Around The Rink: Eastern Conference Finals edition

by Bob Herpen
The Phanatic Magazine

First of all, let me state for the record. I didn’t see this coming.

And neither did you.

That’s right. Don’t even try to tell me you held out a flicker of hope after the Game 3 loss, or you thought the Flyers had ‘em right where we wanted ‘em after Simon Gagne won Game 4 in overtime.

Don’t even try to talk your way back onto the Orange and Black bandwagon by saying you knew that once the strafing run in Game 5 at Boston was over, you knew the Flyers were gonna win at home in Game 6.

PLEASE. Do. Not. Attempt. To. Convince. Me. You never gave up hope after Milan Lucic pumped that shot through Michael Leighton’s pads with 5:50 left in the first period last night, a goal which gave the Bruins a 3-0 lead.

It’s OK, when history creeps up on you in such an unexpected manner, to keep your hopes and fears close to the vest before letting out a cry of relief when it’s all over.  Join me.

As a writer, I had to keep all my expectations and emotions in check last night in order to do my job. On the inside, though, my blood was pumping fast and in the home colors, all roiling and boiling hot, waiting for the right moment to strike.

That moment came with 7:08 left in regulation when Gagne’s power-play goal gave the Flyers the lead for good. Only then did I know it was all right to give in. Come on, you can admit it too, you, who probably wore out the edge of your Barca-Lounger between 7:05 and 9:45 PM.

It’s usually not refreshing to see the Kool-Aid drinkers pop up and spread their sunshine during otherwise meaningless regular-season games only to disappear when things look bleak. It’s especially annoying to have seen it happen over the last two weeks, when things looked as black as midnight in Winter at the North Pole.

Nonetheless, after seeing the bailout by Bruins fans on the comment section of both the Globe and Herald since Wednesday, I will admit I’ll gladly take Philadelphia fans’ irrational and blind optimism any day of the year over the Boston faithful’s irrational mass cliff-diving.

But now, amidst all the talk of taking this thing The Distance just because a little history was made, there is another hill to climb.

Mount Royal.

The Opponent

The Montreal Canadiens are no longer the storied and preeminent NHL franchise. They are not collectively shining in the sun, clad in Bleu, Blanc et Rouge and looking down among the common folk, despite the fact that their fans can throw the whole “24 Stanley Cup” thing in your face.

They are the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference. They are not the Flying Frenchman of ye olden days. Their makeup of grit, goaltending and timely offense is more in line with the Canadiens clubs of the 1980’s and 1990’s than of the glory years in previous generations.

They are just another one of the 30 damned teams in this bloated league.

But they are also not the team the Flyers ran through two years ago in a five-game Eastern Conference semifinal like Niagara Falls through a box of Kleenex. 

It may say a lot about the lingering prejudices of general managers league-wide, but the Canadiens’ sudden rise to the Stanley Cup semifinals after two straight bitter playoff disappointments hinges on four players – all of whom are North Americans.

After the first-round defeat to bitter rival Boston in last year’s opening round which destroyed the franchise’s 100^th anniversary celebration, curiously it was the European flavor that disappeared from one of the most cosmopolitan cities on Earth.

Goodbye Alex Kovalev, Saku Koivu and Robert Lang. Hello Brian Gionta, Scott Gomez, Mike Cammalleri and Hal Gill.

What followed ranks right up there with what the Flyers accomplished, as the Habs defeated the President’s Trophy winners (Washington) and defending Stanley Cup champions (Pittsburgh) in successive series with dramatic Game 7 victories on the road.

Gionta is a Cup winner and has an NCAA title with Boston College in his back pocket. Gomez won twice with New Jersey. Cammalleri leads all players with 12 goals in 14 games. Gill, who at 6-foot-7 once merely took up space with his bulk, is now one of the key defensive stoppers in the NHL.

It’s been written that the Canadiens ripped the heart out of the Capitals and Penguins on their way to their first conference finals since 1993, but it’s more accurate to say that they slowed down the clubs’ collective heartbeats.

Head coach Jacques Martin is a tactician of the same order as Flyers bench boss Peter Laviolette. He saw the key to both series as shutting down Alex Ovechkin, Alexander Semin, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. To do so required the Canadiens dictate the pace of play and the direction, forcing it to be slower and turned away from the focal points, intent on cutting off passing lanes and capitalizing on turnovers.

Some might call it a neutral-zone trap, a return to the pre-2004 days, something that chokes the life and creativity out of the game. Martin and his team might call it a recipe for success. How else could you explain the defeat of the top two scorers in the league over the last five seasons by a team that racked up a mere 88 points?

The Stakes

Philadelphia and Montreal kick off the best-of-seven series on Sunday night at the Wachovia Center.

It will be the sixth playoff meeting between the clubs, with the Habs having won three of five.

The Canadiens were victorious in the 1973 semifinals in five games, in a four-game sweep during the 1976 Stanley Cup Finals, and in a six-game 1989 Wales Conference Final.

The Flyers took the 1987 Wales Final in six games as well as the aforementioned series in 2008.

Both teams have a vested interest in winning, as the Flyers have not reached hockey’s final round since 1997 and the Canadiens haven’t advanced to the Cup Finals since winning their last title in 1993.

One of the most curious aspects of any series of which these franchises participate is that home-ice advantage really holds no sway; Montreal has accumulated a 9-3 playoff record in the Liberty Town, while Philly has gone 8-6 in Quebec’s largest city.

This time around, there is no Ovechkin or Crosby or Kovalchuk or Recchi (or Jeff Carter) for the teams to defend against. Both sides are near mirror-images to each other in terms of talent and drive and the execution of their respective systems.

Even the goaltending situation for either side is enigmatic: Jaroslav Halak has been in a battle for two years to win the crease along with Carey Price and has turned in some historic performances in the 2010 postseason.

On the other hand, perennial waiver-wire claim Michael Leighton had a huge hand in getting the Flyers to the playoffs with mid-season steadiness, missed two months, then stepped in for the last 2 ½ games and stared down Boston’s attack.

The Result

It will be the type of series that can define a new era for both teams, and can be career-makers for virtually anyone in either lineup.

Too bad this playoff year has defied explanation and prediction. I’m not going to put myself on the line as any kind of expert because, if anything, the first two rounds has taught us that the signs no longer lead to logical conclusions. There are no usual suspects.

Having done something record-worthy, the Flyers are playing with house money, but are now the underdogs because the Canadiens have done something greater for two full rounds.

Just sit back and enjoy.