The Devils had to compensate the Islanders, Rangers and Flyers for " invading " New Jersey.

They went on to win the series in six games and reach the finals for the first time in franchise history, where they would face the NHL's regular season champions, the Philadelphia Flyers, who had gone undefeated for 35 straight games ( 25 – 0 – 10 ) during the regular season.

Mark Messier had returned to New York, Theoren Fleury joined the Rangers after spending most of his career with the Calgary Flames, and Eric Lindros was traded to the Rangers from the Philadelphia Flyers.

The Flyers have had rivalries with several teams over the years.

Fortunately for the Flyers, they had home-ice advantage as they advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals by winning Game 7 and in the process made history by becoming the first expansion team to win a playoff series over an original six team.

As the Bullies had put intimidation to good use the past three years, the Flyers ' rugged style of play led the Soviets to leave the ice midway through the first period, protesting a hit on Valeri Kharlamov, whom Clarke had slashed on the ankle in the famous Summit Series ' 72, by Ed Van Impe.

Bob McCammon, who had just coached the Flyers ' first year AHL Maine Mariners farm club to a Calder Cup title, replaced Shero behind the bench.

After a slow start in 1978 – 79 the Flyers switched McCammon with Pat Quinn, Shero's previous assistant coach, who had replaced McCammon with the Mariners.

It was determined that Quebec had made a deal with the Flyers before making a deal with the Rangers.

Without Lindros, the Flyers had trouble scoring in the playoffs even after having re-acquired Mark Recchi at the trade deadline.

In 2002 – 03, Roman Cechmanek had a 1. 83 GAA and the Flyers acquired Sami Kapanen and Tony Amonte prior to the trade deadline ; however, they fell one point short of a second straight Atlantic Division title.

The Flyers had been first in the league prior to the Olympic break, where an injury to Forsberg occurred.

In June, the Flyers made a trade which sent the first round draft pick they had acquired in the Forsberg trade ( 23rd overall ) back to Nashville for the rights to negotiate with impending unrestricted free agents Kimmo Timonen and Scott Hartnell.

A 7 – 3 start in October and a 9 – 3 – 1 January run had the Flyers near the top of both the division and conference standings.

Edmonton returned to the Stanley Cup Final and faced the same opponent as they had in 1985, the Philadelphia Flyers.

In 2000 – 01, injuries limited Gilmour's regular season stats but had respectable playoff performance as the Sabres defeated the Philadelphia Flyers in the Quarterfinal Round of the NHL playoffs.

The deal made perfect sense: the Breakers were unable to sign Martin, who wanted to play in his home town of Victoria, and the Cougars were unable to use the bus ( which they had purchased from the folded Spokane Flyers ) because they were unwilling to pay the taxes and duties required to register the vehicle in Canada.

Playing all its games on the road, the 1916 Flyers had a disappointing year, finishing with a 2-6-1 record.

Neilson had gone on medical leave from the Flyers just before the 2000 playoffs for cancer treatment but was later informed that he had been permanently replaced by Craig Ramsay.

The club took to the aeroplane with relish, and in July 1909 the Short Brothers established Shellbeach Aerodrome on nearby marshland to accommodate six Wright Flyers, moving a few kilometres the next year to Eastchurch where a new more appropriate aerodrome had been built for the club.

The franchises with the most Jack Adams Award winners are the Philadelphia Flyers, Detroit Red Wings and Phoenix Coyotes with four winners, although the Coyotes had two winners in Winnipeg before they moved to Arizona, followed by the St. Louis Blues with three.

They didn't last in the playoffs long, though ; the Philadelphia Flyers eliminated them in a two-game sweep.

Burke proved ineffective in net, as the Flyers were eliminated in the first round by Buffalo in five games.

The serious pitch instability that hampered Flyers I and II was significantly reduced, so repeated minor crashes were eliminated.

Kitchener caught fire in the playoffs eliminating the Niagara Falls Flyers and the Windsor Spitfires in the Emms division playoffs, then eliminated the highly favoured Sault Ste.

The two led the team to the Eastern Conference Finals, where they were eliminated by the Philadelphia Flyers in five games, as the Rangers could not match the size and strength of Eric Lindros and his " Legion of Doom " linemates.

