Philadelphia Flyers Win Game Three in Overtime Thriller

Coming back from a 3-0 series deficit in a playoff series is one of the hardest feats to achieve in sports. Philadelphia has already accomplished this task once in the 2010 playoffs and were trying to avoid having to do it again on Wednesday night. The Flyers turned the tables around and dealt the Blackhawks their first loss of the Stanley Cup Finals in dramatic fashion. The Philadelphia faithful left the Wachovia Center in jubilation as Claude Giroux took advantage of a badly timed Blackhawk line change and sent the game winner past goaltender Antti Niemi.

Game Recap

The scoring started off in dazzling fashion on Wednesday night as Scott Hartnell made a circus pass of sorts to a wide open Daniel Briere, Briere then proceeded to hit a wide open net and give the Flyers a 1-0 late in the first period.

Quickly after the start of the second period, Chicago answered back after a shot from Duncan Keith deflected off Jeff Carters' stick and found its way past Michael Leighton. Philadelphia would take the lead near the halfway mark of the period but would then take yet another step back as Blackhawk defenseman Brent Sopel scored his first goal of the postseason on a hard slap shot from the point.

Patrick Kane reminded Flyer fans of how dangerous of a player he is early into the third period. Quiet for games one and two, Kane took a great pass from Jonathan Toews into a breakaway and gave Chicago its first lead of the game. Fortunately for Flyer fans, Kane’s goal was exactly the wake up call that Philadelphia needed. Less than 20 seconds after Kane’s goal, postseason surprise Ville Leino took charge of a Philadelphia odd man rush and put home a rebound off the right pad of Niemi. Leino’s goal sent the record setting crowd in Wachovia Center to their feet where they would remain until Giroux sent them home.

The crowd at Wachovia Center Wednesday night was electric to say the least. Fans sported orange shirts that read “ Broad Street Believing ” and brought along a rowdy atmosphere. Philadelphia seemed like it could really feel the energy as they clawed their way back into what is quickly becoming one of the most intriguing finals contests in recent years. The Cup finals will remain in Philadelphia Friday night for game four before heading back to Chicago for game five on Monday. Both games start at 8 pm eastern time.

3 Stars of the Game (According to flyers.com)
1. Claude Giroux
2. Ville Leino
3. Chris Pronger