Claude Giroux means so much to their offense and on the power play. He looks like himself again; an elite player and a superstar in the League. He leads the Flyers with 66 points.
Wayne Simmonds is a designated net-front man who never has to be told to go there. When you never have to tell a player to do the right things, it's refreshing as a teammate and a coach. He leads the team in goals and is one shy of 30 for the season.
Rookie defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere continues to impress. Although he doesn't have a goal in 10 games, his style of game has changed the way the Flyers play. He has helped make other players better. To me, that's a sign of
Minuses: The Flyers aren't that deep on the blue line. And who knows: If Ivan Provorov's junior team (the Brandon Wheat Kings) is knocked out of the playoffs this week, do the Flyers bring him in? He's been dominant in the Western Hockey League this season, averaging more than a point per game during the regular season (73, including 21 goals, in 62 games).
The Flyers have overcome a slow start and enter the night hold holding a playoff spot. This might be the swing game that determines whether they get in the playoffs. The same thing happened last year, but Philadelphia was unable to overcome its poor start and didn't make the playoffs.
Lastly, when they get in trouble, the Flyers sometimes resort to getting too physical. That leads to trouble.
Red Wings
Pluses: Jimmy Howard has allowed two goals in each of his past four appearances (3-1-0). He's been outplaying Petr Mrazek, who had an amazing season prior to the past month, and should start two, if not all three, of Detroit's remaining games. To have a young guy take your job and then be there when your team needs you down the stretch is not easy, but give Howard credit for how he has handled it and how he has handled himself, to keep them in the race.