In the upcoming days, I will give my thoughts on the Flyers' upcoming playoff series with the Devils. Before shifting gears, here are some random thoughts about today's season finale with the Rangers:

* I admit that I was on the edge of my seat, holding my breath, during the shootout. How could you not? It was nothing if not dramatic. But that doesn't change my view that having a playoff spot determined by shootout is a pretty lousy way to get into the playoffs or get eliminated.

* On a teamwide basis, the Flyers played some of their best defensive hockey of the season through much of the game. They also did a fine job of getting pucks in deep and forcing the Rangers to go 200 feet against an active forecheck. It's unrealistic to expect a team to play that way every single game, but true top teams play that way most of the time. If the Flyers had done that consistently this season, they'd be at least a home ice team in the first round of the playoffs rather than having had to (barely) rescue a playoff spot on the final day of the season.

* Dan Carcillo played one hell of a hockey game today. For all his detractors about him playing out of control at times (and there's no denying that) I say that on the majority of games, he brings more good than bad. At minimum, he's one of the players (along with Ian Laperriere, Blair Betts and a few others) who never leaves anything in the locker room. He goes all out every game.

* If I were Peter Laviolette, Scott Hartnell would not have been part of my four-on-four rotation in overtime.

* Ryan Parent had some scary moments out there today, as did Lukas Krajicek.

* Immediately after Brian Boucher stoned Olli Jokinen in the shootout, the second-guessing of John Tortorella began for tabbing Jokinen and Erik Christensen in the shooout over his best player, Marian Gaborik. Torts was going by their respective histories. Gaborik is just 2-for-18 in shootouts over his career while Christensen was 18-for-34 heading into this game and Jokinen (who had the chance to finally get into the playoffs for the first time after 881 NHL regular season games) was 14-for-35. That said, I think it's awfully tough to take the stick out of your best player's hands with the season on the line.

* After the game, someone near the Flyers' lockerroom remarked to Laperriere that it seemed like he was fighting to spark everyone in the building -- both his team and the home crowd -- when he dropped the gloves with Aaron Voros early in the second period. Laperriere just smiled his crooked, toothless smile and joked, "Really? Wish I did better, then." In reality, he fared just fine in a lengthy tussle. And, given the way he gestured to the crowd as he skated to the box, his clear intention all along was to energize the crowd as well as his teammates.

* I am sorry to see Kerry Fraser retire. Of course there were games through the years where I vehemently disagreed with some of his calls, but refereeing hockey is a very difficult job and he was one of the best. What I always liked about him (besides the fact that he's a genuinely nice person off the ice) is that he'd left players and coaches have their say within reason and would explain his calls. He also had a good sense for the flow of play and understood when it was time to let the players decide the outcome. Fraser also knew when to take control of the game when things started to get chippy. Again, no one is perfect, but I'd far more often than not take a Kerry Fraser-reffed game over one by just about any other ref in the game.

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