This trip to the Stanley Cup Finals is long overdue.


After a regular season that left much to be desired, two head coaches, about two dozen goalies, and one of the best postseasons ever put together by a professional sports team, the Philadelphia Flyers are headed into the series that will decide who takes home the Stanley Cup.

For the Flyers, it's the first time since 1997 they've made it this far, and it could be the first time since 1975 they've won the whole thing. However, in order to do that, they'll have to face a Chicago Blackhawks team that's probably more talented and has a city aching for a championship as much as Philadelphia.

For the Blackhawks, beating the Flyers would be their first Stanley Cup victory since 1961.

It's likely the Blackhawks will be heavily favored to beat the Flyers, but given the run the orange and black are on it will be very difficult to bet against them.

For those of you who also follow the NFL, this series is reminiscent of the 2007 Super Bowl when the surging New York Giants faced off against a superior New England Patriots team that had just gone undefeated in the regular season and was sitting at 18-0 heading into the Super Bowl.

However, there is a huge difference: the Pats had won three Super Bowls in that very same decade, whereas the Blackhawks are fighting for their first title in nearly 50 years.

I just hope the Flyers understand that it's now Stanley Cup or bust. The city has been touting their hockey team ever since they won their second game against the Bruins and began this impossible run, so anything less than an image of Mike Richards kissing The Cup will be nothing short of a disaster.

The Sixers are a couple seasons away from competing, the Eagles' offseason has barely even started, and the Phillies aren't even a third of the way through, so it's all Flyers right now.

The only thing left to do now is stay hot, beat the Blackhawks, and start casting calls for the movie based on this improbable 2010 season.