Open Game Thread: Flyers at Bruins Game Seven

Only twice in the history of the National Hockey League has a team rebounded from a 3-0 deficit in a playoff series to win four straight and eventually take the series.  To put that into perspective, the NHL was born in 1917, meaning 92 years worth of playoff series have been played leading up to this year's. 92 years and only two teams have the honor of saying that they came back from being down 3-0 to eventually win the series 4-3. After tonight's match-up between the Boston Bruins and the Philadelphia Flyers, there may be a third club added to that list.

A few weeks back I wrote an article on how the Bruins were soaring and were just a single win away from moving on to the Conference Finals, where they would face their biggest rivals in the Montreal Canadiens. Boston was just nine wins away from the Stanley Cup at the time, and were not being counted out based on the extremely impressive hockey they were playing.

With a 3-0 advantage over Philadelphia, they finally dropped a game but were still leading by two. There was no worry in Beantown, because even with a loss, it seemed likely that the B's would easily walk away with four wins and move on. Game five comes around and another Flyers win, making it three games to two. Even then, the Bruins faithful were reasonably calm. However, yet another Flyers victory on Wednesday pushed this series to a game seven, and now the momentum has shifted.

The Bruins no longer have the upper hand in this clash for the ages. They have become the underdogs in a sense, because they are no longer the favorites. While they may be the underdogs, most of the pressure is on them, which is a very rare combination based on my theory that I have been preaching to you all throughout the playoffs. If the Bruins lose this game, expect hell to break loose in the streets of Boston, because that will be one unhappy and disgusted fanbase. But hey, can you blame them?

Now to look at the situation from a Flyers perspective. You have the opportunity to have your name alongside a select few in NHL history. You can accomplish something that has only been accomplished twice in 92 years. You can take a season that began with the firing of their coach, and make it into a historical one that you will never forget for the rest of your life. That said, I do not think the Flyers will have a tough time getting up for this game.

The Broadstreet Bullies need to get out ahead early and first in tonight's tilt. They need to take the TD Garden crowd out of the game quickly, because you know they are going to let their Bruins hear it if they start to trail in this game and eventually drop the series. They Flyers to overwhelm the Bruins just like they have in the past three games of the series. They cannot allow the B's to gain any ounce of momentum, either.

I may be a Rangers fan, and the Flyers may be one of the teams in the league that I care for the least, but I would love to see them win this game just to make history. The last time such an incredible comeback occurred was in 1975 when the New York Islanders were able to rebound against the Penguins to win four straight and move on to the next round. I was not alive at the time, so I would love to see it happen for the first time in person.