Latest / Hattrick's Unofficial Flyers Podcast / Episode 21: Season ReCap and Playoffs | Apr 15, 2026
Transcript
- Rick Mullen: Hey Flyers fans, welcome to Hatrix Unofficial Flyers podcast. I'm Rick Mullen. I'll be your host today. And man, we have so much to talk about on this episode. it's the end of the year. Flyers played their last game last night ⁓ and have the playoffs coming up, the MVPs. There were some interviews ⁓ about team and their beliefs and it's Such an exciting part of the year. We never see this. we haven't been in the playoffs. We haven't had a great team in so long that this is just getting sucked up by media, by the fans, by all of us, including me. ⁓ I'm to see this team. I can't wait to get into that playoff series. I'm really hoping they can show up big against the Penguins and, ⁓ it's an exciting finally to be a Flyers fan. So let's jump into the game last night. Talk real quick about that. And then we'll move on to a couple of our other topics. So flyers go and they're playing the Montreal Canadians last night. Last game of the year, they bench a lot of their vets and a lot of kids come up and play. man, you go in thinking, okay, the Canadians aren't really sending much of their vets. they have a couple of injuries on the back end, like a Batherson and I forget the other defensemen's, but all in all, it's just kind of their NHL team minus that defensive structure. And Kind of expected us to lose and I was okay with that. it was really just a game to finish the year, get the vets some breaks and see what these kids look like. And man, it was a good game. It was a really good game. the Flyers ended up winning four to two against the Canadians and didn't expect to see that at all. not at all. So let's jump into some stats. So last night shots on that. The Flyers had 25, the Canadians had 29 hits. The Flyers had 21, Canadians had 26. Penalty minutes, the Flyers had 10, the Montreal Canadiens had four. Montreal, one at the face-off dot. They had a 56.9 % to the Flyers 43.1 % percentage. And that's okay. we kind of expected to have more penalty minutes because we're starting some rookies, some kids, and they are... probably going to do some things maybe they wouldn't normally do and they did. know, there's a couple penalties that went out to some of the guys and ⁓ it's all right. the end of the game, it was a 4-2 win by the Flyers. So, ⁓ I'll ⁓ that. a win in my book. First period right around, what is it, the 808 mark, Porter Martone. He scores from Matvey Mishkov and Oliver Bonk. Oliver Bonk, first point in the NHL. ⁓ Second 1442 of the first period from Oliver bunk. mean Oliver bunk scores it He gets his assist in the first period and a goal in the first period Assisted by Matt v. Mishkoff and hunter McDonald Man seeing these kids names on here. That's that's great to see and we're gonna talk about that too because There was a lot of naysayers out there saying there aren't anybody good in our farm system and we don't have any stars and guess what I I think this team And this game, this one game, and I know it's only one game, but I think this one game proved we actually do because there was a lot of guys missing. Nesbit, Berglund, Zvraggen. There's a lot of guys that were missing from that lineup that are still in this farm system. And that's they're good players. They're going to be good players. And seeing the guys who did play, I was impressed. I think they all looked really good. There were some shaky moments a little bit from here and there, but Not much. I think they looked great. They really did. So jumping into second period, the Flyers were up two to nothing. Right at the 6.50 mark, Brendan Gallagher gets a goal. So it's two-one Flyers. At the 13.52 mark, Mark Matvey Mishkov, he was hanging around that net. There was, I guess, a shot at the flexion that came in and it fell over to Matvey's side and Matvey was there to push that thing into an open net. So Matt Vade gets on the board again. That was his 20th goal of the year. He hit the 20 mark again. beginning of this year, he looked horrible. Everyone was talking about him. You know, the fans had his back more than the coaches back. Rick Tocquet and him had a pretty, pretty big feud going on ⁓ in media. Everyone was talking about it. Everyone was asking questions about it. Every reporter was reporting it. know, Tocquet was getting mad, asking questions or getting asked questions about it. ⁓ you know, Matvey was silent, I guess he couldn't defend himself. He doesn't speak really good English and the team as a whole held him ⁓ out those interviews. So no one really got a chance to talk to Matvey. Now that's ⁓ ancient in my book. That's far behind us. But to just see what Matvey Mishkov has done since then until now, he's impressed me. I'm sure he's impressed a lot of people. I even think he impressed Rick Tocket who really matters most here. He had a lot of ground to make up for what he did in the off season, getting heavy and being out of shape. And he worked hard through it and towards the end of the year, he's been one of the most productive players for the Flyers down the stretch. ⁓ He's doing great right when we need him and we need