Rick Tocchet
When the Flyers and Oilers met in the Stanley Cup Final in 1987, what ensued was a battle of wills that featured two epic comebacks and nearly saw the Flyers top a legendary team in a seven-game war, quite possibly the best Stanley Cup Final ever to take place. Even the greatest player in the league called Flyers netminder Ron Hextall the toughest he ever faced.
In the 2000 Eastern Conference semi-finals against Pittsburgh, the Flyers fell into a hole and were one mistake away from facing the near-impossible 3-0 deficit. An unlikely hero emerged and gave the Flyers some life. When the Flyers evened the series up in an all-time classic game, all momentum had shifted for good. The Flyers rolled back at home and finished off the series in six games.
In the end, the Flyers 2000 Eastern Conference Final appearance against the Devils marked the turning of a page and end of an era and another crushing defeat in the Flyers pursuit to end a Stanley Cup drought that has spanned another 20 years since this series.
Winning streaks in the NHL don’t last forever, especially with so much parity in the league. But now the challenge for the Flyers is to not let one loss sink them and put them into a slide after building some solid ground early.
Embed from Getty Images As the news came in this morning, the current group of Philadelphia Flyers, who are preparing for a playoff series, learned of the passing of the man who made hockey in Philadelphia possible. Ed Snider passed away on Monday at the age of 83. Many current Flyers, former Flyers and […]
March 8, 2000: Rick Tocchet returns to Flyers It was goodbye for the second time for one Flyers fan favorite and hello for the second time for another Flyers fan favorite – in the same trade. On March 8, 2000, the Flyers moved Mikael Renberg to the Phoenix Coyotes and brought back rugged winger Rick Tocchet for […]
A reuniting of linemates, a legend in goal, Flyers down Rangers Embed from Getty Images The Flyers are holding a special Alumni game in Reading on Friday night that will mark another celebration of Flyers hockey. For Flyers fans, this is the first chance to see a similar collection of Flyers greats from the […]
October 24, 1989 In one of the leaner years in Flyers history, the 1989-90 squad was floundering with a 1-6-1 record to start the season. Despite injuries and a suspension to Ron Hextall for 12 games — the Chris Chelios incident — the shorthanded Flyers knew a home win against the St. Louis Blues was imperative. […]
Over the course of the last few years, the Philadelphia Flyers' farm system has gone from virtually barren — the after-effects of being strip-mined of high-end draft picks in "win now" drives — to one of the main reasons for long-term optimism. In particular, the pool of defense prospects has received considerable attention and hype […]
May 28, 1987 It’s Game 6 of the 1987 Stanley Cup Finals between the Flyers and the Edmonton Oilers at the Spectrum. The Flyers were down three games to two and needed a win on home ice to force a Game 7 back in Edmonton. To get there, the Flyers would need contributions from everyone […]
