[Phils20]

Flyers' expectations change quickly

By CHUCK GORMLEY
Special to The News Journal MONTREAL -- Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren probably won't admit this -- especially now that his team is in the Eastern Conference finals -- but all he really wanted out of this season was for his team to have a fighting chance to make the playoffs.
When you finish the previous season with the worst record in franchise history, you tend to set the bar pretty low.
Now that they are halfway to their first Stanley Cup in 33 years, the Flyers are no longer looking to limbo their way through the playoffs.
"This is a great opportunity for us," said Flyers defenseman Kimmo Timonen, one of 12 Flyers who were not around for last season's 48-loss debacle.
"How many times are you going to make the conference finals? If you're happy now, that's not good. You can be happy for a couple days, but this is a great chance for us to do something really nice."
The Flyers are going to the Stanley Cup semifinals for 15th time in their 41-year history. They have advanced to the Stanley Cup finals seven times, but have lost their last five trips (1976, 1980, 1985, 1987, 1997), last winning the Stanley Cup in 1975.
Now in his ninth NHL season, this is Timonen's first foray past the first round of the playoffs. The 33-year-old realizes it could also be his last.
The Flyers' old-school leadership group of Timonen, Sami Kapanen, Jason Smith and Derian Hatcher will spend the next several days convincing the Flyers' young core of R.J. Umberger, Mike Richards, Jeff Carter and Braydon Coburn that they are breathing rarified air.
Umberger, who celebrated his 26th birthday Saturday by becoming the first player in Flyers history to record eight goals in a five-game playoff series, seems to understand the opportunity that awaits this group of overachievers.
"We're one of four teams now," Umberger said. "You may not have many opportunities like this. I'll look back on this as an accomplishment, but we have a chance here to win a Stanley Cup. I can play 10 more years and never get back to the playoffs."
Following Saturday night's series-clinching 6-4 win over the Montreal Canadiens, Flyers coach John Stevens said he has seen the Flyers' young core of players "grow up in a hurry."
Now in their third season together, Umberger, Richards and Carter have combined for 31 points in 12 playoff games.