NHL Eastern Conference Finals Preview

(7) Philadelphia Flyers
Regular Season Record: 41-35-6, 88 pts
Head-to-Head Record: 2-2
Last Stanley Cup Win: 1975
Last Stanley Cup Final Appearance: 1997
Total Championships: 2
Last Postseason Appearance: 2009
Players with Stanley Cup Rings:
Chris Pronger

(8) Montreal Canadiens
Regular Season Record: 39-33-10, 88 pts
Head-to-Head Record: 2-2
Last Stanley Cup Win: 1993
Last Stanley Cup Final Appearance: 1993
Total Championships: 24
Last Postseason Appearance: 2009
Players with Stanley Cup Rings:
Scott Gomez (2), Brian Gionta, Travis Moen, Hal Gill

I would have bet all the steroid needles in the Balco labs that this would not be these would not be the last 2 East teams standing, however, they are here. Over in the West the top 2 seeds and teams all season long will be meeting for a chance to play for Lords Stanley's Cup, here in the East the last 2 overall seeds going in the playoffs, yes the 15 and 16 seeded teams are meeting for that same opportunity. The only similarity these teams have to their west counterparts is that a drought still has a chance to end. The Flyers had become only the third team in NHL history and 4th in sports history to comeback from a 0-3 series hole to win a playoff series. 1942 Toronto came back from being down 0-3 to win the cup over Detroit, in 1975 the Islanders started their dynastic run with a game 7 win over Pittsburgh after an 0-3 start, and of course baseballs Boston RedSox rallied back from 0-3 in the 2004 ALCS to beat the hated Yankees before going on to beat St. Louis to break their curse in the World Series.

Combined with the utter shock of this series and the historic comeback by Philadelphia to even get to this point I did not get to put in as much time breaking this down this match up but none the less here I go. Neither of these teams were predicted to be here but both squads do have talent. The Canadiens are filled with grizzled vets such as Brian Gionta, Scott Gomez, and Mike Cammalleri while Philly brings Simon Gagne, Danny Briere, Jeff Carter, and Mike Richards to the party. The Flyers have more scoring depth and stronger bite to their line combos. Gagne, the longest tenured Flyer, and is the one constant. He has played with all 3 centers throughout the season. During the playoffs Briere was moved from his normal center spot over to a wing and he has put his injury problems and past meltdowns behind him to be the Sabres Briere from a few years ago. Gagne has developed the chemistry with Briere that the franchise envisioned when Danny was signed to a big long term deal just a few summers ago. Richards and Carter captain the top 2 lines at the all important center spot and also are 2 key guys on the power play. Outside of these hired guns the Flyers also have seen the likes of Claud Giroux and Ville Leino provide that needed grind attack. Giroux does most of the enforcing along with Carcillo and has even chipped in with 11 points on offense. Leino, a former Red Wing product, has finally become the key role player I thought he would when Detroit brought him into the league in 2008. He could never remain on the often stacked Detroit roster for long enough to fully develop and was eventually sent to Philly for next to nothing. After the Red Wings gave up on Leiono instead of sulking he has found a new home with the Flyers. Leino is a super speedster who incorporates a European style with a fabulous awareness. He has been all over the ice all post-season and has been a presence regardless whether or not he finds himself on the stat sheet. This young stud has produced 2 goals and 7 total clutch points so far. He also provides the top guys with an opportunity to rest their old legs while team does not lose a step. As you can tell I have always been a big Leino supporter and see his downside becoming the next Jiri Hudler and his upside possibly being a Pavel Datsyuk type of player, high praise either way.

The Habs elders are not the stars they once were but can still play. Gionta and Gomez are both former key cogs on New Jersey Devil cup teams and have had an awakening this post-season. These guys bring a sense of leadership on and off the ice and are 2 of the most unselfish hockey players I have ever seen. Beware of the one timers for both of these vets. Cammalleri who was once thought to be part of the future of the Kings franchise has much like Leino truly found a new home. He leads all Canadien scorers with 12 goals and 18 points so far these playoffs. Unfortunately Cammalleri may still be the lone Hab who is a threat to create an odd man rush. The scoring depth clearly goes to Philadelphia and it's really not even close.


On defense, the Flyers send out a future Hall of Famer as well as their lone player with a ring, Chris Pronger. The only man ever to win the Hart (Season MVP) and Norris Trophy (Best dman) in the same season (2000, Blues) creates havoc every time he is on the ice. Pronger is a true pest to opponents and gets under the skin of every top line player he defends. Camalleri (Pronger will be on ice his every shift in Philly), Gionta, and Gomez have not faced anything close to this yet. Pronger also can score with the best of them thanks to his blistering slap shot. Only Lidstrom tops Pronger as an overall dman in our generation. Timonen and Coburn also take up the Flyers blue line and can score and bruise with the best of em just to a much lesser extent. Andrei Markov, Jaroslav Spacek, Roman Hamrlik, and Hall Gill are the names to look out for on the defense for Montreal. Markov is a young stud offensively but can be embarrassed in his own at times, Spacek and Hamrlik are a solid second pairing, and Gill knows his role. Gill may be the most important dman in this series, maybe even more so then Pronger. Gill won a cup with the Pens last season so he has the experience and despite almost no ability to score can absolutely shutdown anyone, I mean anyone! Gill made a career of stopping Jagr and made Marian Hossa irrelevant in the finals last year. He will do anything on defense (some call his style dirty) to get the job done. Even if a player gets the better of him I guarantee they go home thinking to themselves, "how the fuck does this guy do it?" Gill also has already posted bulletin board material by saying "it's easy to hate the Flyers" after their game 7 win over Boston.


Regardless to everything I just said this series boils down to one man, Jarsolav Halak. The reason why the Habs are this far instead of getting swept in their first round like many though is because Halak has totally stood on his head. Halak's performance in net has made Canadien fans think of a rookie Patrick Roy leading Montreal to a title in 86 or Ken Dryden dominating in 1971 en route to one of the many championships won by the Canadien franchise. If Halak keeps this shit up Montreal could beat anyone, they have had the toughest path by far out of the final 4. The Flyers are down the very bottom of their depth chart in net at this point. After Emery suffered a season ending injury Boucher stepped up and lead the Flyers through the first round and part of the second. Despite Boucher being very inconsistent he did an adequate job. Unfortunately he also got hurt and now it's up to 3rd stringer Michael Leighton. Leighton will be compared to Halak all series and it will most likely be impossible for him to live up to that comparison but the Flyers may need less from their goalie then Montreal will. If Halak keeps this up he could pull a Giguere and win the Conn Smythe Trophy (playoff MVP) even if his team does not win the Stanley Cup.

My pick: Still in shock this is the match up. The Flyers have the scoring depth edge and the best overall player, Pronger, resides on the Philly bench. However, the Canadiens have a much stronger blue line overall and Gill will shutdown whoever he covers. There are also no signs of Halak slowing down AT ALL. Patrick Roy who....? Montreal in 6.