him to do great. So three to one Flyers at that point in time. We go to the 1949 mark, 11 seconds left in the period, and we give up a goal. Jake Evans goes and he bangs one home and it's a four to two. I'm sorry, three to two. Going into the third period at the 12 minute mark, Alex Bump, he gets a little pass back to him from the slot from Porter Martone. Porter Martone again. know, and Alex Bump goes and he sinks one. Flyers win 4-2. I'm so excited. You look at this team, I loved Bonk last night. I loved Bonk last night. I think we got a pretty good player there. I can't wait till he's in the lineup. Hunter McDonald actually looked really well, too. I know he got a penalty that may not have been the smartest one, but he looked strong. He was hitting. He did a lot of good things last night. ⁓ Your check? He has a hammer of a shot. mean, he ripped a shot from the point. I think it was like 95, 96 miles per hour, they said. So you can see where that big body, that big frame gets those huge shots from the points. Looking on the defensive end of the puck, he wasn't too bad. when he got the puck, he was able to actually really create breakout passes. He did like really long breakout passes. So he was looking for those guys sprinting down the ice. There were times in the corner where, you know, he struggled to put his body in the right positioning. most flyers, most NHL defenders, like they see somebody coming in, they kind of bend down, stick their butt out, they protect their puck with their back, they keep facing the boards, and that's how they kind of fight off defenders until somebody can come in and help. Yurchak did a couple things that didn't make sense to me. Like he went onto our boards right behind our goalie. And instead of facing the boards and like, defending the puck, he put his back up against the board, standing straight up in the air. And when the defenders come in, you can just put a shoulder into your stomach, keep you pressed against the glass. And if they win the puck, they're coming off the boards and there's no one between them ⁓ and net. So he made some decisions physically, like where to put his body that, I think he needs some time and work on. And you can also tell his feet, his feet work, looks a little bit ⁓ off. I'm not sure how to say it. When he gets moving, he looks okay, he looks fast, but when he's not moving and he's trying to start moving, he looks a little sloppy, if that's the word I'm looking for. ⁓ Kind of like somebody who's beginning to skate that their skates are too loose for them. It seems like he's having a problem getting on those edges. That's kind of how it looks to me anyhow. So he's got a little bit of work to do, but he can be a really good assets with that shot and that breakout passes. all in all, really, really good game. ⁓ Porter Marton, what a pickup at the end of the season here. Porter Marton is a point per player, point per game player. He's a point per game player since he's been here. Who would have thought that? This kid playing the whole season in the NCAA. jumps in with like, like what nine games left, 10 games left in the season. I want a team that's pressing, trying to get into playoffs and man, he comes right in, steps in and he's a producing player, like our best producing player. You know, he's a point per game player for the last nine, 10 games as a 19 year old in this league. Fantastic pickup by Danny Breher and the Flyers. He's going to have a hell of a future moving forward with the Flyers. So that was, that was a great win. by the Flyers. was a really good game by the kids. I'm anxious to see Bonk get more time. I'm anxious to see even see Hunter McDonald get some time with the Flyers. I know it probably won't be this year, but it's just nice seeing that, you know, we have a group of kids down below that are ready and hungry and want to come in here and earn a spot. So pretty, pretty, pretty good position to be in when the Flyers usually are not in that position at all. they're usually don't have a great farm system. They got a trade to pick up people. So this new era, as they like to call it, ⁓ has definitely been a new era for the Flyers. Like they're building a farm team. They're doing it the right way. ⁓ Before move on to the next one, again, I just ⁓ want reiterate, this team had so many ups and downs this year, but mostly ups. ⁓ And you look at it, when this team started, Yeah, there was a lot of problems with Mischkov and the coach in the beginning, but the record was pretty good. They did okay, until that January mark and then they struggled. went in a shell and they couldn't win. They couldn't score. They couldn't do anything right. ⁓ know, so, we were all over them and the coach and the system and the players and, ⁓ that's responsibility to play better. And if they're not, then, they're professionals and they can take the criticism and the feedback and the spotlight that was on them. And you know what, this team sat down together, they gelled together, and they did what they had to do when they came back from that Olympic break. And I mean, it was an amazing, amazing feat. And I'm going to kind of read this real quick here on what an