The Philadelphia Flyers are heading back to the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since 2020 and are set for a testy matchup with the bitter rival Pittsburgh Penguins.
Heading into Monday night's game against the Carolina Hurricanes, the Flyers were set up nicely for a win-and-in scenario, and they needed every last minute to pull it off.
Matvei Michkov helped the Flyers erase a 2-0 deficit in the second period, and Porter Martone set up Trevor Zegras for the game-tying tuck minutes later.
Hurricanes forward Jackson Blake hit the post in overtime, but the Flyers' resolve was strong enough to hang on and survive through the shootout, as they've done time and time again this season.
Forward Tyson Foerster, whose season was supposed to be over, continued his fight and buried a shot past Brandon Bussi to score the only goal of the shootout.
Goalie Dan Vladar stoned defenseman Alex Nikishin at the other end to send the Flyers to the playoffs.
Now, the Flyers are set for a grudge match with the Penguins, the franchise with which Rick Tocchet coached for two Stanley Cup runs.
Of course, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang are still around kicking all these years later.
"These guys, they don't die. These guys are just warriors," Tocchet said of his former players after the Flyers' win Monday night.
"We're gonna have our hands full, and we're gonna have to do some game-planning here this week. But those guys don't die. It's gonna be a tough series and we're gonna have to go after those guys."
Those Penguins had a very similar season to the Flyers, going 41-24-16 through 81 games to this point.
"Good team over there, lots of experienced players," Michkov said. "We're not playing hockey for the first year, either. It's my first time playing in the NHL playoffs, so I'll give all my best to it."
The Flyers last played the Penguins back on March 7, when Alex Bump scored his first NHL goal on an assist from Nikita Grebenkin. Ultimately, the Flyers won 4-3 in a shootout.
The Flyers and Penguins split their season series 2-2, with both Philadelphia wins coming in the shootout.
Those who sign up for priority access will have the ability to purchase playoff tickets before the general public.