With their Cinderella season nearing midnight after two shutout losses to the Philadelphia Flyers, the Montreal Canadiens return home in need of a win.
Montreal’s magic disappeared in Philadelphia and they must now find a way to win at at the Bell Centre to extend the best-of-seven Eastern Conference final.
The Western Conference final could also end in short order, with the San Jose Sharks down 2-0 to the Chicago Blackhawks and headed to the Windy City for Game 3 tonight.
“Everybody thinks we’re done,” San Jose defenseman Dan Boyle said after his team’s 4-2 loss on Tuesday. “Nothing would make me happier than to come back and disappoint everybody because everybody thinks we’re done.”
Montreal had been dubbed the darlings of the NHL playoffs after eliminating both the top-seeded Washington Capitals and reigning Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins in series that both went the full seven games.
But the Flyers have suddenly taken over the mantle as the NHL’s team of destiny with a playoff run that has suddenly made the Canadiens’ post-season run look routine in comparison.
Needing a shootout victory over the New York Rangers in the last game of the regular season to qualify for the playoffs, the Flyers are two wins away from playing for the Stanley Cup.
Making Philadelphia’s playoff run all the more remarkable is that they became just the third team ever to win a series after losing the first three games. In the decisive game of that series, the Flyers trailed 3-0 in the first period before storming back.
Still, the Flyers are not getting ahead of themselves and say the comeback in the last round is a reminder there are no sure bets in this surprising post-season.
“You look at the two teams that are here right now, both teams know that it can go away quick,” the Flyers’ Danny Briere said. “We came back and Montreal came back a couple times. They were down 3-1, 3-2 against very good teams before. The worst thing we could do right now is sit back.”
While the hulking Flyers are gaining momentum, it seems the under-sized Canadiens appear to be running out of gas, as their offense has dried up and young Slovakian goalie Jaroslav Halak has sprung leaks.
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