Flyers: The Best/Worst Way To Make The Playoffs

I don't like the NHL's shootout rule for regular-season games. Besides the fact that most teams have higher point totals because of it (there are 11 teams with over 100 points this season -- 11!), I don't think it's particularly exciting, at least not on TV. And it's a horrible way to decide a winner. Imagine a home run-hitting contest deciding a baseball game. I've said many times that if the NHL ever implements the shootout in the Stanley Cup playoffs, I will never watch it again. I stand by that promise. I hope it never happens.

So how strange it was to see the Flyers get into the playoffs because they won a shootout. How awful must the New York Rangers and their fans feel? In a winner-take-all game, they missed out on the postseason because of something that, outside of international play such as the Olympics, used to be seen only during All-Star skills competitions.

But it's the Rangers' own fault they were in that position. I saw a lot of the game, and over the last two periods I felt the Flyers carried the play and earned the victory, something that couldn't be said often enough during this inconsistent slog of a season. They were down 1-0 until Matt Carle (really? Not Richards or Gagne or...) tied the game in the third period. When the five-minute overtime ended with the game still 1-1, I didn't hold out much hope. Yet Danny Briere and Claude Giroux scored shootout goals while Brian Boucher only allowed one Ranger to put the puck past him. The Flyers have been unbelievably awful in shootouts since the rule was put in place, so for them to win this one was just shocking.

Amazingly enough, the Flyers will now face the New Jersey Devils in the opening playoff round. The Flyers were 5-1-0 against the Devils this season. This is the one opponent that, despite their disparity in records and in goal, the Flyers actually have a puncher's chance of beating. Certainly this is much better and hopefully more entertaining than a series against the Washington Capitals.