Playoff race

It’s not a mind-blowing concept.

Coming into Saturday’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Philadelphia Flyers needed to win the game.

The reasons are endless really: because it’s their hated rivals from Pittsburgh, because the Flyers are only two points ahead of them in the standings, because it’s a day game, because they’ve only won three of their last ten, because the Flyers play poorly at home, etc.

The list goes on and on.

However, the most basic reason the Flyers needed to win on Saturday is far simplier than all the other seemingly logical conclusions. The team needed to win above all else because the game was against a division opponent.