ECF Game 5: Richards hoists Wales Trophy, Flyers strut to Cup Final
Flyers win series, 4-1, are Eastern Conference Champions
[Box Score] - [Wire Recap] - [SBN Game Page] - [Montreal Reaction]
[Corsi and Fenwick] - [Head-to-Head TOI] - [EV Faceoffs] - [Shift Charts]
From 14th place in the Eastern Conference to the Stanley Cup Final. That's the journey your Philadelphia Flyers have taken you on this season. And it's not over yet.
Behind an incredible performance from Mike Richards, dazzling hockey from Claude Giroux, big goaltending from Michael Leighton and clutch goal scoring by Jeff Carter, the Flyers were able to hold off a late storm from the pesky Montreal Canadiens to advance to dispatch the eight seed in five games and win the Eastern Conference.
After all was said and done and the Habs retreated to the locker room to the most beautiful "ole, ole!" chant any of us will ever hear, Bill Daly presented the Prince of Wales Trophy to Richards. He shook Daly's hand, and against all superstition, he picked up the award. After all, this is a hell of an accomplishment, especially given the season they had, and you can't get to the big one without it.
Adversity doesn't seem to hurt these guys -- it just makes them stronger. That's been the theme of the entire year. A coach fired, 14th place in the conference at one point, seven different goaltenders, down to the final game of the regular season, getting in via the shootout, down 0-3 against Boston, down 0-3 in Game 7. It just doesn't matter.
The next bit of adversity? The Chicago Blackhawks. They're damn good, but this Flyers club is pretty damn good too.
The 2009-10 Philadelphia Flyers will not die, and now, they'll play for the Stanley Cup for the first time in 13 years. Believe it, guys and gals. This glorious, lovable mess of a team is going to the Stanley Cup Final. What a ride. Get ready for one of the best weeks of your life.
After the jump, questions with answers, the comment of the night and more celebration.
Questions with Answers
- How loud is the Wachovia Center tonight? Nothing compared to next week. Game 3 is on Wednesday.
- The first goal has been crucial in this series. Can the Flyers grab it? Nope, but Mike Richards made sure it didn't matter.
- Jeff Carter was possibly the best player on the ice for the Flyers on Saturday, at least from an offensive standpoint, with several shots and a number of quality chances. Does he build upon his successful first game back? Two goals sound good? Carter was a force again.
- The Flyers did a great job of staying out of the penalty box on Saturday. Encore performance? Not really. So what.
- If the Flyers win, does Richards touch that trophy? You're damn right he does. It's ours.
Comment of the Night
I’m crying.
>> JFein, feeling what a lot of us feel
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Comments
Wow!
Still hard to fathom it all. This team is amazing. Such ups and such downs.
Best week of our lives coming up…I should hope so.
FLY-ERS! FLY-ERS!
An Ohio fan of the Philadelphia Flyers, Carolina Panthers, Oakland A's, and Philadelphia 76ers. Strange? Yes. Very.
What did you think of the win?
FUCKING AMAZING!
Mancrushin' on Geoff since April 20
"Good night. Good hockey."
by KreiderDesigns on May 24, 2010 10:45 PM EDT reply actions
WIN THE CUP, FLYERS!!!!
WE’RE WITH YOU!!!!
#1 Flyers fan in England (originally from Southeastern PA)
by Orange and Black Forever on May 24, 2010 10:45 PM EDT reply actions
Did Sign Man actually pass out his signs to the people around him? Wow, that’s so freakin awesome
by DragonGirl0583 on May 24, 2010 10:49 PM EDT up reply actions
I believe that’s the definition of EPIC
Mancrushin' on Geoff since April 20
"Good night. Good hockey."
by KreiderDesigns on May 24, 2010 10:52 PM EDT up reply actions
I think sign man may have choked with the first sign. Seriously? How did the Habs “choke” by any definition?
