Flyers clinch return

The Philadelphia Flyers are back in the Stanley Cup Playoffs after beating the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2 in a shootout on April 13. (nhl.com) Tyson Foerster scored the only shootout goal in the fourth round, and goaltender Dan Vladar ended it by stopping Carolina defenseman Alexander Nikishin at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia. (nhl.com) The win clinched Philadelphia’s first postseason berth since 2020 and locked the Flyers into third place in the Metropolitan Division with a 43-27-12 record. (nhl.com) Philadelphia had trailed 2-0 before Trevor Zegras and Matvei Michkov scored to force overtime against a Carolina team that still secured the Eastern Conference’s top seed with the regulation point. (espn.com) The berth ends a five-season drought that stretched through coaching changes, roster turnover and a rebuild that was still being described that way as recently as the March trade deadline. (cbsnews.com) Rick Tocchet, in his first season behind the bench, guided a roster built around younger players including Matvei Michkov, 21, and Porter Martone, 19, into the postseason ahead of schedule. (apnews.com) The clincher also set up a first-round series with the Pittsburgh Penguins, the eighth playoff meeting between the Pennsylvania rivals and their first since 2018. Pittsburgh finished second in the division and will have home-ice advantage in the best-of-seven series. (nhl.com) By the regular-season finale, the Flyers were still pushing, beating the Montreal Canadiens 4-2 to close the 2025-26 schedule as fans prepared for playoff hockey to return to Broad Street. (nhl.com)