| When the Bruins went up 3-0 in the first period, I turned to my uncle and said, “Let’s go, this game is over.” And for all intents and purposes, it was over. A 3-0 lead in a hockey game is like a 30-0 lead in a football game. The Boston Garden (I just can’t call it the TD Center) had erupted into bedlam. Bruins fans were frenzied, and the cheering coming from the television was thunderous and intimidating. No way the Flyers can come back from a three-goal deficit. On the road. In Game 7. Then the cameras moved to the Flyers bench, where coach Peter Laviolette had called a timeout. Maybe the best timeout I’ve ever seen. Flyers players gathered around him as pandemonium exploded all around them. I could not hear what Laviolette said, but I could read his lips fairly well. He pointed at the scoreboard and calmly told them, “We still have a lot of time left. We need one goal this period.” The players listened intently to their coach. You could tell from their posture. All Flyer eyes were on Laviolette. It was an intense moment that changed the momentum of the game. I turned back to my uncle and said, “That was very smart. The Flyers can still win this game.” We settled back into the couch and watched the greatest hockey comeback I’ve ever seen. |
