It's Cinderella story vs. Cinderella story tonight at the Wachovia Center.
Just replace the glass slippers with a pair of CCMs and the wholesome smile with a toothless grin -- especially if you're Daniel Carcillo.
And starting tonight, we'll find out if the Flyers or the Canadiens will turn into pumpkins once the Stanley Cup Finals roll around.
Both teams have great stories to tell so far in the postseason. The Canadiens slayed the giants of the Eastern Conference in Washington and Pittsburgh. The Flyers, meanwhile, became the embodiment of comeback kids -- roaring back from a 3-0 deficit in the series and a 3-0 deficit in Game 7 against the Bruins to wow the hockey world.
Now, however, neither team can use the underdog role to their advantage. Neither team was supposed to be here, but both are. The Flyers know a new series means a new focus.
"We had our celebrations in the locker room,'' goalie Michael Leighton said Saturday of Friday's Game 7 win. "On the plane it
was more just thinking about what we just did. It was kind of quiet, but you knew everybody was happy. I think everyone was just
sitting back in their seat reading a book or listening to music or looking up at the ceiling on the plane thinking, 'What did we just
do?' That was amazing.''
The upstart Canadiens are all that stand between the Flyers and their first trip to the Stanley Cup finals since 1997.
Sports
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Philadelphia had only one day to shake off the aftereffects of Boston Game 7 before facing the Canadiens Sunday night.
"It's probably the hottest team right now and probably the most dangerous team left in the playoffs,'' Montreal forward Scott Gomez
said Saturday before the Canadiens flew to Philadelphia. ``You kind of wish they got a little break there because they're rolling right
now.''
The Flyers rallied from 3-0 down on Friday in Game 7 to win 4-3 -- capping a comeback from 3-0 down in the series against Boston. Philadelphia is the third NHL team to wipe away such a deficit and win, and the fourth overall in major North American sports.
"When I got home (Friday) night, I turned the sports on and they had on a replay of the game,'' said forward Scott Hartnell,
who scored Philadelphia's second goal. "They had 'God Bless America,' and I just kind of got chills watching it because I knew
what the outcome of the game was. I didn't watch the whole game, although I probably should have.''
Montreal, the NHL leader with 24 Stanley Cup titles, is in the conference finals for the first time since its last championship in
1993.
"If you have a letdown and kind of take a breath after last night's game, it's probably not going to go the way that you want,'' Flyers captain Mike Richards said.
If Philadelphia gets caught snoozing now, it could be left on the wayside by Montreal the same way championship contenders
Washington and Pittsburgh were in the first two rounds.
"We're proud of what we did, but at the same time after talking about it today, we have to focus on the Montreal Canadiens,'' said
forward Simon Gagne, who made a quick return from injury and scored the winning goal in Games 4 and 7 against Boston. ``It might be tough, but we have to do it.''
The Canadiens and Flyers split four games during the season, with Philadelphia holding a slim 10-8 advantage in goals. With both
clubs fighting for playoff spots down the stretch, Montreal's Jaroslav Halak made 35 saves in a 1-0 victory at Philadelphia on
April 2.
"It's easy to hate the Flyers,'' Canadiens defenseman Hal Gill said. "They've been the Broad Street Bullies. Their fans are loud
and obnoxious. If you're from Philly, that's great. If you're not, you hate them. It's fun to hate the Flyers, just like it's fun for them to hate our fans and our team. It should be a good series as far as hate goes.''
