2009–10 Philadelphia Flyers season

bold – Qualified for playoffs; y – Won division; p – Won Presidents' Trophy (and division)

AT – Atlantic Division, NE – Northeast Division, SE – Southeast Division

The Flyers drew their division rival New Jersey Devils for the opening round of the playoffs as the Devils clinched second place in the conference by defeating the Buffalo Sabres in their final game of the season. Buffalo would have been the Flyers' opponents had the Sabres managed to keep the Devils without a point from that game. The Flyers won five of six games against the Devils during the regular season. The Devils managed to secure the second seed going into the playoffs, thus guaranteeing them the home ice advantage in the first round against the Flyers.[37]

As the season series promised, the Flyers matched up well with the Devils and took Game 1 in a 2–1 decision at Prudential Center. The Flyers had shut out the Devils until there were only three minutes remained in the game but could hold on to the lead to finish out the game.[38] An equally hard-fought game was the second in the series which the Devils took in a 5–3 victory.[39] With a split in New Jersey, the series turned to Philadelphia.

Game 3 saw an unlikely hero in Daniel Carcillo, who scored the 3–2 game winner 3:35 into overtime giving him his second point of the night in 7:11 of ice-time. He assisted on a goal by Mike Richards in the second period.[40] Game 4 at Wachovia Center saw the Flyers win the game 4–1 on a three-point night by Jeff Carter, who played with a screw inserted in his broken foot.[41] However, that win would prove costly, as Carter broke his other foot on the play for his second goal and Simon Gagne suffered a broken big toe in his right foot.[42]

This would set up situation similar to the 2000 Eastern Conference Finals, in which the Flyers, on the strong play of Brian Boucher, took a 3–1 series lead over the Devils, only to see it melt away and lose in seven games.[43] However, history would not repeat itself. Boucher would earn his first playoff shutout in 10 years in a 3–0 decision in Game 5, eliminating the Devils.[44] This was the third consecutive time the Devils would exit the playoffs in the first round. Claude Giroux contributed to all three goals, assisting Danny Briere on a goal in the first period and scoring twice himself in the second. That win saw another injury though, as Ian Laperriere was hit in the face by a slapshot in a situation reminiscent of an incident earlier in the season, which cost him seven teeth. Laperriere was hit above the right eye and suffered a large gash across his eyebrow which reportedly required 50–70 stitches.[45]

The series was influenced strongly by the play of Mike Richards, who had four multi-point games in the series that lasted five games. However, the series was also marred with a large number of obstruction penalties called. In five games, there were 72 minor penalties and three game misconducts handed out for a total of 174 penalty minutes between both teams.

The Flyers would meet the Boston Bruins in the next round, who had dispatched the Buffalo Sabres in six games. The Bruins were noted in that series for being perfect on the penalty kill, negating all 19 chances the Sabres had in that series. However, due to the Flyers having started on the first day of the playoffs and their beating of the Devils in quick fashion, the Flyers had more than a week off. While this would provide some opportunity for their injured players to heal, the Flyers were notorious for not responding well to long rests during the regular season. This would show during Game 1 in the series, as the Flyers gave up the first goal less than three minutes into the game and leave the first period down 2–0. However, the Flyers would rally and tie the game at 4–4 in the second half of the third period on goals by Mike Richards and Danny Briere. This, however, would only set up the heroics of Marc Savard, who had returned from missing several weeks with a concussion.[46]

Game 2 was a similar story. The Bruins caught the early lead 5:12 into the game and while the Flyers were able to catch up twice, they could not take the lead and a goal by Milan Lucic with less than three minutes to go in the game would spell victory for the Bruins.[47] In the third game, the Flyers were finally able to take a lead with Arron Asham scoring only 2:32 into the game. The lead would not last long though, as Blake Wheeler and Miroslav Satan would answer in quick succession, 1:34 apart and less than two minutes after Asham's goal, to take the lead. The Flyers were unable to score again and with a lackluster third period by Philadelphia, the game ended in a 4–1 Bruins victory. During the game Mike Richards broke the arm of bruins center David Krejci in a large open ice hit, knocking Krejci out for the rest of the series.[48]

The Flyers were now on the brink of elimination down three games to none. However, on the upside, Simon Gagne returned for Game 4, which turned into a bizarre mirror version of the first game of the series. While the Flyers were able to take a big 3–1 lead, they saw it melt away on a few strange goals. The Flyers would retake the lead again, but Mark Recchi would tie it with 20 seconds left in the game. However, Gagne would put an end to it scoring at 14:40 in overtime to keep the Flyers alive and send the series back to Boston.[49] There the Flyers would dominate, shutting out the Bruins for a 4–0 victory to climb back into the series. However, the shutout was not held by a single goalie, as Brian Boucher would go down with injuries in both of his knees after Flyers defenseman Ryan Parent and Bruins forward Miroslav Satan fell on top of him. This would call Michael Leighton back into action, who had only just returned at that very game from a high-ankle sprain that had sidelined him since mid-March.[50]

