 Philadelphia Flyers Arron Asham (45) and Jeff Carter (17) celebrate after defeating the Montreal Canadiens. (Jim McIsaac/Getty Images/AFP) |
PHILADELPHIA — Mike Richards did his best Bobby Clarke impression Monday night, but kept his front teeth in for a post-victory grin.
Richards can now duplicate the famous photos of captain Clarke from the Flyers’ Stanley Cups runs of 1974 and ’75. His three-point gem sent Philadelphia to the final against the Blackhawks, starting Saturday in Chicago.
And unlike Hawks counterpart Jonathan Toews, Richards seized the conference championship trophy and marched it into the dressing room, where the Flyers were in full party mode.
The 4-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens ended this David vs. David series, with the Flyers’ pluck from being down 3-0 to Boston in the Eastern semifinal upstaging the Habs’ double rally to derail pre-playoff favourites Washington and Pittsburgh. A Scott Gomez goal made for a nail-biting finish at the Wachovia Center, until Richards and Jeff Carter, the two key 21st-century building blocks of the Flyers, fought hard for an empty-netter.
Cursed or not after touching the Prince Of Wales trophy, Richards’ team is moving on. Not even Sidney Crosby’s supposed Wales’ exorcism last year convinced all the Flyers it was OK to handle it.
“There was a bit of a debate about that on the ice,” Richards said, laughing. “It’s not the trophy we want, but we haven’t done anything conventional all year.”
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Philly was in turmoil from the opening weeks of the season, with rumours of internal strife, injuries, a coaching change and making the playoffs with a Game 82 shootout. No one personified the Flyers’ season more than netminder Michael Leighton, who, supposedly on the NHL scrap heap, made two dramatic returns during the year.
“It’s unbelievable, coming from where I’ve come from, to wear this (Eastern title) hat,” Leighton said.
The size and muscle of the Flyers and the resolve of players such as Richards, Claude Giroux and Chris Pronger proved too much for Montreal, which nonetheless almost clawed back again in the third period, after a four-minute minor to Pronger. The eighth-seeded Canadiens did their playoff history proud in staring down elimination five times, but a Canadian team will not win the Cup for a 16th straight year.
Richards reversed a worst-case Wachovia scenario, an opening-minute Brian Gionta goal and a Kimmo Timonen penalty. Richards, whose ability to lead this team in an unforgiving sports town was in question at times, set up a great short-handed rush and when that failed, did it himself, hustling to a loose puck inside the Habs’ blue line and earning an empty-net tap-in.
Arron Asham moved the seventh-seeded Flyers up at 3:07 of the second when P.K. Subban was bumped off the puck trying to clear it, Matt Carle got it on net and Asham had all night to dipsy doodle a backhand past Halak. With the Habs’ gas needle pointing toward empty at that stage, Richards found Carter for the latter’s first goal since returning from a broken foot. Richards took back the club post-season scoring lead from Gagne, had six shots and led the Flyers in faceoff wins with nine.
“If I had to put my money on a player who would come up big tonight, it was Richy,” praised Gagne.
Gionta scored at the 59-second mark, surprising Leighton five-hole, ending his bid for a fourth shutout in this series and a team record six in one playoff year. Subban reedemed himself by digging out a puck and centring to Gomez with 13:07 to go, the latter’s first since the Washington series.
Leighton didn’t need big-time heroics on Monday, but he’ll have to contend with 257-pound Hawk heavyweight Duston Byfuglien in the final.
“We had some opportunities, we didn’t finish,” said Montreal coach Jacques Martin.