When you try and put a dominant Game 1 victory behind you, coming out and being outshot 16-6 in the first period of Game 2 normally isn't the way to get that done. However, Michael Leighton stopped all 30 shots the Canadiens threw at him tonight, and the Flyers did their job on the power play as they took a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals, moving them to within two games of their first Stanley Cup Finals in 13 years.
The story of the game tonight begins and ends with Michael Leighton. Ever since he was forced back into the starting goalie postion, thanks to Brian Boucher's injury, he's been nothing but clutch. After giving up three goals in the first period of Game 7 against Boston, Leighton has been lights out, shutting out the Bruins in the last two periods of Game 7 and becoming the first Flyers goalie to record back to back playoff shutouts since Bernie Parent back in 1975. That's pretty good company right there. He did his best work tonight, keeping Montreal off the board in a period that they completely dominated. The Canadiens worked the Flyers over in the first period, but Leighton was able to keep them from scoring a single time, and the Flyers were able to strike first on a power play goal by Danny Briere just four minutes into the game. From there, it became a battle of Leighton against the Montreal offense, and Leighton was more than up to the challenge. I don't know why the Flyers were able to claim him off of waivers from Nashville, but I'm not going to complain. Ever since he came to Philadelphia, he's been lights out, and now he has the Flyers just two wins away from the Stanley Cup Finals.
The offense was on point once again tonight, even with the reduced number of shots. Danny Briere is simply on fire right now, and he scored his ninth goal in 11 playoff games. For all of those people that thought Briere was overpaid on his way out of Philadelphia, I want to apologize. Without him playing right now, the Flyers wouldn't have made it this far, and he isn't showing any signs of stopping at the moment, either. He's the hottest player in the playoffs at the moment, and he's just been on point since the mid-way point of the New Jersey series. Right now, I wouldn't want to play for Montreal, because then I would have to try and stop him. The same can be said for Simon Gagne, who scored his sixth goal of the playoffs tonight. Ever since he came back into the lineup, the Flyers have been on a different level, and Gagne just might be why. He scored again tonight, giving him a point in every game that he's played in since he returned, and six goals since his return as well. At this point, I want every Flyer to break their foot and come back quickly, since it worked so well for Gagne.
The power play was on point again tonight, as the Flyers scored twice while keeping Montreal from picking up a goal on the man advantage. The Canadiens went 0-4 on the power play, which is one of the big reasons why the Flyers have 2-0 lead in the series right now. So far, everything is going the way of the Flyers, and that includes trips on the man advantage. Briere and Gagne scored with Philadelphia on the power play, and the goal by Gagne seemed to take Montreal completely out of the game. The power play by the Flyers had been the biggest reason why they are up 2-0 right now, and Montreal is going to have to try and stop that if they want to even get back in the series.
I don't think this series is over yet, not by a longshot. The Canadiens have been the team in the playoffs that have been impossible to write off, having come back from 3-1 and 3-2 holes against Washington and Pittsburgh. Until the Flyers have the lead in the final game and the horn is sounding, I'm going to believe that Montreal can come back. Right now, though, things are going Philadelphia's way. Michael Leighton is playing even better than he did before his injury, and the offense is on fire right now with Danny Briere and Simon Gagne playing as well as they are. Even with all of that, this team has to put the last two games behind them and try to focus only on Game 3 in Montreal. The Canadien fans are going to be crazy with their team down two games, and it's only going to get worse if the Flyers let them take the lead. The Flyers have Montreal against the ropes, and they have to finish them off before they can come back. I think they can do that.
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