A year removed from being the NHL’s worst team, the Philadelphia Flyers have advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals. The key signing of Danny Briere in the off-season has paid off immensely in the playoffs. Along with contributions from their young players and outstanding goaltending by Martin Biron, the Flyers were able to knock off the Montreal Canadiens in just five games.The Flyers started off the series with a great first period in Montreal in game 1. Out shooting the Canadiens 10-9, Philadelphia led after 20 minutes 2-0. RJ Umberger and Jim Dowd had scored three and half minutes apart to give Philly the advantage. The Flyers held onto the lead until halfway through the game when Andrei Kostitsyn scored on a pass from his brother, Sergei. Alexei Kovalev added another Canadien goal as he scored shorthanded on a breakaway with four minutes left in the period. Just 19 seconds into the third period, Joffrey Lupul put one in the back of the net while on the power to give the Flyers a 3-2 advantage. Though they continued to out shoot Montreal in the period, Kovalev scored another goal with just 29 seconds remaining, right off the faceoff win by Saku Koivu. In overtime, Tom Kostopoulos scored 48 seconds in to Montreal the great comeback win and a 1-0 series lead.
Once again, the Flyers jumped out to a two-goal lead in the first period. RJ Umberger and Jeff Carter given them the lead this time, but Montreal responded with a goal from captain Saku Koivu before the period ended. In the middle of the second period, Danny Briere notched his 7th goal of the playoffs giving Philadelphia a 3-1 lead. The Flyers would need no more goals, as all the Canadiens could muster was one more goal early in the period. The Flyers dominated again, but won the second game 4-2, tying the series at 1-1.
Though there was no scoring in the first period of game 3, there was an exciting scrum of which players were penalized. Steve Downie tripped Montreal goaltender Carey Price, and pushing, shoving, and punching ensued from there. Only 10 PIM were handed out, and the Canadiens could not capitalize on the power play. Fireworks began in the second period for the Flyers. Scottie Upshall fire one in seven minutes into the period and Mike Richards scored a shorthanded goal with five minutes left in the period. Not to be outdone by his teammates, RJ Umberger scored a goal in his third consecutive game in the series to Philadelphia a 3-0 lead. In the third period, off of a 5-minute Derian Hatcher boarding penalty, the Canadiens were able to cut the lead to one goal. Tomas Plekanec and Saku Koivu scored less than a minute apart from each other, but again, that was all Montreal would get. The Flyers held on and won 3-2.
Philadelphia got on the board first yet again in game 4, and it was no one else than RJ Umberger. He scored on the power play from Briere during the second period for a 1-0 Flyer lead. Scott Hartnell added another goal early in the third period to give Philly a 2-0 lead. For the second straight game, Tomas Plekanec and Saku Koivu scored less than a minute apart from each other, this time to tie the game 2-2. However, Briere scored on the power play just three minutes later followed by an empty net goal by Umberger. The Flyers won their third consecutive game and took a commanding 3-1 series lead.
For the first time in the series, Montreal scored the first goal in game 5. Midway through the first, Umberger scored to tie the game for Philadelphia, but a minute later Kovalev wired one home to take back the lead for the Canadiens. Chris Higgins scored early in the second to give Montreal a 3-1 lead. However, Philadelphia once again scored three second period goals to take back the lead. Richards, Umberger, and Hartnell all scored within three minutes of each other to not only take the Canadiens out of the game but the crowd as well. Though Kostitsyn scored in the third period, the Flyers scored two goals of their own to win 6-4, advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals against either Pittsburgh or NY Rangers.
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