A playoff berth still looks pretty far-off for the Philadelphia Flyers, but there’s no denying that they’re on a hot streak right now.
Despite David Pastrnak giving the Boston Bruins leads of 1-0 and 2-1, the Flyers ended up rallying for a 3-2 overtime win on Thursday, giving them six straight victories. They’ve also won seven of eight games.
Both goalies deserve a mention tonight.
Carter Hart will get most of the headlines, and with good reason. The 20-year-old is now on a five-game winning streak, becoming just the 10th goalie in NHL history to go on such a run before turning 21, and the first since Carey Price did so in 2008. (Hot take: it’s almost always promising to be mentioned in the same breath as Price, especially younger Price.)
Hart’s win was notable, but it’s also worth knowing that Tuukka Rask did, indeed, play for the Bruins on Thursday.
While he couldn’t grab a W, it was still a pretty impressive showing from Rask, who made 38 saves. The Flyers generated a 41-25 shots on goal advantage, so the B’s are probably lucky to escape this one with a standings point.
Speaking of standings points, this leaves the Flyers with 50 in 51 games (22-23-6, 20 regulation/overtime wins), nine points behind the Columbus Blue Jackets for the East’s second wild-card spot. (Columbus can add to that on Thursday, as they’re facing the Jets in Winnipeg.)
So, as hot as Hart and the Flyers might be, it’s still tough to imagine the Flyers playing for much more than pride in 2018-19. Building some confidence for next season wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world, however, and this stretch provides some fuel for optimism.
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James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.