With three games remaining in their 2025-26 regular season, the Philadelphia Flyers fully control their own destiny. If Philadelphia wins all three of its final games, there is nothing the New York Islanders or Columbus Blue Jackets can do in their own games that would keep the Flyers from an automatic playoff spot as the third place team in the Metropolitan Division.
To accomplish this feat -- which would require wins by any means (regulation, overtime or shootout) over the Winnipeg Jets, Carolina Hurricanes and Montreal Canadiens within a four-night span -- the Flyers must accomplish most objectives.
- Win or at least break even in the special teams battle. Letdowns on both ends of special teams were Philly's undoing in a recent loss to the Washington Capitals and Thursday's defeat in Detroit.
- Balance aggression with discipline: The Flyers continue to take too many preventable penalties by errors of commission (stick infractions and frustration fouls) and omission (too many men on the ice, delay of game, etc.).
- Avoid having to chase any of the final three games: When leading after the first period, the Flyers are 19-1-3. Holding a lead at the end of the second period, Philly is 24-0-3. On the flip side, if they trail at the end of the first period, Philadelphia has an 8-17-5 record. Trailing at the second intermission, it's 6-26-5. Producing at least one point 11 times when trailing to start the 3rd period is a good sign of resilience. However, it's the hardest way to play hockey and it's unreliable because there is absolutely no margin for error.
- How about simply scoring the first goal vs. yielding the opening goal? Leading first, Philly is 21-5-4. When trailing first, the team is 19-22-8.
- Balanced scoring: The Flyers have, in fact, been getting this since the Olympic break. The addition of rookie Porter Martone and Tyson Foerster's return from injury have added important dimensions -- size, shooting mentality, strength on the walls and down low -- to the team's game.
- Putting aside what happened in Detroit, which was more about situational saves than any "soft" goals, the Flyers need a step-up peformance right off the bat from their goaltender on Sunday and the final two games.
Winning third place in the Metro is a less complicated path than trying to capture the final wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference. If Philly dropped below third in the Metropolitan Division, the Flyers would have to make up a three-point gap (two standings points plus a tiebreaker disadvantage) on the Ottawa Senators. The Flyers also do not hold the tiebreaker against Columbus or the Islanders.
In terms of the remaining schedules for the Islanders and Blue Jackets., the Flyers will actually be rooting for Ottawa on Saturday afternoon. The Sens play the Islanders in Elmont. A New York regulation loss keeps them behind Philly no matter what. The Islanders remain at home for their final two games thereafter. They host Montreal on Sunday evening before finishing up against the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday.
Columbus visits the Canadiens on Saturday night and then hosts the Boston Bruins on Sunday. They finish up on Tuesday at home against the Capitals. This could possibly be Alex Ovechkin's final NHL game if the future Hall of Famer chooses to retire at the end of this season. The Capitals are not yet officially eliminated from the playoffs mathematically but their chances entering the weekend are microscopic.
The best case scenario for Philly on Saturday; beat the Jets and have both the Islanders and Blue Jackets lose in regulation. That would put the Flyers four points ahead of Columbus and restore the three-point lead Rick Tocchet's team held on New York before Friday's loss to the Red Wings. The Flyers are idle on Sunday, so they'd be in good shape for the final back-to-back games if Saturday's matches work out as hoped. Nevertheless, it all comes down to the Flyers themselves in the final three games: win and they're in.
