The Flyers will head to (what’s left of) Montreal to face the Canadiens in the Eastern Conference Semifinals after a Game 7 overtime victory.

Entering the game 7 contest, many saw the game as merely a formality because the Capitals came back to win games 5 and 6 to even the series at 3 games apiece. Much was made about Marty Biron being 0-5 on the back end of back-to-back games. But truth be told Huet was 1-6 in the same category, and Tuesday night the Flyers came to play, this time for the whole game.

The Flyers found themselves in trouble early as before the orange and black could kill off a Scott Hartnell interference penalty, Derian Hatcher went to the box for roughing. Nicklas Backstrom opened up the scoring with his fourth goal of the series on the two-man advantage at 5:42. Marty Biron didn’t have a shot as they had him moving from post to post to beat him on the glove side. Any doubt that was put on Biron was put to rest, as he was stellar throughout the night. Scottie Upshall answered at 15:38 with a power play goal of his own. He beat Cristobal Huet through the five-hole to tie the game. The first period was troublesome to watch for the Flyers, because they looked like they weren’t playing their game and rather had to answer to Washington’s every move.

The second stanza was better for the Flyers who continued to play physical but got a bit sloppy as Steve Downie, playing in his first playoff game, went to the sin bin twice for hooking. The hasty pace was exciting to watch and was definitely reflective of the game the Flyers like to play. At 9:47 Patrick Thoresen took his man out of the play, who in turn took Huet out of the play giving Sami Kapanen an open net to shoot at which he hit upstairs. Despite the rabid red fans howling for the goal to be reviewed, the play was legal and didn’t even get a second look. Then, at 15:29, the pesky Russian struck again as Alexander Ovechkin caught the Flyers changing players and fired a wrist shot up high on Biron and evened the score once again. The physical play and great pace continued to end the period.

The third period was always going to be the most important for the Flyers. This was the session where they have continually not shown up in recent games and had something to prove. The officials apparently convened during the second intermission because they let everything go in the third. Despite having to play 5-on-5, the Flyers looked calm, cool, and collective when moving the puck out of their own zone and continuing up the ice.

Biron was spectacular in the third as a good portion of time was spent in the Flyers end. Late in the period fans froze as Ovechkin had an opportunity to shoot but Biron trusted his defenseman to take care of Ovie’s line mates and his pass was broken up. After that the game became really tense with the anticipation that the next goal would decide the series. Time ran out after pressure in Washington’s end and the Flyers had effectively played an entire 60 minutes for the first time since game 4.

Overtime featured some stellar play and one questionable non-call as Sami Kapanen was tripped. The ref’s got it right the second time calling it when R.J. Umberger was up-ended. The Flyers had great pressure in the Capitals end and after getting his shot on net Joffery Lupul got the rebound and backhanded it over the outstretched right leg of Cristobal Huet who wasn’t even facing the right way.

This was a great series. Many thought the match-up was about as even as they come and predicted to the series to go the distance. The fans at the Wachovia Center saw probably their closest competition in terms of volume in the fans of the Capitals. They were deafening in games 1, 2, and 7. It was a form of flattery to have them imitate the Flyers’ fans “orange crush” tactic with a different hue, and to boo our best player (they only boo’ed Briere after they saw we boo’ed Ovechkin every time he touched the puck). It’s great to see that with a great team down in D.C. there is a growing hockey hotbed. But now, it’s time to move up to a place where hockey isn’t just a fad in spring; it’s a religion. Get ready Montreal, the Flyers are coming.

The second round playoff schedule has not yet been announced, although it seems as though the first game will be Thursday night.

Dave’s 3 Stars of the Game

1. Joffery Lupul - game winning goal
2. Marty Biron - 39 saves, 1 assist
3. Sami Kapanen - 1 goal

Photo from flyers.nhl.com