BOSTON, MA – For only the third time in NHL history, a team came back from a 3-0 series deficit and win a playoff series. Simon Gagne scored a power play goal, thanks to a too many men on the ice penalty with only 7:08 left in the third period, to give the Philadelphia Flyers a 4-3 win sending them to the Eastern Conference finals with the Montreal Canadiens beginning Sunday night in Philadelphia. Not only did the Flyers make NHL history, but with the win they made professional hockey history.
For the first time in history, three teams that reside from the same state, in this case the state of Pennsylvania, made their respective league conference finals in the same hockey season. The Flyers made the NHL’s Eastern Conference finals, the Hershey Bears made the Eastern Conference finals in the AHL, and the Reading Royals made the ECHL’s American Conference finals. In a bit of irony, only two days ago, the Royals, who play in Reading, Pa which is only one hour way from Philadelphia, blew a 3-0 series lead to the Cincinnati Cyclones. In fact, in the OHL this season, the Windsor Spitfires came back from a 3-0 series deficit to beat the Kitchener Rangers in their respective conference finals. 
Fittingly, the Flyers went down 3-0 in tonight’s game. The Bruins got off to a 3-0 lead in the first 14:10 of the game and things didn’t look good for the orange and black. Flyers Head Coach Peter Laviolette took a timeout to settle his team down. It worked. The Flyers played like a poised team should and made a comeback for the ages. For a town that prides itself on whining whenever something bad happens to them, something special is going on in Philly, and it all started not with the Flyers, but with their baseball counterparts, the Philadelphia Phillies. There use to be a time when the cities mentality was that anything that can go wrong can and will happen to its cities professional sports teams. The fans seem to be only happy when it rained. Well, don’t look now Philly, but the sun is coming out. In 2008, the Phillies won the world series, and things seems to have changed. Now, good things are expected to happen to their teams, despite the demise of the Sixers and the Eagles early exits from the playoffs.
While winning the Stanley Cup seems miles away, the team once left for dead is now alive and kicking. Now they get to take on the most decorated team in hockey history, the “Yankees” of hockey as it were. Last year the Phillies tried to repeat as champs, but as we all know by now the real Yankees had something to say about it. Still, the Phillies remain one of, if not thee best team in baseball and the Flyers are on the verge of having a magical season.
If the Flyers go on to win the Stanley Cup, it might actually be fitting that they do it in the middle of baseball season. Heck, it might even be fitting that they win the Cup during at the same time a Phillies game is going on across the street. Still, first things first, you gotta win the thing to have such a moment. After making one of the best comebacks in NHL history, maybe it’s not so farfetched a dream after all.
Contact the author at brian.jennings@ prohockeynews.com
Contact the photographer at Lewis.Bleiman@prohockeynews.com
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