For the last three games, the pressure of winning has been squarely on the shoulders of the Philadelphia Flyers. In Game 4, Boston took them to overtime, with the season on the line and won it. Game 5 was a much different story, as the Flyers dominated the Bruins, even after losing Brian Boucher early in the second period. Michael Leighton stepped in, and the Flyers became the first team to have a combined shutout in the playoffs since 1955.
Then came last night, with Michael Leighton's first ever playoff start and the Flyers playing possibly their last home game of the season. With a win, Philadelphia would become just the seventh team in NHL history to force a Game 7 after losing the first three games of a series. Well, we all know what happened by this point...the Flyers won! Game 7 will be Friday night in Boston, and now the pressure has completely switched around and is completely on the Bruins.
Just as they had in the past two games, the Flyers came out early in Game 6 and set the tone. They were aggressive on offense, creating chances for goals, but Tuukka Rask was on top of things early. However, the Flyers kept pounding away, and Mike Richards scored just seven minutes in to give Philadelphia a key 1-0 lead. After the initial surge, it was up to Michael Leighton and the defense for the remainder of the period, and they did their job well. Leighton made a huge stop on a short handed breakaway with eight minutes to play in the first, and every Flyer was out on the ice blocking shots and making sure that Leighton was able to get his feet under him. Once he did that, he continued to shut down the Bruins, keeping them off the scoreboard for the first 59 minutes of the game.
Though the Bruins had been more aggressive in the last ten minutes of the first period, the Flyers still held the lead, and they were able to expand it in the second. Danny Briere, who is looking more and more like the player the Flyers signed away from Buffalo, put in a power play goal late in the second period to give Philadelphia a 2-0 lead. From there, the focus went back to the defense, and they would play up to the task last night, dominating the Bruins while Leighton kept Boston from scoring with great saves and just solid overall play. It didn't seem like he had missed any time in net, and now that he's gotten a full playoff game under his belt, he should be just fine. The late goal that he gave up was unfortunate, but the Flyers still held on and won, so it was nothing to worry about. Besides, how many other backup-turned starter-turned backup due to injury goalies start their playoff career with 95 shutout minutes? I can't think of any others.
So now, it comes down to this. One game to determine who will face the Montreal Canadiens in the Eastern Conference Finals. Boston's best chance to put the Flyers away has come and gone. They had their chances in the Game 4 overtime, as well as in the last two games, when they should have been able to rattle Michael Leighton. Instead, the Flyers held their ground, won three in a row, and turned the tables on Boston. After having their backs against the wall for almost an entire week, the Flyers now just need one more win to send the Bruins home. It's not about being down 0-3 anymore. It's just about winning one last game. This isn't the same Flyers team from the last few years that's given up once things got tough. This team scrapped their way into the playoffs, took out their hated rivals in five games and are on the verge of making history in the second round. No team has done what the Flyers have accomplished in 35 years, and only two teams have won Game 7. Can the Flyers be the third? At this point, I'm not going to put anything past them.
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