Last May, the 2010-11 Philadelphia Flyers lost in the second round of
the playoffs to a team everyone thought they should beat, and when the season
was over, I couldn’t believe what terrible shape the team was in.
After one of the best first half performances I had ever seen, the Flyers
completely crumbled after the All-Star break. They somehow managed to hold on
to the 2nd seed, just barely beat Buffalo and then they got embarrassed
in a goalie-roulette sweep at the hands of the soon-to-be Stanley Cup Champion
Bruins. The team’s on-ice chemistry fell apart as badly as it did in the locker
room. (I bet you can’t remember a time before the term “Dry Island.”) It was
painful to watch, and after such a downward spiral, it almost felt relieved when
it ended. I couldn’t help but be brought down by the way the team was crumbling
and wonder if that group of players would ever be able to put another Cup run
together.
Last night, the 2011-12 Flyers were also eliminated in the second round
by a team everyone thought they could beat, and now that the season is over, I can’t
believe how positive I feel about what they accomplished.
After one of the most drastic off-seasons (possibly ever), no one
expected too much from the Flyers. They were too young, too inexperienced and
too unfamiliar with each other to make a run at the playoffs. Yet, all season,
they did nothing but work hard, have fun, and routinely surprise everyone. They
stayed in the top of conference all year. They overcame adversity, and came
together as a team to not only make the playoffs as the 5th seed,
but eliminate their archrival in the first round. When it all came to an end, I
only felt sad about having to wait until the fall to see the Orange and Black
take the ice again.
It’s hard not to get frustrated when your team gets eliminated from the
playoffs. You spend a lot of time cheering for them, and you feel emotionally
invested to the point where you feel like you’re the one that lost. There’s
always a long list of “what-ifs” that could leave fans up at nights for weeks. I
know I’ve fallen victim to this before (cough, cough, the 2009 World Series),
but I don’t feel that way today.
This season ended with the Flyers running into a buzz saw. Sometimes in the playoffs, you just run into a team where everything is clicking at the right time. You could argue that the Flyers were tired, hurt, or emotionally drained from the Pittsburgh series, but the Devils were the better team and deserve the credit for advancing.
What’s more important than how the season ended are all the good things
that happened during it. Even with the loss of Chris Pronger, and the absurd
number of man games to injury, this team exceeded expectations all year. Peter
Laviolette infused confidence into his rookies by treating them like anything
but. Consistency escaped them at times, but the balanced scoring attack and
even more balanced leadership corps delivered a solid season with good
experiences for the younger players to learn from. They were an unbelievably
entertaining team that the fans got to “know” better than any other Flyers team
before them thanks to 24/7.
No, not everything is perfect. There are plenty of areas for
improvement and some issues that need to be addressed for next year, but that’s
for another day.
For two years in a row, the Flyers have to swallow second round exits. But, make no mistake about it: This this year was the beginning of a new era, not the end of a disappointing one.
They may not have gotten the 16 playoff Knock Knocks we were all hoping
for, but I vote we do this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bMmhKz6KXg) one last time to close out an overall successful season.
After all, they beat the Penguins!
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