Presented by the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame
Another action-packed day in Philly sports. After winning Game 7 the Sixers open their second round series in MSG against the Knicks. The Flyers are looking to bounce back in Game 2 against the Hurricanes while the Phillies look to stay hot. May 4 provided a lot Flyers highlights including a marathon finish. Today we look at key moments in Flyers postseason and a Phillies who had a marathon themselves.
Marathon Part 1
Denny Doyle tripled to open the bottom of the 20th inning and scored on Jose Pagan’s sacrifice fly to give the Phillies a 5-4 win over the Braves on this day in 1973. It was the second longest game in Phillies history. The longest being twenty-one innings against the Cubs in 1918. The Phillies have played a few twenty inning games since then.
He Shoots; He Scores…Again
Four different Flyers scored including Reggie Leach as the Flyers went up 3 games to 1 on the Bruins in the 1976 Stanley Cup Semi-finals thanks to the 4-2 victory. For Leach it was his eighth straight postseason game with a goal tying Maurice “Rocket” Richard for the all-time record. Leach would eventually extend the streak to ten games which is still the all-time record today. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t be enough as the Flyers lost their bid to win three straight Stanley Cups, getting swept by the Canadiens.
Bill Barber has a Night
Bill Barber had himself a night scoring four of the Flyers five goals in their 5-3 win over the Minnesota North Stars. The Flyers went up 2 games to 1 in the 1980 Stanley Cup Semi-finals and would finish them off in five games. The Flyers run would end against the Islanders in Cup Finals.
Trivia – Who holds the Flyers single game playoff scoring record for goals? (Answer Below)
Marathon Part 2
They Flyers evened their 2000 Eastern Conference Semi-Final series against the Penguins at two games apiece in dramatic fashion. John Leclair tied the game at 1 with a power play goal in the third period and sent it to overtime. Then overtime. Then overtime. Then another overtime followed by another. When Keith Primeau scored the game winner 12:01 into the fifth overtime the clock read 2:35 a.m. The teams played a total of 152:01 minutes on the ice – almost seven hours of real time. It was the third longest game in NHL history and longest in the expansion era. Primeau’s goal came on the game’s 130th shot. The teams played an overtime game in Game 3 as well. The win propelled the Flyers to an Eastern conference Finals run that ultimately ended with Game 7 to the Devils.
JR Saves the Day
The had the Maple Leafs on the Brink this day in 2004. Jeremy Roenick scored twice including the overtime game winner to give the Flyers a 3-2 win. They advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals coming up short in an epic seven game series against the Lightning.
Trivia Answer – Reggie Leach scored 5 goals against the Bruins in 1976.
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