His biggest goal came in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals vs. Montreal when he scored in the 2nd period to give the Flyers a 2 – 1 lead of an eventual 4 – 2 victory that eliminated the Canadiens and propelled the Flyers into a Finals matchup against the Chicago Blackhawks.

However, the Flyers were eliminated in Game 7.

The team lost to the Philadelphia Flyers in the first round of the 2003 playoffs, in seven games, and were again eliminated by the Flyers in 2004, in six games during the second round.

The Flyers won the following game to extend the series to six games, but lost the next game 4 – 2, and were eliminated.

The Rangers eliminated the Florida Panthers and New Jersey Devils before falling to the Philadelphia Flyers in the Eastern Conference finals.

However, the Penguins have eliminated the Flyers from the playoffs in 2008 and 2009, strengthening the rivalry.

The Islanders also became the second NHL expansion team after the Philadelphia Flyers to win the Cup.

However, playing in a division where the same three teams — the Flyers, Capitals and Islanders — made the playoffs every year for six years running meant that the Devils found themselves in a losing battle with the Rangers and Pittsburgh Penguins for the division's last playoff spot.

In the third round of the playoffs, the Islanders nearly did it again, rallying from another 3 – 0 deficit to force a seventh game against the defending Stanley Cup champion Philadelphia Flyers before the Flyers took the decisive seventh game at home and went on to win the Stanley Cup.

The Islanders were beaten in seven games by the Flyers in the second round of the playoffs.

The Flyers looked to be headed toward another sweep against the New York Islanders after winning the first three games.

The Flyers were finally able to shut the door on the Islanders, winning Game 7, 4 – 1.

Facing the Islanders for the Cup, the Flyers ultimately lost in six games on Bob Nystrom's overtime Cup-winning goal.

The Flyers rolled through the playoffs by sweeping the Rangers in three games, defeating the Islanders in five, and beating Quebec in six to return to the Stanley Cup Finals.

With Hextall providing the critical stops at crucial times, the Flyers captured a third-straight Patrick Division title, and were able to gain revenge on the Rangers by beating them in six games, as well as surviving a tough seven-game test from a gritty Islanders club.

* New York Islanders win Stanley Cup on Bobby Nystrom's overtime goal in Game 6 of the Finals over the Philadelphia Flyers. he

The trophy has been won nine times by Montreal Canadiens players, five times by Detroit Red Wings players, and four times by Edmonton Oilers, Philadelphia Flyers, and New York Islanders players.

In the playoffs, he helped the Senators defeat the New York Islanders in five games, then the Philadelphia Flyers in six games, before losing to the eventual Stanley Cup champion New Jersey Devils in seven games in the Eastern Conference Final.

* 2002 – 03: New York Islanders ( through 2006 – 07 ), Philadelphia Flyers ( orange with 3D version of logo, through 2006 – 07 )

The following teams announced the use of third jerseys for the 2008 – 09 NHL season: Atlanta Thrashers, Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, Chicago Blackhawks ( a vintage jersey for the 2009 NHL Winter Classic at Wrigley Field ), Dallas Stars, Detroit Red Wings ( for the 2009 Winter Classic ), Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, New York Islanders, Ottawa Senators, Philadelphia Flyers, Phoenix Coyotes, Pittsburgh Penguins, San Jose Sharks, St. Louis Blues, Tampa Bay Lightning, Toronto Maple Leafs, Vancouver Canucks.

* May 24, 1980: Bob Nystrom of the New York Islanders scores the Stanley Cup clinching goal at 7: 11 of overtime, eliminating the Philadelphia Flyers in six games.

They faced the Tampa Bay Lightning-who defeated the Islanders in five, swept the Canadiens and defeated the Flyers in seven games.

Smith also performed live at Flyers home games on May 13, 1975, when the Flyers beat the New York Islanders 4-1 to win Game 7 of the Stanley Cup semi-finals., and on May 16, 1976, before Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals, when the Flyers lost to the Montreal Canadiens 5-3 and were swept in that series.

* Stanley Cup-New York Islanders defeat the Philadelphia Flyers 4 games to 2.

A two-time Stanley Cup champion, in his NHL career he has played for the Philadelphia Flyers, Tampa Bay Lightning, New York Islanders, Pittsburgh Penguins and the New York Rangers.