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Philadelphia Flyers
Location: Philadelphia, Pa. | Arena: Wachovia Center (19,536) | GM: Paul Holmgren | Coach: John Stevens | Stanley Cups: 2
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Power Rankings: Sinking Flyers open playoff possibilities for others


Updated March 17

W.C Fields once famously proposed as his epitaph, "I'd rather be in Philadelphia," but these days, several teams in the Eastern Conference probably just want to thank the city, or at least its struggling hockey team.

Martin Biron, half of Philly's goalie-tandem, has struggled lately, as has his fellow netminder. (US Presswire)  
Martin Biron, half of Philly's goalie-tandem, has struggled lately, as has his fellow netminder. (US Presswire)  
The Flyers, who appeared to be the new model for quick turnarounds under the NHL's salary cap system and were so promising early in the season, have all but collapsed in the past six weeks, and in the process, they have re-opened the door to a potential playoff berth for a number of teams.

Philadelphia still holds down the eighth and final spot in the East with 80 points, but since being comfortably ensconced in the playoff picture at the end of January, the Flyers have dropped 16 of their past 21 games, a freefall that included a 10-game losing streak.

The upshot is that Philadelphia now has the Buffalo Sabres, Washington Capitals and Florida Panthers breathing hard down their necks. A fourth team, the Maple Leafs, saw their outside chance dwindle over the weekend with a loss, but Toronto might have helped turned the tide for everyone with back-to-back wins over the Flyers last week.

One came after the Leafs erased a three-goal deficit and showed as much as anything the problems Philadelphia has had lately. Philadelphia's goaltending tandem of Martin Biron and Antero Niittymaki has been questionable at best during the slide, but they aren't getting much help from the defensemen or an offense that hasn't produced much lately either.

Together, it has put the Flyers in a vulnerable position while they are being chased by three desperate teams. But it has made the race for the playoffs in the East a lot more interesting over the final three weeks.

This week's rankings:

Power Rankings
CurrentTeamPrevious
1Blackhawks · Trends2
Chicago had to have a letdown after that statement win in San Jose, just not enough to ruin a great 4-1-1 circus road trip.
2Sharks · Trends1
The Sharks are always among the best at home, but this season they already have 11 road wins to lead the league.
3Devils · Trends3
Marty's just being Marty. Devils goalie Brodeur has allowed two goals or less in 13 of his past 15 starts, and one or less in eight of those.
4Penguins · Trends7
Getting healthy and on a roll. The Pens are starting to fire on all cylinders and have won six of their past eight.
5Flames · Trends5
They are taking control of the Northwest Division mainly because of how well they are playing on the road.
6Capitals · Trends6
Semyon Varlamov has picked up where he left off in the playoffs, going 10-1-3 so far in his first full NHL season.
7Sabres · Trends8
Is there any doubt Ryan Miller has locked up the starting job for Team USA at the Olympics?
8Predators · Trends9
A very solid blue line and good work in goal from both Pekka Rinne and Dan Ellis have the Predators in the thick of the West race.
9Bruins · Trends11
Playing a lot of hockey these days, with OTs in five of their past six, but Boston is picking up points and back in the division race.
10Thrashers · Trends21
In Ilya Kovalchuk's shadow, Rich Peverley remains an impact guy with a league-leading five game-winners among his 10 goals.
11Senators · Trends10
Mike Fisher is having a big-time turnaround season for the Sens and putting up the best numbers of his career.
12Flyers · Trends4
With the Flyers still falling short of expectations, coach John Stevens' future is being called into question.
13Coyotes · Trends17
Tough team to play against when ahead. Phoenix is 11-2-1 this season when scoring first.
14Red Wings · Trends13
You know things are rough offensively when the home folks are yelling "Let's go Lions."
15Lightning · Trends19
Steven Stamkos continues his remarkable sophomore season and drive toward Canada's Olympic team. He's on pace to score more than 50 goals.
16Kings · Trends14
Anze Kopitar's shootout winner against Chicago is the only time he has scored since Ryan Smyth went down.
17Avalanche · Trends18
Things continue to go downhill for the Avalanche, who now have their top two goal scorers on the shelf.
18Canucks · Trends16
The Canucks are in the playoff picture because of their record at home and in spite of their penalty killing so far.
19Stars · Trends20
Dallas has actually lost more games than it has won, but the loser points are keeping the Stars in the hunt.
20Rangers · Trends22
Little is going right these days, making the great start seem more like an illusion with each passing game.
21Panthers · Trends12
If only games lasted 40 minutes. Florida triggered four losses in the third period last week, and has won only four of nine times it has led after two.
22Canadiens · Trends25
Montreal finishes the season's second month like the first, as a .500 team that doesn't look playoff bound.
23Islanders · Trends23
Josh Bailey responded to being a healthy scratch with a nice offensive surge for the scrappy Isles.
24Ducks · Trends27
No one is shutting down Perry and Getzlaf these days, but Anaheim's hole is still pretty deep.
25Maple Leafs · Trends30
A trip down south was just what the doctor ordered for the Leafs, who are getting big-time production from Niklas Hagman and Phil Kessel.
26Blue Jackets · Trends15
Hard to imagine team defense would be the problem on a Ken Hitchcock coached team.
27Blues · Trends24
One reason for the Blues' 4-8-2 record in their own building is their inability to score there. St. Louis has only 28 goals in 14 games at home.
28Wild · Trends28
Still a long way to go, but at least the Wild has picked up points in 10 of their past 13 games.
29Oilers · Trends26
They can't win on the road lately, or anywhere for that matter. Edmonton's five-game road losing streak is part of a 4-11-3 mark over the past 18 games.
30Hurricanes · Trends29
The 'Canes allowed five third-period goals twice over the weekend and still haven't won on the road.
 
 

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