As they head into their first appearance in the Stanley Cup playoffs since 2020, it is becoming clear that the Philadelphia Flyers still don't have many believers out there.
Some of the skepticism is, of course, understandable. Veterans like Christian Dvorak, Noah Cates, and Dan Vladar all enjoyed career years, and the Flyers don't yet have a superstar in their ranks like many other contenders do.
That's exactly why national pundits--namely ESPN--have the Flyers on the outs before the puck is even dropped for Game 1 of the series with the Penguins.
In their recent preview, x-factor, and bold prediction story, ESPN's bold prediction is that the Flyers are swept by the Penguins. Here's the rationale:
"Vladar's lack of past playoff reps is exposed early, and the Flyers can't counteract with enough goal support. Coach Rick Tocchet does his best to shuffle the deck and keep Philadelphia alive, but it gets swept in the opening round," they wrote.
They were careful to note in the leadup, too, that Trevor Zegras, the team's No. 2 scorer with 67 points in 81 games this season, has never played in an NHL playoff game himself.
That is what makes the upcoming experience with the battle-hardened Penguins so valuable, even though the sentiment amongst the Flyers themselves is that they have been playing playoff hockey since the Olympic break.
There is some truth to that, as the Flyers were eight points back of the New York Islanders for third place in the Metropolitan Division with two games in hand back on Feb. 22.
As for the Penguins, they were still second in the division at that time and never relented, whereas the Flyers had to scratch and claw for it after a dismal winter stretch.
ESPN's prediction of the Flyers getting swept is interesting, if nothing else, due to the rivalry behind the series. It seems a near-impossible outcome, especially with the two sides finishing the regular season with very similar records.
The Flyers will get their first crack at proving the ESPN crew wrong when they face the Penguins at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh at 8 p.m. on Saturday night.