If They Get There, How Will They Do?

It's obvious that the Flyers are struggling right now, but do the last 10 games of the regular season have any bearing on playoff success/failures? Let's look at all of the post lockout champions and first round sweeps to see.

06/07 Champion- Anaheim Ducks
L 5-3
L 2-1
W 3-2
L 1-0
W 3-1
W 5-2
W 3-2
L 3-2
L 2-1
W 4-3

So they won five of their last ten. That's obviously worse than their season winning percentage, so they really didn't go into the playoffs very hot. Their goal differential was also only +1, so if there is a correlation between being hot in the last 10 games and winning in the playoffs, the Ducks don't show it.

06/07 Sweep Victim- Atlanta Thrashers
W 2-1
W 4-3
L 5-1
L 2-1
L 3-2
W 3-2
W 3-2
L 3-2
W 4-1
W 3-2

The Thrashers, who went down to the Rangers in four easy games, actually played better than Anaheim in their last 10. They won 6 games with a goal differential of +1. This was the first time they ever made the playoffs, so their defeat was kind of embarrassing. Like the Ducks, the Thrashers show no connection between the end of the regular season and playoff results.

05/06 Champion- Carolina Hurricanes
W 3-2
L 5-2
W 6-5
W 4-3
W 4-3
L 5-2
L 4-3
W 5-4
L 3-2
L 4-0

Another team whose playoff run did not mirror their final 10 games. They too only won 5 of their last 10, and it wasn't pretty with a goal differential of -4. They were playing poor hockey, but when push came to shove, they were able to win the 16 they needed to win the Cup.

05/06 Sweep Victim- New York Rangers
W 5-1
L 4-1
W 3-2
W 3-1
W 4-3
L 3-2
L 3-2
L 5-3
L 4-1
L 5-1

Here we go. The Rangers won 4 of their last 10, but they finished on a five game losing streak with a goal differential of -6. Of the four teams we've looked at, they're really the only ones whose finish helped people predict their playoff run, or lack thereof.

So Flyers fans, if they make the playoffs, it's not a lock that they're four and done. Not because of their poor finish, anyway. If the Flyers are out quickly, it's because they're not good enough. It's a small sample size, but from what we saw, the last 10 games of the regular season don't tell you what a team is going to do in the playoffs.

Game 51: Ducks at Flyers

Anaheim Ducks: 27-21-7, 61 points
Philadelphia Flyers: 28-16-5, 61 points

Jean-Sebastien Giguere v. Martin Biron (not positive on Jiggy; Jonas Hiller typically starts during back to backs, but J.S. was great last night.)

The Flyers will take the ice for the first time after their embarrassing 4-0 loss at the hands of the Rangers on Thursday night. They had Friday off, which is something John Stevens typically doesn't do, so the Flyers potentially coming out a bit sluggish is something to look out for. They played an all-around awful game against New York; they didn't sustain any offensive pressure at all and were often times out of position defensively. These mistakes have to be taken care of against a team as good as Anaheim, the defending Stanley Cup champions.

Martin Biron will be back in net tonight. After being put in the game for a struggling Niittymaki on Thursday, Biron stopped all 15 shots he faced cold off the bench. I'd imagine Biron will start receiving a bulk of the starts again due to how poorly Niitty's been recently.

Will he or won't he? Earlier this week, it was speculated that Teemu Selanne would make his 2008 debut either yesterday or today, after choosing to come out of retirement and suit up with the Ducks again last week. He was scratched tonight, so if those reports are true, Selanne could be in the lineup tonight. The Ducks could really use him right now; in their current 5 game losing streak, they're being outscored 15-5, including a (1)-0 shutout loss against St. Louis last night. They still have five games left on this road trip, so they need to find some way to start playing much better hockey.

If Selanne does play tonight, wouldn't it be something if Forsberg announced his return to the Flyers during the game tonight? That would really steal the show. Peter Forsberg in Ed Snider's box. Of all the dramatic things...

This should be an entertaining game. Both of these teams play similar styles of hockey; they're physical, they fight, and they have a lot of skill too. It wouldn't surprise me to see a guy like George Parros or Riley Cote try to stir things up early to get their teams fired up. Hopefully the refs let these guys play, and let the fans see a very physical hockey game.

The Flyers are 2-0-1 in games I attend, including 1-0-0 against top teams of the Western Conference. This will be the first time I go to a game and see a Flyers goalie I've already seen. First it was Michael Leighton v. Detroit, then Martin Biron v. New York (I), and then Antero Niittymaki v. Boston.

Bill Meltzer will have scartches for you when his preview gets up.

Will Jim Vandermeer be in the lineup again? He has not been good since his return to the Flyers, and Thursday might have been his worst game. A lot of fans have been waiting to see if Lasse Kukkonen gets back in the lineup after how much Vandy struggled against the Rangers.