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ROUND 2:
Flyers make history with comeback
MAY 15, 2010 -- The Philadelphia Flyers became the third team in NHL history to come back from a 3-0 series deficit to defeat an opponent Friday night. Their 4-3 victory in Boston served as a microcosm for the series itself as the Bruins stormed out to a 3-0 lead, only to see their lead disappear and their names etched onto the wrong side of history’s ledger.
With the victory, the Flyers joined the 1975 New York Islanders and 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs on the right side of history. Three first-period goals, two by Milan Lucic and one by Michael Ryder appeared to be all the fuel the Bruins would need as their ecstatic crowd howled—in relief, mostly—as the horror of a historic comeback seemed to abate. The Bruins had made the Flyers pay for undisciplined play, scoring two of their three goals on the power play. However, just 3:02 after Flyer coach Peter Laviolette took a much-needed timeout, imploring his troops to get just one goal, Flyer plugger James van Riemsdyk caromed a shot off a Bruin stick from the low slot that proved difficult to stop, and eluded Tuuka Rask at 17:12 to draw Philly within two goals at the end of the first frame. On the play, Mike Richards labeled Dennis Wideman and caused a turnover that led to the goal. Two more even-strength markers within 5:50 of each other, first by Scott Hartnell, then Daniel Briere, whose seventh goal of the series tied the game at 8:42 of the second period. “We’re going to win this game,” Laviolette remarked to a rinkside reporter after the Hartnell goal drew the Flyers within one. Daniel Briere, just minutes later, tied the game and put the Flyers in position to make good on their coach’s promise on a wraparound that barely crossed the line and needed review. Game tied in the third frame, both Chris Pronger and Michael Ryder hit posts. Echoing a 1979 too-many-men penalty that eliminated the Don Cherry-era Bruins, the B’s were called for too many men on the ice at 11:10 of the third. At 12:52, Simon Gagne, playing on a broken foot, capped a stellar return from injury, scoring from in close. It was Gagne’s second game-winner of the series and fourth in four games. During his nine seasons in the League, Gagne has been injured on at least 15 occasions. His gutsy effort in this series (he was questionable for Friday’s game) served as a reminder of his tremendous talent. IF THE CLICHÉ FITS, WEAR IT As for the Flyers’ eight-million-dollar man, if the cliché fits, wear it. They say that big players come through in big games. That is surely Danny Briere’s modus operandi. After being limited to 29 games due to injury last season, Briere felt the wrath of tough Philly fans, who considered him a bust. However, Briere bounced back with 26 goals in 75 games this season, and his game-tying marker Friday was one of his biggest. The men who replaced Briere in Buffalo, Derek Roy and Tim Connolly, make $8.5M combined and by now it’s likely that GM Darcy Regeir wishes he had Briere and an AHL guy making the league minimum of $450K. IN THE NETS Boston’s Rask and Philly’s Michael Leighton both did an admirable job in the nets. Leighton allowed three quick goals Friday, and looked very ordinary as Milan Lucic’s second goal went through his wickets for a five-hole goal that appeared to seal Philly’s fate. But Leighton, a career backup and the third Flyer goaltender on the depth chart after Ray Emery and Brian Boucher went down with injuries, stopped all 11 Bruin shots the rest of the way. While not a colossal number of shots, he made the saves when he had to. Rask, on the other hand, will be looked upon more harshly in the wake of the loss, but in fairness, he gave his club a chance to win. While Ryder and Lucic were productive in the wake of injuries to David Krejci and Marco Sturm, Bruin stars Marc Savard and Patrice Bergeron (all $12.75M worth) failed to score during the final four games of the series.
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2011 Western Hockey Network |
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