The Eastern Conference is a jumbled mess right now, as the gap between both the second and seventh seeds (not including the Southeast Division-leading Panthers) and the eighth and 12th seeds is just three points on Monday.
Of interest to the Flyers are the teams just ahead of them as well as those right on their tails in the standings.
The Flyers are seeded fifth in the East with 79 points, two behind fourth seeded Pittsburgh. The Penguins and Flyers each have 18 games left.
The only bad news for the Flyers is that 11 of their remaining games are on home ice at Wells Fargo Center, where the club has been extraordinarily poor this season with a 15-10-5 record -- the 26th-worst in the NHL.
The Flyers road record of 21-11-2 is third-best in the league.
Somehow, you get the idea that how the Flyers fare at home will determine whether they nail the fourth seed or slip to fifth or sixth. No one is going to catch the Rangers (91 points) for the top seed.
New Jersey (77 points) and Ottawa (76) are right on the Flyers heels. The Devils have 17 games left while the Senators have just 15. Seven of the Devils' final games are against non-playoff clubs, while the Senators have eight such games but less potential points to work with.
NHL
Strength of schedule suggests the Flyers have the easier route over Pittsburgh as they play six non-playoff teams (based on current standings) while the Pens play four.
The third-seeded Florida Panthers (74 points) are in great shape to clinch the Southeast Division, because they play 10 games against non-playoff clubs while Winnipeg, which is chasing the Panthers, is four points behind and plays nine non-playoff clubs.
The Panthers have 17 games left versus the Jets' 16 and Winnipeg only plays Florida once more down the stretch.
E-mail Tim Panaccio at tpanotch@comcast.net