When the 2009-10 NHL season started, I can say with fair confidence, 1 of the teams in the finals was NOT on my radar. The Philadelphia Flyers.
 
While the Chicago Blackhawks were my strongest consideration for my Western Conference finalist, the Flyers to me were nothing more than a playoff spot filler. To me, the East ran thru Washington or Pittsburgh. With outside chances to Buffalo, Montreal and Boston.
 
That is all you really need to know of the Philadelphia Flyers right there. They have proven a lot of people wrong. Including me... 4 times now this season.
 
They made the playoffs on the last chance they could this season. They got in with a shootout win to eek into a playoff spot that I boldly told my friends in March there was no way they could win. Down the stretch this team, which seemed destined to a solid top 5 or 6 placing in the conference just weeks earlier, had plummeted & on some days, was out of the playoff race as teams like the New York rangers & Atlanta Thrashers kept poking their head into the final playoff spot momentarily. Yet, in the final week they fought back & dragged themselves to a do or die, winner take all affair with the NY Rangers on the very final day of the season. To the loser, a long frustrating off season of what could have been. To the winners, a date with the Atlantic division champs, New Jersey Devils. Hardly a great reward for such a triumph. The Flyers & Rangers played to a shootout. With Claude Giroux scoring on the 3rd shooter for Philly, it was up to unlikely hero Brian Boucher, an after thought to most analysts this season, and probably even that week, to make 1 more save. With the Rangers picking top end scorer Olli Jokinen, the challenge was going to be big. But Boucher did it & the Flyers would be moving on to the playoffs, proving me wrong once.
 
Playing against the Devils, after narrowly making it. I was confident the Flyers season would end here. They had to have emptied their gas tanks to get here. But the Flyers found a way to not just get by the Devils, they handled them quickly in 5 games. If anything, it seemed Martin Brodeur, and the Devils forwards were the ones who had run the gas tank to empty in the regular season. For a 2nd time, the Flyers proved me wrong.
 
In round 2 they got the Boston Bruins, a team I was less sure of, but still liked their chances over the Flyers. Where the Devils seemed to be struggling down the stretch behind the suddenly average goaltending of Martin Brodeur, the Bruins had young stud Tuukka Rask in net & he wasnt faltering. The Bruins rushed out to a 3 games ot 0 lead over the hapless Flyers. This series was over. So much for the cinderella Flyers. Then it happened. Something changed. The Flyers came into game 4 with a "we have nothing to lose" attitude, and guess what?? they didnt lose. With an OT winner from Simon Gagne, the Philadelphia Flyers moved from clinically dead, to on life support. But it was impossible to believe they were going to become the 3rd team in NHL history to return from a 3-0 deficit, right??? Game 5, they won as well, 4-0. In that game, their band aid solution starting goalie Brian Boucher (who took the role as #1 when Ray Emery went down 1/2 way thru the yr with a season ending injury) himself went down with an injury, meaning barely known Michael Leighton was thrust into the spotlight. From there on, it was the Leighton show. He would backstop games 6 &7 wins & the Philadelphia Flyers would make the Eastern Conference finals somehow. Proving me wrong for a 3rd time.
 
In the Eastern Conference Finals they faced another cinderella team, the Montreal Canadiens. While Michael Leighton was becoming a notable name in Philly, and really in tune hockey experts, the Habs had their own goalie of the moment backstopping them. Slovakian Olympian, Jaroslav Halak. With championship knowledge in his resume (he was on the Hamilton Bulldogs Calder Cup championship team a few yrs ago) & already having carried 1 underdog team to near greatness this year (Slovakia finished 4th at the Olympics, despite being on few if anyones radar going into the tourney, as a medal contender)Although the Flyers came in as the statistical "favorites", most people seemed to give Montreal the edge, myself included. With the exception of the game 3 in the series, the first game in Montreal, the Habs seemed dead in the water. Their gas tanks emptied like the Devils in round 1 & the Bruins in the last 1/2 of their series, and the Flyers just ran them over, finishing the series off in 5 games. Proving me wrong for a 4th time.
 
So here we find the Philadelphia Flyers, a team who driving down the stretch of the playoffs race lost 9 of 11 games thru March & early April, in the Stanley Cup Finals. More amazing is, with the exception of the 3-0 Bruins series lead, this team has won 12 of 14 games to get to this spot. Now, the Flyers face a team from the West that was expected to possibly be in this position, the Chicago Blackhawks.
 
Once again, goaltending for the visitor is expected to be strong. The Devils had Brodeur, the Bruins had Rask, the Habs had Halak. All have fallen to this sudden power house team. Will the Haws Antti Niemi falter too?
 
