There's hope in the City of Brotherly Love.

With a win over Tampa Bay on Monday, the Philadelphia Flyers moved to within two points of Detroit for the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.

A recent 7-2-1 run has greatly increased their chances of qualifying for the playoffs, something that seemed like a pipe dream as the calendar turned to 2016.

(Courtesy: Sports Club Stats)

Now within striking distance of both Detroit and Pittsburgh with 17 games remaining for each club, here's three reasons why the Flyers will indeed be one of the final 16 teams left standing at the end of the regular season.

Ghost Bear, Gudas & Co.

The big story, of course, has been the one they call "The Ghost Bear," who's been nothing short of spectacular since being called up in mid-November. Through 47 games, 22-year-old Shayne Gostisbehere has recorded 14 goals and 23 assists, and only Erik Karlsson, Kris Letang, Brent Burns, and John Klingberg are averaging more points per game among defensemen.

While Gostisbehere is rightfully being lauded for helping right the Flyers' offensive ship with his breakout performance on the blue line, the emergence of Radko Gudas as a stellar defenseman is also going a long way towards propelling Philadelphia's upward climb.

Sure, his recent four-point night was an anomaly, and he's known more for questionable hits than pushing the puck up the ice, but possession-wise, Gudas is actually playing at a high level.

Among defensemen with at least 750 minutes of ice time at five-on-five, Gudas ranks 20th with a Corsi rating of 53.7, while beginning only 31.6 percent of his shifts in the offensive zone.

Defense wasn't expected to be an area of strength for the Flyers, but six of the eight players who have dressed this season sit at or above 50 in terms of five-on-five Corsi.

Top line on fire

Jakub Voracek's lower-body injury could not have come at a worse time, and while he's expected to miss a couple more games, the Flyers' top line has been smoking hot in his absence.

Here's what the trio of Claude Giroux, Brayden Schenn, and Wayne Simmonds has done in the five game since Voracek was bit by the injury bug.

Player	Goals	Assists
Claude Giroux	2	6
Brayden Schenn	4	2
Wayne Simmonds	3	3

Voracek's expected return should only give the Flyers a more balanced offense, making the team difficult to handle down the stretch.

Their team shooting percentage sits at 7.05 at five-on-five, good for 18th in the league. Even a slight uptick will give the Flyers that much more of a boost down the stretch.

Finally, some solid goaltending

Philadelphia's quest for anything resembling competent play in net has been lengthy and well documented, but general manager Ron Hextall may have finally unlocked that particular achievement.

Once thought to be a lost cause in Columbus, Steve Mason has quietly rejuvenated his career with the Flyers, while the addition of Michal Neuvirth has given head coach Dave Hakstol reason to believe he has a 1A-1B tandem on his hands.

Player	GP	Record	GAA	Sv%	SO
Steve Mason	39	15-15-7	2.61	.916	4
Michal Neuvirth	30	16-8-4	2.29	.925	3

In five-on-five play, the Flyers' .936 save percentage ranks second only to the New York Rangers, meaning the goalies can't be blamed this time around if the Flyers don't end up advancing to the postseason.

With three games remaining against Pittsburgh and two versus the Red Wings, all of the above will be key in terms of passing one or both en route to a playoff berth.

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With five weeks remaining on the NHL's regular season schedule, the race to secure a playoff spot should be kicking into high gear.

But are there any teams currently on the outside looking in that have a legitimate shot at one of the 16 postseason berths?

Eastern Conference

The Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings sit comfortably in the Eastern Conference wild-card spots, while a handful of teams are within six points of the latter. Only the Philadelphia Flyers, however, appear to have a decent shot at making up the difference.

Team	GP	Points	Playoff Chances (%)
Pittsburgh	65	76	87.2
Detroit	65	75	77.2
Philadelphia	64	71	32.8
Carolina	66	69	4.9
New Jersey	67	69	2.0
Ottawa	67	69	1.7

Detroit's minus-eight goal differential is also cause for concern, as the Red Wings are the only playoff team on the negative side of the ledger. But Philadelphia, which sits at minus-nine, isn't exuding much confidence in that area. All three teams, it should be noted, are positive possession clubs, with the Penguins (52) holding the advantage over Detroit (51.3) and Philadelphia (50.2) in terms of Corsi For at five-on-five.

What gives the Flyers somewhat of an advantage is their one game in hand on both Pittsburgh and Detroit, and even more on those below them in the standings. Philadelphia has three games remaining against their rivals from Pittsburgh, and two against Detroit, meaning all five games will carrying great significance for the Eastern Conference playoff picture.

Western Conference

Out West, the situation appears to be more dire for teams on the outs.

