The Tampa Bay Lightning built the foundation of their championship team through the draft and had to experience a lot of failure before reaching the top. The Flyers may be in the early stages of following the same blueprint.
Some dirty but good goals and a 31-save effort by Carter Hart were the difference, as the Flyers claimed Game 6, 3-2, over the Montreal Canadiens, advancing to the second round of the playoffs.
Both the Flyers and Canadiens will be without key players in Friday's Game 6, and it should be an energetic affair that fits the mold of playoff hockey at its finest. Game 6 is set for 7 p.m.
The Flyers had to overcome a lot of obstacles to eventually tie the game in the third, but gave the lead back 22 seconds later, as the Canadiens carried the lead the rest of the way for the 5-3 win in Game 5 to force Game 6 on Friday.
The Flyers were 6-0 in games following a loss in the second half of the regular season. They can add a playoff win to that total with a greasy, bounce-back effort led by their goaltender. Here are 5 takeaways from the Flyers 1-0 win over the Canadiens in Game 3.
A pair of goals in the first period - before the Flyers could even get a shot on goal - and two more in the second paced the Canadiens to a 5-0 rout of the Flyers, evening the series at one.
The Flyers had the only shot in the 55 seconds of overtime. It was a shot by Sean Couturier that leaked through Carey Price and crawled across the goal line to give the Flyers the 3-2 overtime win over the Canadiens on Thursday night at Wells Fargo Center.