Flyers Notes: Canadiens still seeing the Bullies

It's funny how a label sticks with an organization.

Thirty-five years after the Flyers won their last Stanley Cup, some opposing players are still talking about the franchise's Broad Street Bullies reputation.

"The players have changed, but I think the Flyers still play the same style," Montreal defenseman Josh Gorges said.

"It's easy to hate the Flyers," Montreal defenseman Hal Gill told the Montreal Gazette. "They've been the Broad Street Bullies, their fans are loud and obnoxious. If you're from Philly, that's great. If you're not, you hate them."

Welcome to the Eastern Conference finals.

Let the bad blood begin.

"It's fun to hate the Flyers - just like it's fun for them to hate our fans and our team," Gill added. "It should be a great series as far as hate goes."

And as far as intensity goes.

Interestingly, Montreal has the top winning percentage in the regular season (.590) in NHL history, while the Flyers are second at .576, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Kiefer Sutherland, the star of 24, watched the game from a Flyers suite. Ike Richman, the Comcast-Spectacor public-relations man, said the actor's Jack Bauer character was "like the Flyers - the ultimate man of resiliency."

For the third straight time, a Flyers defenseman scored their first goal in a series.

Braydon Coburn did the honors Sunday night against the Canadiens in the Flyers' 6-0 win. Chris Pronger did it in Game 1 against New Jersey, and Ryan Parent connected against Boston in Game 1.

Claude Giroux led the Flyers with a plus-4 in Game 1. The Flyers had seven players collect two points apiece - Coburn, Scott Hartnell, James van Riemsdyk, Ville Leino, Danny Briere, Matt Carle, and Giroux. . . . Pronger blocked a team-high four shots. . . . Montreal defenseman P.K. Subban was minus-3. . . . The Flyers had 12 takeaways, seven more than Montreal. . . . Because of the rout, Pronger played "only" 20 minutes, 30 seconds, and Ryan Parent (14:26) and Lukas Krajicek (16:35) played much more than usual.

This is the 16th time the Flyers have reached the conference finals in the 34 seasons in which they have qualified for the playoffs in their 42-season history. . . . Sunday marked the first time the Flyers had started a playoff series at home since the 2004 conference finals against Toronto. They had started eight straight series on the road.

The Flyers were 3-9 against Montreal in home playoff games and 8-6 on the road before Sunday.

Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren vehemently denied a report that Jeff Carter, sidelined with a broken foot, would return by Game 3. Holmgren said it was "a stretch" to think that Carter would return in this series. . . . Montreal defenseman Andrei Markov missed the game with a knee injury and may not play in the series. . . . Mike Richards started Sunday with 17 playoff points, tops on the Flyers and fifth in the NHL. . . . Leino has seven points (two goals, five assists) in his last five playoff games.

According to the Flyers, Carle's plus-5 rating in Game 4 of the conference semifinals was achieved just one other time in the team's playoff history. Glen Cochrane did it against Calgary on April 22, 1981. . . . Coach Peter Laviolette said the fact that Parent played only 2 minutes, 21 seconds in Game 7 against Boston was not a reflection on the young defenseman, but on how well Pronger, Carle, and Kimmo Timonen were playing in the series finale.