With 13 games left to play in the regular season, the Philadelphia Flyers are making a strong playoff push. With 76 points, they trail the Montreal Canadiens and the Columbus Blue Jackets by 5 points each. In order to make the playoffs, the Flyers will have to surpass both teams in point totals.

This season has taken quite a drastic turn since the beginning. Going into mid-December, the Flyers were the worst team in the Metropolitan Division. They made a few shake-ups on the team; the two most notable changes the Flyers’ front office made were firing GM Ron Hextall and Head Coach Dave Hakstol. Scott Gordon was named the team’s interim head coach on December 17th, and the next day, rookie goalie Carter Hart made his first start.

From that point on, the Flyers went on a tear, winning three of their next four.

They struggled again, dropping 8 straight, but rebounded by pulling off an 8 game win streak. Since that win streak, the Flyers have gone 10-4-2, putting them in a spot to fight for a wild-card playoff berth.

On Thursday, the Flyers take on the Washington Capitals. With a lot of momentum, and with Carter Hart returning to play for the first time in 3 weeks, the Flyers should keep it close against one of the league’s best teams. However, Jakub Voracek will stay sidelined due to suspension for the game. In the next few weeks, the Flyers will also play matches against the Canadiens and Blue Jackets, the two teams the are competing for a playoff spot with. Either of these two games could be decisive in the Eastern Conference seeding.

If the Flyers want to make the playoffs, they will need to win at least three more games than both the Canadiens and Blue Jackets. Currently, the Flyers’ chances of making the playoff stand at 12.5%. Yet, their young talent, new leadership, and unstoppable momentum could very well lead them to success. For now though, fans can only watch and wait to see how the season pans out.