Thanks to a recent hot streak, the Nashville Predators have all but locked down at least the first wild-card spot, leaving the Colorado Avalanche and Minnesota Wild to duke it out for the remaining "x" on the standings board.

Team	GP	Points	Playoff Chances (%)
Nashville	66	78	98.9
Minnesota	67	72	78.5
Colorado	67	70	20.3

Despite the slim two-point gap between the two clubs, the Wild appear to have a clear advantage over the Avalanche in this race.

On the surface, Minnesota's goal differential sits at plus-eight, while the Avalanche's sit at minus-14. And in terms of possession, Colorado is the league's worst in terms of Corsi For at five-on-five (44 percent), while the Wild rank 20th (48). Neither number bodes well for a long playoff run, but Minnesota seems to be the more solid bet to achieve enough regular season success to qualify.

So while there will certainly be some jockeying in terms of the final standings and playoff seeding, it would appear there's a good chance the 16 teams that will battle for the Stanley Cup have already been decided.

But if the 2014-15 Ottawa Senators taught us anything, nothing is decided until 82 games have been played by all 30 teams.

- Stats courtesy of Sports Club Stats

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After being suspended by SKA St. Petersburg during the first round of the KHL playoffs, former NHL star Ilya Kovalchuk made a surprise return to the club Monday.

The winger, who was stripped of his captaincy, was back on the ice for the opening game of the team's second-round series against Dynamo Moscow.

Ilya Kovalchuk is back in the SKA lineup for the second round. This after the club had announced last week that he'd sit out the playoffs.

— Slava Malamud (@SlavaMalamud) March 7, 2016

It was reported that SKA offered Kovalchuk $1 million to terminate his contract, and buyout discussions are still ongoing, according to Sportsnet's Luke Fox. Reports of turmoil between the player and club sparked rumors the forward would eye a return to the NHL.

After leaving his team down 1-0 in its opening-round series, St. Petersburg won its next four games without last year's Gagarin Cup MVP to advance to Round 2.

Kovalchuk retired from the NHL in 2013 with 12 years remaining on his contract with the New Jersey Devils, leaving $77 million on the table. NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly has noted that all 30 teams must unanimously agree to allow Kovalchuk to return to the league if he tries to come back within a year of playing professionally elsewhere. Should he sit out a full calendar year, he'll require only the Devils' consent.

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The New Jersey Devils were on their way to a regulation loss in Nashville until Adam Henrique happened.

With his team down 4-3 late in the third, the center scored with 40 seconds remaining to force overtime.

Then, Henrique ended the game at the 1:54 mark of the extra period, securing a big two points.

The win improved New Jersey's record to 31-27-9, good for 69 points on the season. They now sit five points back of Pittsburgh for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.

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The Dallas Stars thought they addressed their big area of weakness, goaltending, in the offseason, but shaky play between the pipes continues to haunt the club.

The Master Plan

After his club finished next to last in team save percentage last season (.895), general manager Jim Nill decided to compliment incumbent Kari Lehtonen with the acquisition of Antti Niemi from San Jose.

At the time, Nill contended the NHL had become a two-goalie league, and that a healthy measure of competition would be beneficial for both Lehtonen and Niemi.

The GM was so confident in this philosophy that he, with the blessing of owner Tom Gaglardi, put pen to paper on a three-year, $13.5-million contract for Niemi, even with Lehtonen already signed through to the end of 2017-18 with a cap hit of $5.9 million.

Add it all up, and the Stars entered the season with a supposed 1A/1B goalie combo carrying a combined salary cap hit of $10.4 million.

Where They Stand

With 17 games remaining in the regular season, the Stars have posted a record of 38-20-7, good for a share of the Central Division lead in points along with Chicago and St. Louis.

Following a loss to Nashville on Tuesday, however, Dallas has gone 3-5-2 over the past 10 games, allowing 40 goals against over that span.

It's an ugly stretch, and it certainly hasn't helped the overall numbers posted by Lehtonen and Niemi to date.

Player	Games Played	Record	Save %	GAA	Shutouts
Antti Niemi	42	22-12-6	.903	2.72	3
Kari Lehtonen	31	16-8-1	.906	2.93	1

What's boosting the Stars is their elite-level offense, which ranks first in the NHL with 209 goals, four more than Washington, albeit in three more games played.

That's all well and good, but Dallas finished last season in the second spot in terms of goals for (one behind Tampa Bay) yet failed to qualify for the playoffs after finishing the regular season with a plus-1 goal differential.

The Outlook

Based on the NHL's current playoff format, the Stars would have to beat two divisional opponents to advance to the Western Conference finals. Chicago, St. Louis, Nashville, and Minnesota have better team save percentages to date, and even Colorado's goalies - a team now on the outside looking in - have performed better than the Stars' duo.

