NHL Eastern Conference Final is Not What Was Expected

Who is in the Eastern Conference Final, you ask?

Of course it must be Washington and Pittsburgh, that’s just how the world works.  What?  They have been eliminated?  It must be the Bruins and Canadiens then.  After all, the Bruins were up 3-0 in their series only a few games ago.  No one can overcome that!

Apparently the Flyers didn’t get the memo that you aren’t supposed to win a series where you are down three games and facing elimination each night.  They also didn’t read that you aren’t supposed to let your opponent get a three point lead on you in the first period when you go into that seventh game (they must not have seen the outcome of the Pens game on Wednesday).

The Flyers showed the type of determination and perseverance it takes to win championships.  But do they have more determination than the Canadiens, who are undeniably the biggest story in the playoffs this year?

In case you live under a rock in Antarctica, the Habs have defeated the No. 1 ranked Capitals and the defending Cup champs, the Penguins, in these playoffs. 

They also have possibly the best goalie playing right now in Jaroslav Halak, and a red hot scorer in Michael Cammalleri.  Go watch the replays of some of Halak’s saves Cammalleri’s shots; you will quickly see why everyone is so high on them going into the conference finals.

The Habs also have another huge teammate that the Flyers may not know about.  Lucky for the Flyers, this teammate only shows itself when the Habs are at home.  That would be the hockey fans that show up to the Bell Center to psych out the competition with their cheering and jeering.  The players may say that the noise inside the Bell Center doesn’t bug them but they are only kidding themselves if they believe that.

While the Canadiens are the big feel good story of the playoffs, the Flyers are the players that are changing history.  It seems that whenever a stat is talked about during one of their games, they break it.  The Canadiens better hope there isn’t some hidden stat out there saying they have never lost to the Flyers in a playoff series.  If there is, they better figure out how to end the magic of the “record crushing” Flyers.

The Flyers have really stepped up in the last few games to make it to the next round and have laughed at the numbers and people who said they couldn’t win while they were at it.  But the Canadiens just beat two of the best teams (and players) in the NHL right now with a grit that isn’t often seen. 

I always like an underdog, so I will be rooting for the Habs, but in my mind this series is so evenly matched that I think we will see seven games before a clear winner emerges.