It's been over five years since the Flyers were witness to one of the funniest moments in shootout history. But to this day, it can still bring a chuckle to fans when bringing up Brad Marchand's gaffe that ended in a Philadelphia victory.
The moment almost never happened as the Bruins had a 5-2 lead in the second period of a contest that happened in January 2020. Five of the first seven goals of the game belonged to Boston. It should've led to an easy victory for them. Unfortunately, the fifth goal, scored by David Krejci in the second period, was the last they'd score.
For the Flyers, that's when the comeback began. Sean Couturier and Connor Bunnaman scored 1:34 apart to bring the deficit to one heading into the third period. It would take over halfway into the third for Philadelphia to even the score. It came off the stick of Travis Sanheim, his second of the night. And just like that, the score was 5-5.
It's hard to give credit to a team that gave up five goals, but the Flyers didn't give in. Even when facing the Atlantic Division-leading Bruins. With no more scoring happening after Sanheim's goal, the game needed overtime. The two teams couldn't solve anything in the extra period either.
Heading to a shootout, it took five rounds for either team to find the back of the net. It was Travis Konecny, who was finally able to solve Jaroslav Halak, that saw the first goal of the shootout. Coming in with a chance to send the shootout into a 10th round was Marchand. As most players do, he came in with speed to pick up the puck.
Except, he didn't take the puck with him.
The referees conferred to determine if Marchand's stick had touched the puck. If the referees had determined that he did not touch the puck, he would've been able to turn around and try again. After a brief discussion, the play was ruled live, and the Flyers would win the shootout.
Upon a replay review, the heel of Marchand's stick barely grazed the puck, causing it to move forward ever so slightly. Even with the slightest amount of contact made, it counts as a shot. This moved the Flyers to 24-16-6 on the season and in the second wild card spot. They finished the season one point behind the Capitals for first place before the season was suspended in March.
Boston easily finished in first place in the Atlantic Division and had the best record in the league. The Flyers later swept the round-robin phase of the playoffs, only to lose to the Islanders in the second round. Boston also lost in that round, falling to the eventual Cup-winning Tampa Bay Lightning.
It was a small moment in a season that turned out to be anything but normal. But it is still a funny moment in Flyers' history nonetheless.