Flyers Late Season Surge Has Them In Playoff Hunt

Philadelphia, PA - "Never say never."  That's the admittedly cliche motto that's being thrown around the Flyers locker room as the end of the season approaches.  Why?  The Flyers have won 6 straight games to climb to 43 points in this shortened season.  This puts them within one point of Tampa Bay and tied with Carolina for the final spot in the Lemieux Conference playoffs.

"Coach Julien never gave up on us and the team has started playing with confidence and poise," Captain David Krejci said after the Flyers' win over the Lightning by a 3-2 score last night.  Krejci is a big part of the resurgence along with other players coming off recent injuries - Mikkel Boedkker and Sam Gagner.  

"We were never really able to get it going early in the year," said D Jack Johnson.  "We got off to a poor start and then were beset by a number of injuries.  When Brian [Elliott] would play well, we wouldn't support him and then there were other games where he couldn't get a bounce."  

Defenseman Alex Goligoski, having a strong season with 8 goals and 17 assists through 44 games, has been putting in the big minutes and has been helping lead on defense.  

With four games remaining, the odds are still stacked against the Flyers, but the team remains confident.  "We need to take it one game at a time," Krejci suggested. "We've got to come out and take care of business against the Predators.  That's the first step."