NHL Playoff Predictions: Philadelphia Flyers' Ideal Matchup in Every Round

The Philadelphia Flyers clinched the first spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

Last night, they maintained their top spot in the East by forcing the game versus the Washington Capitals into a shootout, thus claiming one point in the loss.

The Flyers have been hot all season, but other teams are starting to get hot now going into the playoffs as well.

There is a good chance that the Flyers could get to the Stanley Cup Finals again this year, but there are also many teams that could upset them.

Here is the ideal playoff picture for the Flyers.

Current Playoff Picture

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PHILADELPHIA - JUNE 09: Head coach Peter Laviolette of the Philadelphia Flyers looks on from the bench in Game Six of the 2010 NHL Stanley Cup Final against the Chicago Blackhawks at the Wachovia Center on June 9, 2010 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Ph

Current Playoff Picture

1. Philadelphia Flyers

2. Washington Capitals

3. Boston Bruins

4. Pittsburgh Penguins

5. Tampa Bay Lightning

6. Montreal Canadiens

7. New York Rangers

8. Buffalo Sabres

First-Round Projections

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PHILADELPHIA - MARCH 05: Tim Connolly #19 of the Buffalo Sabres and Chris Pronger #20 of The Philadelphia Flyers during their game on March 5, 2011 at The Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)

First Round

1. Flyers versus Sabres

Projected Winner: Flyers

2. Capitals versus Rangers

Projected Winner: Capitals

3. Bruins versus Canadiens

Projected Winner: Bruins

4. Penguins versus Lightning

Projected Winner: Penguins

The Flyers facing the Sabres in the first round is probably the optimal situation for the team. The Sabres shouldn't be too much trouble for Philadelphia and the Flyers would advance to the next round.

Second-Round Projections

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PHILADELPHIA - OCTOBER 16: Ben Lovejoy #6 of the Pittsburgh Penguins skates against the Philadelphia Flyers at the Wells Fargo Center on October 16, 2010 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

Second Round

If the previous slide ends up happening, the second round would be as follows.

1. Flyers versus Penguins

2. Capitals versus Bruins

Optimal Situation

Al Bello/Getty Images

NEW YORK - MARCH 6: Ryan Callahan #24 of the New York Rangers checks Braydon Coburn #5 of the Philadelphia Flyers during their game on March 6, 2011 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)

The Flyers should want to avoid playing the Penguins. Even without some of their top stars, the Penguins are still a dangerous opponent.

In order to avoid this, the Flyers need the Rangers to beat the Capitals. The Rangers would be the best option for this second round because they would be better to face than the Canadiens, Penguins or the Lightning. 

• The Canadiens could be bad because they surprised most last year, even though the Flyers finally defeated them.
• The Penguins wouldn't be ideal since the Flyers have not gotten past them in the playoffs in previous years. 
• The Lightning would be tough because even without much playoff experience, they have matched the Flyers and they were tough opponents each time the teams played earlier in the year.

Optimal Second-Round Matchup: Flyers vs. Rangers

Optimal Conference Finals

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PHILADELPHIA - NOVEMBER 18: Claude Giroux #28 of the Philadelphia Flyers skates against Victor Hedman #77 of the Tampa Bay Lightning at the Wells Fargo Center on November 18, 2010 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Lightning defeated the Flyers 8-7. (Pho

Flyers vs. Lightning

If the Flyers beat the Sabres and then the Rangers to get to the conference final, the opponents left that they could potentially face would be the Bruins, Canadiens, Penguins or Lightning.

The Lightning would be the least dangerous, because of their lack of playoff experience. It seems like they would run out of steam and the Flyers could beat them to return to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Optimal Stanley Cup Finals

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PHILADELPHIA - JUNE 09: Tomas Kopecky #82 of the Chicago Blackhawks skates against the Philadelphia Flyers during Game Six of the 2010 NHL Stanley Cup Final at the Wachovia Center on June 9, 2010 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Ge

Stanley Cup Finals

The Flyers should want to face: Phoenix, Los Angeles, Nashville or Chicago.

• Phoenix, because they have a young team and are without the Cup experience—the Flyers have the advantage.
• The same goes for the Los Angeles Kings and the Nashville Predators.
• Chicago, because they have faced them once before. Like the Penguins/Red Wings in 2008 and 2009, the experience last year versus the Blackhawks could help them defeat Chicago this time around. Plus, this Chicago team has significantly changed since last season.