Flyers Polish Off Habs

Well, the storied franchise falls out without a storybook ending. Carey Price (Box 24) didn't bring the Cup back to Montreal, like the saviour he was supposed to be, but you can't really fault the kid for Philadelphia's strengths of getting to the net. The Flyers banged and crashed their way to the series win and just out worked a Montreal team that couldn't keep up physically.

Price was the favourite goalie out of Box 24, so 24 teams in the pool will now have lost their Eastern Conference goalie and will suffer for it. Martin Biron (Box 24), the goalie moving on, wasn't taken at all in the pool, which makes his points a lost cause. The pool may have proved a little more interesting if anyone was truly betting on the Flyers to make it past Washington in the first round.

Other big losses from the Habs were the Kostitsyn brothers, who were taken numerous times in Boxes 16 & 18. They were fairly popular. As were Saku Koivu (Box 15), Christopher Higgins (Box 17), Mark Streit (Box 21) and Roman Hamrlik (Box 22). The Habs had to work with some very high expectations, across the league and in the pool.

The last dagger for the Canadiens was driven in when Scottie Upshall (non-pool) stole a bonus point away from the pool and scored the winner late in the third period, breaking a 4-4 tie.

Big pool players in the final game of the series included R.J. Umberger (Box 17), who had a pair of goals and an assist; Mike Richards (Box 13), who had a goal and an assist; and Jeff Carter (Box 18), who added a pair of assists.

Umberger finished the second round tied for the most points in the pool during the Conference Semis with 10 points. Great for the one team that chose him over others including series rival, Christopher Higgins (Box 17), who finished with only 3 points in the series.

Next up for the Flyers will be the Penguins, starting on Friday.