Flyers Set to Play Their Biggest Game in a Decade

In the most exhausting Philly sports game of 2020, the Flyers pulled off an unlikely victory in Game 6 of the Eastern semi-finals against the New York Islanders. Ivan Provorov’s game winning goal came just over 15 minutes into the second overtime, finally ending a grueling battle that lasted just under 100 minutes total.

It was a win that didn’t come easy for the boys. Emotions were already high with the remarkable return of Oskar Lindblom, playing in his first game back since being diagnosed with bone cancer. In this elimination game the Flyers jumped out to a 2-0 goal lead in the first period. But, the Islanders being the Islanders, they scored three unanswered goals to take the lead early in the second period.

While the Fly guys scored another goal to tie it, New York’s go ahead goal with under 30 seconds remaining in the second period looked like the backbreaker that would end the series. However the Flyers remained valiant and kept the Islanders shut out for the rest of the game while tying it with a huge goal by Scott Laughton in the third period.

Despite remaining being tied for most of the game, the Islanders out shot the Flyers with a whopping 53 shots on goal compared to Philly’s 31. Nevertheless, both teams continued to battle throughout both overtimes with a series of near-misses, including a scrum at the net where the puck was stopped by the boot of Islander goalie Semyon Varlamov.

Then Provorov finally ended the marathon with a brilliant shot that fired straight into the net, and the Flyers have gone from down 3-1 to forcing a Game 7. All three victories were won in Overtime. And if they win Game 7 in Overtime as well, they will become the first franchise in any professional North American sport to win all four games in OT.

Obviously if there’s one thing everyone would change about this Game 7, it’s if it could be played at the Wells Fargo center in front of a raucous Philly crowd. Of course that can’t happen, but every household in Philadelphia will still feel the agony and ecstasy of Game 7. The last time a Philly team played a Game 7 it ended with the winner of the Philly Sports Heartbreak bracket, so hopefully the Flyers don’t have an ending like that.

It’s been ten long years since the Flyers played in a game as big as this upcoming Game 7. Their run to the Stanley Cup finals was filled with nothing but huge pulse pounding games, and this 2020 series against the Islanders is close to that level. The last Game 7 of the East-semis the Flyers played in was arguably their greatest win of the past forty years when they overcame a 3-0 deficit to defeat the Bruins in Boston, the same series where they overcame a 3-0 series deficit. Wouldn’t it be fitting if they overcame a 3-1 deficit in Game 7 against New York and won in overtime?

Either way, the stress and joy of these overtime wins is exactly what Philadelphia has been missing during all those months without sports.