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The Philadelphia Flyers did something that should have been nearly impossible a season ago by winning 10 games in a row and then somehow missing the playoffs. How does that even happen?
This season they are trying to reverse that performance.
After losing 10 games in a row earlier this season the Flyers now find themselves in a pretty good position to make the playoffs.
After their win in Vegas on Sunday night (only the fourth team to win a game in Vegas in regulation this season) the Flyers find themselves in third place in the Metropolitan Division, just one point behind the second place Penguins and five points behind the first place Washington Capitals. They also have a five-point cushion over the pack of non-playoff teams in the Eastern Conference.
Since that 10-game losing streak came to an end the Flyers are 20-8-2 in the 30 games that have followed. That is a 115-point pace over 82 games.
How many teams have a better record over that stretch? Two. The Boston Bruins and the Vegas Golden Knights.
They have three of the top-17 point producers in the NHL in Claude Giroux, Jakub Voracek, and Sean Couturier (Giroux and Voracek are both in the top-seven), a great power forward in Wayne Simmonds, and some really intriguing young talent in Shayne Gostisbehere, Ivan Provorov, Travis Konecny, and Nolan Patrick. They just need to get a little more out of Brian Elliott to really be on to something.
They have been on the rise in our power rankings in recent weeks and check in this week just outside of the top-10.
Here is the rest of the list.
The Elites
1. Tampa Bay Lightning -- The Lightning have been the top team in the NHL from almost day one. Great group of forwards. One of the top defenseman in the NHL. A front-line starting goalie. Now try to imagine them with Ryan McDonagh on their blue line on top of all of that. It could happen.
2. Boston Bruins -- Tuukka Rask went nearly two months between losses in regulation. With him playing like an elite goalie once again the Bruins look like they are going to be a force. Patrice Bergeron is having another wonderful season. Is he an MVP candidate? Maybe he should be. History is not kind to his chances though.
3. Vegas Golden Knights -- The more I watch the Golden Knights the more I think they have a legitimate shot to win the Western Conference. Fast. Skilled up front. Good goaltending. They have a lot going for them.
4. Nashville Predators -- How much will Mike Fisher be able to provide? Expectations should be kept within reason, but their center depth is ridiculous. That was their biggest undoing in the Stanley Cup Final a year ago. Should not be a problem this year.
The Strong Contenders
5. Winnipeg Jets -- The fact they kept winning as much as they did without Mark Scheifele in the lineup is a great example as to how deep this team has become.
6. Washington Capitals -- Are they as good as their record? Tough to say because they give up a ton of shots and their possession numbers are not great, but Braden Holtby is a game-changer. So is that Alex Ovechkin guy.
7. Pittsburgh Penguins -- Their big three up front with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Phil Kessel is still on a roll right now. Also starting to get on a little bit of a roll lately? Matt Murray. If he gets going again for this team, watch out.
8. Dallas Stars -- Okay, maybe I undersold the Stars a bit in last week’s power rankings. Let’s try to correct that this week.
9. Toronto Maple Leafs -- Their defense stinks, but they have a ridiculous group of forwards that can score with anybody in the NHL and a goalie that is playing really, really, really well. They have a tough path through the playoffs, but it is still an exciting team. They have also won eight of their past 10 games entering play on Monday.
10. St. Louis Blues -- They do not seem to get a lot of love but they have a really good record, one of the best players in the world in Vladimir Tarasenko, and have won eight of their past 12 games.
Close To Contenders
11. Philadelphia Flyers -- At least they are never boring. They have been one of the best teams in the league over the past two months.
12. Los Angeles Kings -- I really don’t know what to make of this team. They enter the week on the outside of the playoff picture ... but they are also two points away from being in second place in the Pacific Division. They also have the fourth best goal differential in the Western Conference and are still tough to score against and control possession.
The Middle Of The Pack
13. San Jose Sharks -- After a slow start to the season Brent Burns is once again one of the top scoring defenders in the NHL. They are going to need him to carry the offense with Joe Thornton sidelined.
14. Minnesota Wild -- This is where things start to get a little bit messy in the West. A bunch of teams all thrown together, only separated by a handful of points. The Wild with a healthy Zach Parise and Nino Neiderreiter could be an intriguing team out of that group.
15. Calgary Flames -- They better hope Mike Smith’s injury is not serious. He has been really good this season and they can not afford to lose him.
16. New Jersey Devils -- They are trending in the wrong direction. Fortunately they built themselves a nice cushion early in the season, but that cushion is getting smaller and smaller with each loss.
17. Anaheim Ducks -- I keep thinking a healthy Ducks team could make a big move but it hasn’t really happened yet. Losses in four of their past six have not helped.
18. Carolina Hurricanes -- They keep hanging around and are not going away. They open the week in a playoff spot and have a pretty good shot to end that postseason drought.
19. Columbus Blue Jackets -- Really disappointing team right now. I thought the addition of Artemi Panarin was going to be a game-changer for them. He has been great, but the rest of the offense has gone in the tank lately. Now they are in a fight just to make the playoffs.
20. New York Islanders -- They are dangerously close to wasting what has been a great offense and great seasons from John Tavares, Josh Bailey and Mat Barzal. The latter is having one of the best rookie seasons we have seen in the NHL in years.
21. Colorado Avalanche -- After winning 10 in a row the Avalanche have now dropped six of their past nine. Losing Nathan MacKinnon has hurt a ton.
22. New York Rangers -- They pretty much admitted they are going to be sellers and trade off anyone they can. They are still “in it” but once they start dealing players like Rick Nash and Michael Grabner, and perhaps even Ryan McDonagh or Mats Zuccarello, it is hard to see them being in it for much longer.
Buy A Lottery Ticket
23. Florida Panthers -- They had a nice winning streak to make things a little interesting, but it was probably too little, too late.
24. Chicago Blackhawks -- After losing to the Minnesota Wild in regulation the Blackhawks sit 10 points out of a playoff spot with four teams ahead of them. That might have been it for the Blackhawks this season. Corey Crawford might be back soon but he can not save this season.
25. Detroit Red Wings -- Having a 5-2 lead with six minutes to play and then losing by giving up four goals on a five-minute power play might have been one of the low points of the season.
26. Montreal Canadiens -- The Canadiens current players are probably tired of hearing about P.K. Subban, but that’s too bad. Historically dumb trades that set a franchise back always get remembered and talked about.
27. Vancouver Canucks -- They dominated the Dallas Stars to end what had been a pretty miserable four-game road trip. So they at least have that going for them.
28. Ottawa Senators -- They did win four of their past six games but ... this team is still not very good. Neither is the entire situation with the team. Like the Rangers they recently hinted that a rebuild is on the way.
29. Edmonton Oilers -- There was a four-game stretch here recently where Connor McDavid scored seven goals and recorded 10 points. The Edmonton Oilers won only one of those games. That pretty much sums up what this team is right now. Connor McDavid then a bunch of guys just occupying the roster.
30. Buffalo Sabres -- Jack Eichel was the only thing this team really had going for it right now. Now he is injured with a high ankle sprain.
31. Arizona Coyotes -- It is not a matter of effort, it is simply a lack of talent. A ridiculously young team with too many holes to compete.
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Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.