from Ian McLaren of The Score,

There's hope in the City of Brotherly Love.

With a win over Tampa Bay on Monday, the Philadelphia Flyers moved to within two points of Detroit for the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.

A recent 7-2-1 run has greatly increased their chances of qualifying for the playoffs, something that seemed like a pipe dream as the calendar turned to 2016.

Now within striking distance of both Detroit and Pittsburgh with 17 games remaining for each club, here's three reasons why the Flyers will indeed be one of the final 16 teams left standing at the end of the regular season.

Ghost Bear, Gudas & Co.

The big story, of course, has been the one they call "The Ghost Bear," who's been nothing short of spectacular since being called up in mid-November. Through 47 games, 22-year-old Shayne Gostisbehere has recorded 14 goals and 23 assists, and only Erik Karlsson, Kris Letang, Brent Burns, and John Klingberg are averaging more points per game among defensemen.

While Gostisbehere is rightfully being lauded for helping right the Flyers' offensive ship with his breakout performance on the blue line, the emergence of Radko Gudas as a stellar defenseman is also going a long way towards propelling Philadelphia's upward climb.

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