In 1974, the Philadelphia Flyers beat Boston to claim their first Stanley Cup. In this Archive rewind, the Flyers and Bruins discussed the first Cup victory of any NHL expansion team.
The Philadelphia Flyers haven’t had a great deal of Stanley Cup playoff success in their history, but this story from The Hockey News’ June 1, 1974, edition (Vol. 27, Issue 34), covered Philly’s first Cup win – the first ever by an NHL expansion team.
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The Flyers took on a tough Boston Bruins team in the 1974 Cup final, but Philadelphia emerged by a 1-0 score in the final game to bring their first Cup to the organization. Despite dealing with Bruins stars Phil Esposito and Bobby Orr, the Flyers’ deep lineup outlasted Boston’s, and Flyers owner Ed Snider had his first Cup championship.
“They had Orr and he can do an awful lot,” Flyers coach Fred Shero told THN. “But we’ve got 17 good hockey players and every one of them put out. It was 17 against one.”
Flyers star forward Bobby Clarke did much of the heavy lifting in the final, but Philadelphia goalie Bernie Parent was just as much of a high-impact performer, and the Bruins acknowledged his effect on the series.
“Bernie was super,” Esposito said. “Have I ever seen better goaltending? Once. A guy named Ken Dryden. But I’ll never admit that we were beaten by a better team.”
PHILADELPHIA FLYERS TOPPLE BRUINS TO BECOME FIRST NHL EXPANSION TEAM TO WIN STANLEY CUP
Vol. 27, No. 34, June 1, 1974
By THN Staff
PHILADELPHIA – The city of losers is a loser no more.
Philadelphia, which has experienced only one professional championship during the last 14 years, received an overdue taste of victory when the Philadelphia Flyers won their first Stanley Cup by dominating the favored Boston Bruins in six games.
The Flyers defeated the Bruins 1-0 in the final game of the cup finals in Philadelphia to become the first expansion team to win Lord Stanley’s trophy and Philadelphia’s first champion since the basketball Warriors won the NBA Championship in 1967.
In the end, it was the teamwork of the journeymen Flyers that prevailed.
“They had (Bobby) Orr and he can do an awful lot,” said an uncharacteristically excited Flyer coach Fred Shero. “But we’ve got 17 good hockey players and every one of them put out. It was 17 against one.”
Terry Crisp, a nondescript veteran center, stood on the fringes of the bedlam that dominated the victorious Flyers’ dressing room following the final game and said, “Bring me a few beers — a working man’s drink for a working man.”
The Flyers are working men and won the championship on the strength of their work. No team worked harder than the Flyers did to win the Stanley Cup.
They had their heroes. There was Bernie Parent, the vagabond goaltender who returned to the Flyers this year and led them to victory. He was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player in the playoffs.
There was Bobby Clarke, the diabetic captain who checked league scoring champion Phil Esposito into anonymity during the series.
There was Rick MacLeish. who scored the only goal of the final game and totalled 13 goals throughout the playoffs.
But overall, it was the dedication and desire of the Flyers that made the difference.
The series itself will be remembered for its drama, not for its display of hockey. Five of the six games were marred by constant fighting and penalties. Only the sixth contest was exempt from the disgraceful hockey that flourished throughout the series.
After MacLeish redirected an Andre Dupont wrist shot past Boston goaltender Gilles Gilbert at 14:48 of the first period, hockey fans were treated to some of the most exciting hockey of the playoffs.
Parent frustrated the Bruins throughout the game in making a 1-0 lead stand up.
The game and the series ended unofficially when Bruin defenseman Bobby Orr was penalized for holding Clarke with 2:22 left in the game. It was somehow unfitting that Orr, who was the best of the Bruins, should be the goat.
When the series started, Orr was the hero. He scored a goal with 30 seconds left in the first game to give the Bruins a 3-2 victory in Boston.
Then Clarke took the hero’s role as he scored in overtime as the Flyers won 3-2 to even the series. The turning point of the series came in Philadelphia as the Flyers won two games, by scores of 4-1 and 4-2, to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the series.
The Bruins roared back to completely outplay the Flyers in game five in Boston and won, 5-1. But that was to be their final fling.
“They worked harder than us,” said a dejected Phil Esposito. “I wasn’t surprised by their play. They got the breaks. Bernie (Parent) was super.
“Have I ever seen better goaltending? Once. A guy named Ken Dryden. But I’ll never admit that we were beaten by a better team.”
One man who didn’t agree with that was Flyer coach Fred Shero, who was called the greatest coach in the league by his left winger, Dave Schultz.
“I’ve been around a long time,” Shero said. “I dreamed of this for 25 years, ever since I lost the Cup to Detroit when I played for the Rangers. It’s long enough to realize that this team may never be duplicated. They gave all you asked for and if you wanted more, they came up with it.”
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