Resch likes Flyers' chances

Glenn "Chico" Resch has the good life. He and his wife own a summer home on 80 acres next to a northern Minnesota lake.

"I'm very, very fortunate," Resch said on Thursday.

His good fortune started when he led the New York Islanders to one of the most remarkable comebacks in NHL history, a feat that the resilient Flyers are trying to duplicate Friday night in Boston.

In 1975, as a rookie goaltender with the New York Islanders, Resch replaced veteran Billy Smith at the start of Game 4 in their quarterfinal series against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

At the time, the Islanders were down, three games to none.

Four games later, Resch was literally kissing the goalpost for being his friend, but it was his acrobatic play more than luck that carried the Islanders to four straight wins. The Islanders joined the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs as the only teams in NHL history to win a series after losing the first three games.

The Flyers are trying to become the third - and Resch, now a broadcaster with the New Jersey Devils, likes their chances.

"I'd sooner be a Flyer than a Bruin now," he said.

With three straight wins, the Flyers have planted doubts in the Bruins' minds.

"To me, Philly now has grabbed something that could be deadly to the Bruins," Resch said. "I don't know if the Bruins can get it back."

He described it as a feeling of invincibility. His Islanders felt it in 1975. He thinks the Flyers are feeling it now.

"The thing is, when you walk in . . . you just feel the luck shifting on you," he said. "You just have that extra bounce and extra step. You don't even think the bounces will go against you."

Even though Friday's game is in Boston, Resch said, the pressure is on the Bruins - just like it was on the Penguins in 1975 when they hosted the Islanders and were blanked by Resch, 1-0, in Game 7.

"It's not about being at home; it's about what they see slipping away," said Resch, whose 1975 team beat Pittsburgh and then rallied from a 3-0 series deficit against the Flyers before losing in Game 7. "It's about what they can lose. What are the repercussions? That becomes the pressure."

After they fell into a 3-0 series hole, the Flyers weren't expected to advance, so they began playing loose, Resch said.

"The Flyers became the underdog in every game because they were down, 3-0, and every athlete will tell you having the underdog feeling is a great feeling," he said. "And at the first sign of trouble [Friday], the Bruins will start to feel desperate."

The Flyers have controlled the first part of the last two games, including Monday's 4-0 win in Boston. They will try a similar formula Friday.

"You want to try to take their crowd out of it right away," defenseman Matt Carle said after Thursday's light practice in Voorhees. "We'll try to use comparisons to Game 5 in getting ready for Game 7. It's kind of a similar situation, a hostile environment in Boston."

The Flyers said they need a better performance than the one that produced a 2-1 win on Wednesday. Boston dominated the face-off circle (winning 61 percent of the draws) and had a substantial territorial edge after the first period.

"I didn't think we played our best, but we found a way to win the hockey game," said captain Mike Richards, whose first-period goal gave the Flyers a lead they would never relinquish. On Friday, "we're going to need our best. We need to play our game and not turn pucks over like we did" in Game 6.

Winger Ville Leino said the Flyers should relish playing in a Game 7.

"Just have fun and enjoy the moment," he said. "It's going to be a fun game, and a lot of people don't get the chance to play in those type of games."

Winger Dan Carcillo said that both teams would face pressure, and that the Flyers need to play with desperation and "get pucks to the net."

"It'll be the same as in Games 4, 5 and 6," Carcillo said. "I mean, we were up against the ropes and we knew we had to win. We just have to do everything we can to get the win. Every guy in here's going to do his job to the best of their ability, and that's all we can ask for."

Carle said the Flyers' stirring comeback won't mean anything and that the club would become "a statistic" if it fails to win Game 7.

"Obviously, we've been dealing with playing with our backs to the wall a little longer than them," he said, "and I'm sure their desperation level will come up for Game 7 - and we'll have to ramp ours up a little more, too."

Resch said the Flyers' mission is made easier because the Bruins, who had four more losses than wins in the regular season, are injury-riddled and far from a powerhouse.

"Boston is very good, but it's not like they're like some of the great teams of the past," he said. "You know if you're as good as the other team - and I think the Flyers feel that way. We had that feeling when we played the Penguins. It's not like we were playing the Montreal Canadiens with Jean Beliveau and Yvan Cournoyer. So you think you're as good, and when you start winning, you start getting the bounces.

"And in hockey, more than any sport, there are bounces . . . that affect the game. There are so many plays where the puck hits somebody and just goes wide or hits off a post."