Stanley Cup Finals

The bear hug a joyous Jason Arnott gave Petr Sykora after he scored the second of his two goals last night was not the only time the big, brawny center had shown affection for his linemate. There was a slightly more contentious scene earlier in the game, when Arnott took exception to the way Darius Kasparaitis was using his piece of lumber on Sykora and dumped the Pittsburgh defenseman on his rump with a forearm shiver. Indeed, the New Jersey Devils' top line of Arnott, Sykora and Patrik Elias, who has emerged as perhaps the game's top left winger, not only does it all on the ice, but the players cover for one another as well.

Controversial goalie Ray Emery, who helped the Ottawa Senators reach the Stanley Cup Finals in 2007 - and who excelled in Russia this season - has drawn interest from the Flyers, general manager Paul Holmgren confirmed yesterday. "I have spoken with his agent numerous times over the course of the season on various matters, and, yes, Ray's name has come up," Holmgren said. Known for his hot temper, exotic cars, and extravagant lifestyle, Emery conceded that he was a heavy partyer in a 2008 interview with USA Today.

Led by Eric Lindros, the Flyers have all the tools - speed, size, strength, scoring and sound defense - to make it to the Stanley Cup finals. They finished atop the Atlantic Division last year.

Chanting and applauding, about 2,000 fevered Flyers fans turned out yesterday for a rally at the City Hall courtyard. The audience was surely further fueled by the week of anticipation leading up to the Stanley Cup finals. The series against the Detroit Red Wings begins tonight.

Jack Fisher signs the "World's Largest Flyers Jersey" at 30th Street Station, where fans may autograph it. The jersey - 18 feet tall and 28 feet across the shoulders - will be placed on the William Penn statue atop City Hall if the Flyers reach the Stanley Cup finals.

With the Stanley Cup finals over, the Flyers jersey is removed from the statue of William Penn atop City Hall. Getting the job done yesterday were city employees (from left) Ray Cromley and Charles Gay. The giant jersey was one of the most visible signs of the hockey team's winning season - and ultimate loss.

Playoff block parties are scheduled for 4 p.m. today and Friday outside of the AT&T Pavilion on the 11th Street side of the Wachovia Center in advance of the Stanley Cup finals games. Doors to the arena will open at 6 p.m. Game time is 8 o'clock for both nights.

Chris Pronger and Ville Leino are the only players on the Flyers' roster to have played in the Stanley Cup finals. For the other guys on the roster, Saturday's Game 1 will be a long time coming. The first number next to the player's name is his number of games played; the second is the number of Stanley Cup finals he's been in: Chris Pronger 1104, 2 Ville Leino 68 1 Ian Laperriere 1083 0 Kimmo Timonen 812 0 Scott Hartnell 679 0 Danny Briere 666 0 Simon Gagne 664 0 Arron Asham 648 0 Blair Betts 402 0 Jeff Carter 381 0 Mike Richards 372 0 Lukas Krajicek 328 0 Matt Carle 307 0 Braydon Coburn 297 0 Brian Boucher 280 0 Dan Carcillo 225 0 Claude Giroux 126 0 Darroll Powe 103 0 Michael Leighton 103 0 James van Riemsdyk 78 0 Oskars Bartulis 53 0  

It appears as if Michael Leighton will be the starting goalie for the Flyers Wednesday night in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals against the Chicago Blackhawks. Coach Peter Laviolette indirectly said Leighton will start a few minutes ago, although both Leighton and Brian Boucher said shottly before that that they hadn't been told who will play. But Danny Briere said, "I'm hearing it's Leighton. " - Sam Carchidi  

LOS ANGELES - The crowd was dozens deep and hundreds wide, screaming and chanting and surrounding the Los Angeles Kings' cars as they drove home after writing another improbable chapter in the big, mostly empty book that holds their franchise history. About 4,000 fans showed up at the Los Angeles airport early Wednesday morning to welcome the Western Conference champions back from Phoenix. Even Game 5 hero Dustin Penner was awestruck. "It was like driving down a hallway lined with human flesh," said Penner, who scored the overtime goal that sent the Kings to the Stanley Cup finals.

About 4,000 fans showed up at the airport in Los Angeles early Wednesday to welcome the Western Conference champion Kings back from Arizona. Dustin Penner, the hero in Tuesday's 4-3 overtime win in Game 5, was awestruck. "It was like driving down a hallway lined with human flesh," said Penner, who scored the overtime goal that sent the Kings to the Stanley Cup Finals. Eighth-seeded Los Angeles needed only an NHL record-tying 14 playoff games to reach its first Stanley Cup Finals since 1993, outscoring opponents, 41-22, and culminating with a five-game win over the Phoenix Coyotes.