amazing feat this actually was. So on March 10th, the Flyers sat at nine points out of a playoff spot. nine points out of that wild card playoff spot. Historically, that distance, especially that late in the season, has been insurmountable. No team has been able to come back from that. According to the NHL stats, no team ever came back from that kind of deficit after 60 games were already played to qualify for the postseason. Until now, the Flyers did that. They are the only team in the NHL history to come back from that deficit and make the playoffs. That's an incredible feat by the Flyers, an incredible feat by the Flyers. So when you when you look at this team and all these people that are naysayers, this team came out. Yeah, they lost some games to like Detroit this and that. But again, like TK said, you can't win them all. But they were able to beat Dallas. They were able to beat Colorado. You know, I believe they beat Minnesota. Like they, they came back and beat teams that they should not have beat. And they got themselves into a good position where they were able to earn a playoff spot. And they're the only team to do it coming out at that deficit after playing 60 games. So kudos to Rick Tocket, his coaching staff, the Flyers, our goalies. Kudos to them. So. going into these last few games after these last game against Carolina when the Flyers won and locked their spot down. there were a couple of really good interviews out there. they interviewed Trevor Zegras and you can tell this kid is fired up. He loves to be a Flyer and it's nice to see, he he he looks like spatula to me from what? Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Every time I see him, I just think it's patalored ordering a pizza into his classroom at school. ⁓ he's just got that giddy-ness about him. He can't stop smiling or making a joke. Even when something's not funny, he's laughing. So, ⁓ Zegras is a funny character, man. And, I'm glad he's on the team. He's, really done well for this team and he's a hell of a locker room guy. I mean, you can tell he cares about everyone on his team. When Marton scored that goal and won that game in overtime with Carol, ⁓ Carolina, it was, ⁓ I'm sorry. ⁓ God, I'm blanking on the game. He, that he'd score that overtime. When he won in overtime, I think it was against Boston. Boston, that was it. Zegras was like headlocking him. Like he tried to escape by to do a celly and you know, Zegras grabs him, twists him around, won't let go of him. he was just as excited, more excited than Marton was. So Zegras is ⁓ one heck ⁓ a ⁓ player, a team guy. ⁓ I'm sure a respected person in that locker room. ⁓ so, when like he... He was really frank. he's like, I think his word from word was it's just a lot of fun when you don't do it for so long. You forget what it feels like for an athlete. You thrive on that kind of environment ⁓ and what you want to do it with. This group of guys is awesome because we're obviously so close and love each other so much. It's been good. That's a great statement to hear, man. It almost gives you goosebumps to know that these guys behind the scenes are actually like ⁓ fighting each other. throughout this season. Mavy Mishkoff, through his translator, he expressed the magnitude of winning and getting into the playoffs. And his words were like, unbelievable feeling. I cannot really describe what's going on. The team was thriving or striving to make the playoffs the entire season and it's finally happened. It's beyond describing. We can now be happy and get ready for the next games. Every team has the same goal at the end of it. So everybody knows what it is. and what we're going to go for it. Matt Vey is proving it. Matt Vey has upped his game dramatically over the end of this season. Last night was a really good game for Matt Vey because it was all this, you know, some of the stars were sitting like Zegras, Keturie, TK, Tipit. They weren't in the game. you know, they're really the guy who was running the show last night was really Matt Vey Mishkov. Matt Vey Mishkov was like that, that star on the front end that was like, okay, kid, get out there and show us what you can do. And he did great. I mean, he had a goal and two assists last night. He was all over the place. ⁓ I how many shots he had. He had a ton. Like I couldn't believe how many shots he was taking. Like that first second period, was like, ⁓ my God, this guy is shooting crazy. ⁓ He eight shots on that. Eight shots on that last night. So ⁓ Maffei doing everything that he can. ⁓ Rick ⁓ know, Tocket was a... Pretty cool. Rick Tauke at the beginning of the year goes and puts a media article out. I think this is enough word for word. I'm not sure exactly what this was, but he taped this thing on the board in the dressing room. And basically it was the media picking the flyers to finish last in the division. it was kind of like those Eagles things, right? Like the underdog, right? It was exactly what Rick Tauke did. Rick Tuckett said, look at this, boys. Everyone gave up on us. Everyone thinks we're going to be the last place. We're going to be the loser. And you know what? We got some stuff to prove here that we're not. And you know