PITTSBURGH, PA – FEBRUARY 24: Claude Giroux #28 of the Philadelphia Flyers smiles during practice for the 2017 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series game to be played between the Philadelphia Flyers and the Pittsburgh Penguins at Heinz Field on February 24, 2017 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Brian Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images)

PITTSBURGH – The Philadelphia Flyers have two games before the 2017 NHL trade deadline – two games that will determine what general manager Ron Hextall by 3 p.m. ET on Wednesday.

The Flyers sir five points out of the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference two months after they found themselves in that position following a 10-game win streak. Since that night they lost to the Dallas Stars, Philadelphia has posted a 9-15-4 record, good for last in the conference since Dec. 17. Only the Colorado Avalanche has been worse league-wide.

The offense has struggled mightily, scoring only 48 times over that stretch with captain Claude Giroux scoring just three times in his last 28 games.

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There are a few players who could be gone as late as Wednesday afternoon should Hextall decide to sell. He’s already said the Flyers won’t be buyers, so it’s a matter of staying put and hoping for a big playoff push or a flipping of bodies for assets and looking toward the future.

Goaltender Michal Neuvirth and Steve Mason, along with defensemen Michael Del Zotto and Mark Streit, are just a few of the Flyers who are set to become unrestricted free agents only July 1 and would likely be on the move if any interest is shown.

“We’re going to look at everything. We’re a few points out now,” Hextall told NHL Network on Friday. “We’ve got eight defensemen. Forward-wise we’ve got [Travis] Konecny coming back, but we’re going to look what’s out there, we’re gonna see where we’re at in two games. [The Penguins game] is a big game for us, so that’ll dictate to some degree the direction that we go in; but I’m not gonna just give players away. If the right thing comes along we can do something for our future and if it doesn’t hurt us we’ll certainly look at it.”

With 22 games to play, 11 at home and 11 on the road, the Flyers see Saturday’s outdoor game against the Penguins as a potential way to kick-start a late-season push.

“We always have confidence in ourselves,” said Flyers forward Wayne Simmonds. “We know we’re a good team. We’ve had some ups and downs but for us it’s important to keep the big goal in mind. We’ve just got to keep going. We’re playing some decent hockey. Obviously I think we can play better and get some wins here, but we’ve just got to build off of what we’ve been doing well.”

Confident was the word of the day around the Flyers players on Friday and even head coach Dave Hakstol. They already pulled off a 10-game win streak this season and five points isn’t an insurmountable obstacle to climb. It’ll take some luck seeing as how the teams that they’re chasing – Florida, Boston and the New York Islanders – have been playing better hockey of late, each winning seven of their last 10 while Philadelphia has only managed seven points of a possible 20 in their previous 10 games.

“The other night after a loss to Washington, it’s not a lot of fun,” said Hakstol. “But in saying that, this group, we’ve got some real good grind to us, in terms of showing up and going to work the next day. That’s what we do and that’s what we’ll continue doing. Without starting to get too tight or worrying about anything too far down the road, try to take care of business here on the short-term. Knowing that, we’ll be fine.”

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The 2016-17 season is coming to an end in a little over a month and the points up for grabs every night in these final 22 games for the Flyers are vital. As Giroux told NHL Network, one thing needs to kick in right now with his team.

“Desperation. When we play with desperation we’re playing on our toes and we’re aggressive, we’re playing like we have nothing to lose,” he said. “We need to get that mindset again.”

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Sean Leahy is the associate editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Sean_Leahy

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