Led by the emergence of rookie defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere, the Flyers had a strong second half and clinched a playoff berth with a 3-1 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday. They did just enough to secure the second wild card from the Eastern Conference. Now the Flyers have a chance to pull off what would be an incredible upset.
"It's playoffs," Neuvirth said. "You're motivated as much as you want, but obviously we've got a great team. It's going to be a lot of pressure on them and it's going to be a good series."
But what will it take to eliminate what was the best team in the NHL during the regular season?
"Everything we've got," Flyers forward Michael Raffl said. "We need to have a really tight defense and capitalize on our chances, our offense, I think."
Forwards Claude Giroux, Wayne Simmonds and Sean Couturier were scratched Sunday as a precaution. The Flyers know they will need all hands on deck if they have any chance of ruining what has been a phenomenal season for the Capitals.
They are off Monday after playing three games in four days to end the regular season. Coach Dave Hakstol said he expects things to be all business for practice Tuesday.
"We like our group," Hakstol said. "I'm not making any predictions; I never have all year. We feel good about our group in our room, a very, very tight-knit and competitive group. Now we have a couple of days to get ourselves ready, first of all, to get a day of rest, and then to start preparing for the start of the series in the middle of the week.
"It starts with the guys in this locker room and their mentality of playing hard together. I think we've got a great team-first mentality in here. All the way through the year, different guys have stepped up at key times. I think those are some key elements as you go into a playoff series."
