Flyers never gave up after countless adversity

PHILADELPHIA -- The Flyers and their rabid fans held out hope to the bitter end. But in the end, the better team won.
 
To a man, that's what every Flyers player admitted following their disheartening 4-3 overtime loss to the Chicago Blackhawks in the series-clinching sixth game of the Stanley Cup Final on Wednesday night.
 
But for the "Orange Crush" that packed the house at the Wachovia Center, memories of the 2009-10 season will linger for quite some time -- guaranteed. Their Flyers came that close.
 
"We battled for a month and a-half to get to this point and to get so close, yet so far, it's going to hurt for a while," forward Jeff Carter said.
 
When asked just how much the loss hurt, a dejected captain Mike Richards replied, "a lot."
 
The Blackhawks celebrated their first Stanley Cup since 1961, while the Flyers went home empty for the 35th-straight year. The thing is, the Flyers couldn't really do much more -- they squared the game at 3-3  on Scott Hartnell's goal with 3:59 left in regulation, but couldn't get the winner.
 
The Flyers were in must-win mode the second half of the season, and not until they notched an exhilarating shootout decision over the New York Rangers on the final day of the regular season did they even qualify for the playoffs.
 
"This loss was one of the hardest things I've ever had to go through," Richards said. "We went through a lot this year as a group and I can't analyze the whole season right now, but we've been through a lot and gone through a lot together. When you go through stuff like that, it brings the group closer together."
 
The Flyers put their fans on an emotional roller coaster, full of ups and downs and twists and turns that were well-documented. But all those things would dissipate once the playoffs began.
 
"I think when you go through something together as a group, you learn a lot about your team, a lot about your players, what they're made of," coach Peter Laviolette said. "I'm proud of the guys for giving themselves an opportunity to compete for the Cup. It's going to sting for a while -- it hurts right now. But they never quit, they're a resilient group. I think we grew through adversity and I think that became a strength of ours."

They rallied to become the third team in League history to overcome a 0-3 series deficit against the Boston Bruins in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, but fell short of becoming the third team to rally and win the Cup after losing the first two games on the road.

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