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I see your point, but (mostly) other than the Flyers fans, this was just one more come back for the Habs “who just beat everybody this year”. So in a way, they did.
by JerseyDriver on May 25, 2010 12:23 AM EDT up reply actions
I think the sign is a suggestion, not a report.
Mancrushin' on Geoff since April 20
"Good night. Good hockey."
by KreiderDesigns on May 25, 2010 12:29 AM EDT up reply actions
Sign Man has had that sign for years…he worked a tad better last round.
Shake Hands and Leave is the best sign for last night.
Go Go Gadget Gagne
What if Broad Street Didn't Fight Back? History HAS been made. 5-7-10
5-8-10...the day the Purdue Boilermakers basketball team won the 2011 NCAA Championship!!
Congrats, guys. Hell of a season comeback.
The entire British Empire was built on cups of tea, and if you think I'm going to war without one, you're mistaken.
Ramblin' on.
Congrats
Ever get the feeling we are on a collision course with reality?
"They who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security, deserve neither liberty or security" -- Benjamin Franklin
"It's getting harder and harder to differentiate between schizophrenics and people talking on a cell phone. It still brings me up short to walk by somebody who appears to be talking to themselves." -- Bob Newhart
DESTINY!!!!
I wasn't even a year old but I stayed up to be outside the Vet with my Dad and Mom when the Phillies won the World Series 1980.
Superstition
Just saw Shanny talkin about that “superstition” is a total crock. Stevens, stevie Y, Crosby, the list goes on of Cup winners who touch the stupid thing!
Go Flyers!
by ljn on May 24, 2010 10:59 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
Actually Stevie y never has touched the prince of wales trophy.
by manko on May 24, 2010 11:09 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
True, but we can just substitute in Mario Lemieux into that list, since he supposedly touched it both years the Pens won the cup in the early 90s
by DragonGirl0583 on May 24, 2010 11:17 PM EDT up reply actions
Rollercoasters
" Get ready for one of the best weeks of your life." or one of the most excruciating experineces of your life. See Vancouveur and San Jose.
Ya know
If we win the cup, we lose our 3rd round pick
Over under on how fast I get a “soooooooooooo what?!?!” response is 1 minute.
by philiafan14364 on May 24, 2010 11:35 PM EDT reply actions
Did this really just happen? I mean really. I am not dreaming, right? The Philadelphia Flyers just won the Eastern Conference Championship, right?
Proudly supporting a Flyers team with "no honor."
MMMMMM
wrong ass, person. ;)
Mancrushin' on Geoff since April 20
"Good night. Good hockey."
by KreiderDesigns on May 24, 2010 11:53 PM EDT up reply actions
And a recommended fanpost!
Oh no….there is a dancing koala bear next to me right now. We’re still down 3-0 to the Bruins, aren’t we?
Proudly supporting a Flyers team with "no honor."
Actually, I was watching the game over my in laws and I was super pist at you after Montreal scored the 1st goal.
Then Richie did the superman thing…
"Game 7's are tough... It's a game that's made for men and our guys proved to be men today." -Laviolette
by PatterPoet95 on May 25, 2010 9:19 AM EDT up reply actions
congrats you guys
just to let you know, i’m rooting for the Flyers for the Cup. the hawks have reached the point where they piss me off too much to root for them.
Nucks Misconduct contributor.
Also on Twitter.
If only the Canucks were still in the playoffs around my 20th birthday....
Mike Richards willed this team to victory tonight. Legendary performance. No one better dare question his ability to lead or if he should be the captain ever again. Total statment game, critics answered and silenced.
by chrislanci on May 24, 2010 11:49 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
Not only were critics answered and silenced, but possibly pantsed as well.
An Ohio fan of the Philadelphia Flyers, Carolina Panthers, Oakland A's, and Philadelphia 76ers. Strange? Yes. Very.
by chillicothe20 on May 24, 2010 11:53 PM EDT up reply actions
Critics wet willied and wedgied.
