Six days ago, the Flyers had 56 points and were sitting as the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference, four points behind the top-seeded Rangers.
The Penguins were ninth and out of playoff contention. The Ottawa Senators were tied in points with the Flyers.
Thursdays surprising 4-1 loss to the Islanders dropped the Flyers to the fifth seed as Ottawa overtook them. The Flyers havent been fifth in the East since Dec. 3.
Were sitting here four points out of first in our conference and wishing we were a little better, coach Peter Laviolette said.
Theres certainly room for improvement. You watch a game like last night where you know you didnt put your best foot forward. It bites you. Its an 82-game marathon.
This weekend has the potential for a double-bubble of trouble for Laviolettes club.
First, there is Saturdays game against the surging Devils at New Jersey, followed by Sundays mid-afternoon matinee at Wells Fargo Center against the big bad Boston Bruins.
NHL
You remember them. They tattooed the Flyers pretty good on their last visit here by a fat, 6-0 margin.
Laviolette hasnt said who his goalies are or whether one will work both games. Ilya Bryzgalov said he hasnt even considered Boston. He was in goal that game and it was a major embarrassment for both he and the team.
I just take one game at a time, Bryzgalov said, adding he doesnt pay attention to the standings, either. We just need to play a good game. Play a good game and the results will come.
Standing-wise, the Devils and Penguins are both just four points behind the Flyers, while Bruins remain the second seed in the East, three points ahead of the Flyers with 61. The Rangers have 62.
If ever there were a weekend to get at least a split if not more, this is it, given the flip-flopping going on within the conference.
We got the Devils tomorrow and we dont expect it to be an easy game, Laviolette said. We need to start thinking about that. And we did. We had a meeting today, talked about last night against the Islanders and what we need to be better at and where we go tomorrow.
Were getting ready for that. Its important to move on. The games come so fast and furious, you cant get held up on a bad game or a player not having success three or four games, you keep moving forward.
Max Talbot called it a huge weekend.
And we have to approach it that way, Talbot said. We know the importance of these two games outside the standings.
Laviolette said he doesnt expect the Penguins to go anywhere and it has been New Jersey and Ottawa who have advanced in the standings.
Ottawa has climbed and theyre behind us, he said. The teams that have been there are Boston, New York, Pittsburgh and ourselves. Florida has been there. Nothing has really changed that much. Ottawa has come into the mix. Theyve had a real hot stretch there and pushed on.
Laviolette said that todays meeting only concerned the Devils and not Boston.
Theyll deal with the Bruins after Saturdays game in Newark.
E-mail Tim Panaccio at tpanotch@comcast.net