Philadelphia Flyers: What They Must Do to Secure 2012 NHL Playoff Hopes

The Flyers are in the playoffs again. They are competing with the Pittsburgh Penguins for the fourth seed and home-ice advantage. With the New York Rangers getting closer to taking the Atlantic Division and the Eastern Conference, the all Pennsylvania rivalry looks like it will come together for the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

If that is case one thing will be for sure—a good team will be knocked out in the first round.

Defensemen

Chris Pronger’s absence will be felt even more in the playoffs. Matt Carle and Braydon Coburn have received plenty of criticism from Flyers fans in recent years. In the midst of the Flyers struggles Carle and Coburn needed some help.

The one elite defenseman the Flyers could rely on for consistency during that stretch was Kimmo Timonen. Bringing in Pavel Kubina and Nicklas Grossmann before the trade deadline stabilized the blue line.

The Flyers will have the benefit of having veteran defensemen. Andreas Lilja won the Stanley Cup with Detroit in 2008. If Lilja can stay healthy, then he can provide the depth the Flyers need.

Carle and Coburn could also be considered veterans. Both were part of the 2010 Eastern Conference winning team.

What's the one thing different from that team to the current one? Chris Pronger was healthy enough to play.

Ilya Bryzgalov

The man known as "Universe" will be the biggest most important component of the Flyers chances at making a deep run in the playoffs. If he can get healthy and maintain his recent streak of solid play, the Flyers have a chance at the Stanley Cup.

Bryzgalov has been an enigma all season. He has been more famous for the universe and galaxies around us earning him the nickname “Universe.” For a while it looked like he was in another universe.

There was a period of time where he was more known for his mouth than his pads and gloves. Since the Flyers organization said something about his mouth, Bryzgalov took responsibility for his poor play and stepped up his game at the right time. It is now a matter of continuing that play.

If one were in hibernation during the winter, they would think that the Flyers were in great shape. The numbers say they are—32 wins, 15 loses with 7 more overtime losses, .910 and 2.44 goals against average.

Having said that, Flyers fans will be on top of any goalie in the playoffs, and Bryz may have some added pressure given his expensive contract.

Fans in Philadelphia have been conditioned over the past decade and half or so, to not trust goalies. If Bryzgalov can play consistently well, then he can give the Flyers confidence going into the playoffs and make them confident that they can make a deep run in the playoffs.

Minimize Sloppiness

Teams cannot afford to make mistakes. In other words, players cannot take a shift off. Matt Carle made a pass against the Tampa Bay Lightning that makes this a key point. That pass ultimately cost the Flyers the game.

Martin St. Louis had an easy shot on goal that got by Ilya Bryzgalov who was not prepared to make a tough save because it looked like the Flyers were headed up ice. They could not overcome a two goal deficit because of it, despite Scott Hartnell pulling the Flyers within one. 

Throughout the season the Flyers have had to score five or six goals to win the game by only one. In the playoffs, teams are not going to allow that many goals on a consistent basis.

To be able to win games and series, pucks will have to stay out of the net. That means that everybody has to be held accountable for every pass they make.

Get sloppy and you will have a NHL star all alone on a breakaway where the odds will be against you.

Create Traffic in Front of the Net

There are some talented shooters on this Flyers squad. But they also have plenty of power forwards. Scott Hartnell is a prime example.

If there is one thing that is common about the playoffs, it is "greasy" rebounds. Crashing the net makes the goaltender have to cover the puck somewhere in his equipment. If not, then the forwards will be right there to put another shot on, and in many instances bury it. A lot of goal scoring opportunities will be created off of rebounds that the defensemen cannot clear out of the slot.

Play Like They Want It

During the Conference Semi-Finals in 2011 against the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins, there was a point where it looked like there was only one player who wanted to play.

James Van Riemsdyk showed what he is capable of, and without him, guys like Claude Giroux, Scott Hartnell and Wayne Simmonds are going to have to step it up. This means fight every puck along boards, skate hard and not let the opponent breathe when they have the puck.

Once Peter Laviolette used his timeout, the Flyers scored five unanswered goals against the Penguins. The brawl at the end of the game may have put the excitement back into this rivalry.

It appears that neither team can catch the Rangers and will more than likely end up facing each other as the four and five seeds going into the first round. The battle will be for home ice advantage, and that will be critical should there be a game seven.

The Flyers will need Zac Rinaldo who has quickly become a fan favorite for being the guy to lay down some crunching hits. The guys in orange will thrive off of the Wells Fargo Center crowd, but they have to finish the job.

They have to want more than the other team.