from Sam Donnellon of the Philadelphia Daily News,

The story is no longer of potential, of the future, of a few more pieces.

The story is of now, now, NOW, a hairy 4-3 victory over the Detroit Red Wings Tuesday night the latest evidence that this edition of the Flyers can handle mounting adversity, emerge from it, be strengthened by it even.

Possibility has replaced potential. The pieces, long considered insufficient or even borderline dormant, are here now, creating the exciting, unlikely and undoubtedly unnerving narrative that has made the final three-plus weeks of this regular season more relevant than I thought possible when the season began.

The Flyers are now within a point of Detroit for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. And it gets better. They have two more games left to play than the Red Wings, and they are undoubtedly playing better - despite a slightly precarious third period in which they were outshot 21-9.

The Red Wings have lost five of their last seven games and are in danger of not reaching the postseason for the first time in the last 25 seasons. The Flyers won for the seventh time in their last nine games and have now registered points in 16 of their last 21 games.

And really, who saw this coming? This season was supposed to be about next season, and the season after that.

continued