August 02, 2020
After being off for over four months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Philadelphia Flyers finally return to the ice on Sunday as they face off against the Eastern Conference-leading Boston Bruins.
The 2019-20 NHL season has officially resumed in two hub cities in Canada. The top 12 teams in the Eastern Conference, including the Flyers, are competing in Toronto while the top 12 teams in the Western Conference are getting after it in Edmonton.
Before the Flyers restart their season on Sunday, the team released a hype video that will certainly fire up fans who have missed hockey since March.
The video, which shows shots of the Philly skyline, features the team’s beloved orange mascot Gritty walking into an empty Wells Fargo Center.
He then starts banging his drum to the tune of “Let’s Go Flyers!” and shows fans at home, decked out in black and orange, chanting alongside Gritty’s beat.
We hear your 𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲. We feel the 𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻.
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) August 2, 2020
𝗬𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘂𝘀. #AnytimeAnywhere pic.twitter.com/UcyWHmI7GS
Unfortunately, Gritty will not be in attendance to support the Flyers in the Eastern Conference bubble in Ontario. Gritty, like all other fans, will be watching the games from home.
But he will be there in billboard form, as the team purchased one along the route to and from Scotiabank Arena in Toronto featuring Gritty saying “Every shot you take, every save you make, I’ll be watching you.”
The Flyers will begin their quest for their first Stanley Cup title since 1975 and first Finals appearance since 2010 on Sunday afternoon when they take on the Bruins north of the border.
The team will then take on the Washington Capitals this Thursday and the Tampa Bay Lightning next Saturday as part of the Eastern Conference’s four-squad round-robin to determine the top four seeds for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Flyers are currently the No. 4 seed in the East.
Teams seeded 5-12 in the Eastern Conference are facing off in an eight-team, best-of-five qualifying round to determine who will advance to the traditional Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The NHL has implemented the same exact return-to-play format for the top 12 Western Conference teams in the bubble situated in Alberta.
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