Leighton's heroics would continue in Game 6 after making 14 saves in Game 5 to preserve the shutout Boucher had started. He would keep the Bruins off the scoreboard for 59 minutes until Milan Lucic scored and make 30 saves total. However, at that point, the Flyers would hold on to a 2–1 lead to send the series to a deciding Game 7 at TD Garden.[51]

Game 7 would play out very much like the series itself. The Bruins would jump to a 3–0 lead in the first period. Two of the goals came on the power play due to infractions for high-sticking on Scott Hartnell and Danny Briere, respectively. This would prompt head coach Peter Laviolette to use up his timeout to rally the team. Shortly after, James van Riemsdyk, who had not registered a goal in the playoffs until that point, scored to make it 3–1. The second period was all Flyers, as Hartnell and Briere would redeem themselves by scoring a goal each to tie the game up at 3–3. Overall, the game was relatively low on penalties, with only six minors being called total, but the last one of those, a bench penalty for Too Many Men, would come to haunt Boston, as Simon Gagne put the puck in the net for a 4–3 Flyers lead. The Flyers would be able to hold on to it and become only the third team in NHL history, the fourth team in the big four American professional sports leagues, to return from an 0–3 deficit of games to win that playoff series.[52]

The Flyers were matched up with the Montreal Canadiens in the Eastern Conference Finals. This would be the first time the seventh and eighth seed would meet in a conference final. The Canadiens previously defeated the Presidents' Trophy winner Washington Capitals and the reigning Stanley Cup champions Pittsburgh Penguins, each in seven-game series, largely on the strong play of goaltender Jaroslav Halak. The Flyers and Canadiens split their season series 2–2.

However, despite being evenly matched during the season, the Flyers took advantage of their momentum and opened the series completely dominating the Canadiens in a 6–0 shutout despite being outshot 28–25. Six different Flyers scored goals in that game.[53] While the Canadiens improved in Game 2, the story only repeated itself, as the Habs were shut-out again in a 3–0 decision.[54]

With this, the series would go to Montreal, where the tables would quickly turn. The Flyers had an overall poor effort in a 5–1 loss, especially by their top defense pairing of Chris Pronger and Matt Carle, who were both -3. The game also ended somewhat controversially, as the last goal was scored by Montreal on a 5-on-3 power play and Montreal decided to put their top powerplay unit on the ice, despite less than a minute to play.[55]

The Flyers reflected on their bad play and improved it. At the same time, Jeff Carter and Ian Laperriere, both missing at least ten games since the conference quarter finals, would return to the line-up, providing reinforcements. Pronger and Carle bounced back and Claude Giroux had an outstanding night as the Flyers shut-out the Canadiens once again 3–0 in Game 4. This would make Michael Leighton the first Flyer goaltender to post three shutouts in one playoff series, tying an NHL record. The Flyers held the Canadiens to a single shot during the second period.[56]

With their backs against the wall, the Canadiens found themselves in a situation which they had already played in five times that post-season, winning all of their elimination games. The team showed their desperation as they scored less than a minute into Game 5. However, Flyers captain Mike Richards would answer the bell with a shorthanded goal four minutes later. In the second period, the Flyers would take the lead on goals by Arron Asham and Jeff Carter, which they carried into the third. There, however, Scott Gomez would profit off a misplay and cut the lead to one. This would set up a dangerous situation which would worsen, as Chris Pronger was called on a double-minor for high sticking halfway through the period. The Flyers would, however, kill the penalty off and Jeff Carter, with the help of Mike Richards, scored into the empty net to seal the deal at 4–2 after the Canadiens had pulled their goalie.[57]

This clinched the Flyers' first Stanley Cup Final berth since 1997 and the eighth in franchise history. It would also mark another run for the Cup for Chris Pronger, who returned to the finals for the third time since the NHL lockout, each time pushing a team that traded for him the previous off-season into the Finals.

The Flyers met the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals. Chicago swept their Western Conference Finals opponent San Jose Sharks 4–0 after dispatching the Nashville Predators and Vancouver Canucks in six games each. The only regular season meeting between the two teams ended dramatically, as Chris Pronger scored the deciding goal for the 3–2 victory of the Flyers with less than three seconds left in regulation.[58]

• Position abbreviations: C = Center; D = Defense; G = Goaltender; LW = Left Wing; RW = Right Wing
• = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Flyers only.
• = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Flyers only.

