All the trade fodder and debate took a backseat.
Gaining ground in the playoff race and smelling first place felt inconsequential.
Quite frankly, nothing compares to Oskar Lindblom's smile.
Just ask the Flyers.
"Oh, it's awesome. His smile, you know, he's just a great guy to have around - he brightens your day," Justin Braun said. "The fact that he's doing well and he's able to come to the rink and see the boys is just fantastic."
Lindblom, the Flyers' 23-year-old forward who is battling Ewing's sarcoma, surprised the team Saturday by greeting it after a 4-2 win over the Jets at the Wells Fargo Center.
Lindblom visited the entire team and staff in early-to-mid January, when he had begun his cancer treatment.
Once again Saturday, the Swedish native's vibrant smile uplifted everyone. It always does.
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"Really good, really good to see him," Scott Laughton said, trying to put his emotions into words. "Just really good to see him."
"It's great to see him, I haven't seen him in a couple weeks," Carter Hart added. "I'm sure he was happy to come to the rink and see the boys. All of us are happy to see him and he's looking great."
The Flyers had a lot to be happy about Saturday. They strengthened their playoff chances, crept to within three points of the Penguins and Capitals in the Metropolitan Division race and general manager Chuck Fletcher watched his team further cement its status as a contender ahead of Monday's 3 p.m. NHL trade deadline (see observations).
But head coach Alain Vigneault's first postgame comments were about Lindblom.
"He was smiling," Vigneault said. "Great smile, looked beautiful.
"Makes everybody feel good. There's no doubt that we're all behind him, his teammates are obviously checking up on him on a regular basis and so is the whole staff.
"But to see him live, it's just beautiful."
For the the Flyers, it doesn't get better than that.
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