Sean Couturier

Heading into the third game of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, the Philadelphia Flyers have momentum on their side. Despite trailing the Pittsburgh Penguins by two goals or more in the first two games, the resilient group battled back in both and have taken a 2-0 series lead.

On Sunday, the two teams will meet for Game 3. The Flyers have already established their dominance over the Penguins, and have done so in dramatic fashion. They will be looking to make it three wins in a row, while the Penguins will hope to find their footing and earn their first victory of the series.

The Flyers had a 2-1 record against the Penguins at home and a 22-13-6 record overall in the Wells Fargo Center during the regular season, while Pittsburgh had a 22-15-4 road record.

Pittsburgh was the 2nd highest-scoring team on the road this season with 127 goals, while the Flyers were the 3rd highest-scoring home team with 139.

The Flyers are considered to be buyers in the coming weeks as the trade deadline rolls near.

Players like Nashville’s Ryan Suter and Shea Weber as well as Toronto’s Luke Schenn have been mentioned in numerous possible trade situations and rumors. But in the end, will it all matter for the Flyers?

Before this turns into a column writing off the Flyers, take a step back and look at the situation the team is in. They are currently eight points behind the Rangers for the Atlantic Division lead while resting with the fourth seed.

But on the other side of the Flyers, they are only eight points ahead of the ninth place Capitals. The Flyers could very easily be in the bottom half of the playoff tree when April rolls around and their possible match ups could spell doom.

The Philadelphia Flyers 4-1 victory over the Nashville Predators on Thursday night was one of the team’s most complete games of the season.

With all four forward lines operating like a well-oiled machine, the team managed to shell shock a Nashville team that was in the midst of a five-game winning streak.

The standout moments came in the form of Wayne Simmonds’ two-goal night, the energy of his line with Brayden Schenn and Zac Rinaldo, and the near flawless play of Ilya Bryzgalov.

However, it can’t be understated how important the team’s penalty kill was in the game’s outcome.

The last time the Philadelphia Flyers and Boston Bruins met, it was in the midst of a seven-game winning streak for the Flyers.

But unfortunately for the orange and black-clad team, that streak came to an abrupt end when they hosted the Stanley Cup champion Bruins.

In a pathetic showing which was featured on HBO’s 24/7, the Flyers were abused 6-0 at the hands of Boston. Just over a month later, the Bullies will seek pay back against the Bruins, who they have split the season series, 1-1, so far.