And They Win!!!

The Flyers did it. Even though they did exactly the opposite of what I said they needed to do. They went down 3-0 by the end of the 1st period. 3-0. You don't come back from down 3-0 in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Unless that is you're this guy.

Danny Briere is the biggest reason the Flyers won tonight. Say what you will about his regular season play. yes he had a very long goal slump. No he did not produce the way he has in seasons past. But come playoff time, Briere knows how to turn it on. And tonight was no exception. He scored the Flyers first two goal, and brought life back into a team that looks disorganized and lost after the 1st period.

So what does this mean for the series? It's a good start. The Flyers have played well on the road, and have dominated the Penguins in Pittsburgh. But you don't come back from down 3-0 in the playoffs often.(Unless it's game 7, and you're down 3-0 in Boston.) So as nice as it is that the Flyers won this game, they need to carry the 2nd and 3rd period play into the next game. Because the Penguins aren't going to let them come back twice.

So overall it was a decent game for the Flyers. Neither team played a full 60 minutes. The Flyers just had the good fortune of playing the better part of their game at the end instead of in the 1st period. But the Penguins won't let that happen again. And make no mistake, this will not be a sweep for the Flyers. The Penguins have too strong a lineup to let that happen, and they have too much firepower. I would like to see one less goal a game from Bryzgalov and I think the Flyers can win this in 6. If he keeps letting 3 in the net though, this series will go to game 7, and at that point it's a coin flip. 

So a good start for the Flyers. Now we just need to build on it.