those teams had won, it would have caused more separation between the Flyers and the teams ahead of them in the standings.

Since regulation wins are the first tie-breaker at the end of the season, the Flyers have to have more points than the teams behind them to make the playoffs. Philadelphia’s 23 regulation wins are tied for the second fewest in the East.

Needless to say, the silver lining from Tuesday was that the four other teams lost as well.

That means the Flyers’ back-to-back against the Red Wings (home) and Islanders (away) put four crucial points on the line.

With 8 games to go, every game matters for the Flyers.

Here is how the standings look as of Thursday, early afternoon.

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There are 14 games on Thursday, 4 of which could have an impact on the Flyers’ playoff push. Here is the watching guide for Thursday.

Read More: Flyers Game 75: Lines, Notes, & How to Watch vs. Red Wings

Thursday watching guide for the Flyers playoff push​

The bolded team is the best-case scenario win.

Sabres (100, A1) @ Senators (86, WC3) – 7:00 pm EST
Red Wings (86, WC4) @ Flyers (86, WC5) – 7:00 pm EST
Blue Jackets (88, WC2) @ Hurricanes (A1, 100) – 7:00 pm EST
Capitals (85, WC6) @ Devils (78, WC7) – 7:30 pm EST

Potential outcomes​

A Flyers win mixed with a Senators loss, and Blue Jackets regulation loss would put Philadelphia in the second Wild Card spot. If the Flyers win and the Senators suffer any sort of loss, Philly would jump both Detroit and Ottawa. In the event that the Blue Jackets don’t earn a point, the current tie-breaker is fewer games played, which the Flyers have over the Blue Jackets.

The Senators and Red Wings have also both played fewer games than the Blue Jackets. If either of those teams wins and Columbus loses in regulation, they are in the WC2 spot. Ottawa has the tie-breaker over Detroit.

If Columbus earns a point in that same scenario above, they remain the second wild-card team.

The potential outcome of a Flyers regulation loss would mean the Red Wings pull ahead by two points. An overtime loss brings Philly to 87 points, but still one shy of Detroit, 88, in that scenario.

Washington has snuck back into the race, now at 85 points. If they win and the Flyers lose, that jumps them to 87 points, swapping spots with Philly in the standings. In the event of a Capitals win and the Flyers earn a point in an overtime loss, Philly would remain ahead in the standings due to fewer games played.

So, the best-case scenario on Thursday is the Flyers end the night as the second Wild Card team. The worst-case scenario is falling to the sixth team in the Wild Card standings.

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