what? The Flyers took that to heart all year. And they came out and they played hard, like the beginning of the year, had a hiccup in the middle of the year, and then finished hard at the end of the year. This team in the beginning, we all, well, most of us, at least I did, I felt this was a playoff team. I know I definitely felt it was a playoff team last year was a they were so close knowing that we were going to have different goalies going into this year. felt, those those goalies will actually steal a game here and there for us. We'll get a couple more points. We might just squeak in, but I think we're going to do it. And you know what? In all honesty, adding Marton and getting Forster back that helped tremendously get us there. But, Vlad is ⁓ Vlador what what made the difference, he stole a lot of games for us this year. So ⁓ expected them to get to the playoffs. I was hoping they were going to get to the playoffs for a while there. I felt they weren't, when they went through that losing streak. ⁓ And I think that they could come back at the end of the season and get there. I pretty much said it was almost impossible. ⁓ most of my episodes saying, it's probably not going to happen. I would bet it wasn't going to happen. No team was able to do what they did. So, I mean, in reality, they should never have made it because they had that hiccup they had in January. They were only team in the NHL to be to put their crap together at the end after that kind of stats and get there. So, man, that's a heck of an accomplishment. Rick Tocket didn't overstate the achievement. He basically... You could tell Rick Tocque was emotionally involved in this. Like you can tell he cares when they scored in one, you know, Rick Tocque was all over the bench. If anyone, if anyone has that game taped or you see the replay of it when they score and get in, if they, when they flash over to the bench, Rick Tocque goes nuts. Like he puts his arms up in the air. He grabs everybody around him, all the coaches and he hugs them all. And he's like yelling, screaming, hugging them all. It was great to see. The whole bench lit up, know, the players run onto the ice and they go crazy with Vlidar at the end. you know, meanwhile, Rick Tocque, it's hugging everybody on the bench behind the scenes. it was a, it was really cool to see, his words were, ⁓ that he, he, you Tocque, this is his words. I didn't really talk much very much after the win. ⁓ I just really of those guys right from training camp. We put on a preseason prediction. We put up a preseason prediction and a lot of people in the media had us last. I put it up there to make those guys understand the position we're in, but it was all them. I'm really proud of the very other way they stuck with it since training camp. It's a tough game. Caroline is a tough team. They didn't give in. had to earn it and we did. So Rick Tuckett had some good things to say. He had a, really good, good things to say about the team. it was nice. You saw Kyle Schwerber. ⁓ he was ⁓ interviewed he's response to the Flyers, getting, trying to get to the playoffs. We're, all going to the, ⁓ sorry. We're all going to be behind them in their playoff run. Schwaber said, can't wait to see them get out there. I don't know if we're even going to be able to sneak over to a game, but hopefully we can. So he wanted to try to sneak over Bryce Harper. He was interviewed at the very end when he was taken off of his interview, when he was taken off his headphones, he yells, go Flyers in the microphone. ⁓ so he's pumped. He's doing everything he can. ⁓ Great see, you know, the whole city, the whole city is pumped. I'm pumped. I'm pumped. I can't wait for this game to start or this series to start. It's either Saturday or Sunday. I'm still waiting for them to announce it. But ⁓ look the next one. You Vlador, they turn around in a, in the interview of Vlador after the game. And, you know, he hears this response. He's like, I have no words. Vlidar said on the bench during an interview with NBC SP Scott Hartnell's ⁓ moment clinching the playoff spot, have no words. Nobody believed us right from the beginning of the season. We just proved everybody wrong. I'm so proud of the guys that played in front of me. ⁓ Vlidar also let something slip ⁓ about Danny Breyer, I thought was funny because he started talking and then in the middle, he ⁓ kind of shut said, ⁓ I hope Danny's not going to be mad at me. But ⁓ you know what said. Well, maybe he didn't say this to me at the time that he, but he told us at the beginning of the season, at the beginning of the year, I hope he's not going to be mad at me. But he said, the goal was to make the playoffs. So that's what, what little R said. He said the goal was to make the playoffs and that was from Danny Brear. And then, you know, I think he started letting the cat out of the hat and, you know, try to stop it, but he was too much in. he said, you know, hopefully Danny's not going to be mad at me. You know, he also went on to say, you know, we were trying to play good hockey and play with the heart that I think from what I remember the Flyers used to be back in the day. So Vlodark gets it. mean, Vlodark