Philadelphia is a quirky, slightly off-putting, yet very loyal place. Not everybody gets us and that, pretty much as a rule, is of little concern to the local population. That’s a brotherly-loving way of saying “no one likes us we don’t care”.
It would seem that even our fellow statesmen to the West do not enjoy our company very much. The 1st round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs has been a blast so far. The cross state rivalry between the Philadelphia Flyers and the Pittsburgh Penguins is alive, well, and just as fun as ever.
Philly 4-for-4
Let’s be honest when it comes to the “Philly 4-for-4” for many local sports fans ice hockey is not at the top of the pecking order. As previously stated, Philly is a very loyal place so there is certainly an allegiance to the Flyers, but when it comes to following the team closely many won’t get up to speed until the band wagon arrives to pick them up.
To be fair the other professional sports teams in the area did have a bit of a head start. The Phillies started their run in 1883 and they are recognized as the longest running “one name one city” pro sports franchise in America.
The Eagles started playing games at the Baker Bowl on North Broad Street in 1933. The 76ers began playing games at the Philadelphia Arena at 45th and Market in 1963. Previously the Philadelphia Warriors were the city’s pro basketball team from 1946 until 1962 so the transition was pretty close to seamless.
A string of minor league hockey teams were based out of Philly over the years but before the Flyers there was only one attempt at establishing a pro hockey franchise in the city. The Philadelphia Quakers lasted just one season in the NHL. They went 4-36-4. Their 1930-31 season held the record for the worst winning percentage in pro hockey for 45 years.
So when Ed Snider and his crew brought the Philadelphia Flyers to Broad Street they were starting from scratch with a lot of people. When my big brother discovered the “Broad Steet Bullies” we both immediately fell in love with the sport and our parents thought we were nuts. They didn’t know any better, they didn’t grow up around it.
Don’t sweat the sweep, or lack there-of
Human nature is a comical thing. If we can’t laugh at ourselves we become miserable people, because we’re fickle and funny by default. Some folks this week were so darn confident that the sweep was inevitable. You could not even get them to knock wood even when they were specifically requested to do so. Never trust a not-knocker.
They were looking forward to “the sweep” like it was an event that was guaranteed to take place on Saturday night at 8PM. Just over a month ago they were saying the Flyers had absolutely no chance of making the playoffs. One week ago they were saying that even if the Flyers get swept in the 1st round it will be good experience for the young players. This morning they can’t believe the Flyers didn’t win four straight against a very formattable opponent.
Credit where credit is due
When this series got underway the Penguins were favored to win. Before the Flyers took a commanding lead in the series Pittsburgh was considered the better team. They’re a star studded high scoring squad with a ton of playoff experience. Their power-play was ranked 7th in the league. As a team they scored 50 more goals than the Flyers over the course of the regular season. The Flyers are a young rebuilding hockey team that’s been playing over their heads. That was the general consensus.
There’s a more detailed breakdown of the stats in yesterday’s Game 4 Preview here https://flyersnittygritty.com/flyers-penguins-preview-game-4-against-all-odds/
As the Flyers were battling the Penguins into a 3-0 deficit the public opinion about Pittsburgh’s hockey club was taking a beating as well. “These guys are too old and slow to compete”. This discourse was not only robbing the Flyers of the accolades they deserved it was also setting up what proved to be unrealistic expectations for Saturday night’s Game 4 in Philly.
Flyers Hockey
The Flyers have had to put a ton of hard work into making this series look easy so far. They are not leading this series 3-1 by accident or because they are playing a weak opponent. They are still sitting in a very good position because of their unified effort as a tight team that is stepping up to a difficult challenge.
The Flyers have had to be in go-mode since the Olympic break just to salvage their season after a disastrous January. If you include the end of the regular season a win on Saturday night would have been their seventh win in a row. The Flyers haven’t won seven consecutive games in years. It would have been their 10th win in the last 11 games. C’mon.
And if the Flyers historic run to the post season has taught us anything it’s that no matter how bad the odds may be you gotta play the games and see where it takes you. We all know about the 3.8%, and never giving up hope, and all that awesome stuff. But no game is a given or a guarantee.
Don’t panic
The Flyers must remain calm and stick with the systems that got them to this point. When they play their fundamentally sound style of hockey as a unit they can be such an impressive team to watch. They’ve battled hard to put themselves in this position. It’s been a blast. They still hold the upper hand in this series but the job is not yet finished.
One more thing. When it comes to the Penguins aging core of stars maturity has been more of an issue than age. The Colorado Avalanche is one of the oldest teams by average in the league and they just won the President trophy for having the best record in the NHL this season.
We all slow down a bit with age. In hockey you have to make up for that loss of leg speed with your head and your hands. You play smarter with a better understanding of the game because of your experience. Your hands can always get more precise and accurate.
The Penguins have come into this series with an emotional fragility that has taken its toll on their ability to focus on the task at hand. With age should come knowledge, wisdom, and composure. The Penguins are attempting to fight this battle without utilizing what should be their most powerful weapons.
Enjoy the ride
The Flyers get their next opportunity to close out the series on Monday night in Pittsburgh. You would expect the Flyers to come out strong realizing their position of power and the need to keep the Pens from stealing it from them.
Pittsburgh will be facing elimination for the second game in a row. Saturday night’s victory may revitalize them a bit. Don’t expect either team to take this one lightly, the chips are down. These are two teams who can’t stand each other locked a grudge match that has been waging on for years. This is NHL playoff hockey in its most raw and rabid form. Savor it.
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Right on, brother.