Many questiOns remain as the Flyers begin playoffs

Now that the NCAA tournament is over and Michigan State has gone home with the trophy, it is now time to move on to the NHL. The season is almost over and the Flyers need these last BRIAN O'CONNELL four games. The team as of late is a mess.

Former captain Eric Lindros is out for the season and pretty much erases any hope for a Stanley Cup this year. Coach Roger Nielsen is recovering from bone marrow cancer but will return for the second round of the playoffs. The end of the bad news in the organization is that Lindros and General Manager Bob Clarke were at it again. Lindros said that the trainer and Clarke should have taken him out of the lineup earlier than he did so there would be no further damage.

But life goes on with team and the rest of the season.

They have their four remaining games to win, and they have to win them in order to gain some confidence going into the playoffs. Two of the games are against the expansion Atlanta Thrashers, whom they have never beaten. The other two games are against the Boston Bruins and rival New York Rangers.

The Flyers have been fighting their way to catch the first place Devils. They trail New Jersey by four points and need these games to have any chance. The Flyers' play Atlanta tonight at the First Union Center. This is a team in which the Flyers are 0-1-1 this season vs. the Thrashers. The first game was back in December when they blew a 4-1 lead and ended up with a 4-4 tie. The last game was in January, and it was that game which started the collapse of the team. But they are still fighting and will hopefully realize they need these last four.

As for Nielsen, it will be a lot of fun seeing him come back from his recovery in the playoffs. Interim coach Craig Ramsay has done a pretty good job with the team, but the team really has to come together for any hopes to do anything in the playoffs.