2010 Stanley Cup Final Game 1 vs. Chicago Blackhawks

Lore & Background

The Flyers earned the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs after finishing the regular season with 88 points, and winning the tiebreaker over the Montreal Canadiens, with more wins (41 to 39). The Flyers were the last team to qualify for the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs. Their Cinderella march to the Finals began on the final day of the regular season when they met the New York Rangers in a winner-take-all match-up for the final playoff spot. Philadelphia defeated their Atlantic Division rivals 2–1 in a shootout, the first do-or-die shootout for a playoff spot in NHL history.

Reader's Guide

In game one, the Chicago Blackhawks won by a score of 6–5 on the strength of two goals by Troy Brouwer. The Flyers opened the scoring at 6:38 of the first period on a goal by Ville Leino that deflected off the face of Niklas Hjalmarsson. Michael Leighton was replaced by Brian Boucher after allowing the fifth Chicago goal. In the third period, Tomas Kopecky scored the game winner at 8:25.

Did You Know?

• The Flyers were the first team to reach the Finals with less than 90 points in the regular season since the Vancouver Canucks in 1994, when they had 85.
• Philadelphia became the third NHL team to win a seven-game series after being down three games to none, in the second round against the Boston Bruins.
• The Flyers attempted to win the Stanley Cup for the first time since winning back-to-back Stanley Cups in 1974 and 1975.