flyers game
Philadelphia's Michael Leighton has been the hottest goaltender of the postseason, but he's going to need some help in front of him if the Flyers are going to take home the Cup.
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Instead, in Game 1, Patrick Kane and Chicago pick up right where they left off thanks to the barrage of shots they fire at Philly's netminder.
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Leighton still stops more than 91-percent of the shots that he sees, but that's not much of a saving grace when he's peppered with 48 shots.
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Kane scores on two of those blasts and Chicago takes the early series lead with a 4-2 victory.
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No goals from Kane. None from Jonathan Toews, either. And while Leighton sees fewer shots, he gives up just as many goals.
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Duncan Keith scores twice for the Blackhawks - who still have yet to trail in a Finals game - and they thwart Philly's attempt at a late comeback by adding a last-minute empty-net goal for a 5-3 win.
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Now that the Philadelphia Flyers have put together back-to-back wins for the first time this season the question on every fans mind is has the team turned a corner or is this just an aberration?
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It is my opinion that the Flyers have indeed turned a corner and it may surprise some people as to when exactly that turn was made or who it was responsible for leading the way.
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Rewind for a moment to last Wednesday. The Flyers were in the midst of their latest miserable effort, this one against the New York Islanders, when the second period was coming to a close. Islander forward Andy Hilbert was unhappy with one of the Flyers and just as the horn sounded to end the stanza he tried to "take liberties" with this Flyer forward.
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Perhaps he saw an opportunity to spark a deflated team, perhaps he was sick and tired of watching first hand what was happening to this team or perhaps he was just looking for a fight.
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Whatever the reason, Sami Kapanen, clearly the Flyers best player and clear-cut on ice leader this season, decided enough was enough and he fought back. Following Kapanen's cue, Mike Richards, Freddy Meyer and Ben Eager all came flying into the fray in defense of their teammate.
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It was a scene that was probably viewed across the league as commonplace but for a team described by some as devoid of any chemistry and heartless at times this was a turning point in my view.
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The Flyers lost that game but they did come out in the third period and outplayed the Islanders, hitting two posts and scoring the only goal.
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The momentum continued to build over the next two games despite the fact that they lost both contests in heartbreaking fashion on late goals, Saturday at home, in what was at the time possibly their best all-around effort of the season, against Buffalo and then Monday night in Pittsburgh.
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Even the most casual hockey fan could see the change in the Flyers attitude over these two contests. Led by the likes of Kapanen, Richards, Geoff Sanderson and the prodigal Petr Nedved the Flyers had seemingly regained their confidence. You no longer saw the team collectively drop their shoulders when they fell behind, there was no more standing around flat footed in their own zone and the team seemed poised to take this new found confidence and their returning captain, new skates and all, to the west coast.
flyers game
The Philadelphia Flyers hockey team is one of the most popular hockey teams in the country, with a huge fan base and rock solid support. Philadelphia's professional ice hockey team is a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). Founded in 1967 as a part of the NHL expansions, the Philadelphia Flyers hockey team has always been one of the best expansion teams throughout and also holds the record for being the first expansion team to win the Stanley cup.
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However, the years before the Stanley cup win were not great to begin with. The team was a mediocre medley of physically outmatched players during the initial years, which led to the management hiring large and tough players, who managed to earn the title of the Broad Street Bullies in 1972-73, much before they earned any other significant title. However, all this changed when the team won two consecutive Stanley cups in both 74 and 75. But this was the team's last Stanley cup win, for while the team has managed to reach the playoffs time and time again, the cup has eluded them since 1975. This does not however mean that the team is past its glory, and is today among the best teams in the NHL, with the second highest winning percentage in the League.
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The Philadelphia flyers are always in competition with other Atlantic Division members-- the New York Islanders, the Pittsburgh Penguins, the New York Rangers and the New Jersey Devils. Their favorite foes however would be the New Jersey Devils, who have been major competition in the Atlantic Division titles, and being the only other team apart from the flyers to take the title since 1995.
