A Monday viewing guide for Flyers fans: Which games matter for their playoff hopes?

The Philadelphia Flyers don’t play a game on Monday.

But don’t take that to mean that it’s not an important day for them. In fact, it’s pivotal in determining just how strong their playoff chances will be entering the season finale on Tuesday against the Washington Capitals.

By taking down the New Jersey Devils on Saturday night by a 1-0 score, the Flyers remain alive in the playoff chase. But they need help — a lot of it. When the New York Islanders nabbed a loser point via a shootout defeat on Saturday afternoon, they locked the Flyers out of the third seed in the Metropolitan Division, leaving only the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference as a possible landing spot for Philadelphia in the NHL playoff bracket.

And there are three other teams fighting for that final spot as well: Pittsburgh, Detroit, and those Capitals — all of whom will take the ice on Monday, giving Flyers fans ample reason to be glued to their televisions and computers all night long. The Capitals face the Boston Bruins, the Red Wings get the Montreal Canadiens, and the Penguins battle the Nashville Predators.

Right now, the Flyers need “help” to make the playoffs, specifically from Detroit and Pittsburgh. Even if the Flyers take care of business on Tuesday against the Capitals and defeat them in regulation, they could still find themselves locked out of a playoff spot if their other rivals don’t at least falter a little. Monday would be the perfect time for them to do just that.

So how exactly does this all shake out? Let’s start with the most straightforward of the three situations: Washington.

Washington — win (in regulation) and knock them out

The Flyers’ path to knocking out the Capitals is the easiest to understand, because they face Washington head-to-head on Tuesday. They’ll have the opportunity to ensure they finish ahead of the Caps if they simply cruise to a comfortable victory against them.

That said, there are a few noteworthy complications.

If the Capitals defeat the Bruins on Monday, the Flyers can still knock the Capitals out of the mix for the final playoff spot on Tuesday — but they would have to defeat the Caps in regulation. An overtime or shootout win in this scenario wouldn’t get the job done, because the Flyers would finish with 89 points and the Capitals with 90. That loser point on Tuesday would be enough to keep them ahead of Philadelphia.

If Washington loses Monday, however, the Flyers simply need to beat the Capitals in any way — regulation, OT, or shootout — to pass them. Even if the Capitals gain a loser point on Monday, this would still hold. The Flyers would either have an outright standings points edge, or hold the relevant tiebreaker.

The conclusion: root for a Capitals loss in any form tomorrow, in order to ensure that Tuesday is a true no-qualifiers “win and jump them” game for the Flyers.

Detroit — root for the Habs

Detroit easily has the easiest schedule remaining of the Flyers’ three rivals. The Red Wings have two matchups (a home-and-home) against the Montreal Canadiens, who currently have the second-worst record in the Eastern Conference and fifth-worst in the NHL.

Not exactly a fearsome opponent. That said, the Flyers did lose to the Habs twice during their eight-game losing streak, so Montreal certainly is capable of an upset.

The good news is that regardless what Detroit does on Monday, the Flyers will still be alive in the playoff race come Tuesday. However, a Red Wings win on Monday would put Philadelphia in a precarious spot. Detroit would be at 89 points — the maximum total that the Flyers can reach. But the Flyers hold the tiebreaker with the Red Wings, so Detroit needs to finish with 90 to officially eliminate Philadelphia. Even with a Monday win, they’d still need to grab at least one more point on Tuesday to knock the Flyers out.

If Detroit loses in regulation tomorrow, however, they’re out. The winner of Philadelphia-Washington on Tuesday is guaranteed to finish with at least 89 points, which would become Detroit’s ceiling. Add in the fact that the Red Wings lose the tiebreaker to both the Flyers and the Caps, and a regulation loss tomorrow would be enough to bury them.

Basically, if Detroit secures three standings points in their final two games, they will finish above the Flyers and keep them out of a playoff spot. Fewer than three points, however? They’re done — whether by the Flyers’ hand, or by a rival. So if Detroit loses in regulation Monday, that’s one fewer team for the Flyers to worry about.

Pittsburgh — the familiar threat

Which brings us to the Penguins — the team that most Flyers fans would least enjoy seeing in the playoffs.

If Pittsburgh defeats the Predators in regulation on Monday, they would be in position to end the Flyers’ playoff aspirations on Wednesday, when the Penguins finish their season against the Islanders. A PIT regulation win Monday would mean that even if the Flyers triumph on Tuesday, the Penguins would merely need to send their matchup with the Isles to overtime to finish off the Flyers.

A Pittsburgh regulation loss on Monday, however? That flips the situation entirely. Suddenly, their playoff hopes are dead, because they would only be able to top out at 88 points, and one of Philadelphia or Washington is guaranteed to finish with 89 points. Pretty straightforward.

A Penguins loss in overtime or a shootout on Monday is where things get a bit more complicated. If Pittsburgh nabs a loser point against Nashville to give them 87 points, they would still be alive, and in position to knock even a victorious-on-Tuesday Flyers out of the playoffs with a regulation or overtime win on Wednesday versus the Isles.

Interestingly enough, however, in this scenario, a Penguins shootout win would not be enough, since the Flyers and Penguins would both finish with 89 points but the Flyers would have the total wins tiebreaker. Imagine a situation where Pittsburgh has to sell out in overtime — and perhaps even pull their goalie — because a shootout win is meaningless to them. That’s legitimately on the table, depending on how the next two days break.

The conclusion? If the Penguins win their remaining two games, they eliminate the Flyers. If they get three standings points in their final two games, they also eliminate the Flyers — as long as their one win is not a shootout win. If they get just two points, however, they’re out of the mix.

The simplest way for a Flyers fan to approach Monday is to root for a Pittsburgh regulation loss, which would remove the Penguins from the playoff race the same way it would for Detroit.

And if all three of Pittsburgh, Detroit and Washington lose on Monday? Tuesday’s game against the Capitals becomes a true win-and-they’re-in play-in game for the Flyers.

Especially given the drama and stakes involved with such a contest, it should be easy for most hockey fans to pull for that outcome. By around 10 PM EST on Monday, we’ll know if it’s a reality.