On January 27, Flyers Jakab Voracek said the Flyers, then 19-22-7, needed to win 25 out of the next 35 games to make the playoffs. After the Flyers 3 to 2 victory over the Washington Capitals in Philadelphia today, the Flyers have gone 7-1-4 since his comments. They sit only 4 points behind Boston for the final wild card spot in the East. Voracek was asked about his previous statement.

“I’m a pretty smart guy,” he said with a satisfied grin.

Voracek echoed others in the locker room. The team appears confident, but not cocky, and definitely not arrogant. They know they have a long way to go. But the victory offered them a glimmer of the path to the playoffs. And the Flyers took note of that.

Voracek explained that the Flyers have been confident since Game 1:“We always saw ourselves as a playoff team.”

When asked to explain the recent surge, Voracek said “resiliency.” The team had to stay patient and find a way to work things out. Trust each other.

The Flyers will have to win 18 of their final 22 games to make Voracek’s statement true. Lucky for them, it appears they will not need that many wins to make the playoffs.