After finishing one of the most legendary comebacks in NHL history in their last series, the Flyers made sure the Habs would have no chance to make one of their own, overpowering Montreal 4-2 at a packed-out Wachovia Center to take their place as Eastern Conference champs and secure a berth in the Stanley Cup Finals.
Brian Gionta opened the game’s scoring for Montreal with his goal in the first minute of play, but the two young centers that have been the cornerstones of Philly’s success, Mike Richards and Jeff Carter, combined for 3 goals the rest of the way to bury the Canadiens. Richards tied the score with a terrific shorthanded goal less than 4 minutes after Gionta scored, diving for a loose puck and chipping it through a collision with Jaroslav Halak. He managed to slide around Halak and regain his footing in time to flip the puck into the vacated net.
Arron Asham, known more for his bruising hits and penchant for fighting, showed off his scoring abilities with a goal early in the 2nd, faking Halak out with a backhand-forehand move in front of the net that gave the Flyers the lead for good. Jeff Carter scored his first goal since returning from injury just 84 seconds after Asham, and it ended up being the game winner. Carter ended up being the beneficiary of some more nice work from Richards, as the young captain dove for a loose puck down low in the Montreal zone after battling the puck away from a Montreal defender and slid it into the slot for Carter, who was able to bury it in the empty net with Halak on the bench.
Scott Gomez scored a goal early in the 3rd to give the Habs a chance to come back, but Michael Leighton stopped the other 11 shots he faced in the final period to preserve the Flyers’ win. He finished with 24 saves on the night, while Halak stopped 22 of the 25 shots he faced. While the Canadiens were able to get through two of the top teams in the East in their first two series, the Flyers’ aggressive, physical style of play kept them off balance all series long, and they were never really able to garner any traction.
The Flyers have certainly taken an unorthodox path to the Cup Finals, and captain Mike Richards continued to buck tradition with the presentation of the Prince of Wales Trophy. Many teams refuse to touch the trophy out of superstition, and choose to wait for their chance to hoist the Stanley Cup, but Richards hoisted the trophy high and carried it over to celebrate with this Flyers team that has defied all other odds during their playoff run so far.
