It started with a save by Brian Boucher on the NY Rangers’ Olli Jokinen in a shootout to end the 82nd and last game of the season. That save sealed a 2-1 OT victory, knocked the Rangers out of the playoffs and propelled the Flyers INTO the playoffs…
And then we all went for a ride…One helluva ride…
The Flyers started out the 2009-2010 season having made some major changes. Going out were goaltenders Martin Biron and Antero Niittymaki via free agency, and coming in were Brian Boucher and Ray Emery, formerly of the Ottawa Senators. Future Hall of Famer Chris Pronger was also brought in, with a trade with the Ducks that saw Lucas Sbisa and Joffrey Lupul head west to Anaheim.
The team never really hit its stride early on and was very inconsistent. In December, it cost head coach John Stevens his job as GM Paul Holmgren made a change. Former Carolina Hurricanes coach Peter Laviolette was brought in to right the ship and pull the Flyers out of their funk. After a tough 2-7-1 stretch upon his arrival, the team finally picked up the pace, despite injuries to key personnel. Players like Jeff Carter, Kimmo Timonen, Simon Gagne, and grinder Blair Betts all missed significant time throughout the campaign. Ray Emery was also injured in mid-December with an abdominal tear and would miss the rest of the year. Michael Leighton, a waiver pickup from the Hurricanes, boosted the club by going 8-0-1 after coming aboard. The Flyers finished the season 41-35-6, and with the heroics of the shootout win in game 82, earned a 7th seed placement into the playoffs.
The Flyers started the playoffs versus their nemesis of many post-seasons past, the NJ Devils. They took out Martin Brodeur and the Devils in five games as Boucher once again played very well.
Then, the Flyers faced the Boston Bruins in the second round. After losing the first three games of the series, the Flyers were facing an improbable comeback. In a miraculous twist, the Flyers won three straight games, even despite Boucher going down with an injury in Game 5 and being replaced by Leighton, and the Flyers forced a Game 7 back in Beantown.
After trailing 3–0 in the first period, the Flyers came storming back and started the third tied 3-3. With just over seven minutes left, Simon Gagne scored on the powerplay to make it 4-3 and cap off a miraculous comeback. The Flyers were able to hold off the Bruins to win Game 7 and become only the third team in NHL history, the fourth team in the “big four” professional American sports leagues, to come back from a three-game deficit to win a seven-game series. Simon’s goal was one of the biggest in Flyers’ history and earned him the nickname "The Boston Strangler."
Remarkably, the 7th-seeded Flyers had home-ice advantage in the Eastern Conference finals as they faced the 8th-seeded Montreal Canadiens. In the series, Michel Leighton became the first Flyers goalie to record three shutouts in a playoff series. The Flyers took out the Habs in five games to advance to the Stanley Cup finals for the first time since 1997.
Unfortunately, the Flyers fell to Jonathan Toews and the Chicago Blackhawks in six games, losing the final game in overtime on a bad angle goal scored by Patrick Kane.
The improbable playoff run by the Flyers as the 7th seed was, without question, one of the most memorable seasons in their 47-year history. With the uncertainty in between the pipes, countless injuries, and miraculous comebacks, it was a ride all Flyer fans will never forget.
Mike Watson is a contributing writer for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on twitter @Mwats_99
