NHL playoffs: Rejuvinated Flyers set for Pennsylania 'battle'

| The Associated Press

5/4/2008 - 5/5/08

PHILADELPHIA — The Flyers' turnaround from the worst team in the NHL last season to conference finalists this year is one of the more improbable transformations in league history.

The Flyers, who set a franchise record last year for fewest points, are the first team to reach the conference finals a year after posting the worst record since the Red Wings in 1987.

Up ahead, a trip to the Eastern Conference finals against Pittsburgh that puts the Flyers a series victory away from playing for the Stanley Cup for the first time since they were swept by Detroit in 1997.

"It's the battle of Pennsylvania, I guess," Flyers coach John Stevens said on Sunday. "We're excited with the opportunity. It doesn't matter who you're playing, the fact you're playing is the main thing."

They are in the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 2004 after knocking off top-seeded Montreal in a convincing 4-1 fashion.

"It just seems like there's a bigger purpose for us right now," Stevens said. "It seems like we've grown up through these playoffs already."

The Flyers accomplished in this series what they failed to do in the first round against Washington: Close out a 3-1 lead as soon as possible before stretching the series to a Game 7.

Umberger's stellar series against Montreal is a huge reason why the Flyers, who last won a Stanley Cup in 1975, have a few extra days of rest before the conference finals start this week.

Banished to the fourth line at the start of the postseason, Umberger has been shifted around in different combinations as the Flyers keep winning and he keeps scoring all the clutch goals.

He scored two more goals in Philadelphia's 6-4 win over Montreal on Saturday night and ended the series with eight goals.

"He's such a dynamic player," Flyers center Mike Richards said. "It's nice to see him having the success he's having right now."