Flyers beating even their owners expectations

    Second string players are the key to turnaround.

    The Flyers play the Canadiens tonight, in Montreal, in the third game of hockey’s Eastern Conference Finals. Many fans never thought the team would make it this far. Not even the team owners predicted this.

    This Flyers team is plagued with injuries. They win games by the skin of their teeth. They made it into the playoffs based on a tiebreaking shootout. Not even Ed Snider was betting the team would be two wins away from the Stanley Cup Finals.

    Snider is the CEO of Comcast Spectator, which has owned the Flyers since 1974. He says this year’s run for the Cup feels much different from the storied ’74 and ’75 seasons.

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    It’s a different thing altogether. In the cup years, we had a phenomenal record during the season. We came into the playoffs a favorite. This is different – when you get into the playoffs in a shootout on the last game of the season. This is a season all it’s own, it doesn’t feel like the past.

    Joe Watson played on two championship teams. He says second-string players are the key this year. First filling in so well for injured starters, and now making the whole team stronger.

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