Flyers clinch playoff return
The Philadelphia Flyers clinched a Stanley Cup Playoffs berth for the first time in nearly a decade and will meet the Pittsburgh Penguins in a first‑round rivalry series. (Web reporting says the Flyers secured their spot after Tyson Foerster scored the decisive goal in a four‑round shootout and goalie Dan Vladar made a key stop on Alexander Nikishin.) ( )
Philadelphia is back in the Stanley Cup Playoffs after a 3-2 shootout win over Carolina on April 13 locked the Flyers into the field. (nhl.com) Tyson Foerster scored the only shootout goal in the fourth round, and goaltender Dan Vladar ended it by stopping Alexander Nikishin at Xfinity Mobile Arena. The win left Philadelphia at 42-27-12. (nhl.com, espn.com) The berth ended a run of five straight seasons without postseason hockey. The Flyers last reached the playoffs in 2020, and this spring is the first time playoff games will return to Philadelphia since 2018. (nhl.com, whyy.org) The clincher also set the first-round matchup: Philadelphia versus Pittsburgh in the Eastern Conference bracket. In the final Metropolitan Division standings, the Penguins finished with 98 points and the Flyers with 98, with Pittsburgh placed second and Philadelphia third. (nhl.com, espn.com) That pairing revives one of the National Hockey League’s oldest in-state rivalries. Philadelphia and Pittsburgh have met in the playoffs before, including a first-round series in 2018, and this year’s matchup comes with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin still leading the Penguins against a younger Flyers roster. (statmuse.com, nationaltoday.com) The clinching game itself looked lost early. Carolina led 2-0 before Matvei Michkov and Trevor Zegras scored for Philadelphia, and Vladar made 24 saves before four more stops in the shootout. (nhl.com) Foerster’s role carried extra weight because he had surgery on his right arm on December 15 and was expected to miss five months. He returned on April 2 and has four points in seven games since coming back. (nhl.com) Coach Rick Tocchet said after the clincher that he did not expect Foerster back this season, and forward Owen Tippett said the room had believed “right from the start” it could get here. By April 16, the Flyers had turned that belief into a playoff date with Pittsburgh. (nhl.com, delawareonline.com)
