Philadelphia Flyers' History May Be Altered

Nicknamed the «Second Six,» the Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota North Stars, Oakland Seals, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, and St. Louis Blues joined the NHL for the 1967-68 season.

Like most expansion franchises (except for the Vegas Golden Knights, because it was a different era and hockey wasn't as popular yet. Plus their was more salary cap for the Knights to use) the Philadelphia Flyers struggled their first handful of seasons, losing in the first round of the playoffs 3 times and not qualifying twice.

After getting tossed around a seven game series in their first playoff playoff appearance against the St. Louis Blues. Flyers owner Ed Snider decided to reinforce his roster, having the mindset that the Flyers would never lose like that again, and teams would be feared to play against them.

The likes of Bobby Clarke, Dave Schultz, Rick MacLeish, Andre Dupont, and Bill Barber racked up points and penalty minutes! Well Dave Schultz racked up penalty minutes and was given the nickname «The Hammer»

In a short period of time the Flyers quickly developed the reputation as the roughest, toughest team in the NHL and earned their «Broad Street Bullies» placeholder.

Coached by Fred «The Fog» Shero, the Flyers battled together as a tight-knit team and the wins followed shortly thereafter.

Bernie Parent provided the Flyers an unreal like season, playing 73 games in the 1973-74 regular season while posting a 1.89 GAA and .932 save percentage en route to his first of back-to-back Vezina Trophies.

The Flyers were on a roll and quickly becoming a serious contender, going on a serious run to their first Stanley Cup Final. Where they would face the Big Bad Boston Bruins, in a series that lasted six games.

Bernie Parent and Gilles Gilbert stood on their heads in game six, both goaltenders stopped everything they faced. Expect one goal early on that would end up being the game winner. A deflection power-play goal in the first period by Rick Macleish which one the Flyers their first Stanley Cup.

Becoming the first expansion team of the 1967 class to do so. The Flyers would then repeat the following year proving to everyone that it wasn't just a fluke.

Now this record and piece of history hangs in the balance for the Flyers. With the Vegas Golden Knights just one win a way from capturing Lord Stanley and becoming the fastest expansion team in NHL history to win the cup in just six years.

Vegas already holds the NHL record by becoming the first team to reach the Cup Final in its inaugural season, 2017-18. On average, it has taken an expansion team 12 years to reach the Cup finals. The Knights look to cut that average in half this season.

Now comparing the two franchises is difficult as a lot has changed in the national hockey league. Salary cap plays a huge part in the Vegas' success as they are well over the cap and have had to trade for most of their top six. The Knights are such a powerhouse of a team due to due loopholes and using LTIR which the league didn't have back in 1974.