Today in Flyers History: Bernie Parent leads the way to second consecutive Stanley Cup

Bernie Parent, Philadelphia Flyers (Photo by Melchior DiGiacomo/Getty Images)
Bernie Parent, Philadelphia Flyers (Photo by Melchior DiGiacomo/Getty Images)

The Flyers knocked off the Sabres to win their second consecutive Stanley Cup on this day in 1975.

While the Flyers first Stanley Cup a season ago was won in Philadelphia, they would have to get this one done on the road. Before they could get to that fateful moment, they had to go through some extreme circumstances.

The series against the Buffalo Sabres produced the infamous Fog Game. It was the third game of the 1975 Stanley Cup Final. The Flyers were looking to put the Sabres on the brink, having won the first two games back at home.

But a hot day in Buffalo and no air conditioning in the building caused a dense fog to take over the ice. The Flyers would end up losing that game in overtime. Buffalo would take the fourth game as well to tie up the series.

After defending home ice to grab the fifth game of the series, the Flyers headed back to Buffalo with a second Stanley Cup on their minds.

Bernie Parent was certainly ready to make that a reality. To that point, he had only allowed 12 goals in the previous five games. He capped things off in game six, stopping all 32 shots the Sabres threw his way.

Up until the third period, Roger Crozier had shut the Flyers down as well. But he wouldn’t be able to do that for much longer. Just 11 seconds into the third period, Bob Kelly gave the team the only goal they would end up needing.

For good measure, Bill Clement added an insurance goal with less than three minutes to go in the game. But thanks to the performance of Parent, the Flyers only needed that first goal.

Parent went on to win his second consecutive Conn Smythe Trophy. Mario Lemieux (1991 &1992) and Sidney Crosby (2016 & 2017) are the only other players to win the award in consecutive years.

It wasn’t the last time the Flyers would make it to the Stanley Cup Finals. However, it would be the last time they won the famous trophy.

The Flyers will be looking to bring that trophy back to Philadelphia once again whenever the playoffs are underway this summer.