Flyers confident going into Game 4

With all due respect to the late Kate Smith, Journey's "Don't Stop Believin' " has become the Flyers' theme song during this spring's remarkable Stanley Cup run.

The song has been played during home playoff games, accompanied by inspirational quotes or photos on the Wachovia Center's huge, hanging scoreboard. The photos focus on key moments of a wild, nerve-wracking Cup drive that has not been recommended for the weak-hearted.

Before Wednesday's 4-3 overtime win over visiting Chicago - a victory that narrowed the Blackhawks' lead to two games to one in the theatrical Finals - fans were given bright orange T-shirts with Smith's likeness and the words: Broad Street Believin'.

So how did the Broad Street Bullies get transformed into Broad Street Believers?

Simple. A series of wins that will be remembered as epics if this team captures the franchise's third Stanley Cup.

There was the shoot-out victory over the Rangers to qualify for the playoffs on the last day of the regular season. There were the four straight victories over Boston to overcome a 3-0 series deficit, and there was Wednesday's escape against the Hawks to climb off the canvas - again - in the Finals.

There is still a lot of work to be done, of course, but the Flyers are oozing confidence as they prepare for Game 4 on Friday night at the Wachovia Center.

"Any time you come back from 3-0, you never quit, and the guys really believe in the guys we have in this room," center Claude Giroux said during a news conference at the Wachovia Center on Thursday.

Giroux scored in overtime Wednesday to give the Flyers a desperately needed victory.

"It was a big win for us, and hopefully we can refocus and play the same way [Friday]," Giroux said.

"I am 100 percent confident with the guys in the room to win any hockey game against anybody," coach Peter Laviolette said.

Don't stop, believin'.

"I think coming back from that [Boston] series was huge for our confidence, but even before that, we all believed we have a good team," said defenseman Chris Pronger, whose physical play seems to have thrown some of the Blackhawks off their game. "It's just a matter of going out and playing to that high level and our own expectations each night - and not worrying about anybody else outside the locker room and what they are saying. The 23, 25 guys in our room need to believe, and we all seem to do so."

Scott Hartnell, who has rebounded from a dismal regular season and become one of the team's top playoff performers, said the Flyers were not satisfied with just reaching the Finals.

"You look around at the players and their personalities, and the guys aren't just happy or content to be here," he said. "We want to win. We believe we can win. Everybody has a role on the team, and everyone has taken that role and is playing above that. That's what you need to have a championship hockey team."

Chicago, of course, has the same championship ingredients. Wednesday's loss, which ended an NHL-record-tying seven-game road winning streak in the playoffs, isn't going to erode its confidence.

"You have to like the disposition of our team and their approach," Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "You feel good going into games. You feel good when the game is on the line.

"It's a tough loss. Certainly we're disappointed, [but it] should create an appetite for us going into" Friday's key game. "And we're looking for a response."

The series might turn on which captain gets his game untracked first. Mike Richards and Chicago's Jonathan Toews are goal-less in the series.

"We're pretty upbeat today and ready to regroup and get back on the horse and play a better game," Toews said. "We did a lot of better things [Wednesday]. Both teams played quite a bit better than the first two games."

Because the teams are so evenly matched, every shift is magnified. All three games have been decided by one goal.

The games have been tight from start to finish. Through 185 minutes, 59 seconds of playing time, the teams have been tied or within a goal of each other for all but 7:43.

"We're down 2-1 in the series, and Friday is going to be a battle," Hartnell said. "They're going to obviously want to win it at home in Game 5, and we want to bring it back for Game 6. But we can't look ahead. We need to focus on our start in Game 4 - hitting them, cycling them, [getting] D on the walls and getting pucks to this goalie and playing tight defensively. That's what we've got to worry about."