Flyers holding out hope for 2nd wild card in Eastern Conference

VOORHEES, N.J. -- Scott Laughton found something that trumps the race for the final spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference. For a few hours, at least.

"It's my wife's birthday," the Philadelphia Flyers forward said Monday. "So, go grab some dinner and see what happens. [Hockey] is usually not the first pick for the TV, so probably a movie. And I'll be updating the app."

There will be plenty to update as Monday progresses, with the teams around the Flyers (38-32-11, 87 points) fighting for the second wild card in the East -- the Detroit Red Wings, Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals -- all playing.

The Capitals, who have 87 points, are at home against the Boston Bruins (7 p.m. ET; MNMT, NHLN, NESN). The Detroit Red Wings, also with 87 points, host the Montreal Canadiens (7 p.m. ET; BSDETX, SN, RDS). The Pittsburgh Penguins, who have 86 points, play the Nashville Predators (7 p.m. ET; SN-PIT+, BSSO).

"I don't know if we'd have a watch party or anything like that," forward Owen Tippett said. "I'm sure some guys might be together tonight, I'm not sure what the plan is yet, but I think it's just something to keep an eye on."

Wins in their past two games meant the Flyers couldn't be eliminated no matter what happened Monday. That doesn't change the importance of their game against the Capitals at Wells Fargo Center on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; MNMT, NBCSP, SNP, SNW). They need a win to have any hope of qualifying for the postseason.

Philadelphia has played one more game than Washington, Detroit and Pittsburgh. The Capitals and Flyers each have 30 regulation wins, the first tiebreaker; the Penguins have 31 and the Red Wings have 27.

"We've got to win no matter what tomorrow, so it doesn't really matter whether [the other teams] win or lose or whatever," Philadelphia captain Sean Couturier said. "We've still got to win, so I think that should be probably our main focus."

The Flyers practiced like a focused group Monday with the coaching staff working to reinforce the good parts of their game they were able to get back to with their 4-1 win at the New York Rangers on Thursday that ended an eight-game skid (0-6-2), followed by a 1-0 victory against the New Jersey Devils on Saturday.

"I'm happy that the team has an opportunity to be in this situation," coach John Tortorella said. "Where we're at in the process here, these are important things for us to watch. Also, we want to win, so yeah, I'm very happy for the team that they have grinded away and found a way to set themselves up for a game to maybe get in."

Even with a win Tuesday, the Flyers still could need a bit of help, with the Penguins visiting the New York Islanders on Wednesday.

But the scenario is an exciting one for a Flyers team that wasn't expected to be playing a win-or-go-home game in the final week of the regular season.

"I don't think anyone really gave us a chance at the start of the year going into training camp," Tippett said. "So, to put ourselves in this situation is pretty incredible. We knew we could do it all along and we knew we had the group to do it.

“Regardless of what happens, it's always nice to end with a win, [but] we want the end goal to be winning and get into the playoffs."