{"id":505904,"date":"2026-03-16T07:58:50","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T07:58:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/505904\/"},"modified":"2026-03-16T07:58:50","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T07:58:50","slug":"the-chase-is-on-flyers-can-really-insert-themselves-in-the-playoff-hunt-with-a-win-on-saturday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/505904\/","title":{"rendered":"The Chase is On: Flyers Can Really Insert Themselves in the Playoff Hunt with a Win on Saturday"},"content":{"rendered":"

This time two weeks ago, you could have asked anyone if the Philadelphia Flyers season was over, and the likely answer would have been yes. <\/p>\n

The Flyers needed to go on a red-hot surge after the Olympic break, and an opening loss to the Washington Capitals may have stunned any built momentum. Then, the team went on a three-game winning streak before being shut out on home ice by the Utah Mammoth just before the trade deadline. <\/p>\n

Philly ultimately stood pat at the deadline. They only made one big move and replaced Bobby Brink by calling up Alex Bump. <\/p>\n

The 6-2 loss vs. the New York Rangers is certainly no help to the cause. But the Flyers have picked up points against the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals in their recent stretch. Philly even went to Minnesota and earned two points vs. the Wild in the second game of a back-to-back. They won both games. <\/p>\n

Now, for the first time in a long time, the Flyers are just five points out of the last wild card spot<\/a>. They are just six points out of the last playoff spot in the Metropolitan Division<\/a>. <\/p>\n

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Counting Saturday\u2019s game vs. the Blue Jackets, the Flyers have just 17 games remaining. Among the 17 games, 8 of them are against teams the Flyers are battling for a final playoff spot. The Flyers have 3 games vs. the Red Wings, 2 vs. the Blue Jackets, and 1 game vs. each of the Bruins, Islanders, and Capitals. <\/p>\n

The other nine games include a West Coast trip vs. the Ducks, Kings, and Sharks. There are also home dates vs. the Blackhawks and Stars, and road games vs. the Devils and Jets. The season ends with a tough home back-to-back vs. the Hurricanes and Canadiens to end the season. <\/p>\n

Read More: Flyers Game 66: Lines, Notes, & How to Watch vs. Blue Jackets<\/a><\/p>\n

Why Saturday\u2019s game vs. the Blue Jackets is a must-win for the Flyers <\/p>\n

The phrase \u201cmust-win\u201d will be thrown around a lot over the next few weeks. Almost every game is going to be a must-win for the Flyers and their playoff hopes. <\/p>\n

Saturday\u2019s game vs. the Blue Jackets is no exception to the bunch. With two games left vs. Columbus, and a four-point gap separating the two teams, these are two very big points on the line. This could either make it a closable gap for the Flyers. At the same time, a loss could put Columbus out of reach for the Flyers. That would add yet another difficult team for Philly to leapfrog. <\/p>\n

So, Saturday night is important for the battle with the Blue Jackets. But it\u2019s also just another step in the chase. <\/p>\n

After Saturday\u2019s game, the Flyers will have 16 games remaining while still needing to close a sizable, but realistic gap. With a stretch of winnable games approaching, Philly is going to have to stay hot and win a good chunk of their remaining schedule to even have a chance. I\u2019m talking maybe 10 of their last 17 games, if not more. <\/p>\n

Saturday\u2019s game is just a step in a long hunt for the postseason. However, the Flyers know what they have to do. <\/p>\n

A win on Saturday puts the Flyers right smack in the middle of the postseason hunt.<\/p>\n

Read More: Flyers Recall AHL Veteran Ahead of Game vs. Blue Jackets<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This time two weeks ago, you could have asked anyone if the Philadelphia Flyers season was over, and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":505905,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5112],"tags":[1468,59421,59422,5,4,2968,1467,56,5205],"class_list":{"0":"post-505904","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-philadelphia-flyers","8":"tag-flyers","9":"tag-flyers-playoff-hunt","10":"tag-flyers-remaining-schedule","11":"tag-hockey","12":"tag-nhl","13":"tag-nhl-standings","14":"tag-philadelphia","15":"tag-philadelphia-flyers","16":"tag-philadelphiaflyers"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116237798577123430","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/505904","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=505904"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/505904\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/505905"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=505904"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=505904"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=505904"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}