Daniel Briere had just scored a power play goal to give the Flyers a 3-0 lead at the 4:06 mark of the second period in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals series against the Pittsburgh Penguins last season. It seemed as if the Flyers and Penguins would be getting ready for a Game 7; which would ultimately decide who would be moving on to the second round of the NHL Playoffs.
After Daniel Carcillo rocked Penguins grinder Maxime Talbot in a fight, the Wachovia Center was rocking and it seemed Game 7 was inevitable.
Just 29 seconds after Briere scored however, former Flyers forward Ruslan Fedotenko notched a tally that cut the lead to 3-1.
“Uh-oh, it’s not even close to being over,” said many Flyers fans who were watching the game inside of Pickles Tavern in State College, Pennsylvania along with many Penguins fans.
The rest is history. The Penguins scored four unanswered goals, including an empty-net series clinching goal from the Flyers arch-nemesis, Sidney Crosby. To make matters much worse, the Penguins prevailed in one of the most entertaining Stanley Cup finals in recent memory, defeating the Detroit Red Wings, 4 games to 3.
What went wrong? After trailing the series 3-1, the Flyers went into Mellon Arena and played a solid 60 minutes, shutting out the Penguins 3-0 and forced a Game 6 in Philadelphia. After scoring the first three goals, it seemed as if the comeback was a possibility. However, defensive breakdowns in front of goaltender Martin Biron, along with the grit and determination of the Pittsburgh Penguins, cost the Flyers another spring run towards Lord Stanley.
What some call defensive breakdowns, others may call the Flyers defense not being able to handle the offensive prowess that Crosby and Evgeni Malkin bring to the table. Kimmo Timonen and Braydon Coburn were undoubtedly the Flyers two best defensemen who were in charge of stopping the two superstars.
To put it in simple terms, they just couldn’t handle them.
Enter Chris Pronger.
Two and a half months after watching Crosby and the Penguins clinch a series on their own turf, the Flyers brass pulled off a move in which has mixed reactions.
The Flyers traded 20-goal scorer Joffery Lupul along with prospect Luca Sbisa and two first round draft picks for one of the biggest defensive names in the NHL, Pronger.
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