Someone Must Be Blamed

“This is all your fault. All you had to do was win a shootout. If the Flyers win the Stanley Cup, I’ll never forgive you.” These were the words I sent to a good friend and Rangers fan in the aftermath of the Flyers Mike Richards lifting the Prince of Wales trophy after eliminating the Montreal Canadiens and advancing as the Eastern Conference representation in the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals. Forty-eight days ago the Philadelphia Flyers and the New York Rangers went to an overtime shootout in game number 82, the last of the regular season. With an overtime point apiece, both teams sat deadlocked at 87 points for the final seed of the Eastern Conference. The winner of the three round shoot out would advance to the postseason. The loser was done. That was how close the Flyers came to not even making the dance. Tied at 1-1 in the third round, Claude Giroux beat Henrik Lundqvist, putting the season on Flyer’s goaltender Brian Boucher. He saved the Olli Jokinen backhand shot, ...