Flyers

ONE DAY after losing defenseman Andrej Meszaros to a possible season-ending injury, the Flyers locked up one candidate to replace him in the lineup. The Flyers announced Wednesday that they have signed defenseman Marc-Andre Bourdon to a multiyear contract extension, in addition to signing first-round pick Scott Laughton to a 3-year entry-level deal. Bourdon, 22, appeared in 45 games for the Flyers last season. He was a restricted free agent this summer, after earning a prorated share of his $875,000 contract last season.

Because the NHL reseeds the remaining four teams before the second round of the playoffs, the Flyers could play virtually any of the survivors. Here is what each combination of results means for the Flyers: If the Rangers, Capitals, and Panthers win, the Flyers play the Panthers. They have not met in the playoffs since 1996, and the Panthers are the third seed only by virtue of winning their division, the weakest in the conference. If the Rangers, Capitals, and Devils win, the Flyers play the Devils.

Of all the places the Flyers might find themselves on the crucial final weekend of the regular season, this is about the worst. The Flyers' slim hopes of finishing third in the Patrick Division will be put on the ice tonight (Channel 57, 8:05) at the Montreal Forum, where the Canadiens should not lack for motivation in the final game of their regular season. The Habs, the Adams Division champions, are neck-and-neck with the Calgary Flames in the race for the NHL's best record.

The Flyers signed two prospects - forwards Derek Mathers and Andrew Johnston - to entry-level deals on Monday. Mathers, 18, was the Flyers' last draft pick in 2011, 206th overall in the sixth round. He collected an astounding 348 penalty minutes over the last two seasons, including 49 fighting majors, with Peterborough of the Ontario Hockey League. The 6-foot-3 bruiser added two more fights in nine games with the AHL's Phantoms this spring on an amateur tryout contract once his OHL season was finished.

For the fifth-seeded Flyers, the wait is over. They learned late Thursday night they will face sixth-seeded New Jersey in the Eastern Conference semifinals. The Flyers will have home-ice advantage in the series, which starts Sunday at the Wells Fargo Center. During the regular season, the teams split the six games, with each winning twice on the road. Ilya Bryzgalov was 3-0 with a 0.29 goals-against decision and .987 save percentage - and two shutouts - against the Devils this season.

Players to watch FLYERS: Scott Hartnell The Flyers' leading scorer through the regular season with 37 goals has just two tallies in seven playoff games this spring. Hartnell's tireless work in the helped produce Claude Giroux's 15-point run, but it's time for Hartnell to get back on the score sheet. DEVILS: Ilya Kovalchuk He was held without a shot in Game 1 for the first time since Nov. 23, 2011. Kovalchuk was not available to meet the media on Monday.

SINCE 1967, exactly 74 teams in the NHL have finished a regular season ranked in the top five in both the power play and penalty kill. Only three of those teams have failed to qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs - as the Flyers did this year despite finishing third in the power play (21.6 percent) and fifth in penalty kill (85.9 percent). General manager Paul Holmgren said the reason for the Flyers joining that dubious company was their even-strength play. The Flyers finished 25th in five-on-five goals-for/goals-against ratio, at 0.86 goals-per-game, meaning they gave up 0.14 more goals at even strength than they scored.

EDMONTON, Alberta - Any momentum the Flyers gained from their theatrical win in Winnipeg on Tuesday did not last long. The Edmonton Oilers, the second-worst NHL team based on points, defeated the floundering Flyers, 2-0, at Rexall Place on Thursday night and prevented the visitors from recording their first winning streak in six weeks. Devan Dubnyk, playing because of a groin injury to Nikolai Khabibulin, made 35 saves to register his first shutout of the season. He entered the night with just a 2.97 goals-against average but shut down a team that began Thursday leading the NHL in goals.

NEWARK, N.J. -  Midway through the third period, with the Devils sitting on a comfortable lead that the Flyers barely threatened, the Prudential Center staff played a video montage of Rocky's most painful beatdowns. Unlike their favorite mythical character, Philadelphia's hockey team appears to be down for the count. Thanks to a late second-period goal by Dainius Zubrus, the Devils now have the Flyers on the ropes after a 4-2 win in Game 4 that was one of the most lopsided, yet deceivingly close, games of the season.