It’s all about perspective. Either the Philadelphia Flyers are about to record one of the greatest playoff comebacks in National Hockey League history or the Boston Bruins may be on the verge of one of the most epic collapses the league has ever seen.
Consider this: While both the Flyers and Bruins were riddled with injuries entering the Eastern Conference semi-final, it’s what has happened during this series that has made a major difference.
Bruins forwards David Krejci, Milan Lucic and Miroslav Satan had Boston rolling. Krejci specifically was a do-everything guy, the whole package — at both the offensive and defensive ends. But then he came up against Flyers captain Mike Richards. Krejci had his wrist broken on a hit from Richards and, while Boston won Game 3 after that incident, they have not been the same since.
The same thing can be said about Simon Gagne’s improbable return to the Flyers. Gagne has three goals in three games and has been a constant threat. It’s given the Flyers a balance up front that they did not enjoy in the first three games of the series.
Can one player addition and one player subtraction on either side make that much of a difference? It would seem so.
Game 7 is in Boston and the Bruins, for the first time in the series, are a desperate team. That factor alone may make it a whole new ballgame.
To the winner, a date with the Cinderella Montreal Canadiens awaits. And the way the Habs are playing, the victor of Game 7 between the Bruins-Flyers may have a short-lived celebration.