"All hail the Flyers" Jim Jackson.
by darkside3744 on May 24, 2010 11:54 PM EDT up reply actions
Definitely
Aside from an awesome playoff run, where Richards has lead the team on the scoresheet and done the heavy lifting we had to have on the ice, we also got to witness Mike Richard’s maturation from a boy to a man. It’s been awesome to watch, and in a funny way it started to happen when he realized that it’s ok to let his emotions show.
He’s also grown in a huge way in the way he handles the media, and represents to the team to the rest of the world. He’s always left it all out on the ice, but it also seems that he’s connected to pure joy of playing the greatest sport in the world, and competing for the prize that every kid who laces a pair of skates dreams of.
They are already lining up to count us out of the finals.
“The Hawks are too fast”
“Byfuglien is too big”
Well the majority of the Hawks playoff games, and I’m loving that we’re already being counted out.
Bruins and Habs were fast, too. Big guys often get beaten in the playoffs. They are also pretty green, too, and have had a pretty easy run of it. They need some testing. I say we give it to them. Philly style.
"Tortorella’s got it all wrong ... Gaborik shouldn’t be messing with our skilled player." -Peter Luukko
They are also pretty green, too, and have had a pretty easy run of it.
Can’t fully agree here. The core members are pretty green, but as a team they have more players with Finals experience than the Flyers do. Plus, they just swept the Sharks. Nothing easy about that.
The one advantage that the Flyers have is that they’ve been trapping all playoffs long. The Sharks didn’t start doing it until Game 3 of their series, and they had some success with it. So we’ll see.
Do you see what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps?
as a team they have more players with Finals experience than the Flyers do.
This isn’t true. Leighton and JVR, Niemi and Hendry. Am I missing anyone?
Great story. Compelling, and rich
Ladd won a title with Carolina in ‘06, and while he’s been a healthy scratch lately, don’t forget about Hossa’s personal assistant, Tomas Kopecky.
"I have only space enough to add: against the assault of desperate pandas nothing can stand."
-ChicoMaki (channeling Mark Twain)
by HungryHungryPanda on May 25, 2010 11:52 AM EDT up reply actions
Haha, sounds good
I think experience matters, but I think momentum and confidence matter more, and both teams have loads of momentum and confidence right now.
"I have only space enough to add: against the assault of desperate pandas nothing can stand."
-ChicoMaki (channeling Mark Twain)
by HungryHungryPanda on May 25, 2010 12:13 PM EDT up reply actions
I don’t agree. The Sharks didn’t have anyone camped in front of the net at all, meanwhile, Chicago was allowed to build a house in the Sharks’ net. Most of their forwards are younger than Richie and Carter, so I still think they are pretty green. That doesn’t mean that they don’t have the horses to win; of course, they do. I just don’t think this is the slam dunk everyone else is making it out to be.
"Tortorella’s got it all wrong ... Gaborik shouldn’t be messing with our skilled player." -Peter Luukko
I agree with you here. It’s going to go 6 games at least. It’s not going to be easy for either side, and the Flyers probably match up better defensively than the Sharks did.
Forward-wise, I agree with you that the Hawks’ key forwards are still green. Big Buff will be the x-factor. The Flyers are going to have their hands full with him. All he’s done all playoffs is stand in front of the net. The Devils didn’t do that. The Bruins had the guys to do that but didn’t do it consistently. The Habs are a small team and couldn’t do that if they tried. So that will be the biggest challenge. You know that Quenneville is going to put Buff on the ice when Parent is out there. Overmatched City.
Do you see what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps?
Lookout Lost the Flyers are a team of destiny by 3
1)The Flyers are the third team in NHL history to come back from being down 3-0.
2)The first team to come back from being down three goals in a game seven.
3)Leighton is the first Flyers goalie to throw three shutouts in a playoff series.
4)Third team to make the playoffs after being in the Winter Classic of that year (the teams that won the classic lost the Cup so the Flyers lost the Classic).
5)If the Flyers win the Cup it will be their third.
6)Pronger has gone to the Stanley Cup the first year of the last three teams he’s been on (Edmonton, Anaheim, and Philadelphia).
