The Philadelphia Flyers had the opportunity to make history in Game 7 against.the Boston Bruins, a chance to become only the third team in NHL history to come back from 3-0 down in a best-of-seven series to win.
But these Flyers wouldn’t settle for just one epic comeback from 3-0 down. No, once the Flyers evened the series at 3-3 each, they saw it fit to dig themselves another 3-0 deficit in a hurry, as Milan Lucic scored twice through Michael Leighton‘s five-hole as the Bruins raced out to a 3-0 lead in the game’s first fifteen minutes.
It looked bad. Real bad. But these Flyers don’t much worry about 3-0 deficits, and they probably never will again.
James van Riemsdyk scored an absurdly flubby goal in the late stages of the first to put the Flyers on the board, sending a dribbler wide stick side that Tuukka Rask redirected into the net with an outstretched skate. JVR is the youngest player on this team, but there is absolutely no doubt that he carried them through the whole first half of this contest.
Then the Flyers scored twice in the first nine minutes of the second, with both Scott Hartnell and Danny Briere scoring goals so awesome that I didn’t even realize that either went in. The game was tied, the mountain had been climbed again.
And yet the game was not even half over.
Things stayed tight and fast the rest of the way, with tons of rushes in both directions that never materialized into shots. A mysterious whistle stopped play with nine minutes left, and when it turned out to be a too many men on the Ice penalty against the Bruins, the Flyers had the chance they needed to drive the dagger into Boston’s heart once and for all.
The power play had failed twice earlier on the night, and struggled early on this third occasion as well, with the Flyers failing to get a shot on goal for the first 100 seconds. But when a shot finally got through, it was a wicked Simon Gagne snap shot from the bottom of the circle that beat Rask farside, high stick.
The Flyers had come back to lead a game for the first time in the series, and they would not let go. Michael Leighton made several tough saves, backchecking forwards made several strong clears, and time ran out on the Bruins season.
After the jump: Question Answered, a Comment of the Night cop-out, and more revelry.
Question to Answer:
- Will the Flyers make history tonight? YES.
Comment of the Night:
Everybody wins this one today. Every single comment was epic, timeless, and a part of history. Give yourself a pat on the back.
The Philadelphia Flyers are in the Eastern Conference Finals. They’ve already secured a place in immortality, but the playoffs are not even half way done. What a time to be alive.
Go Flyers.
