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Flyers join Chicago in Stanley final
Source: Agencies |
May 26, 2010, Wednesday
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THE Philadelphia Flyers joined the Chicago Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup final after completing a 4-1 series win over the Montreal Canadiens in their Eastern Conference playoff on Monday.
The Flyers, who have defied incredible odds to reach the NHL's championship decider for the first time since 1997, wrapped up their best-of-seven series against Montreal with a 4-2 victory in Game 5.
"It's been great so far," Philadelphia captain Mike Richards said after receiving the Prince of Wales Trophy for winning the Eastern Conference.
"Obviously the journey hasn't ended, hopefully we have a little of a Cinderella story here at the end. We have to prepare for Chicago now. It feels good."
The Canadiens caught the Flyers napping when Brian Gionta scored in the first minute of the game but the Flyers equalized shorthanded in the first period through their inspirational captain.
The Flyers then opened up a commanding two-goal lead after Arron Asham and Jeff Carter found the net in the second period. Scott Gomez gave the Habs some hope when he pulled one back early in the final period before Carter scored his second in the final minute to put the result beyond doubt.
"They played well, I give them credit but at the same time we just didn't score enough goals and that was the difference," Montreal coach Jacques Martin told a news conference.
"We had some opportunities and we didn't finish."
Phildaelphia's riveting win was just the latest chapter in an incredible rollercoaster end to the season where it appeared doomed several times but somehow managed to find a way through.
It only snuck into the playoffs after beating the New York Rangers in a shootout in the final round of the regular season. It upset the highly-fancied New Jersey Devils in the first round of the playoffs but was left reeling when it lost the first three games of its semifinal series with the Boston Bruins.
Hard road
Yet it somehow managed to win the next four games, becoming only the third NHL team to come from 0-3 down and win a best-of-seven series.
The Canadiens had also taken the hard road to the Eastern Conference final, sneaking into the playoffs as the lowest ranked team, and were also battling fatigue.
They upset conference top seeds Washington in seven games in the first round then knocked out the defending champion Pittsburgh, also in seven games in the semifinals, but ran out of puff against Philadelphia.
The Flyers won the first two games at home without conceding a goal and despite losing the third game in Montreal, another shutout in Game 4 brought them back to the Wachovia Center brimming with confidence and one win away from a final berth.
Gionta weaved his way around Flyers defenseman Chris Pronger and slipped the puck past goaltender Michael Leighton after just 59 seconds.
Richards tied the game at 1-1 after he slipped and scrambled back to his skates to slide the puck into an empty net but the decisive moment came in the second period when the Flyers scored twice in 90 seconds.
The Stanley Cup final starts in Chicago on Saturday.
The Blackhawks are one of the original six NHL teams and have not won the Stanley Cup in 49 years. However, they are in devastating form this season, demolishing the top seeded San Jose Sharks 4-0 in the Western Conference final.
"We have a lot of belief in our team," Richards said. "When the chips are down it seems like we get better."
The Flyers, who have defied incredible odds to reach the NHL's championship decider for the first time since 1997, wrapped up their best-of-seven series against Montreal with a 4-2 victory in Game 5.
"It's been great so far," Philadelphia captain Mike Richards said after receiving the Prince of Wales Trophy for winning the Eastern Conference.
"Obviously the journey hasn't ended, hopefully we have a little of a Cinderella story here at the end. We have to prepare for Chicago now. It feels good."
The Canadiens caught the Flyers napping when Brian Gionta scored in the first minute of the game but the Flyers equalized shorthanded in the first period through their inspirational captain.
The Flyers then opened up a commanding two-goal lead after Arron Asham and Jeff Carter found the net in the second period. Scott Gomez gave the Habs some hope when he pulled one back early in the final period before Carter scored his second in the final minute to put the result beyond doubt.
"They played well, I give them credit but at the same time we just didn't score enough goals and that was the difference," Montreal coach Jacques Martin told a news conference.
"We had some opportunities and we didn't finish."
Phildaelphia's riveting win was just the latest chapter in an incredible rollercoaster end to the season where it appeared doomed several times but somehow managed to find a way through.
It only snuck into the playoffs after beating the New York Rangers in a shootout in the final round of the regular season. It upset the highly-fancied New Jersey Devils in the first round of the playoffs but was left reeling when it lost the first three games of its semifinal series with the Boston Bruins.
Hard road
Yet it somehow managed to win the next four games, becoming only the third NHL team to come from 0-3 down and win a best-of-seven series.
The Canadiens had also taken the hard road to the Eastern Conference final, sneaking into the playoffs as the lowest ranked team, and were also battling fatigue.
They upset conference top seeds Washington in seven games in the first round then knocked out the defending champion Pittsburgh, also in seven games in the semifinals, but ran out of puff against Philadelphia.
The Flyers won the first two games at home without conceding a goal and despite losing the third game in Montreal, another shutout in Game 4 brought them back to the Wachovia Center brimming with confidence and one win away from a final berth.
Gionta weaved his way around Flyers defenseman Chris Pronger and slipped the puck past goaltender Michael Leighton after just 59 seconds.
Richards tied the game at 1-1 after he slipped and scrambled back to his skates to slide the puck into an empty net but the decisive moment came in the second period when the Flyers scored twice in 90 seconds.
The Stanley Cup final starts in Chicago on Saturday.
The Blackhawks are one of the original six NHL teams and have not won the Stanley Cup in 49 years. However, they are in devastating form this season, demolishing the top seeded San Jose Sharks 4-0 in the Western Conference final.
"We have a lot of belief in our team," Richards said. "When the chips are down it seems like we get better."
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