PHILADELPHIA -- With a chance to close out the Cinderella Montreal Canadiens, Philadelphia Flyers coach Peter Laviolette wasn't kidding around. He knew that Monday was a night to let his four horses run. His four defensive horses, that is. And he rode them all the way to a series-clinching victory and an Eastern Conference crown.
In Game 5, Laviolette's biggest horse was defenseman Braydon Coburn, who worked a game-high 30 minutes, 11 seconds -- including a whopping 10:29 in the first period and an even 10 minutes in the final period. Coburn didn't pile up any other eye-popping stats; he just played tough, hard, ultrasteady hockey. I think they call that winning hockey.
To see the factors that E.J. Hradek pegged as key to the game and the series, you must be an ESPN Insider.
E.J. Hradek
Senior Writer, ESPN The MagazineABOUT THIS BLOG
E.J. Hradek
E.J. Hradek is a senior writer at ESPN The Magazine, joining the staff prior to its launch in 1998. He began covering hockey as a writer/editor for Hockey Illustrated in 1989. The following year, he beat the Stars to Dallas (by three years), taking over as the editor of Beckett Hockey Monthly. When the Stars finally did arrive in Big D, he hosted a weekly hockey radio show and tried (unsuccessfully) to convert ESPN's Skip Bayless to the greatest game on ice.
In 1996, Hradek left Dallas, but not the Stars. Relocating back to the New York area, he became a part-time pro scout for the club, seeing more than 100 NHL/AHL games for each of the next two seasons. The scouting gig was a great learning experience, offering a different view of the game.
Hradek grew up in Tuckahoe, N.Y., about a 40-minute train ride from New York City. Despite the proximity to the Rangers, Hradek embraced the Islanders when the expansion franchise debuted in 1972. Eight years later, he was part of the sellout crowd at the Nassau Coliseum that witnessed the Islanders' first Stanley Cup championship.