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While the team has had a history of producing great players, Bobby Clark, three time winner of the Hart Memorial Trophy, has been one of the best players ever to play on the side. Eric Lindros and Dave Schultz "Hammer" also find their names somewhere on the top of the list of the most famous Flyers players.
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The Flyers are as tough and gritty as any team in the NHL Playoffs. They own the most potent power play. They can score with anyone. They boast the postseason's current MVP in Claude Giroux. Still, the Flyers have one major flaw...
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Great teams don't take nights off. The Flyers have already called out of three contests this postseason. It's become painfully obvious the Flyers need a reason to play at their very best, because "winning" apparently isn't cutting it.
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Against the Penguins in Round 1, the Flyers had years of hatred and disdain pushing them to greatness. Watching 90% of the "experts" pick the Penguins to dispose of the Flyers and reach the Stanley Cup Finals certainly helped, too. On top of that, the Flyers (and their fans) sincerely despise Sidney Crosby. The opportunity to send the Penguins home early from the playoffs was all the motivation the Flyers needed to elevate their game.
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Then, after the Flyers had pummeled the Penguins into submission and grabbed a 3-0 series lead, the Flyers lost interest. They had proved they were the better team. The Penguins were groveling for mercy. The Flyers needed a new challenge. What the Flyers forgot, though, is you can't take days off in the playoffs. As a result of the Flyers lack of urgency, the Penguins battled back to force a critical Game 6 in Philadelphia. The stakes were raised again. The Flyers had a reason to play. Urgency returned and the Flyers crushed the Penguins.
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Fast-forward to Sunday's victory against the Devils in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. It was obvious the Flyers were missing the same urgency they showed in Game 6 against Pittsburgh. The Devils came out sharp, controlled the puck and took a 1-0 lead into the 1st intermission. Again, the Flyers found themselves up against the wall. Urgency returned, the Flyers battled aggressively for the next 40 minutes of regulation before dominating overtime and getting the victory on Danny Briere's rocket from just inside the blue line.
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The Playoffs have started for the New York Rangers and they head into game seven against the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday afternoon after an impressive 4-3 win at the Garden. A game seven yes because the loser of the game will most likely back their bags for an early summer vacation unless they get help from other teams, which I would say is highly unlikely.
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The Rangers started off the game against the Flyers with playoff jitters as Marc Staal would turn the puck over on an attempted pass up the middle early in the game that Flyers Captain Mike Richards would jump on and sail by Hendrik Lundqvist for a 1-0 lead only forty seconds into the game.
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In the playoff atmosphere game the Rangers settled in a picked up their play quickly. The Rangers would get the equalizer on the power play when captain Chris Drury stuff home a Erik Christensen feed.
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Brandon Prust and Jody Shelly the Rangers forth liners are looking like the best late season pickups as the two hooked up on the next goal giving the Rangers a 2-1 lead. The Rangers totally dominated period one heading into the first intermission up by a goal and out shooting the Flyers 12-4
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The Rangers would make it a two goal lead in period two on a beautiful set up from Marion Gaborik. As Gaborik looked like he was rushing around the net with the puck he slid the biscuit back to Brandon Dubinsky as he roofed it in close for a 3-1 Rangers lead.
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But here came the Flyers! The shot total would be different in period two as the Flyers would out shoot the Rangers in this session 13-7 that added up to two goals but more important tying the game at three.
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Marian Gaborik would get the lead back for the Rangers just over two minutes later with wrist shot that would deflect off the Flyers defensemans stick and sail in. The goal would hold up to be the game winner as Hendrik Lundqvist would hold the Flyers down the rest of the way making many big saves in the final minutes of play notably a toe save he made in close that looked like it was going in.
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The New York Rangers are now 7-1-1 making a furious playoff push. One of their best runs of the season will hopefully get them into the second season. Get in, and if they do with their hot momentum anything can happen.
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