gets it. He hears all these stories about what the Flyers were and what it meant to put a Flyers jersey on and what it meant to be a Philadelphia Flyer for the fans, for the team, for, Ed Snyder. everything, he knows the history ⁓ and wanted to bring that back. it's nice to hear of Lida when he talks because he is ⁓ an A1 character guy. ⁓ the things through the ⁓ the little stories you about Lida, ⁓ he's an incredible person. an incredible teammate. He's a leader on this team. I think when. I mean, there was multiple, multiple occasions. One of the ones I heard was, the fires were losing like, well, like two to nothing or something in a game. And Vildar comes out of the crease to go, like, not in intermission, but like when they're doing a commercial break and you're like, he skates over to the bench, all the guys got their heads down. They're trying to figure out how to turn this thing around. And Vildar comes over all bubbly and takes a drink and says, hey, man, what do you all got your head down for? Like, come on, we got this. And he just skates away and goes back to the goal. I mean, that's fantastic. Like, guys, what are you worried about? Like just come on, let's just go do it. So really, really cool. Really cool by Vador. ⁓ Taked had a lot of stuff to say good about Vador. know, Taked says all year, like I said, he came from Calgary. I don't know if he had a chip on his shoulder. He believed in himself. Taked said after the game, you know, great guy. Like I told you all year, I said to you guys, he could wear the C or the A. He's a letter guy. He was at the rink yesterday getting recovery. He wanted this game. There was no chance. And Erson played really well. It could have went either way. Don't get me wrong. But Vladdy looked at me and there was no chance that I couldn't put him in that net. He earned it. And he did. there were some media people saying like, I was listening to some podcasts, some news, some media, and they were saying hey, you know what? Erson needs to start this game against Carolina. And then we got to put Vlad in for the Canadians game. And I'm sitting there thinking, you can't do that. Like this guy stood on his head. He gave everything he had all year. He got us into the position we were in. You have to play Dan Vildar against Carolina when winning and getting into the playoffs is on the line because he earned it. And I'm really glad that Tocket saw that and thought the same way I did because you have to. He earned it. It should be his opportunity to seal the deal and Taki gave it to him. So kudos for Taki for kind of going against what normally would have happened if the game didn't matter. Taki also went on to say, he doesn't have a letter on his Jersey, but he could talk. It said ⁓ he does have one me in my head. What I like about what he did this summer, he had a weakness in his game. He wanted to work on. He hired somebody came into camp in great shape. Look at the year he's having so good for him. That's being a leader. So that was all from target. You know, that was all target there looking and seeing that, you know, noticing and recognizing that a player on your team wants to be better and not just wants to be better because a lot of guys can talk like, hey, I want time coach, I, I want to be the first one on the ice. I want to be in overtime. I want to do this. I want to do that. Anybody can ask or talk, but true leaders actually do things about it. they work out harder. They eat better. They buckle down and they play a game that maybe if they're tired or sore or hurt that they just suck it up and get through it and play as hard as they can. when you hit the ice and you're down a goal, you get on the ice and you you don't wait for somebody else to make something happen. You make it happen. You know, when you're in on off seasons, you ⁓ go get the help you need to get better. You exercise harder. You try to get stronger. You have a goal, a game plan, a strategy. to do whatever you can to be better. And Vlad had it and Taked recognized it. So kudos to Taked, kudos to Vlador. I'm glad we have him for another year. I'm anxious to see what he's like in the playoffs. I'm anxious to see what he's like next year. Can he carry this play over on a better team? Because I do think next year the Flyers will be even better. So can you imagine that? Can you? Can you imagine the Flyers having a better team next year? Maybe a number one center? Maybe a true number one D. What would that do this team? Like how would that affect this team? Like if we start the same goal tending that we got this year from Vilar, what does that do? Do we win five more games, seven more games, 10 more games? How does that work? we're right there. These Flyers are right on that precipice on who they're going to have to give up, who they bring up. ⁓ And going to be an exciting off season, I think. I think the Flyers are going to be a much better position. next year. All right, so let's let's jump into team awards. So normally I think they give the team awards out like after the game the final game of the year but there were so many guys that were out ⁓ hurt in quotes there air quotes hurt they didn't play that you