7)Hossa is on his third team in three years going to the cup if he loses that would make three loses.
8)When the Flyers beat the Hawks earlier in the season they won 3-2 with pronger scoring with three seconds left in the game.
"All hail the Flyers" Jim Jackson.
9) Flyers are the third franchise to make the finals either the season after Joffrey Lupul left, or the season before Joffrey Lupul arrived.
The Daily Forehand -- SB Nation's Tennis Destination.
Broad Street Hockey.
by Ben Rothenberg on May 24, 2010 11:54 PM EDT up reply actions
10) Michael Leighton is also the Flyers 3rd starting goalie this season
How bout them (insert team in season here)
Well
technically Backlund started one game he just didn’t finish. But hey lets keep this puppy going.
"All hail the Flyers" Jim Jackson.
by darkside3744 on May 25, 2010 12:01 AM EDT up reply actions
Nevermind I got what you said
"All hail the Flyers" Jim Jackson.
by darkside3744 on May 25, 2010 12:02 AM EDT up reply actions
10) If the Flyers win they lose a third round pick. Props to Philiafan14364
"All hail the Flyers" Jim Jackson.
by darkside3744 on May 25, 2010 12:00 AM EDT up reply actions
11) The Flyers are the third major sports team of which I’m a fan (Panthers 2003-04, 76ers 2000-01) to reach a championship since 2000.
An Ohio fan of the Philadelphia Flyers, Carolina Panthers, Oakland A's, and Philadelphia 76ers. Strange? Yes. Very.
by chillicothe20 on May 25, 2010 12:04 AM EDT up reply actions
Slight correction, the Flyers were actually the 3rd team to come back from being down three goals in a Game 7. The Oilers did it in 1991 against the Flames and the Capitals did it in 1988 against the…..uh………well, let’s celebrate our Eastern Conference Championship and berth in the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals!
Proudly supporting a Flyers team with "no honor."
13
13) This is my third keyboard that I have installed on my laptop since joined this site and enduring this season.
hahaha
banging on it in frustration much? how many times have you broken your Z key?
Nucks Misconduct contributor.
Also on Twitter.
If only the Canucks were still in the playoffs around my 20th birthday....
15) If the Flyers win the SC, Lavy will be the 3rd mid-season replacement coach to win a Cup.
An Ohio fan of the Philadelphia Flyers, Carolina Panthers, Oakland A's, and Philadelphia 76ers. Strange? Yes. Very.
by chillicothe20 on May 25, 2010 1:03 AM EDT up reply actions
I was there, and some of the people around me were going, “Don’t touch it! Don’t touch it!”
(I voted “Yes” on the poll, so I was all for it.)
When the Flyers scored that empty-netter, the woman next to my brother started screaming, grabbed my brother’s wrist, and shook it up and down. I high-fived the dude next to me, then he gave me this huge bear hug. Mind you, my brother and I had never seen these people in our lives. But that’s the kind of night it was.
The only thing that would have been better is if the actual Prince of Wales came and handed out the trophy. Priiiiince CHAAAAAAAAAAARLES!

Do you see what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps?
yeah, i’m just hoping he dies before his mother, because he’d make one ugly King. and Camilla is just plain ugly.
Nucks Misconduct contributor.
Also on Twitter.
If only the Canucks were still in the playoffs around my 20th birthday....
Might I recommend throwing off the yoke of the British Monarchy? It’s really fun. I’m from Philly, you can trust me on that.
by The DTrain on May 25, 2010 12:21 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
well, the Queen is still a prominent symbolic person in our country. maybe when she dies, we might have a chat with dear William.
Nucks Misconduct contributor.
Also on Twitter.
If only the Canucks were still in the playoffs around my 20th birthday....
He seemed to be extra good last night. Or maybe that’s b/c I was in a euphoric state for most of the 3rd.
I sat in his section last year, albeit a good deal below him.
Do you see what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps?
One of the guys on versus claims the whole touching the cup superstition thing was started by Lindros in 1997… He didn’t start it right?
