from Scott Burnside of ESPN,

All of a sudden, the Philadelphia Flyers are making themselves known in the Eastern Conference playoff discussion.

Most of the news surrounding the Flyers this season has been the ongoing work by GM Ron Hextall in digging the Flyers out of salary-cap hell. Hextall most recently managed to unload Luke Schenn and Vincent Lecavalier on the Los Angeles Kings. But under rookie head coach Dave Hakstol, the Flyers have developed a never-say-die attitude, which was on display Wednesday night in a hard-fought 3-2 win over the slumping Boston Bruins.

The Flyers still can't score (they rank 28th in goals per game at 2.27) and their power play stinks (29th, 15.4 percent), but the win was Philadelphia's fourth in a row. Jakub Voracek contributed just his fifth goal of the season, and it's just a little mind-boggling that a guy who signed an eight-year, $66 million contract last summer is on pace for a 10-goal season. Voracek also had two assists, though, as the Flyers pulled to within two points of Boston, which currently owns (rents on the short-term?) the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. The Flyers also have a game in hand.

So, is this sustainable from the plucky Flyers, or is this another case of a team raising its head briefly and then sinking out of sight as the second half moves along?

more from the ESPN crew on the Flyers...