know what what were they going to do give these awards to people who weren't even on the ice so I think they're having like a ceremony they said on Thursday to give out the team awards to the guys and But they did send an email out, a Facebook thing out on their website showing who won. So this year, the Bobby Clark trophy for the Flyers most valuable player was Dan Vlador. Dan deserved it. Dan's, what did he play? He played 52 games. He started 51 games. He had 29 wins and he had a 2.42 goals against average. Vlador ranked third in goals against average amongst qualified goaltenders and he's allowed two goals or fewer in 3451 starts. That's a heck of an accomplishment, a heck of an accomplishment. And you know what? The Flyers haven't had a goalie that good in a long time. you know, last year we lost Carter Hart. We lost the Yankees that the year before we lost Carter Hart, right? ⁓ He wasn't playing because of the allegations against him. We go into this season with Fedotov, Kalasov and Ersin. All three goalies were horrible, sadly. ⁓ Man, it was hard to watch. Every time somebody needed to make a save, they didn't. It was hard to watch. So this year with Dan Vlidar, what a good pickup. He actually did fantastic when I think most people didn't know what we had in him. I think, you know, Dan actually wasn't even sure about himself. because he wasn't given that many games ever in his career. So he wasn't even sure how he was going to do and he knew that. And that's why he went out and got help. And he turned out to be such a good goaltender for the Flyers this year. The Barry Ashby Trophy, Flyers most outstanding defenseman, hands down, Sandheim. Sandheim wins it. He definitely deserved it. This was Sandheim's fourth Barry Ashby recognition. And it makes his third consecutive season that he received that honor. So good for Sandheim. He definitely deserved it. And he is definitely without a doubt our number one center at this point. The Pelly Lindberg Memorial Trophy goes to the Flyers most improved player. And this was an easy one. Jamie Drysdale, he wins it. And he was. Two years ago, Jamie was a... ⁓ Work in progress, he was an offensive guy. He skated fast, he had potential, but his defensive game was not really strong. know, Drysdale did fantastic. he actually learned how to play defense. ⁓ He's such a good job. This season, Drysdale set a career high goals in eight, and he tied his personal best for points in his season with 32. Compared to last season, Drysdale has seen a plus 29 improvement in his plus minus. while averaging nearly two more minutes of ice time per game. So Jamie earned that recognition. I'm anxious to see Jamie as a finished project and seeing what he can do for this team in years to come. ⁓ Flyers Alumni Community Leadership Award. That goes to Garnet Hathaway. Garnet Hathaway is one hell of a guy. He's well loved in that locker room. He demonstrates outstanding leadership on both on the ice and off the ice. and he's a ⁓ significant contribution to the community. So good for Garnet Hathaway, he receives the Flyers Alumni Community Leadership Award. The Toyota Cup Award goes to Trevor Zegras. He accumulated the most points associated with being a star of the game. So five points were awarded for being selected stars and so forth and anyhow. Zegras had the most stars at the end of the season and he wins the Toyota Cup award. Trevor Zegras deserved it. He had a healthy year, career year for him as well. The Gene Hart Memorial Award goes to Travis Sainheim. Travis Sainheim was ⁓ the player who demonstrated the most heart during the season as voted for by members of the Flyers fan club at their monthly meetings. So another award goes to Gene Hart Memorial Award to Travis Sainheim. And the Yannick Dupre Memorial Award goes to Dan Vlidar. He was selected as this year's recipient, which is presented annually to the flyer who best illustrates character, dignity, and respect for the sport both on and off the ice. And that is what Dan Vlidar does. When I see that guy speak in interviews, he's a heck of a nice guy, a really nice guy. I'm excited to see what he's got in him next year. And congratulations to all the FIERS team award recipients. ⁓ The playoffs, ⁓ here we go. Drum roll. The playoffs, the Pittsburgh Penguins. We're going at it this weekend. Either Saturday or Sunday. I think some guys are saying Saturday, some are saying Sunday. Either way, I will be watching those games. ⁓ I do have season tickets this year, so I will be at our home games. I can't wait to see them. I've had season tickets for a while, but not ever have I been able to go see a playoff game because since I've had them, they never made the playoffs. So it's going to be fantastic to get down to some playoff games and see the building go crazy. It's been really loud, that building for a while, these last two games. And I know that's going to carry over and when the Penguins come to town. looking at this battle of Pennsylvania, the Flyers record was, I believe, 43 27 and 12 versus the Penguins record of 41, 25 and 16. They tied with 98 points, both teams for the season, but because the Flyers had less regulation wins than the