Wake Up Philadelphia: We're Number One!
By Harry The K
All together now! “NO ONE LIKES US, NO ONE LIKES US, NO ONE LIKES US, WE DON’T CARE! WE’RE FROM PHILLY, F**KIN PHILLY, NO ONE LIKES US, WE DON’T CARE!”
Philadelphia, get ready for Cup Fever because this Flyers team is the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference! Let’s break down these Round-robin games and figure out how the hell we got here, shall we?
After the close overtime victory against the Penguins, it felt like Game One of Round-robin play against the Bruins could go either way. Luckily, we didn’t have to worry too much because from puck drop to the final whistle it was all Philly. Fourth-liners Michael Raffl and Nate Thompson proved how much they’re worth to this Flyers team with two phenomenal second period goals. Raffl dangling and finishing in tight while Thompson picked out the top corner vs Halak with an absolute SNIPE. Carter Hart was a brick wall in net and the Fly Guys walked away with a 4-1 victory. One and Oh!
After dominating the Capitals all season, putting up a 3-0-1 record against Ovechkin and company, I was as confident as ever going into Game Two. My confidence in the boys was rewarded with another big win. Brian Elliot stepped in and proved that the Flyers could do no wrong with their goaltending, allowing only one goal (a goal that came via a freak deflection off Robert Hagg, the second in 2 games) on 17 shots while Scott Laughton stayed HOT, netting two goals. Kevin Hayes made his big Philly playoff debut, notching three assists including a filthy, patient dish to a wide open Travis Sanheim for his first career postseason goal. Game ended with the good guys winning by a score of 3-1. Two and Oh!
Game Three of the Round-robin in prime time as the Flyers would do battle with the Lightning for the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference. Prior to this game, the last Flyers win vs the Lightning was on December 29, 2017. Alain Vigneault must have known this going in because the Flyers came out HOT. Two first period goals from Nic Aube-Kubel to get the energy going, Joel Farabee’s first career playoff goal, and a late game insurance goal from Tyler Pitlick secured the win for an unstoppable Cahtah Haht and gave the Flyers an unbeaten record in Round-robin play. Three and Oh and the #1 seed is secured!
So, the Orange and Black match up with the Montreal Canadiens and Hart’s childhood hero, Carey Price, in Round One. The Canadiens certainly aren’t any slouches, as they proved by knocking off the Penguins (ha ha), and they will look to continue their hot form seeing as they can’t get the First Overall pick in the draft. The thing is, the Flyers are an absolute wagon right now. The team depth is ridiculous, as even our fourth liners look like world beaters on their best days. Everyone looks like they’ve bought into AV’s system and the boys really seem to love each other on and off the ice. There’s not much else to say except for one thing. WE. WANT. THE. CUP. LET’S GO FLYERS!