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Atlantic Watch: Flyers aren’t out yet, Pens clinch the division, Islanders sit in seventh, Devils endure long losing streak

The Philadelphia Flyers entered this week on a winning streak, but they left it on a losing skid and can now only hope they receive some help to make the postseason. With four of their final nine games coming up in the next week, the Orange and Black will likely find out if they will be heading to the playoffs by April 17th. The Flyers won their third straight game on Wednesday night with a 5-3 comeback decision over the Montreal Canadiens in Philly. Wayne Simmonds tied the game with a little over five minutes left before Erik Gustafsson’s first …

Image Courtesy of The Associated Press

Atlantic Watch: 4/4-4/10

The Flyers finished their 2011-12 regular season with a pair of games that didn’t have any kind of effect on the standings, as they beat the Buffalo Sabres and lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins. It’s those same Penguins that the Flyers will play in the 2012 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, which starts tonight. Philly’s final home game of the regular season was also their final win, as they beat the visiting Sabres 2-1 on Thursday night. Ville Leino may have had a disappointing year, but he recorded his eighth of the year and second against the Flyers in the second period …

Flyers Shred Blue Jackets 9-2

What a doozy!  In Jeff Carter’s return to Philadelphia… Er,  anyway, even Carter couldn’t have helped his new team survive the Flyers’ 9-2 thrashing of Columbus last night. The game, which the home team controlled from the start, was a real crowd pleaser. It featured a little bit of everything and a whole lotta scoring.  The Flyers started off the first period fast, scoring two within the first 3 1/2 minutes, and worked up a staggering 5-0 advantage before it was all over.  Among these were a pretty power play goal by Jaromir Jagr, a great dexterous goal by Max Talbot and a goal from the blue …

RICE & MICE: Five for fighting and 6-8 weeks with a high ankle sprain

First overall selection in the 2010 entry draft and Edmonton Oilers’ star rookie, Taylor Hall, saw his season come to an end much earlier than the rest of his NHL counterparts. It isn’t over because of a dismal season that saw the Oilers miss the playoffs. Hall is out for the remainder of the season with a high ankle sprain. He wasn’t battling along the boards or crashing the net when he was injured. Hall was injured while falling awkwardly in a fight with the Blue Jackets’ Derek Dorsett. Reactions to Hall’s injury have ranged from applauding the young talent …