It was May 25th, 1997, the Flyers defeated the New York Rangers 4-2 and four games to one in the series. 20,000+ Flyers fans roared and roared and roared as the Flyers were returning to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in a decade. Eric Lindros went through the handshake line sharing a word with the Rangers greats who had loaded up for one last run at the Cup. When Lindros passed, Brian Leetch, Mark Messier, Esa Tikkanen, Mike Richter and Wayne Gretzky there was no denying the feeling that the torch had been passed. The icons of the eighties were on the way out and it was the time of a new superstar. Eric Lindros had ascended the throne.
The Flyers had rolled through the first three rounds of the playoffs defeating those Rangers, Sabres and Mario Lemieux’s Penguins in five games each. Lindros had eleven goals so far in the playoffs, including his huge game-winning goal with just seven seconds left in game four.
When the Prince of Wales Trophy was presented on the CoreStates Center ice at the conclusion of the series Lindros didn’t touch the trophy presented to the Eastern Conference champion and barely acknowledged the glistening metal. The throngs continued to scream. “Let’s Go Flyers” chants rang through the “House that Lindros Built” as the fans filed down the escalators. So giddy, the only uncertainty anyone had was just how many Cups Lindros would bring to Philadelphia.
We know how the Lindros era turned out but on that beautiful spring afternoon, destiny seemed certain.
