The orange-and-black are back as Flyers celebrate clinching 1st playoff spot since 2020
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Dan Vladar turned aside Carolina's fourth shootout attempt, threw his arms in the air and waited for the swarm of Flyers to mob him in celebration. Every Flyer hopped the boards and rushed the ice as fans — almost all clad in orange — went wild in a celebration six years — and a long rebuild — in the making. The Flyers skated to center ice and raised their sticks toward a packed and rowdy crowd that hasn’t enjoyed a home playoff series since 2018 as “CLINCHED!
” flashed on the big screen. Yes, Philadelphia — long ago one of the model franchises in the NHL — is indeed back in the playoffs for the first time since 2020. Tyson Foerster scored the only goal in the shootout to send Philadelphia to a 3-2 win over the Eastern Conference top seed Carolina Hurricanes on Monday night, setting up a first-round series with Sidney Crosby and Pittsburgh.
“It's going to be a lot of fun,” Owen Tippett said. “These guys in this room love each other. It's going to be a blast.
But the job's not done. ” Reaching the postseason is a meaningful milestone for the Flyers and fans who endured many seasons of miserable hockey. “It's been a lot of years," Flyers first-year coach Rick Tocchet said.
“I feel for them, I really do. I get it. We could only do our part and try and build this thing.