Flyers clinch 1st NHL playoff berth in 5 seasons with win over Hurricanes

As recently as last month, the Philadelphia Flyers were still in a rebuild. Or so it was believed.

The Flyers flirted with selling again at the NHL trade deadline, dangling Rasmus Ristolainen on the market and trading established winger Bobby Brink to the Minnesota Wild for a former top-10 draft pick who has now been traded twice since 2022.

Six weeks later, the orange and black have snapped a five-season postseason drought.

The Flyers beat the Carolina Hurricanes, 3-2, in a shootout Monday night at Xfinity Mobile Arena to clinch their first playoff berth since the 2019-20 season. Tyson Foerster scored the game-winning goal in the shootout.

With the win, Philadelphia clinched third place in the Metropolitan Division and secured a first-round matchup with its heated rival, the Pittsburgh Penguins.

How did the Flyers do it? By being one of the best teams in the NHL since the Olympic break.

Since the Olympic break, the Flyers have picked up 35 of a possible 48 points by going 17-6-1.

Since the March 6 trade deadline, when they held on to Ristolainen, they're 14-5-1 with 29 out of a possible 40 points.

In the spring of 2023, the Flyers entered uncharted territory: admitting they were in a rebuild. Then-interim general manager Danny Briere said he believed the team needed one. Weeks later, the Flyers removed the interim tag from Briere, hired Keith Jones as team president and were officially in a rebuild — and not afraid of using the word.

John Tortorella was hired as head coach in June 2022, helped establish a culture, had the young Flyers overachieving and then wore out his welcome — such is life as an NHL head coach and especially one named John Tortorella. He lasted parts of three seasons in Philadelphia before being fired with nine games remaining last season because it was "time to go in a different direction," Briere said.

The Flyers then hired Rick Tocchet as head coach in May 2025. The move had its detractors, many who claimed the team's "new era of orange" looked the same as the old by hiring yet another former player in a prominent position.

Briere said the Flyers' rebuild was entering its next phase, shifting from subtracting players to adding them. The GM did just that, and several of his moves paid immediate dividends.

The Flyers traded for Trevor Zegras, who was moved off center by the Ducks and was in need of a fresh start. He got one in Philly and blossomed into a key contributor. He began the season in a hybrid center-wing position, then played wing before shifting to center after the Olympic break. He has 26 goals and 67 points in 81 games. The shift to center helped spark the Flyers' late-season surge.

In free agency, Briere signed center Christian Dvorak and goalie Dan Vladar.

When Dvorak signed in Philadelphia, he was thought of as mostly center depth on a one-year deal. Instead, he showed he was a capable middle-six player and was signed to a five-year extension.

Vladar joined the Flyers as a 27-year-old backup goalie and then developed into a steady No. 1 goalie, solidifying a position that has long tormented the Philadelphia Flyers.

And then there was the 2025 NHL draft. The Flyers selected Porter Martone sixth overall and then signed him to his entry-level contract at the end of March. The 19-year-old has since already established himself as an impact NHL player. He began his career as a point-per-game player, registering three goals and eight points in eight games.

It hasn't been all birthday balloons and dance music this season. Matvei Michkov came into camp out of shape in his second season, which was a talking point for most of the campaign. Since the Olympic break, however, Michkov has looked better. He has six goals and 19 points in 25 games since the break, with four multi-point games, including three of his last six games.

Still, the Flyers find themselves back in the playoffs for the first time in five seasons.

The last time the Flyers were in the playoffs, the games were played in a bubble in Canada because of COVID-19.

Xfinity Mobile Arena will host its first NHL playoff game since April 22, 2018, which was also a Flyers vs. Penguins first-round matchup. Sean Couturier scored a hat trick and had five points playing on a torn MCL. The Flyers lost, 8-5, and were eliminated in six games.

Eight years later, it's Flyers vs. Pens again, and playoff hockey is coming back to South Philadelphia.