Penguins, the Penguins got home ice advantage. So we have to go there and play them for two games, the first two games. And then we get two games at home. Game five would be on the road. Game six would be back home. And if a game seven is needed, it goes back to Pittsburgh. I'm hoping the Flyers win and they, and I know they won't. At least I don't think they will. But I'd love to see them win in four and win it at home. But I'm calling the Flyers right now in five games, five games. So that's my take on it. We'll see if I'm right. I'm thinking. The Flyers will have a struggle with them on game one. They're going to have to get used to the vets and the skill set that the the Penguins have. I think the Flyers dropped the first game. I think they're ready for them the second game and they out skein them at work. I may not hustle them. The Penguins are a little old. If they can get at them and keep on them, I think they'll wear them down. So I'm calling the Flyers in five. Or maybe six. Alright, a little look at the goalie situation and this is kind of really where the Flyers have the upper hand. So Artur Silvos was 1912 and eight with a 3.07 goals against average. He had a point 888 save percentage with two shutouts. Stuart Skinner, who was required acquired by from the Edmonton Oilers. He had a 12-9-5 record with a 2.99 goals against average for a .885 save percentage. When you look at our goalies, Dan Vlador was 29-14-7 with a 2.42 goals against average and a .906 save percentage. Erson wasn't so good. He was 14-11-5 with a 3.12. goals against average for a .870 save percentage. So when we look at the Flyers versus the Penguins from a goalie, a goaltending perspective, I think the Flyers have the upper hand, especially if Vlad plays the way he normally does. So I think the Flyers have the goalie here. I do. I think that if Dan, and I expect him to, really do, I think Dan is going to come out here and want this so badly, he's going to stand on his head. So I think the Flyers have the upper hand in goaltending. ⁓ The Penguins obviously, they are going to be tricky and sneaky, but their veteran players are old. They're playing well. No one expected them to be there. They expected them to be like towards the bottom of the standings and they surprised everybody by making the playoffs. But Malkin is a head case. I don't like Malkin at all. I never respected Malkin. Malkin's one of the dirtiest players out there. know, Sid has a lot of talent. He gives his heart and soul on the ice. I didn't like him either. He's a Flyers fan, but I can respect his talent and his skill. Malkin, I don't like it all. Not in the least. I don't like Malkin at all. ⁓ And think the Flyers can get under Malkin's skin. And what the Flyers are going to have to do is they're going to have to try to stay out of the box. They got to try to stay out of the box. It's, it's, you can't give Sydney Crosby, Carlson, Malkin, Rust, these, these opportunities and they have to be careful. So they, the fires need to be at them and on top of them and close space so they don't have like ⁓ time space to create. ⁓ And is where like our penalty kill, I get nervous with a little bit against the Penguins. you know, when, ⁓ when on the penalty kill, we're not respected and a lot of teams, I'm sorry, on the power play. we're not respected a lot and a lot of the teams will press us. Like as soon as a pass goes to a guy, a defender comes right in and tries to put pressure on them to make a bad pass. And within two to three passes, that pressure usually is works. know, usually the flyers screw up, they make a bad pass and you know, they get to puck the other team and they throw it out of the zone. The flyers have a tendency to stay in that box and just try to watch those backdoor passes. ⁓ But they give these players time to create. as they are like spread out over the ice and they're passing around what ends up happening is that that the Other teams box starts getting smaller and smaller and the fires box in front of the goalie gets more and smaller So now all of a sudden instead of these defenders, blasting from the blue line They're a good five six seven eight feet in front of the blue line now because they've shrunk that box ⁓ and getting point-blank shots You know high high ⁓ high opportunity wrist shots and it's hard to defend. So in my opinion, the Flyers can't sit back. They can't go into that box. They have to close the space and give them less time to create plays because if you give them time, they are going to just create as many things as they can. Those Penguins are going to take their time, work that puck, find that opening and get some high chance quality opportunities. So the Flyers have to play more aggressive, I think, on the penalty kill, get it on them. even if you're just about to get them and I think the guy gets rid of the puck to hit them, just bang them. You you turn around, get back into play. Your guys out of the play because you just knocked them over and knocked them back or whatever, but ⁓ just them, make them pay for it. wear this team down. ⁓ They should be they can, they should be dumping in the Carlson's corner and smoking him every shot they