By Matt Mastrogiovanni, Sports Talk Philly staff writer 

Special teams are crucial in the 82-game grind of the National Hockey League season. A power-play goal or a penalty kill could make the smallest difference in whether a team wins or loses.

For the Flyers, the addition of James van Riemsdyk could give them a much-needed catalyst to propel the team's power play to a top spot in the league.

(Kate Frese/SB Nation)

By Matt Mastrogiovanni, Sports Talk Philly staff writer 

After the disappointing outcome of Sunday's contest, the Flyers find themselves in what may be a must-win situation being down 2-1 in the series against the Penguins with potentially just one more chance at grabbing a home-ice win in the series.

By Matt Mastrogiovanni, Sports Talk Philly staff writer 

The stage is set. Wednesday night will not only mark the commencement of the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs, but also the start of another chapter of the Battle of Pennsylvania between the Flyers and their cross-state rivals, the Pittsburgh Penguins. 

Meeting in the postseason for the first time since the fabled 2012 quarterfinal series, both teams have changed immensely. Philadelphia is in the playoffs for the first time in two years, while Pittsburgh has as many Stanley Cup championships in that span. 

By Matt Mastrogiovanni, Sports Talk Philly staff writer 

With just eight games left in the regular season, the Flyers are in a good, yet bad, spot within the Metropolitan Division playoff race.

They are still in playoff position as the top wildcard spot, but if they don't fix their recent problems then they may see themselves right out the door of the postseason.

In merely a few short weeks, the Flyers have managed to almost play themselves right out of playoff contention. Late February saw them climb to the top of the Metropolitan Division with a 12-game point streak. Since then, it seemed as if the Ides of March have struck. 

(Kate Frese/SB Nation)

By Matt Mastrogiovanni, Sports Talk Philly editor 

During a five-game losing streak that came to a close on Saturday, there have been many questions that come to mind about the Flyers' play. One of the many things plaguing the team's performance is the inability to score on the power play, and that was no different even in a winning effort on Saturday.

Since the beginning of March -- and coincidentally the last seven games -- the Flyers have scored a meager two goals in their last 26 chances on the man-advantage. One would think that with weapons like Claude Giroux, Jake Voracek, Nolan Patrick and the recently-returned Wayne Simmonds that Philadelphia would be putting the puck in the net easily. That has not been the case.

With two very solid power-play units, the team cannot seem to find the back of the net when on the power play.

By: Rebecca Serad, Sports Talk Philly Staff 

Final: Detroit Tigers 11, Philadelphia Phillies 6  ❖  Attendance: 4,365

Clearwater, FLA — The Philadelphia Phillies (1-4) continued their rough start to Spring Training with a loss to the Detroit Tigers (4-1). Phillies pitchers had difficulty retiring the Tigers' hitters, with five of the eight pitchers allowing at least one run to score. Their efforts were not aided by the poor fielding. The Phillies made an inexcusable three errors in the game. Two of those errors led to unearned runs.

The offense had one good inning. The six-run fourth inning was highlighted by home-runs by Rhys Hoskins and Roman Quinn. Outside of that, however, the Phils' hitters struggled to string hits together and get timely hits. This has been a consistent issue over the last few seasons and needs to be fixed if the Phillies want to improve upon last season's record.

WP: Mike Fiers (1-0, 0.00 ERA)  ❖  LP: Jerad Eickhoff (0-1, 13.50 ERA)

(Kate Frese/SB Nation)

By Matt Mastrogiovanni, Sports Talk Philly staff writer 

The Philadelphia Flyers are in the midst of another NHL season. Once again, they're battling day in and day out in order to make it to the postseason.

As 2018 begins and 2017 rides off into the sunset, it's time to take a look back at some of the highlights in the past year of Flyers hockey.

(Kate Frese/SB Nation)

By Matt Mastrogiovanni, Sports Talk Philly staff writer 

Saturday's shootout loss against the Flames saw the Flyers lose their fourth consecutive game. It was also the second game in a row in which Philadelphia blew a two-goal lead on their way to a loss.

Despite the team's struggles as of late, which has contributed to them moving into last place in the Metropolitan Division, it's still way too soon to count the Flyers out of contention for a playoff spot.

(Kate Frese/SB Nation)

By Matt Mastrogiovanni, Sports Talk Philly staff writer 

It's been nine games since Flyers forward Wayne Simmonds last scored a goal. Last season's leading scorer for Philadelphia might have some worried about his performance as of late.

But a drought should not be cause to worry too much.

(Kate Frese/SB Nation)

By Matt Mastrogiovanni, Sports Talk Philly staff writer 

Philadelphia's defense has long been a puzzle to solve for the coaching and management staff. Now, just 12 games into the new campaign, the same puzzle has come to light once again due to a series of injuries on the Flyers blue line.

As of Monday's game, the Flyers were without Andrew MacDonald long-term. They were without Shayne Gostisbehere after an injury suffered on Saturday. They called up Sam Morin from the Phantoms and were also without him due to a nagging injury that the team learned of Monday morning, forcing Mark Alt into action.