The Flyers are getting great performances from their top guys. The team is offensively being lead by Mike Richards, Daniel Briere, Claude Giroux, Simon Gagne & Chris Pronger. The guys you expect to lead, are. With the addition of Jeff Carter, this looks more like a cup contending team than the 1 that limped into the post-season without Gagne or Carter. The Flyers have been getting good support offense from defenders Kimmo Timonen & Matt Carle, as well as forwards Ville Leino and Scott Hartnell. Tough as nails checking specialist Ian Laperriere is back in the fold, giving other hard nosed players like Dan Carcillo and Arron Asham some back up on the defensive side of the forward unit.
 
This team really should be proud of everything they accomplish, wiin or lose. This is a team who realistically wasnt on many experts radar for a Cup berth, and certainly werent expected after losing notable names like Gagne, Carter, Emery & Boucher thru the journey. Yet somehow, they are here. They SHOULD be proud, regardless of the outcome. But you look down that roster, with guys like Pronger, Laperriere, Richards and Carter & you realize that this team is full of guys who wont be happy losing. This team will fight right to the bitter end, even if they are down 10-0 in game 4 of a series they are already down 3 games to 0 in. Winning the Prince of Wales Trophy isnt even a consolation prize to this group. With the higly competitive league the NHL has created, where teams rarely have chances to develop a dynasty, this very well could be the 1 and only shot for many of these guys. They wont want to waste it.
 
I dont think the Philadelphia Flyers will win. I think Chicago is the better team and they want this just as badly. I am picking Chicago in 6 games. But if the Flyers do win, after all they have done this year in proving me wrong...it shouldnt shock anyone, most of all...me.

One of my most detested teams was in town. Bringing with them the rotting feces underbelly of hockey like Sean Avery & Donald Brashear. Two of the most pathetic losers to ever become contracted pro athletes. Even with shedding underachieving whiner Markus Naslund, this is still one of the most detested bunch of people ever.

So maybe this is why I didnt do well with them as a whole, I didnt like them....or, perhaps  its because the team has too much ego?

goalies
HENRIK LUNDQVIST- 2 autographs. Still an ok signer, Henrik has become much harder than the happy to sign star he was last time he was here. He how treats it like a chore & Theres only a 70-30 chance you'll get him if the crowd is more than 6 or 8 people. Still, for a team full of unenthusiastic signers, he was ok.
STEVE VALIQUETTE- 0 autographs. I was impressed to hear he signed for a handful of people. This was a HUGE step up from the non-signing (WHAT?) career back up, lucky to have a job goalie that was here last time. He still didnt sign a lot though & didnt seem to go out of his way to do it.

defense
MICHAEL DEL ZOTTO- 2 autographs. Quite accomodating. One of the brighter lights with the team. Michael generally seemed willing to do multiples, even in moderate sized groups. Once the group gets too large though he does trim back to 1 understandably, and the signature, which is already abbreviated, becomes even moreso.
WADE REDDEN- 2 autographs. His last couple years in Ottawa he had soured on signing some. Seems the sourness has worn off, he was once again willing to do multiple items.
MICHAL ROZSIVAL- 1 autograph. Didnt generally go out of his way to accomodate, but if you caught his attention & could get infront of him, he would do it. Not terrible, but certainly didnt look thrilled to do it.
DAN GIRARDI- 0 autographs. Had nothing for him, but can tell you he was more than willing to sign multiple items without hesitation.
MARC STAAL- 1 autograph. Didnt seem overly thrilled to sign, but put in a 1/2 assed effort after practice the day of the game to get everyone. Outside of them, he did seem to put in an effort to not sign.
MATT GILROY- 2 autographs. Willingly signed multiple items.

forwards
MARIAN GABORIK- 2 autographs. Started off good, but cooled quick. On gameday he claimed he signed "Thousands" for me the day before. Apparently "thousands" is Slovak for "2".  Nowhere near as good as he was in his Minnesota days.
VACLAV PROSPAL- 0 autographs. Was only sporadically asked, and willingly did it when asked.
BRANDON DUBINSKY- 1 autograph. Jekyl & Hyde. One interaction he was fine & respectful, next interaction he was evasive & griping about people asking him.
ENVER LISIN- 2 autographs. Happily did multiples.
ARTEM ANISOMOV- 3 autographs. Willing to do multiples still for now.
CHRIS DRURY- 2 autographs. Usually always friendly. Chris had a touch of Jekyl & Hyde this trip. Pleasant & did multiples day before. But game day he was non-responsive & beelined for the bus.
CHRIS HIGGINS- 0 autographs. For such an average player he certainly carries the attitude of a multiple time all-star. Signed a few, but more often than not, avoided signing where he could.
BRIAN BOYLE- 2 autographs. Very nice, did multiples without hesitation.
DONALD BRASHEAR- 1 autograph. I literally couldnt believe he signed. I mean its not impossible, he has signed other trips. But hes generally non-responsive to such requests. Still an utter trash scrawl of a signature.
AARON VOROS, DAN BYERS, PA PARENTEAU, ALES KOTALIK, RYAN CALLAHAN & EUNICH AVERY- no reports

Total autographs for NY Rangers- 21
+ 1 Luongo autograph