got. They need to wear him down. And every time Crosby tries to come across the ice, I want to see Bristol land and step into him and knock him on his butt. ⁓ That's what I want to see. I want to see Risto do what Claude Giroud did to Sydney. Every time Sydney tries to come over that line, I want to see Risto step up and knock him out, knock him over. Just knock him over, put him on his ass. And I ⁓ think that's what needs to be done. Crosby needs to be worn down, slowed down. Malkin, you put some pressure on Malkin, a little physicality on Malkin. Malkin gets frustrated easy. So, Nick Seeler. Bristow, whoever it takes, back checkers, pressure Malcolm, make him make mistakes and Malcolm will start losing his mind and tripping you or cross checking you or hooking you. So just go at this team. I'm excited. We haven't seen a Pittsburgh Penguins Philadelphia playoff in a long, long time. There's a lot of hate between those two teams. There was a lot of really good series and I miss it. I miss it a lot. I'm hoping that this is a really good series, no matter how it goes. I just hope the Flyers don't get blown out here and I hope in the end they win, but I just hope again that it's just a really good series and it gives the fans something to cheer for and it gives the team and players some confidence about how good they do do. ⁓ So let's kind of talk about the Pittsburgh and the Flyers. So the Flyers were 2-2-0 against the Penguins this season. The Penguins who were 2-0 and 2 against the Flyers. Pittsburgh outscored the Flyers 16-9. And I believe, I need to go back and check, I'm not sure if Forrester played in any of the games against Pittsburgh, but this was prior to Forrester and Marton being in the lineup. So I am hoping that that goal differential there is a lot better when we see them in the playoffs here. This will be the eighth time the Penguins and the Flyers will face off in the playoffs. The first was back in 1989. It was the Patrick Division Finals. ⁓ It was won by the Flyers in seven games. Philadelphia defeated the Penguins in five games in the 1997 Eastern Conference quarterfinals in route to their run at the Stanley Cup Finals where the Flyers were swept by the Detroit Red Wings. The Flyers won the 2000 conference semifinals in six games against the Penguins and the 2012 conference quarterfinals in six. The Penguins eliminated the Flyers in 2008 in the Eastern Conference Finals where they beat the Flyers in five games before losing the Cup to the Red Wings in six games. The following season, defeated the Penguins, defeated the Flyers again in the ⁓ conference quarterfinals. They took six games to beat us in route to when the Penguins won this Stanley Cup. And they beat us in the first round in 2018 in six games. So there's some history there with this team. It's been a long time. I'm excited to watch it. I remember watching Flyers. playoff hockey so many years in a row for so long. And, you know, I'm 56 this year, you know, through my eighties, they were in it most of the time. The nineties, they were in it most of the time. And then something flipped in, you know, this team just, you know, once they went into a ⁓ salary cap error, this team struggled. They didn't know how to manage it. I don't believe in a salary cap error. And the flyers struggled to make the playoffs. So we don't see this too often. So all you fans out there enjoy every second of it. If you can get down to a game, buy those tickets and go see them. I know these ticket prices are astronomical right now. just looked and man, those tickets went fast. They're expensive what's left, but buy those tickets, fill that building, wear your orange, cheer for the boys. Let's get through these penguins game. Let's get to the next round. Let's not let's not go backwards this year. Let's keep moving forward. And if we got into playoffs. I just don't want to lose to the Penguins, so I still consider this season to win. We got some kids getting some playoff hockey. Ristol Landon's never been in the playoffs, never, never. It's his first time ever playing playoff hockey, so I'm glad to see that. I just wish we were playing somebody else that first round because if we get knocked out, I want to feel so bad, but I do not want to lose to the Penguins. hate them just like all us Flyers fans do. So let's hope we can get through that first round and make it to the second round. Again, that was a lot. We have a mailbag. It's open for any emails. If you want to talk about something, bring up a topic, anything, please email us. We can be found on YouTube, Facebook, Spotify, Apple. Find us, subscribe and like. We have our own website. where you can find us at and this way you can subscribe there and see and hear every episode that we drop and until Saturday or Sunday, not sure which day it's going to be yet. The Flyers are in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Finally, finally, all of you youngsters who haven't seen them play, here's your chance. Get down there, go to your bars, go to your local establishments. root for this team, make some noise, let them know that we are here for them, that we are excited for them and that we support them. Go Flyers!