Mar 29, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Flyers center Trevor Zegras (46) reacts after scoring a goal against the Dallas Stars in overtime at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images
PHILADELPHIA -- March Madness used to be all about Cinderella. Some small school who defied the odds and kept surviving and advancing, beating one big school after another.
That has all but gone away in the era of big time NIL money and the wild west transfer portal, so that even great moments like what happened Sunday when UConn beat Duke with one of the wildest endings in tournament history, you are left saying to yourself, "Yeah, but it's UConn and Duke. Two college basketball blue bloods."
So you probably have a hankering for a March Cinderella. A yearning that still exists because you remember a time when it happened and it was a feel good story for a few weeks every spring.
And while the days of the George Mason, VCU, Butler (twice) and Loyola Chicago miracle runs might be over, maybe Cinderella isn't dead. Maybe she just decided to switch sports.
I give you the Philadelphia Flyers.
No team has embodied what the survive and advance mentality more this March in sports than the Flyers.
A month ago, after the first game back from the Olympic break, the Flyers lost a game to the Washington Capitals that had them eight points out of a playoff spot with 25 games to go, which, if we're being honest. are near impossible odds to overcome.
Since then the Flyers have gone 12-3-1, the second best record in hockey, and with nine games to go, find themselves within two points of a playoff spot, with a game in hand on a couple teams, and that rise culminated with a 2-1 overtime win over the Dallas Stars on Sunday.
Trevor Zegras scored the game-winner, after nearly accidentally costing his team the game with a penalty in the final minutes of regulation.
TREVOR ZEGRAS SCORES THE BIGGEST GOAL OF HIS CAREER!!!!!! COAST TO COAST OVERTIME WINNER!!!!!!!!! 2-1!!!!!!!!!!#LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/8A6w0tFF14
Oh, and by the way, in the middle of all of this good fortune, and even better brand of hockey, top prospect Porter Martone had his NCAA career cut short in the quarterfinals of the tournament when his Michigan State team was upset by Big 10 rival Wisconsin.
Sparty's loss was the Flyers gain. Assistant GM Barry Hanrahan didn't fly back to Philly with the team after their win in Detroit on Saturday. Instead, he met Martone in East Lansing as Michigan State arrived back from their flight back from Worcester, Mass.
In the span of 18 hours, Martone signed his entry level contract, packed a few bags and flew with Hanrahan back to Philadelphia, and arrived at the Xfinity Mobile Arena during the second period of Sunday night's game.
Welcome home, Porter Martone. pic.twitter.com/l0pCMluBeV
Martone, 19, will almost certainly make his NHL debut Tuesday in Washington. He will be a part of the push for the postseason. How much he contributes remains to be seen, but if nothing else, his arrival should energize the team even more at a time when they are truly believing in themselves and their stunning push toward the postseason.
If you've been watching, what you see now is a confident team, a team that is bought in to what they are doing. A team that is playing a brand of hockey that doesn't just lead to good hockey in March, but a brand you absolutely need to play if you expect to win in April and beyond.
The Dallas Stars are one of the haves in the NHL. Only them and the Colorado Avalanche have reached 100 points already this season. Their goal differential of plus-49 is third best in the sport behind Colorado and the Tampa Bay Lightning.
One of those three teams, will probably win the Stanley Cup. Carolina, Minnesota and Buffalo could stake a claim as a legit contender as well.
Beyond that, is everyone else.
So, for the Flyers to stone the Stars - and stop their lethal power play twice, including once in the final minutes of a tie game in regulation, with the season all but on the line, tells you where the Flyers are defensively right now.
And it's not just the defensive system, which they are playing to a tee. It's the goaltending -- and not just expected team MVP Dan Vladar.
No, Sam Ersson has defied the odds as well. Here's a guy who was absolutely brutal for most of the season.
We've called for his removal from the roster in this space time and again ... and again ... and yet again.
And all Ersson has done of late is prove that those of us with the platform to espouse an opinion on the Flyers, can be wrong.
In his last six appearances (five starts), he is 5-0-0 with a 1.46 goals against average and a .933 save percentage, allowing just eight goals.
His biggest save against Dallas was in those final minutes in regulation when he made a right pad stop on Wyatt Johnson with Zegras in the box, to keep the score tied and send it to overtime.
"I just want to say 'thanks' to Sam Ersson for saving my butt."
A complete team effort resulted in two crucial points for the Orange & Black. #DALvsPHI | #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/o3808uBJVi
Put together the excellent goaltending and the collectively better defense, and the Flyers have allowed just 36 goals in the last 16 games, an average of just 2.25 per game.
You're going to win a lot of hockey games at that clip.
The challenge now, as it always is for Cinderella, is sustaining it. Keeping it going. Not letting your foot off the gas pedal.
The Flyers will put their franchise record, eight-game road winning streak to the test in Washington on Tuesday, in maybe the final game they will ever play against Alex Ovechkin.
Then they return home Thursday for a rematch with Detroit, before another monster weekend when they travel to New York to face the Islanders and return home on Easter Sunday to host Boston.
Every one of these teams is in the thick of the playoff race. Every one is a landmine the Flyers need to traverse. And even one regulation loss becomes such a huge setback with so few games left for a team still in a chasing position.
But this team seems like it's on a mission. They believe in themselves and sometimes confidence is all that matters.
And the way they are playing the game matters. The league is taking notice. This isn't a Flyers team that is going to wilt under the pressure.
The slipper is no longer going to fit at some point, and the Cinderella run will end, but they just want to have a chance to dance at the ball before it does.
It's starting to feel like they deserve that chance, at long last.
