Phanatic's Preview: Philly @ Monteal: Game 1

The Philadelphia Flyers are happy to have made it to the semi-finals in the 2008 playoffs. After the lockout the Flyers were the favorites to win the Stanley Cup, with players like Peter Forsberg, and Mike Knuble, along with a talented young rookies by the names of Mike Richards, Jeff Carter, and R.J. Umberger. But the past two seasons in Philadelphia were not pretty, especially in the playoffs. The Flyers, who were heavily labeled as Cup favorites back in the 2006 playoffs, were ousted in six games against the Buffalo Sabers, and last season was a miserable one. They had their worst season in their franchise history, finishing dead last in the NHL Standings.

This year is a whole different attitude, the Flyers are back with vengeance, and are back in the playoffs. Gone are the likes of Robert Esche, Peter Forsberg, Alex Zhitnik, Joni Pikanen, Kim Johnson. Now it's Danny Briere, Marty Biron, Kimmno Timonen, Braydon Coburn, and Jason Smith. The Flyers battled back to win a game 7 in overtime against the Capitals to get to this semi-finals match up against the Montreal Canadiens.

The Flyers will have their work cut out for them though. They went 0-4 during the regular season against the Habs, and with this match up an old rivalry is reborn. These two teams have had a history with each other back in the 70s and 80s, including a pre-game brawl in 1987. To put it simple, these two teams do not like each other, so expect another physical series with the Flyers.

The last time these two teams played it was the 1989 Wales Conference Finals, when the Canadiens beat the Flyers 4-2, the series when Ron Hextall went after Chris Chelios, causing yet another brawl between the two teams. The Canadiens lead the Flyers all time with 3 series wins, and with the Flyers winning only 1 series win, which was back in the 1987 conference finals, which they won 4-2.

The Flyers will have to continue the same style of play like they did with Washington but they can not expect to sit back on any lead, because the Canadiens are even more deadly than the Caps. The key to a victory is to get, rookie goalie, Carry Price off his game. How? Crash the net, and get bodies in front of him. They'll also have to rely on Marty Biron even more now.

Expect the Flyers to be tired a bit more in game one because of having to go an extra period in Game 7 to settle the series with the Capitals. Look for Danny Briere to continue to pile the points up. This series should be an interesting one, with the series going at least 6 games, if not 7.

The Puck drops at 7:00pm! Do not miss it! Next game: Saturday Night - 7:00pm on VS.