What We Learned: Philadelphia Flyers stumble into deadline crossroads

Depending on whose projections you believe, the Philadelphia Flyers enter the second half of February, and the season's final 30ish games, with something like a two-thirds-or-better chance to make the postseason.

This would be a major surprise to pretty much any observer of the game if you'd told them that in October. Most projections had the Flyers closer to 25th or worse going into the season, and for understandable reasons. But they've gotten this far because they've not only been quite good for most of the season, but also because other teams in the division are underperforming a bit.

That's not to discount the fact that the Flyers spent a good chunk of the season as one of the better teams in the league in terms of underlying numbers, but as things progressed, the roster's general skill