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Wrap: Flyers Blank Devils, 1-0
The Philadelphia Flyers defeated the New Jersey Devils. 1-0, at Wells Fargo Center on Saturday evening. A 20-save shutout by Samuel Ersson, a shorthanded breakaway goal by Travis Konecny in the second period and 22 blocked shots by Philadelphia for the game keyed the win.
In a losing cause, Devils goaltender Kaapo Kähkönen stopped 20 of 21 shots on goal. He made three or four tough saves over the course of the generally low-event game.
On the game-winning shorthanded goal, Scott Laughton took a risk by exiting the defensive zone early and having Nick Seeler retrieve the puck. The gamble worked out, and Konecny soloed for the breakaway goal after a good feed from Laughton.
The Flyers went 0-for-3 on the power play. The Devils were 0-for-1.
For a period-by-period synopsis, analysis, stats and highlights, see the Postgame 5 on PhiladelphiaFlyers.com: Click here.
The Flyers will have a complete off-day on Sunday. On Monday at 11 a.m. EDT, they will hold their final practice of the 2023-24 regular season at the Flyers Training Center in Voorhees. The next night, they will host the Washington Capitals in the final game of the regular season.
Until Tuesday, all the Flyers can do is watch the scoreboard and see where things stand heading into the finale. In order to make the playoffs, the Flyers need all of the following to happen:
* Flyers must beat the Capitals on Tuesday. It may need to be a regulation win for tiebreaker purposes, but that is still yet to be determined.
* Currently tied with the Flyers (87 points apiece), the Detroit Red Wings must do no better than a 1-1-0 split in a home-and-home set with the Montreal Canadiens on Monday or Tuesday. The Flyers have already clinched the regulation wins tiebreaker in the event that both Philly and Detroit finish with 89 points.
* Currently one point behind the Flyers, the Penguins must come away with no more than two points combined from their games against the Nashville Predators on Monday and New York Islanders on Wednesday. Ideally, the Predators beat the Penguins in regulation. In the event the Penguins finish with 89 points, Pittsburgh presently holds both the primary tiebreaker edge (31 regulation wins to 30) and the secondary tiebreaker edge (35 regulation plus overtime wins to 34). For final standings purposes, the Flyers currently hold the tertiary tiebreaker of total wins (38 to 37).
* The Capitals must lose head-to-head against the Flyers on Tuesday under any scenario. Ideally, though, the Capitals will lose in regulation against Boston on Monday. That would create a scenario where any type of Flyers win -- regulation, overtime or shootout -- would enable the Flyers to finish ahead of Washington. An overtime or shootout loss to the Bruins would mean the Flyers would either need a regulation or overtime win come Tuesday. If the Capitals beat the Bruins in regulation, the Flyers must beat the Caps in regulation on Tuesday. If the Caps win in overtime, the Flyers must win in regulation or OT the next night. If the Caps win via shootout, any Flyers win would work.
The tiebreaker scenarios are complicated. The Flyers and Capitals are currently tied in regulation wins, regulation plus overtime wins and total wins. The fourth tiebreaker is head-to-head record. The Flyers are currently 2-1-0 against the Capitals. To finish ahead of Washington if the Capitals beat the Bruins, Philly will need to prevail via a tiebreaking category.
********** Flyers Celebrate Simmonds
Prior to the game, the Flyers honored the retirement of Wayne Simmonds as an active player. Simmonds signed a one-day contract on Friday so he could retire as a Flyer. "Simmer" spent eight seasons in the orange and black.
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********* Phantoms on Verge of Playoff Clincher
It wasn't pretty, but the Lehigh Valley Phantoms earned a vital 5-4 overtime win at home against the Bridgeport Islanders at the PPL Center on Saturday.
Tanner Laczynski, who has had a consistently strong all-around season when healthy, played an outstanding game for Ian Laperriere's squad on Saturday. Most notably, Laczynski generated two go-ahead goals and an assist against Bridgeport. Laczynski has 16 goals, 41 points and a plus-11 in just 46 games this season.
Adam Brooks (12th) has had an excellent stretch drive for the Phantoms and scored again on Saturday. Defenseman Louie Belpedio had a goal (4th) and assist. Belpedio scored the game-winner in sudden death. Cooper Marody collected his 35th and 36th assists of the season (53rd and 54th points). Defenseman Ethan Samson (3rd) scored a first period goal to erase an early 1-0 deficit.
Making his North American pro hockey debut, Alexei Kolosov stopped 24 of 28 shots. He was beaten by Brian Pinho (8th) on a second period penalty shot that tied the score at 2-2. Pinho (9th) later forged a 4-4 tie with a 6-on-5 goal in the final 35 seconds of the third period. Karson Kuhlman netted a pair of power play goals (11th and 12th) for Bridgeport.
As noted in yesterday's game preview, the Phantoms have been struggling on both ends of special teams down the stretch. That continued on Saturday, as Lehigh Valley was 0-for-2 on the power play and 0-for-2 on the penalty kill.
Zayde Wisdom did not get on the scoresheet for Lehigh Valley but was given third-star honors for playing a physical and gritty game that included four shots on goal. Rookie defenseman Hunter McDonald assisted on Laczynski's second goal and played well defensively.
The Phantoms' win on Saturday was paired with the Springfield Thunderbirds losing, 6-3, at home against the Charlotte Checkers. As a result, the Lehigh Valley magic number to clinch the final Calder Cup playoff spot in the Atlantic Division is down to one. The Phantoms are 30-30-9.
The Thunderbirds, who have lost six games in a row and dropped eight of their last 10 games, have dropped to 29-35-5 on the season. They will try to stay alive on Sunday when they host the second-place Providence Bruins (40-19-19). The Phantoms are idle on Sunday.
If Springfield loses on Sunday, the Phantoms clinch. If not, the Phantoms either need to come away with one point from their final three games OR have Springfield lose of their final two games.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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