'Relentless pursuit of the Stanley Cup' still on for Flyers

PHILADELPHIA - Upon further review the Philadelphia Flyers are suddenly very much alive again in what they've been calling throughout the playoffs their "Relentless pursuit of the Stanley Cup.''

Claude Giroux, whose shootout goal in the regular season finale was the one that got them into the playoffs, came through in the clutch again, redirecting a Matt Carle shot through Antti Niemi's pads 5:59 into overtime for a stirring 4-3 win over the Blackhawks.

That came less than a minute after Jeff Carter turned on the red light for the apparent game winner, only to have it overturned on replay with officials saying the puck did not completely cross the line.

It was the second reviewed goal on the night, the first coming when Scott Hartnell's second period deflection trickled just over the line, although play was allowed to continue for nearly two minutes until the next whistle. The review confirmed the goal, putting the Flyers up 2-1.

But when Patrick Kane followed Brent Sopel's tying goal by beating Flyers goalie Michael Leighton on a breakaway just 2:50 into the third, it looked like the Flyers' miracle ride might finally be coming to an end. Down 2-0 in the series to a team that had won seven straight road playoff games, another loss would've meant it was time for them to start practicing their clichés.

You know, how the fourth game is the hardest to win. How they'd just take them one at a time. How the fact they'd become just the third team in NHL history to overcome a 3-0 series deficit vs. the Bruins gave them hope they could do it again against the Hawks.

Now they can store those clichés for another day.

"It's like I said this morning,'' said Flyers coach Peter Laviolette, "2-0 for us is comfortable.

"We know how to battle through it. I'm 100% confident the guys in the room will be able to win any game they play against anybody.

"Once we wake up tomorrow morning we know we have to hold home ice again.''

Home ice, indeed, has been kind to the Flyers, now 8-1 in the Wachovia Center, which resembled an orange grove filled with 20,290 trees. Yet, even after taking a 1-0 lead on Danny Briere's power-play goal, then going back up on Hartnell's score, the crowd was anxious. Having come so far, they dreaded the thought of another disheartening loss.

First Leino, then Giroux made sure that didn't happen.

"It's huge,'' said Giroux of the franchise's first win in the Finals since 1987. "I don't think the guys wanted to come back again from 3-0.

"If we wanted to have chance to win the series, we needed to win tonight. The message was pretty clear.''

Message delivered.

And just like that, the Flyers and Blackhawks are suddenly very much in a series.

Upon further review: While Flyers coach Peter Laviolette said it wasn't the first time he'd seen two goals reviewed in a game - though probably not in the Stanley Cup Finals - he was pretty sure the folks in the booth got them right,

"We've got a voice in the video room who tells us what to expect,'' explained Laviolette. "They said the first one (Scott Hartnell's) goal, was probably in, but the second one (Jeff Carter's try) probably didn't cross the line.

"So it was nice to come back right away after that and score.''

Before last night, the strangest review of a Flyers' postseason goal came in the 2000 playoffs when John LeClair scored in Philadelphia's 2-1 win over Buffalo. After a lengthy review the goal held up. But a few minutes after play resumed, a different angle showed the puck entering from the side of the net.

That set off a wild scene, as Sabres' team officials angrily stormed the replay booth.

History check: J.J. Daigneault is no longer the answer to a Flyers' trivia question, Claude Giroux has replaced him as the last Flyers player to score a winning goal in the Stanley Cup Finals, snapping a seven-game losing streak.

Until Wednesday night, Daigneault's late third period goal in Game 6 of the 1987 Finals vs. Edmonton had stood for 23 years.

The Flyers then dropped Game 7 to Wayne Gretzky & Co, 3-1, and were swept in the 1997 Finals by Detroit, before losing the first two games of the 2010 Finals.

For what it's worth the two Flyers who scored Stanley Cup winning goals, Rick MacLeish (1974) and Bob Kelly (1975) were both in the house Wednesday.

Fly-tunes: The music was going full force as the Flyers stepped onto the ice against the Blackhawks on Wednesday. Journey's "`Don't Stop Believing'' blared first, followed by the theme from "Rocky,'' before the piece de resistance, the team's signature anthem, "God Bless America,'' performed by Lauren Hart and the late Kate Smith, superimposed on the Jumbotron. Smith, of course, sang here both in 1974 and '75 on the Flyers' way to winning both Cups.