At present, only five teams have allowed more goals than the Stars, and while the addition of the shot-blocking Kris Russell is expected to shore up the defense, the Stars' strong regular season could very well translate into a first-or second-round playoff exit if the goaltenders don't improve.

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The Minnesota Wild's scoring woes appear to be a thing of the past as John Torchetti's club matched a season-high in goals in Tuesday's 6-3 win over the Colorado Avalanche.

The two points draw the Wild even with the Avalanche at 68 points, but with a game in hand, Minnesota holds the final Western Conference wild-card spot.

Western Conference Wild Card Standings

Rnk	Team	GP	W	L	O	Pts
1	Nashville	64	32	21	11	75
2	Minnesota	64	29	25	10	68
3	Colorado	65	32	29	4	68

It was just over a month ago when the Wild scored six goals over a six-game period from Jan. 9-20. The team has now scored at least five goals in five of nine games since replacing head coach Mike Yeo with Torchetti on Feb. 13.

A big part of their recent success has been the production from their third line of Erik Haula, Jason Pominville, and Nino Niederreiter. The trio combined for seven points against the Avalanche, with all three scoring breakaway goals in the first period, ending the night of Avalanche starter Semyon Varlamov.

"They want to play on both sides of the puck," Torchetti said of the line, per Michael Russo of the Star Tribune. "I think the whole team can learn from that.

"We talk a lot, on the bench, to support each other," Niederreiter added. The winger would score on an empty net in the third to help him and Pominville finish with three-point nights.

"This game was one I think everyone had marked down and wanted to win," Pominville said postgame. "And everyone responded."

Haula: "It was a great win and now we're looking forward to the next one." #mnwild

— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) March 2, 2016

Less than a minute before Niederreiter's empty-netter, Charlie Coyle scored his team-leading 21st of the year.

The Wild now have a great chance to pick up another four points with a quick two-game road trip in the East as they'll visit the league-worst Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday before a Saturday visit with the Buffalo Sabres.

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ST. PAUL, Minn. - Charlie Coyle and Nino Niederreiter each scored twice to give the Minnesota Wild a 6-3 win over the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday night and possession of the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Coyle scored the gam...

The Colorado Avalanche were one of the most active teams Monday, making it perfectly clear they're making a push for the playoffs this season.

The Avalanche surprised many when they emerged out of nowhere to acquire forward Mikkel Boedker from the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for Alex Tanguay and prospects Conner Bleackley and Kyle Wood.

Related: Coyotes trade Boedker to Avalanche for Tanguay, 2 prospects

Moments later, they filled an important need on the blue line by landing defenseman Eric Gelinas from the New Jersey Devils for a third-round pick.

For Avs fans wondering: Eric Gelinas is a good skater for his size, has a cannon of a shot. Prone to the big mistake & not overly physical.

— Todd Cordell (@ToddCordell) February 29, 2016

The Avalanche were certainly in an interesting position heading into Monday's trade deadline. Standing pat appeared to be a very likely option for a team not quite ready to compete with the Chicago Blackhawks, Dallas Stars, and St. Louis Blues in the Central Division this season. However, for a young core lacking big-game experience, general manager Joe Sakic evidently felt a crack at the postseason was too good to pass up.

Sitting two points up on the Minnesota Wild for the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference, the aforementioned moves will certainly provide a gigantic boost for a team on the playoff bubble with just 18 games remaining in the regular season.

The #Avalanche, who were the second-oldest team in the NHL, get a little younger with 26-year old Mikkel Boedker for Tanguay. #TradeDeadline

— Steve Mears (@MearsyNHL) February 29, 2016

Adding Boedker - a pending unrestricted free agent - definitely came at a hefty price, but Sakic made it clear that a run to the postseason over the final five weeks outweighed the long-term gain Bleackley and Wood may have provided down the road.

With a very skilled young core of Nathan MacKinnon, Matt Duchene, Gabriel Landeskog, and Tyson Barrie, as well as highly touted prospects Mikko Rantanen, Mikhail Grigorenko, and Nikita Zadorov, it's evident Colorado is primed for a bright future one way or another, even without the two outgoing prospects in the mix.

Their time may not be now, and Boedker may very well walk on July 1, but playoff experience could pay major dividends later on for the team's youngsters.

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MONTREAL - Captain Max Pacioretty scored twice to give the Canadiens a 4-1 victory over the Maple Leafs on Saturday, extending Montreal's win streak over Toronto to 10 games. Alex Galchenyuk and Devante Smith-Pelly also scored for Montreal (3...