LOS ANGELES - The crowd was dozens deep and hundreds wide, screaming and chanting and surrounding the Los Angeles Kings' cars as they drove home after writing another improbable chapter in the big, mostly empty book that holds their franchise history. About 4,000 fans showed up at the Los Angeles airport early Wednesday morning to welcome the Western Conference champions back from Phoenix. Even Game 5 hero Dustin Penner was awestruck. "It was like driving down a hallway lined with human flesh," said Penner, who scored the overtime goal that sent the Kings to the Stanley Cup finals.

RANGERS ROOKIE Chris Kreider and defenseman Dan Girardi both had a goal and an assist in the third period, and Henrik Lundqvist stopped 21 shots for his fifth career playoff shutout, as weary New York opened the Eastern Conference finals with a 3-0 victory over the well-rested New Jersey Devils on Monday night at Madison Square Garden. Playing just 2 days after eliminating Washington in a stirring, 2-1, Game 7 victory, the top-seeded Rangers hit their home ice again and won their third straight Game 1 of the playoffs.

NEW YORK - Crunch the numbers, ride the waves of momentum, and then try to guess if the Washington Capitals or New York Rangers will survive another Game 7 and move on to the Eastern Conference finals. Hockey analysts will make very compelling arguments - and leave anyone who is listening believing that both teams can't lose the win-or-go-home matchup on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden. Ah yes, Madison Square Garden, the famed arena in which the host Rangers are 4-0 in Game 7s. It is also the place where the Rangers pulled out a Game 5 win in this series by scoring a power-play goal with 7.6 seconds left in regulation, and then another less than 2 minutes into overtime, turning what appeared to be a sure loss into one of the most electrifying victories in club history.

If they want to avoid elimination, Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals must figure out a way to recover and regroup from a potentially devastating loss to the New York Rangers. The Rangers head into Wednesday's Game 6 with a three-games-to-two series lead, one victory from reaching the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 1997, when Wayne Gretzky was on the team. New York's Brad Richards tied Game 5 with 6.6 seconds left Monday, and Marc Staal won it 1 minute, 35 seconds into overtime.

It's that time of the spring when Philadelphia sports worlds deliciously collide. The Phillies and the NFL draft. The Flyers and Sixers in the playoffs. It's like ordering a Kohr Bros. soft-serve, vanilla-chocolate cone that falls into a vat of multicolored sprinkles. Or something like that. So in the spirit of this sports cornucopia, here is a sampling of what is racing through my head. Conference finals. If the Flyers can beat the New Jersey Devils and the Sixers can outlast the Bulls, we could be looking at the first dual conference-finals situation in this town since 1985.

FOR THE FLYERS, 2011 was the year of living incomprehensibly. The season before had ended with a great and unexpected run to the Stanley Cup finals. The beginning of the next season had been a reaffirmation of that run, and of the team's seeming new stature. The Flyers were tops in the business by January and looked to be cruising. Then they died. It was as confounding a last couple of months as anyone could remember, as nothing could seem to rouse them. There was much fretting in the land and then it turned into a shrugging acceptance that, well, maybe they can just turn it on when the time comes.

THE PHILADELPHIA Flyers have become the riddle you stump your friends with, the puzzle that doesn't seem to quite fit on your table, the nursery rhyme that makes sense on one line, and seems absurd the next. Indeed, head coach Peter Laviolette seemed to channel his inner Dr. Seuss after an optional practice yesterday when he described his team's goal-allowing schizophrenia this way: "You're coming off a weekend where it was high; "Seems we're letting in one or letting in five.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - With a fortunate bounce and a flawless goalie, the Vancouver Canucks are heading back to Boston with the chance to hoist the Stanley Cup for the first time. Maxim Lapierre scored on a carom off the back boards with 15 minutes, 25 seconds to play; Roberto Luongo stopped 31 shots in a stirring shutout after getting pulled from his last game; and the Canucks moved to the brink of their first NHL championship with a 1-0 victory over Boston in Game 5 on Friday night.

FRANK SERAVALLI Back in late December, just a few days after Christmas, the Flyers flew to Vancouver - perhaps the most breathtaking stop on the NHL circuit - a day earlier than normal to regroup after a 7-day holiday break and to get adjusted to the 3-hour time change. Despite sitting a point behind Pittsburgh in the Atlantic Division, the Flyers were about to start their tear through the standings that would ultimately put them eight points up in the Eastern Conference and in the lead for 54 consecutive days.