Philadelphia Flyers defeat Buffalo Sabres, 5-2, in Game 7 of quarter-finals: NHL Play-offs Recap
The Wells Fargo Centre in Pennsylvania was on fire on Tuesday night as the Philadelphia Flyers lived up to expectations and defeated the Buffalo Sabres 5-2 to advance in to the next round of the Eastern Conference play-offs. The Flyers' coach, Peter Laviolette, had made a decision after a near elimination in Game 6 to replace their main goalie, Michael Leighton with Brian Boucher and it paid off with flying colours.
"The crowd was unbelievable tonight, and I just wanted to salute them," The Flyers left winger Ville Leino said.
It might have been a surprise for most of the National Hockey League (NHL) fans that the Buffalo Sabres have been able to make it this far into the series, but nevertheless, they performed exceptionally well throughout. Avoiding a few near losses, the Sabres were able to take a 3-2 lead after Game 5 and put the second seeded Philadelphia Flyers on the verge of elimination for Game 6. The Flyers luckily, tied up the series in Game 6 and eventually went on to take the series.
Brian Boucher made 25 of 27 saves to take the Flyers to victory. It was his first Game 7 win since 2000, when they were against the New Jersey Devils in the Eastern Conference finals. He definitely proved in Game 7 that he’s the man that could lead them to their first Stanley Cup since 1975.
Braydon Coburn opened up the scoring in late in the first period with only 19 seconds remaining. After a tough first 19 minutes, Coburn was fed the pass after Danny Briere won a late face-off. He tipped it in through the Sabres' goalie, Ryan Miller’s legs for the goal. The Flyers knew if they want to win, it would take an early lead. That is exactly what they did after a opening goal in the first, Danny Briere and James van Riemsdyk both scored on power-plays to end the second period with a 3-0 lead.
Briere scored his sixth goal of the post-season, when Tyler Myers was booked for interference, another Buffalo penalty at 9:09 by Chris Butler gave Van Riemsdyk an opportunity to contribute his fourth of the series.
"There's no animosity toward the team," former Sabres, Briere said after the game, he was seen tapping Millers helmet while passing him showing his appreciation.
Ville Leino notched in their fourth of the game within two minutes of the third. Tyler Myers finally added a goal for the Sabres with less than 14 minutes remaining for what could spark one of the greatest comebacks ever, but it did not happen that way. Daniel Carcillo insured the match for the Flyers at the mid-way point of the period and Brad Boyes added a final to end the game 5-2.
Even though Buffalo lost, they will return home knowing that they entered the post-season on a much higher note than thought possible. They now have the offseason to rest and plan ahead for next season which could prove much better for them if they continue playing like they have.
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