Even if the Philadelphia Flyers weren't actually participating in the Stanley Cup Finals this year, I would consider this one of the most entertaining final series in quite some time. For the third straight game, both Chicago and Philadelphia played each other very close, with neither team able to get more than a one goal lead. In the end, it was another one goal win, but this one came in overtime and was in favor of the Flyers. Claude Giroux found the back of the net just six minutes into the overtime period to give the Flyers the win and ensure that this series, at the very least, will not be a repeat of 1997.
For the second time in the series, the Flyers would come out in the first period and take the lead. Last night, it was Danny Briere who did the honors, scoring on the power play off of a great pass from Scott Hartnell. After the power play scored twice in the first two games of this series, the Flyers kept up the pressure on the man advantage last night, as Hartnell would do the honors in the second period, scoring off a re-direct on a long shot by Chris Pronger. The officials would need to go to replay to make sure that the goal counted, and even though the puck only made it about 2 inches past the line, it still counted as a goal, and the Flyers were back on top in the second period. For Scott Hartnell, who had a down season this year after scoring 30 goals last year, to have two goals and three assists in three games against Chicago is great to see. Everyone in Philadelphia knows that he can play well, but his season this year just didn't go the way that anyone wanted it to. However, since the Stanley Cup Finals started, Hartnell has been in another world, and it's good to see.
As has been the case throughout this series, the Blackhawks did not go away after the Flyers struck. Chicago was kept off the scoreboard in the first period, but struck twice in the second. Duncan Keith scored three minutes into the second to tie the game, and after Philadelphia took the lead again on Hartnell's power play goal, the Blackhawks came back late in the second period on a slap shot goal from Brent Sopel. Sopel's goal came right after Chicago won a faceoff in the Philadelphia zone, which can never happen late in a period. Players are looking for shots right off of a draw, especially if the goalie isn't set, and that's exactly what happened here. Michael Leighton never ever saw the shot, and by the time he knew where it was, the puck was behind him. The bad luck continued early in the third period, as Patrick Kane finally got on the board with a breakaway goal that came just three minutes in. It was Kane's first goal of the series, and it seemed like the Flyers were about to go down again.
This team just did what they've done all season when their backs have been against the wall: they came out swinging. On their first offensive possession after the Kane goal, Ville Leino put the puck past Antti Niemi for another tie. From that point on, as was the case in Game 2, the Flyers started an all out assault on the Chicago goalie. For the second game in a row, Philadelphia won the shot battle in the third period by double digits, and Niemi was up to the task once again. This time, though, the game was tied, so the Flyers were headed to overtime with their season on the line. In the overtime, it looked like Chicago had fresher legs, but the Flyers kept coming. Simon Gagne looked to have the game winner five minutes into overtime, but the play was whistled dead before the puck crossed the goal line, so the goal was not allowed. Just 60 seconds later, Claude Giroux would make sure that replay wouldn't be needed for a third time, as he took a pass from Matt Carle and re-directed it past Niemi for the overtime winner. Just like that, the Flyers had life once again, and their first win in the Stanley Cup Finals since May 28, 1987. To put that in comparison, my 23 year old brother was exactly four months old when that game too place.
This Flyers team has more heart and determination than any other Flyers team that I can ever remember watching. They could has easily given up after losing two one goal games on the road and allowing Patrick Kane to score his first goal of the series early in the third period last night. Instead, Ville Leino, who this team got for spare parts, continued his amazing playoff run with a goal just 20 seconds later. That's what this team has done since the playoffs started. Even with Kane's goal last night, Chicago's first line still just has that one goal so far in three games, and Chris Pronger has effectively shown that the hype around Dustin Byfuglien was just that. Byfuglien was called for two penalties last night, and has been completely ineffective against Philadelphia's number one defenseman. Sure, Mike Richards and Jeff Carter haven't been that effective either, but considering the play from Danny Briere, Ville Leino and Claude Giroux, they haven't always been needed. Carter didn't have the best game last night, but one poor showing after coming back from a broken foot just a month ago isn't enough for me to want him gone. Instead, this team needs to focus on the positives, which are the fact that this is now a series that is going back to Chicago for at least one game, and that they've played on the same level with the Blackhawks for three straight games. This series isn't even close to being decided yet.
It is really, really hard to believe that the Flyers were the last team to make it into the Stanley Cup Playoffs this year, because the way that they've been playing since they got in is at another level. They rolled through the Eastern Conference, albeit with some good breaks, and have played the Blackhawks tight in all three games of the Stanley Cup Finals. With a break here or there, it could easily be the Flyers up 2-1 or even 3-0 in this series. However, it's not, and the team has to realize that as well. Game 3 was a must win, and the Flyers did just that. Now, they have to come out with the same fire in Game 4 to make sure that this series comes back to Philadelphia for one more game this year. Game 4 is Friday night, and if you thought the Wachovia Center was loud last night, wait until tomorrow.
No comments:
Post a Comment