Flyers Notes: Playoff records for trio of Flyers
It was a record-setting playoff for three Flyers: Danny Briere, Ville Leino and Chris Pronger. Not that they took much joy from it. It was difficult, of course, to be satisfied with personal accomplishments when the ultimate goal was winning the franchise's first Stanley Cup since 1975.
It was a record-setting playoff for three Flyers: Danny Briere, Ville Leino and Chris Pronger.
Not that they took much joy from it. It was difficult, of course, to be satisfied with personal accomplishments when the ultimate goal was winning the franchise's first Stanley Cup since 1975.
Chicago won the hard-fought series, four games to two, and secured its first Cup in 49 years with Wednesday's 4-3 overtime win at the Wachovia Center.
"I don't think it'll set in for a long time," Pronger said of the devastating defeat. "We'll be feeling it for a while."
"I hope there are many years to come when we get this far, but right now it's kind of tough to appreciate everything we went through . . . and coming up empty-handed," Briere said.
Still, the three players had a playoff that will live in Flyers lore. Consider:
Briere led all NHL playoff scorers with 30 points (12 goals, 18 assists), breaking the Flyers mark set by Brian Propp (28 points) in 1987. Briere also led all scorers in the Finals with 12 points - one shy of the record established by some guy named Wayne Gretzky, who did it for Edmonton in 1988.
Leino equaled an NHL record for points in the playoffs by a rookie. The 26-year-old winger had 21 points (seven goals, 14 assists), tying the mark set by the Minnesota North Stars' Dino Ciccarelli in 1981.
Pronger equaled a franchise record for playoff points by a defenseman. He had 18 points (four goals, 14 assists), matching the record set by Doug Crossman in 1987.
Offensive numbers
The teams combined for 47 goals: 25 for Chicago, 22 for the Flyers. The total tied for fourth-highest in NHL Finals history.
The record: 58 goals by Montreal and Chicago in a seven-game series in 1971.
Ratings hit
Chicago's Cup-clinching win over the Flyers Wednesday, televised on NBC, was the most-watched and highest-rated NHL game in 36 years.
It was watched by 8.28 million, the most since 1974, when 8.29 million viewed Boston and the Flyers in Game 3 of the Finals on NBC. It was 43 percent higher than last year's Game 6 (5.8 million viewers) between Pittsburgh and Detroit, and four percent higher than last year's Game 7 (8.0 million).
Chicago averaged a 25.2/41 rating for the four network-TV games. Philadelphia averaged a 19.6/30.
Hossa's moment
After he was presented the Cup, Chicago captain Jonathan Toews handed it off to Marian Hossa, who was in the Finals for the third straight year. He had lost with Pittsburgh and Detroit.
Following Wednesday's win, Toews admitted that earlier in the day he talked "very, very briefly" to Hossa about the planned handoff. "We didn't want to get overexcited or think too much of the end result, but I mentioned it to him this morning to be ready, if we did happen to hoist it tonight,' Toews said. ". . . It's special for him. I can't imagine being a part of three long seasons like that and to win one finally."
Breakaways
In Game 6, the Flyers outhit the 'Hawks, 27-19. Mike Richards (six hits) and Scott Hartnell (five) led the Flyers, while Dustin Byfuglien had six hits for Chicago. . . . . . . Toews won 65.1 percent of his face-offs in the Finals. . . . Chicago won its fourth Cup since joining the NHL in 1926-27. The Hawks also won in 1934, 1938 and 1961. . . . A Chicago city official estimated that 400,000 are expected at a parade honoring the Hawks on Friday. . . . Leino, who was with the Red Wings last season, has played on the last two Cup losers.