				Regular season						Playoffs
No.	Player	Age	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM
18	Mike Richards	24	C	82	31	31	62	−2	79	23	7	16	23	−1	18
17	Jeff Carter	25	C	74	33	28	61	2	38	12	5	2	7	−5	2
20	Chris Pronger	35	D	82	10	45	55	22	79	23	4	14	18	5	36
48	Danny Briere	32	C	75	26	27	53	−2	71	23	12	18	30	9	16
28	Claude Giroux	22	RW	82	16	31	47	−9	23	23	10	11	21	7	4
19	Scott Hartnell	27	LW	81	14	30	44	−6	155	23	8	9	17	4	25
12	Simon Gagne	29	LW	58	17	23	40	−1	47	19	9	3	12	−2	0
44	Kimmo Timonen	34	D	82	6	33	39	−2	50	23	1	10	11	6	20
21	James van Riemsdyk	20	LW	78	15	20	35	−1	30	21	3	3	6	−4	4
25	Matt Carle	25	D	80	6	29	35	19	16	23	1	12	13	6	8
45	Arron Asham	31	RW	72	10	14	24	−2	126	23	4	3	7	4	10
13	Daniel Carcillo	25	LW	76	12	10	22	5	207	17	2	4	6	1	34
14	Ian Laperriere	36	RW	82	3	17	20	−1	162	13	0	1	1	−3	6
5	Braydon Coburn	24	D	81	5	14	19	−6	54	23	1	3	4	−2	22
11	Blair Betts	29	C	63	8	10	18	7	14	23	1	1	2	−4	4
36	Darroll Powe	24	C	63	9	6	15	0	54	23	0	1	1	−2	6
3	Oskars Bartulis	23	D	53	1	8	9	−12	28	7	0	0	0	−1	4
22	Ville Leino	26	LW	13	2	2	4	2	4	19	7	14	21	10	6
26	Danny Syvret	24	D	21	2	2	4	1	12	—	—	—	—	—	—
27	Mika Pyorala	28	C	36	2	2	4	−3	10	—	—	—	—	—	—
9	David Laliberte	23	RW	11	2	1	3	1	6	1	0	0	0	0	2
77	Ryan Parent	22	D	48	1	2	3	−14	20	17	1	0	1	−2	2
2	Lukas Krajicek	26	D	27	1	1	2	−10	14	22	0	3	3	0	8
37	Jon Kalinski	22	C	10	0	2	2	−2	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
55	Ole-Kristian Tollefsen	25	D	18	0	2	2	1	23	—	—	—	—	—	—
15	Andreas Nodl	22	RW	10	0	1	1	−2	0	10	0	0	0	−1	0
49	Michael Leighton	28	G	27	0	1	1	N/A	0	14	0	0	0	N/A	2
29	Ray Emery	27	G	29	0	1	1	N/A	2	—	—	—	—	—	—
33	Brian Boucher	33	G	33	0	1	1	N/A	2	12	0	0	0	N/A	2
32	Riley Cote	27	LW	15	0	0	0	0	24	—	—	—	—	—	—
42	Jared Ross	27	C	3	0	0	0	−1	0	3	0	0	0	0	0
30	Johan Backlund	28	G	1	0	0	0	N/A	0	1	0	0	0	N/A	0
35	Jeremy Duchesne	23	G	1	0	0	0	N/A	0	—	—	—	—	—	—

• = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Flyers only.
• = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Flyers only.

			Regular season											Playoffs
No.	Player	Age	GP	GS	W	L	OT	SA	GA	GAA	SV%	SO	TOI	GP	GS	W	L	SA	GA	GAA	SV%	SO	TOI
33	Brian Boucher	33	33	26	9	18	3	796	80	2.76	.899	1	1,742:02	12	10	6	6	298	27	2.47	.909	1	655:37
29	Ray Emery	27	29	29	16	11	1	783	74	2.64	.905	3	1,683:33	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
49	Michael Leighton	28	27	26	16	5	2	735	60	2.48	.918	1	1,449:11	14	13	8	3	371	31	2.46	.916	3	757:13
30	Johan Backlund	28	1	1	0	1	0	24	2	3.00	.917	0	40:00	1	0	0	0	0	0	0.00	—	0	1:24
35	Jeremy Duchesne	23	1	0	0	0	0	4	1	3.59	.750	0	16:44	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

•    NHL record
•    Tied for NHL record

The following players were signed by the Flyers via free agency. Two-way contracts are marked with an asterisk (*).

The following players were either re-signed by the Flyers or, in the case of the team's selections in the NHL Entry Draft, signed to entry level contracts. Two-way contracts are marked with an asterisk (*).

The Flyers were involved in the following waivers transactions. Players claimed on recall waivers are marked with an asterisk (*).

The following players left the team via free agency, release, or retirement. Players who were under contract and left the team during the season are marked with an asterisk (*).