Flyers one win away from Philly sports lore
The 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs. (Loud applause, please.)
Flyers one win away from Philly sports lore
Sam Carchidi, Inquirer Staff Writer
The 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs. (Loud applause, please.)
The 1975 New York Islanders. (Chico Resch was the man.)
The 2004 Boston Red Sox. (Still can’t believe it happened.)
They are the only three professional sports teams to ever win a playoff series after losing the first three games.
The Flyers, amazingly, will try to become the fourth.
“You know it’s certainly not a path that you would like to choose. You’d rather have done things differently through the course of the year and then the playoffs,” Flyers coach Peter Laviolette said after his team outlasted the Boston Bruins, 2-1, at the reverberating Wachovia Center on Wednesday to even the made-for-theatre series at three games apiece.
Game 7 is Friday in Boston.
“Like I said two days ago, the players deserve a tremendous amount of credit because they won't quit,” said Laviolette, whose seventh-seeded team would face eighth-seeded Montreal and get the home-ice advantage in the conference finals if it wins Friday. “Every time they are pushed, they push back. They are a very resilient group out there; they won't go away, and it’s become a strength of ours.
“I think based on things that have happened throughout the year, down the stretch and through the first round _ the adversity we’ve faced _ I feel like we are conditioned to it now.”
Goalie Brian Boucher suffered knee injuries in the second period of Game 5 on Monday, and was replaced by Michael Leighton, who made 14 saves to complete the Flyers’ 4-0 win in Boston.
On Wednesday, Leighton was superb, stopping 30 of 31 saves and looking in peak form _ even though it was his first playoff start ever….and his first start since March 16.
Laviolette was asked if part of his job was to keep the team grounded and not overconfident for Game 7.
“Well I think that’s been the message…..and that’s been the road we've been going down,” he said. “About being grounded, we are going have to play a better hockey game. I am going to be honest with you. Our game will have to be better in Boston than it was tonight.”
The Flyers found a way to win despite winning just 39 percent of the faceoffs, and managing just 43 shots (27 on goal) compared to Boston’s 79 (31 on goal).
They won because they blocked 30 shots, because Mike Richards and Danny Briere continued their playoff magic, because Leighton looked like the guy who went 16-5-2 in the regular season, and because they outscored the Bruins, 1-0, in special teams.
And because they continued to show the grit that, with a win in Game 7, will make them a part of Philadelphia’s rich sports lore _ even if they don't win the Stanley Cup.
* * * * * * * * * *
For continual Flyers updates, follow me on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/BroadStBull.
To the idiot---Jack Hammer.... an't you tell people are excited. Of course more on here now. Especially in light of history about to be made. Go away dude. You just don't get it...and...I'm glad you don't. The likes of you and your thought process...is such a negative mentality. I pity your wife/GF/BF, whatever... You sound like such a plebian. That'll send ya to the dictionary...huh, idiot?...lol. I scrape things like you off the bottom of my shoe. Seurat— Neno- Look at all the comments all of the sudden. I watched and read all year long. Dont hurt yourselves falling off the bandwagon, its a long drop.— Jack Hammer
- This has been a fun ride, all the way back from making the playoffs on one save in a shootout on the last day of the regular season to being on the brink down 3 games to none. Whatever the outcome tonight, it's been a fun last 6 weeks. Thanks FLYERS!— kozykoz26
- Hey ChrisM---- I'll tell ya where all the Boston fans are.... They are in the fetal position up there on the Boston Globe Comments section...lol. They Love me up there....LMAO... Seriously tho--- The comments are sad. Pathetic. Weird--actually. The fans have just---given up! In fact---their boards are so depressing... You would feel bad leaving a nasty message. BUT.....be sure....they will be crawling out of the moldy woodwork if the Bruins win tonight. Anyuway...if you wanna get the pulse of wtf it is all about up there...hit the Boston Globe message boards. Seurat— Neno
dedhed-Sounds like an excuse, but JVR is playing in a game way over the amount of games previously played. I am actually excited that he will be better next season with better strength. He is playing well, though. Not superstar (PKane) level, def a top 6 forward. Game 7 is gonna be tough. The first five minutes will be huge. Take out the crowd, and get a lead please! go flyers!- MichaelZoe- "the Pronger Effect"...I remember a couple of months ago when that meant "creating divisions in a locker room." Holmgren brought in Timonen, Briere, Coburn, Asham, Carcillo, Lapperiere, Hartnell, Boucher, Leighton, Pronger, Carle, etc...You may have criticized every one of them for an individual mistake,,,I think they have played well lately. Aren't the playoffs what matter? The team has been built for the Stanley Cup. I would much rather a gritty team that battles for every inch of ice, than have the San Jose Sharks who notoriously coast through the season, and then coast out of the playoffs.— Hexy4GM
