The Philadelphia Flyers are set to clash with the Detroit Red Wings in a game of high stakes. Rick Tocchet’s Philadelphia Flyers are in Michigan to wrap up their regular season series with Todd McLellan’s Detroit Red Wings on Thursday. For both clubs, the game is a must-win.
Game time at Little Caesars Arena is 7:00 p.m. EDT. The game will be broadcast on NBCSP+.
Series So Far
The Flyers and Red Wings have split the first two games of the season series. In Detroit on March 28, the Flyers won 5-3. Philadelphia built a commanding lead, withstood a three-goal push by Detroit and finally regained an insurance goal. Owen Tippett led the way with a hat trick and an assist.
At Xfinity Mobile Arena on April 2, the Flyers came back from a 1-0 deficit and later cut a 3-1 deficit to 3-2. Detroit ultimately prevailed, 4-2.
Playoff Picture for Philadelphia
Entering Thursday’s game, the Flyers narrowly retain their automatic playoff spot as the third-place team in the Metropolitan Division. They control their own destiny, not needing help from any other team’s outcome in a particular game. In order to maintain the status they’ve worked so hard to reach, however, the Flyers must keep winning.
With four games apiece remaining, the Flyers have a two-point lead on the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Flyers have 92 points and 25 regulation wins, while the Blue Jackets have 90 points and 27 regulation wins. Because the Blue Jackets own the tiebreaker advantage over the Flyers, it’s vital for Philadelphia to stay at least one point ahead of Columbus and the New York Islanders at the end of the regular season. The New York Islanders have 89 points and 28 regulation wins.
Doing so would keep Philly in automatic playoff position in the Metro, and avoid the need to worry about the dogfight for the final wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference. That is the situation in which the Red Wings find themselves.
Red Wings’ Wildcard Chase
Entering Thursday’s match, the Red Wings trail the Ottawa Senators by three points for the final wildcard spot in the East. The Senators have 92 points and 35 regulation wins. The Red Wings have 89 points and 29 regulation wins. The Senators have already clinched the tiebreaker over the Red Wings.
Therefore, Detroit in reality has to make up a four-point gap. Their season is not yet mathematically on the line on Thursday but it’s a practical must-win game.
Recent Form
Two nights ago, the Flyers rattled off a 5-1 road win over the New Jersey Devils. Trevor Zegras and Tyson Foerster scored two goals apiece. Zegras scored his 24th and 25th goals, while Foerster scored his 12th and 13th. Matvei Michkov notched a pair of assists to reach the 45-point mark on the season.
The Red Wings, meanwhile, saw their home game against Columbus slip away on Tuesday. Detroit was unable to protect a 3-2 lead in the final 20 seconds of regulation. The Wings later led the shootout but were unable to get one final save to win or prolong the finale. The result was a 4-3 loss. The Red Wings really needed two points from the game, not one. The match result also had the effect of preventing the Flyers from having any margin for error on Thursday.
The Flyers must keep winning to maintain their playoff position.