The Philadelphia Flyers look like the Broad Street Bullies 2.0 in their first-round Stanley Cup Playoffs series against the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Flyers hold a 2-0 series lead and are looking to maintain their edge, as it is now their turn to have home-ice advantage on Wednesday night.
Philadelphia was not favored to win the series, much less win the first two games on the road in Pittsburgh. The Flyers have channeled the tenacity and grit last seen by the 1970s Philadelphia hockey teams nicknamed the Broad Street Bullies, which won back-to-back Stanley Cups in 1974 and 1975. Former Flyer right wing and now current head coach Rick Tocchet has had the team firing on all cylinders even before this playoff matchup began.
The Broad Street Bullies 2.0
The Flyers finished the regular season with a tremendous effort to make a playoff push, and they did just that. In their last 15 games, they went 11-4 and outscored their opponents by 20 goals. A huge part of Philadelphia’s recent hot streak has been its starting goalie, Dan Vladar, who was a recent castoff from the Calgary Flames. This is his first season with the Orange and Black, and he has been phenomenal, posting 29 wins, a .906 save percentage, and a 2.42 goals against average.
In their current series against the Penguins, the team combined for 40 hits in Game 1, then raised the bar even further, combining for 48 hits in Game 2. This physical nature can be attributed to their young and fierce core, comprised of Trevor Zegras, Matvei Michkov, Jamie Drysdale, Cam York, Tyson Foerster, and Porter Martone. The last of whom became the first teenager in NHL history to score the game-winning goal in each of his first two Stanley Cup Playoff games.
During Game 1, Philadelphia simply outperformed Pittsburgh on each facet of the game. They killed both of the Penguins’ power play opportunities and only allowed one shot. The Flyers also outshot the Penguins, 20 to 18. The energy Philadelphia played with was extremely evident, and clearly overwhelmed Pittsburgh.
During Game 2, the Flyers’ defense stifled the highly potent Penguins’ offense, blocking 23 shots and tacking on a shorthanded goal while on the penalty kill. Both teams have combined to accumulate 100 penalty minutes in only two games, and with how Philadelphia has gotten under Penguins’ captain Sidney Crosby’s skin, the penalty minutes are bound to increase.
What Is Up Next For The Philadelphia Flyers?
Unless Pittsburgh can win four of the next five games, Philadelphia will advance to the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals, where they would likely take on the Carolina Hurricanes, who also have a 2-0 series lead over their opponent, the Ottawa Senators. If that series were to take place between the Flyers and the Hurricanes, it would be another close, physical set of games and immensely entertaining to watch.
In their first playoff appearance since 2020, the Philadelphia Flyers are making some noise. They could also be a sneaky dark horse pick to cause even more chaos in what has already been a wild and compelling Stanley Cup Playoffs.
