Flyers tougher than many might think
They aren't the Broad Street Bullies anymore, but the Philadelphia Flyers figure to present the toughest challenge yet for the Blackhawks.
The Flyers advanced to a date with the Hawks in the Stanley Cup Finals on Monday night with their 4-2 win over Montreal to wrap up the Eastern Conference title.
The Hawks and the Flyers will start their winner-take-all series Saturday night at the United Center.
Don't be fooled by the fact the Flyers were the seventh seed in the East, needing a win on the final day of the regular season - in a shootout, no less - to even make the playoffs.
The Flyers were a preseason Stanley Cup favorite who had key injuries, especially in goal, and went through a midseason coaching change after falling to 29th in the NHL near Christmas.
Behind the bench now is Peter Laviolette, who led Carolina to the Stanley Cup in 2006 and likes to play the same up-tempo style that Hawks coach Joel Quenneville favors.
"Slowly as the months have gone by we got hold of the systems and got better and better, little by little," defenseman Chris Pronger said. "The results are showing now."
The physical Pronger, at 6-feet-6, leads a mobile defense that also includes the versatile Kimmo Timonen, Matt Carle and Braydon Coburn.
Unlike the San Jose Sharks, who ultimately lacked enough depth at forward to beat the Hawks, the Flyers roll four lines that are quick, physical and dangerous. Mike Richards, who centers the first line for Jeff Carter and Simon Gagne, plays the same kind of gritty, all-around solid game as Jonathan Toews.
Crafty second-line center Daniel Briere is someone the Hawks will need to worry about along with skilled winger Claude Giroux.
The teams met only once during the regular season on March 13 at the Wachovia Center, when the Flyers scored twice in the final 2:04 to win 3-2. Pronger beat Hawks goalie Cristobal Huet with 2.1 seconds left to win it.
Huet is on the bench now watching Antti Niemi be a difference-maker. Ex-Hawk Michael Leighton has played just as well for the Flyers since returning from an ankle injury in Game 5 of the Boston series after Brian Boucher was hurt.
The Flyers have won seven of eight games since then. They were down to the Bruins 3-0 in the second round before taking the next four games, becoming only the third team in league history to rally from that big a deficit.
"Hopefully we have a little bit of a Cinderella story at the end," Richards said. "But it's going to be tough. We have to prepare for Chicago."
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