Call them Cinderella, a team of destiny, the David versus Goliath On Ice show, whatever you'd like— all those nicknames are appropriate and much deserved since the Flyers have soared to the paramount of the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Philadelphia will take the ice Friday night against Pittsburgh for the first game of a best-of-seven series in the East finals. Who would've thought this team, of all teams, would make it this far? Entering the postseason as the sixth seed seemed daunting enough and staring at a match-up against third-seeded Washington in the first round didn't help matters. Heck, just qualifying for the playoffs after finishing the 2007 campaign with the worst record in hockey was an achievement in itself.
In the first round, the Flyers knocked off Alex Ovechkin's crew and then moved past Carey Price's No. 1 Montreal Canadiens in five games in the semifinals. Suddenly, the franchise's goals became larger. With one more series win, Philadelphia will take on the winner of Detroit and Dallas in the Western Conference for the Stanley Cup.
The Flyers' turnaround is one of the more jaw-dropping one-year transformations in NHL history. In fact, they are the first team to reach the conference finals a year after posting the league's worst overall record since the Red Wi