Win or lose, this series would have likely gone down as one of the most entertaining in recent memory. The fact that the good guys came out on top though, after being down by three goals in an elimination game, and won a Game 7 in just about the most convincing fashion possible—5-2—well, you couldn't script it any better than that.
Simply put, the Flyers beat the Sabres in every way imagineable, from the time the puck dropped until the final horn mercifully sounded. They stormed out of the gate scorching hot with an onslaught of scoring chances in the opening period, outshooting Buffalo an unbelievable 16-2 in the first 20 minutes. Ryan Miller almost held up under the intense pressure, but Braydon Coburn's shot from the blue line with 29 seconds remaining seemed to fool the enemy netminder, and snuck through the five hole to give Philly the 1-0 lead after one.
In the second period, the boys decided it was time to warm up the power play, scoring on consecutive man advantages. It took all of five seconds to find twine on their first opportunity. Claude Giroux was able to get the puck out to Mike Richards off the faceoff, and the captain blasted a shot from the point that found a crashing Danny Briere's stick directly in front of the net for a slam dunk. Giroux would earn the assist again on the following power play, his rocket from the slot-area deflecting in off the stick of James van Riemsdyk, who was perched comfortably in front of Miller.
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Period three was little more than a formality. Ville Leino increased the lead to four, sending a laser over Miller's shoulder that wound up sending the All Star goalie to the locker room. It looked like a tough angle for Ville, but Miller overplayed the short side, and he had virtually no chance to get his glove hand up in time to make the save. The Sabres threatened briefly, cutting the deficit to three, but Dan Carcillo notched a garbage goal with less than 10 minutes remaining. The combination of it putting the game almost certainly out of reach, and it being the Flyers' instigator scoring the knockout blow, will surely leave a bad taste in the opponents' mouths over the long off-season ahead. A late goal by the Sabres proved meaningless.
I'm sure Matt will have plenty to say about Game 7 and the series in its entirety, but I think you can trace the momentum change in this series back to Game 5. Even though the Flyers ultimately lost that game in overtime, and had the goaltender issues again in Game 6, it was only when they fell behind by three goals on Friday that the pressure really ramped up. They seemed to get more aggressive, both in the forecheck where they began noticably outworking Buffalo, but also with their defensemen who were pinching more frequently to keep plays alive in the offensive zone.
Whatever it was, they need to stick with what worked over these final three games, regardless of who they play next. And we don't know who that will be yet, or when—only that there will be another Game 1, coming soon to a Wells Fargo Center near you.
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