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Eight teams down, eight teams to go. Needless to say, the first round did not go as predicted by literally anyone. This year featured some of the greatest upsets in NHL history, creating an unlikely elite eight. Here's who's still standing. The Matchup: New York Islanders (103 PTS, 2nd in Metro) vs. Carolina Hurricanes (99 PTS, 4th in Metro - 1st Wild Card) Recent Meetings: This is their first matchup since the Canes moved from Hartford. The Last Time They Were Here: New York

The first shoe of a critical offseason has dropped for the Philadelphia Flyers. Philadelphia announced Monday afternoon that they have hired Alain Vigneault to be their 21st head coach in franchise history. Vigneault has signed a 5-year, $25 million deal, per The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun. This comes out 3 days after Elliotte Friedman reported the club had asked the New York Rangers permission to speak with Vigneault. There were really never any other candidates mentioned, oth

Unless you're from Boston, the vast majority of seasons for your favorite sports teams usually end in failure. The extent of that failure is measured by a series of factors - with expectations, individual performances, closeness to the ultimate goal at the forefront. This formula certainly holds true for the 2018-19 Philadelphia Flyers. Once projected as a 100-point team destined for the playoffs, a series of issues plagued the Flyers at different points of their season, caus

It's the most exciting time of the year. The Stanley Cup Playoffs are finally looming. With play beginning tomorrow night, I wanted to get my picks in before the action begins so I can rightfully brag about how smart I am in two months (or, more likely, how wrong I was). Conference Quaterfinals CGY over COL (6 Games) A lot is being made about the Flames goaltending potentially being their downfall, but Philip Grubauer isn't exactly a Vezina Candidate. Calgary's superior depth

One conference down, one conference to go. Time to take a look at what the best of the West has to offer in the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Matchup: Calgary Flames (107 PTS, 1st in Pacific) vs. Colorado Avalanche (90 PTS, 5th in Central - 2nd Wild Card) Recent Meetings: None in recent memory, as both teams have been on the bubble for the last couple years. They have each made two playoff appearances since 2014, but both didn't make it either time. Season Series: Calgary to

There is no more exciting time of the hockey year than the playoffs. The initial field of 31 teams is cut down to the top 16* (*sorry, Montreal), setting the stage for one of the most thrilling tournaments in sports. Big hits, big goals, big games, nonstop. No more loser points. No more shootouts. No more easy wins. The two month grind to determine a victor of Lord Stanley's Cup, the greatest trophy in sports, is about to commence. Even though the Flyers did not qualify for t

Amidst the whirl wind of the end of the Flyers season and the beginning of playoff hockey, let's take one final look back at the crazy 2018-19 NHL regular season and see where everyone ended up. Since there's a lot to talk about in the form of other articles, we're going to keep these rankings condensed to three points per team. 31. Ottawa Senators (29-47-6, Last Month: 31) 1. Raging dumpster fire. 2. With Columbus making the playoffs, the Sens are guaranteed to receive the J

In their final game of the 2018-19 season, the Philadelphia Flyers lose, 4-3, to the playoff bound Carolina Hurricanes. On that final note, this disappointing yet thrilling season comes to a merciful but truly sad end. A quick recap of the game. Mark Friedman was called up for his NHL debut, with Phil Myers being sent down-wait am I reading this right? Yes, Phil Myers was sent down, but in fairness, it was likely done to help the Phantoms with their Calder Cup playoff push. T

Just start singing the Blues already. The Philadelphia Flyers lose in blowout fashion. It's seven minutes into the game and the Flyers are losing 4-1, so it'll be fun to see what the final score is when I finish writing this. Hey look, the Flyers scored! Oh, give it a sec... and the Blues scored again. The Flyers are on pace to give up 30 goals right now. Technically slightly more than 30, actually. The good news is they're on pace to score 12, which is pretty good. I doubt t

Not doing it. Can't do this just on the Flyers, who lost 6-2 Tuesday night to the Dallas Stars. No, we need to talk about a different star - Bryce Harper, whose Phillies defeated his old team, the Washington Nationals, 8-2 in Bryce's first game back in D.C., with Harper right at the forefront. I don't want to abandon the FFR's with 2 games left in the season, so, to borrow a baseball term, let's do a doubleheader. First is the worst, so we'll lead off with the Flyers. This ga