MichaelZoe....it's ok. Close your eyes and enjoy. This team has done a great job. Maybe, just maybe, we are a team of destiny. Oh, and our face off ace has a broken foot. Go Flyers!— dianne16- You know, if JVR had shown up for these games we would have closed them out by now.. Wake up Jimmy boy.. If Hartnell can do it so can you.— dedhed
- So the question I asked my friend after the Olympic break "Would you rather have a team built for the regular season that easily makes the playoffs (Washington) or would you rather have a team built for the playoffs that can't seem to keep their act together during the regular season and just barely gets in?". We have a team with playoff performers. They're doing it now.— grev63
- Lets stay focused. This team deserves our respect. They also deserved our scorn for the last six months. But in the last 6 weeks, this team has shown character and resolve that have been severly lacking since Primeau. On papar, they should have folded 6 ago. Congrats Flyers. You renewed a spirit that has been sorely missing.— keith7470
- It's called The Pronger effect. And no, I'm sorry, Holmgrem gets credit for getting guys with some heart, but this is still an erratic, inconsistent team with no farm players, no face-off ace, and overpaid / unperformers locked into no trade clauses. Leighton is awesome, but it's not like we got him in the off-season, he was a warm body when injuries happened. There was no forsight there.— MichaelZoe
- tomm1030 said, "They've been to (and lost) the Conference and Cup Finals so many times before that we've become bored with moral victories." Wrong. Coming back in this series and winning it *would* make sports lore - else explain why people remember the 1975 Islanders, who did NOT win the Cup.— Flyskippy
- As I have said since Game 3 ended, Flyers in 7!— Flyskippy
- speak for yourself, tomm1030. if they come back from a 3-0 deficit to win the series, i won't forget it any time soon. having come into this postseason with absolutely zero expectations, i am really surprised and impressed by the grit and mental toughness i didn't suspect this team had.— mbphilly
Comment removed.- "with a win in Game 7, will make them a part of Philadelphia’s rich sports lore _ even if they don't win the Stanley Cup." Wrong. Coming back from 3-0 to win the series will quickly be forgotten if the Flyers don't win the Cup. They've been to (and lost) the Conference and Cup Finals so many times before that we've become bored with moral victories.— tomm1030
- Time to jump on the band wagon ! !— ybob
In my opinion normally it's harder to beat teams with a defense-first philosophy and great goaltending such as the Devils and Bruins. The fact of the matter is the Flyers have two great defense pairings now and the stable D has enabled them to overcome all the goalie and forward injuries of the postseason. Also, the return of Gagne has strongly improved the Flyers offense. The biggest strength of the Flyers in my eyes is they are having talent both up front and on the defense, but in comparison to the Bruins aren't as deep as them, meaning the top two lines must score if the Flyers want to grab a win. Flyers have momentum on their side, Bruins home ice advantage, I believe the Flyers will win it by a narrow margin of one goal, but in regulation. GO FLYERS!!!- Where are all the Boston Fans now?— ChrisM
- It's interesting how the tables have turned in this series. In the first three games the Flyers (arguably) outplayed the Bruins and still lost. Last night the Bruins outplayed the Flyers for the majority of the game and ended up losing. They lost because Leighton was superb in goal (his save on the breakaway was a key play) and because the Flyers scrambled all over the ice to make sure the Bruins didn't get too many quality chances. Pronger has been worth every penny. He might not be doling out the ferocious hits (like Richards is) but he is so calm and composed on defense and clears the puck whenever it seems the Bruins might be mounting an attack. Of course, one can argue that injuries have undermined a Boston offense that was already impotent even at full strength and that the Flyers have been fortunate to face two teams (New Jersey and Boston) who have an obvious lack of firepower. Montreal will likely be a tougher matchup. But that's looking too far ahead. Game 7 will be a war. Hopefully the Flyers have enough left in the tank to crush the Bruins one more time.— scribbles
- With all of the Holmgren bashing that has gone on in these web boards....I want to stick up for the GM of the Philadelphia Flyers. I am not sure how many other teams could endure the significant injuries that the Flyers have. Holmgren has stretched the limits of the budget in this salary cap era, and it pays dividends with each victory in these playoffs. This organization has depth. People who look at the "future stars" and say the Flyers cupboards are dry, are missing the fact that the Carter, Richards, Giroux, JVR are all so young, and playing in the NHL.— Hexy4GM
