PITTSBURGH -- At this point, the Flyers are sick of talking about Saturday night's Stadium Series outdoor game against the Penguins at Heinz Field.
They just want to get it on and get it over with. Too much buildup.
"Yeah, kind of," Simmonds said Friday. "For us, this is an extremely important game. We've got to get all the points we can possibly get going down the stretch if we want to make the playoffs.
"Obviously, it's going to be an exciting time. A lot of guys have families here. But we have to stay focused on the goal."
To say the Flyers need points right now is a huge understatement. They are five points behind the New York Islanders for the Eastern Conference's final wild-card spot.
That's the farthest they have been behind since occupying the wild card on Dec. 4. When the Flyers won their 10th consecutive game Dec. 14, they were 14 points ahead of the Islanders.
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That's a 19-point swing in the standings since then.
"So, we just have to find a way to get two points and get some wins in a row here," Jakub Voracek said. "Every game against Pittsburgh is special. Playing an outdoor game -- I don't know how many people are going to be here -- but it's going to be a great experience.
"For us, every game is a huge game. So, if you play Pittsburgh or Colorado, it doesn't matter. You have to get two points."
Flyers general manager Ron Hextall said Friday night he believes his team can still make a playoff run and salvage a wild card.
The thing is, when the Flyers made their second-half push last season, it actually began in mid-February -- earlier than now.
A couple players got hot, as did Michal Neuvirth and then Steve Mason, and you could see momentum building in the team over weeks.
That hasn't been the case here. It's almost March and the Flyers are floundering, no one is scoring and they are losing games despite playing pretty good hockey with no answer on how to turn things around without a major scoring increase across the board.
"It's a different season," Voracek said of the comparison. "Different teams. You could use it as an advantage. … We have to play our hockey. The last two games, we went 1-1, but we played pretty good. We have to be ready [Saturday]."
Hextall said what happens this weekend and Tuesday against Colorado will have a trickle-down effect on what he does Wednesday at the NHL trade deadline (see story).
"We've played well enough at times this year that we can mount a run," Hextall said. "I have no doubt in my mind. We've been playing pretty good the last eight, nine games. Except for the Edmonton game.
"But we haven't gotten results. We need to get results. It's not about moral victories or playing good against Washington. That's fine and dandy, but not good enough. We have to win games."
It starts tonight.