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I remember it being a big deal when he didn’t touch it. I could believe if, he wasn’t the first, was one of them.
I don’t know about that… some info here.
Do you see what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps?
I think it wouldn’t matter either way for this team. Gone through too much this year to let something like that get in the way.
by JerseyDriver on May 25, 2010 12:35 AM EDT up reply actions
For what it’s worth, of the past eight cup winners, four have touched the conference trophy, four have not.
So it’s completely and utterly meaningless.
Not that we didn’t already know that… but still.
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I gave this team up for dead during December.
I gave this team up for dead when Leighton and Carter went down.
I gave this team up for dead when we lost the second to last game of the season.
I gave this team up for dead when Carter, Gagne and Lappy went down.
I gave this team up for dead when we were down 3-0 to Boston.
I gave this team up for dead when we were down 3-0 in Game 7.
JVR’s goal was like Matt Stairs’ homerun. A lifetime of disappointment and pessimism being washed away. I don’t care how good Chicago is (and they are REALLY good). I completely believe in this team.
You’re a bit late to the party, but there’s plenty of room.
Funny how the NHL’s “History” campaign this year seemed kinda corny to me, but lately has been feeling prescient.
Funny that the TV ratings are hitting highs, and people are talking about how the NHL is finally rebounding in popularity from the lock out.
Funny how a lot of people don’t seem to know the Flyers all that well. You’d think after three series they might start to realize this isn’t a fluke.
If there’s a team in the NHL that matches up well with the Hawks, that team is the Flyers, but I don’t mind at all being the underdog.
This is going to be a long week, but I’m relaxed because we just earned a well deserved 4 days to let our injured guys rest and continue the healing process.
I think this is going to be one hell of a final, and I sure do like our chances.
I realize there are going to be a lot of Hawks fans who aren’t that familiar with the Flyers.
There’s also going to be a lot of new Hockey fans, who will be hearing the media faun over the Hawks, and Toews and Kane and Keith and Byfuglien and Hossa and what a stacked team they have over there, and how fast they are………
Those same people also probably don’t know what happened when we met up earlier this season.
I am actually starting to really be annoyed by the NHL “History” campaign. It was cool at first now it just seems like they are grasping for stuff and there are too many commercials
"Game 7's are tough... It's a game that's made for men and our guys proved to be men today." -Laviolette
by PatterPoet95 on May 25, 2010 9:25 AM EDT up reply actions
Phillies- 3 game series vs the muts
"Game 7's are tough... It's a game that's made for men and our guys proved to be men today." -Laviolette
by PatterPoet95 on May 25, 2010 9:26 AM EDT up reply actions
Get out your O2 bottles and pocket defibrillators
by JerseyDriver on May 25, 2010 12:37 AM EDT up reply actions
Cloud nine.
Flyers win Eastern Conference.
And I get banned from “Eye on the Prize” by Robert L. for politely saying great series and maybe find some journalistic integrity while he’s at it. He’s a fucking douche nozzle.
All is right with the world.
That post game thread on Eyes on the Prize is very well done.
It is really classless that Robert L. didn’t congratulate the Flyers either in his article or over here. Instead all he gives is a “Now Go Blackhawks!”
Philly played a clean, straight up series. If anything, the Habs acted more the villains with their game three antics, post game comments, and tongue wagging and hip thrusting during the national anthem of game 4. I guess in that case, their blogger fits the mold perfectly.
From what I’ve gathered about Robert, he is a very knowledgeable hockey fan who knows the sport and knows the sport’s history, but has no social grace when it comes to dealing with fans of other teams.
Proudly supporting a Flyers team with "no honor."
Well I had a brief discussion with him over there and he admitted that he overreacted previously, and also came clean as to his love of the Blackhawks since he was 12 years old, so I guess we can give him a pass. Hopefully in the future he’ll have a little thicker skin.
Regardless, we’re in the Finals :D
Never been there but Chicago is the worst city in the world.
