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TGIF: Five games to watch this weekend

Columbus Blue Jackets v Philadelphia Flyers

at the Wells Fargo Center on April 3, 2014 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Bruce Bennett

Saturday: Philadelphia at Boston (1 p.m. ET)

Yes, the Flyers have been shut out two games in a row. No, there isn’t any real reason to panic. Against Columbus on Thursday, they still managed 37 shots on Sergei Bobrovsky. And that’s quite a few.

Sure, you could argue they didn’t get enough “quality” shots, but these were a couple of decent chances I’d say:

Bobrovsky is a good goalie. Won the Vezina last season. Sometimes a goalie like that is going to beat you. It’s not like earlier in the season when the Flyers were finishing games with shot totals in the low 20s, or even lower in some cases.

“Even though we didn’t score, we did a lot of good things,” captain Claude Giroux said.

Saturday: Detroit at Montreal (7 p.m. ET)

The rise of Gustav Nyquist really makes me wonder about all the players who were rushed into the NHL before they were ready. How many had their careers ruined by impatience? It’s impossible to say. Just as it’s impossible to say that Nyquist wouldn’t have developed into the player he appears to be today if the Red Wings had brought him along quicker.

All I know is this: Nyquist is 24 years old. He was drafted in 2008, the same year as players like Steven Stamkos, Drew Doughty, Tyler Myers and Erik Karlsson. Think of all the stuff those four have already been through in the NHL, both good and bad.

Just over a year ago, Mike Babcock was saying this about Nyquist: “He’s got some skill, he’s obviously a real good player. He’s led everywhere he’s ever played in scoring. The problem with the NHL is you have to come up and grab hold of something.”

Saturday: Dallas at Tampa Bay (7 p.m. ET)

Is Victor Hedman the most under-discussed player in the NHL? I don’t know how many people are aware of this, but the 23-year-old has 49 points this season. Only seven d-men in the entire NHL have more, and only three -- Karlsson, Duncan Keith, and Alex Pietrangelo -- have more even-strength points (31).

Suffice to say, Hedman’s no longer just that stay-at-home Swedish defenseman who got drafted after John Tavares went first overall in 2009.

“His confidence is through the roof, you can totally tell,” Lightning goalie Ben Bishop told the Hockey News recently. “It’s just one of those things where defensemen take a bit longer. He’s playing tremendous and has been a big reason why we’ve done so well lately.”

Sunday: St. Louis at Chicago (12:30 p.m. ET)

On NBC. Streaming live, too. Interesting quote from Blues coach Ken Hitchcock on back-up goalie Brian Elliott: “I’ve been around Brian for three years. This is the best I’ve ever seen him play. He’s playing terrific.” Elliott is 18-5-2 with a .922 save percentage, and as Hitch alluded to, the 28-year-0ld has been practically unbeatable since the Olympic break. Of course, everyone knows Ryan Miller is going to be the man for the Blues in the playoffs, but it’s certainly worth mentioning that Elliott, like Miller, is a pending unrestricted free agent.

Sunday: Pittsburgh at Colorado (8 p.m. ET)

Two teams I’m really curious to see in the playoffs, albeit for different reasons. The Avalanche, because teams whose records defy the statistics are always interesting. The Penguins, because they’ve got so much to prove. If Pittsburgh falls anywhere short of the Stanley Cup Final, you seriously have to wonder about the future of coach Dan Bylsma. For me, it all depends how the Pens lose, if they do. A hard-fought loss to the Bruins in the conference final, for example, wouldn’t be a huge deal. But go out like they did last year to Boston, or the year before to Philadelphia, and I think we could see some significant changes.