My Introduction into sports fandom was the ’97 cup finals when I was in 2nd grade. Now it all seems to have come full circle. Bring the Cup back home to Broad Street boys.
“Never been there but Chicago is the worst city in the world”
How does that work?
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Yeah, Chicago is a great city. I was there in February 2005 and I enjoyed myself. Yes, I was there in the dead of winter and the wind cut through my layers of clothing and I still enjoyed myself.
Earwax Cafe… one of the best veggie burgers I’ve ever had. And y’all have some really nice folks there too.
Do you see what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps?
Earwax Cafe
Such a great place with such an unfortunate name.
"I have only space enough to add: against the assault of desperate pandas nothing can stand."
-ChicoMaki (channeling Mark Twain)
by HungryHungryPanda on May 25, 2010 10:54 AM EDT up reply actions
one of my favorites
their new space is very polished but nothing beat their old space across the street. Back when Milwaukee Ave. was a shithole run by the Polish mafia.
The women's bathroom has a very heated debate
about the Libertines all over the walls. But the squid art was really impressive.
Watch it with the jinxing!
Time for some thrillin' heroics!
by shinkicker on May 25, 2010 2:27 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Never been either but everyone I know that has ever been there loved it including my wife. I would love to go there one day.
Go Go Gadget Gagne
What if Broad Street Didn't Fight Back? History HAS been made. 5-7-10
5-8-10...the day the Purdue Boilermakers basketball team won the 2011 NCAA Championship!!
I've lived in too many ciites to count
(currently live in nYc) and Chicago is still my favorite place. So yeah, I highly recommend you checking it out.
Congrats from Chicago...
Should be a fun series! It will be interesting to see how the games play out and I know the Flyers have a much better defense than the Sharks. Most over at SCH think it will be like the Predators series for the Hawks and I agree.
Regardless, congratulations, enjoy the week!!!
Congratulations!
I’ve had a lot of fun in Philly, and your joy is fun to read, but I hope you aren’t this happy again any time soon.
This series is going to be intense both on the ice and to my liver.
Watch it with the jinxing!
Time for some thrillin' heroics!
by shinkicker on May 25, 2010 9:09 AM EDT via mobile reply actions
What are the better Hawks bars? I’ve been hiding out in Lincoln Park all playoffs, I need to switch it up.
We’ve done a lot of meet ups at Bottom Lounge (off the green/pink line Ashland stop). They open up their top floor to hockey fans and project the game onto a 15’ screen.
And luckily they’re all night games, so people going in and out the side door during the game shouldn’t make it impossible to see the screen.
Watch it with the jinxing!
Time for some thrillin' heroics!
by shinkicker on May 25, 2010 2:04 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
I think all the Phillies magic is currently residing with our hockey club. Why, oh why, can we not have two teams winning simultaneously in this city? Is there some sort of law against it?
"Tortorella’s got it all wrong ... Gaborik shouldn’t be messing with our skilled player." -Peter Luukko
That game tonight was on par with that Caps. debacle, but at least the Flyers had an excuse like their coach was fired and they were already spiraling out of control.
Even if what you’re saying is true, do you mind if the Flyers borrow the Phillies magic right now, since they’ll be done borrowing it by mid-June? The Phillies would have it back in their possession by the time they need it anyway. Besides, the Flyers fully supported the Phillies in 08, and the Phillies are clearly in support of the Flyers run now, or else they wouldn’t have had all the TVs in CBP tuned to the Flyers game during the Carnival.
by DragonGirl0583 on May 26, 2010 7:43 AM EDT up reply actions
I don’t mind, per se, but I just find it infuriating that we can’t have two winning teams at once, you know? And the flip side is, now if the Phils start winning, what does that mean for the Flyers? Arrgh.
June starts IL play, so it doesn’t matter if the Flyers give them magic or not, as the Phillies are super sucktacular when they play AL teams.
"Tortorella’s got it all wrong ... Gaborik shouldn’t be messing with our skilled player." -Peter Luukko

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