Schedule and 2009-10 Results
Regular Season Records: Philadelphia 41-35-6=88pts, Montreal 39-33-10=88pts
Game 1 on Sunday, 16 May: Montreal loses at Philadelphia, 6-goals-nil
Game 2 on Tuesday, 18 May: Montreal loses at Philadelphia, 3-goals-nil
Game 3 on Thursday, 20 May: Philadelphia loses at Montreal, 5-goals-1
Game 4 on Saturday, 22 May: Philadelphia wins at Montreal, 3-goals-nil
Game 5 on Monday, 24 May: Montreal loses at Philadelphia, 4-goals-2

SERIES NOTES:

After Game 5: The Philadelphia Flyers hosted and defeated the Montreal Canadiens 4-goals-2 for a 4-games-1 MLB/NBA/NHL best-of-7 playoff series 1101 victory. With the series 1101 victory, the Philadelphia Flyers improve their best-of-7 NHL playoff series record to 36-27 overall and 8-8 in the Semifinals round. With the series 1101 loss, the Montreal Canadiens see their best-of-7 NHL playoff series record fall to 74-36 overall and 27-12 in the Semifinals round. The series 1101 win order for the victorious Philadelphia Flyers was WWLWW: Series 1101 thus becomes the eighth NHL Semifinals series, the 36th NHL series (all rounds), and the 99th MLB/NBA/NHL series (all rounds) to follow that win order to completion. The Montreal Canadiens tallied only two road goals in series 1101 - the fewest in a best-of-7 NHL Semifinals series lasting five games since series 139, in which the Toronto Maple Leafs managed only one goal against the Red Wings in Detroit in their 1961 NHL Semifinals series.

After Game 4: Returning to the form shown in MLB/NBA/NHL best-of-7 playoff series 1101 Games 1-2, the Philadelphia Flyers shut out the Canadiens in Montreal 3-goals-nil to take a 3-games-1 series 1101 lead. When leading a best-of-7 NHL playoff series 3-games-1, the Philadelphia Flyers have an 18-2 series record and a 13-7 Game 5 record. When trailing a best-of-7 NHL playoff series 3-games-1, the Montreal Canadiens have a 2-13 series record and a 7-8 Game 5 record. In the history of best-of-7 NHL playoff series from 1939 through the 2010 NHL Quarterfinals, teams leading 3-games-1 in the NHL Semifinals irrespective of win order and site order have a 60-1 series record; the sole series loss in that context was sustained by the Philadelphia Flyers, in series 810 to the New Jersey Devils in the 2000 NHL Semifinals. In the history of best-of-7 NHL playoff series from 1939 through the 2010 NHL Quarterfinals, teams winning Games 1-2 at home, losing Game 3 on the road, and winning Game 4 on the road (such as the Philadelphia Flyers in series 1101) had a 42-2 (.955) series record; of the two comebacks in that context, the latest occurred in series 907, with the Boston Bruins losing in the 2004 NHL Preliminary round ... to the Montreal Canadiens.

After Game 3: With MLB/NBA/NHL best-of-7 playoff series 1101 in Quebec province for Games 3 and 4, the Montreal Canadiens hosted and defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 5-goals-1 to reduce the Philadelphia series lead to 2-games-1. When leading a best-of-7 NHL playoff series 2-games-1, the Philadelphia Flyers have a series record of 18-3 with an active five-series winning streak, and a Game 4 record of 14-7. When trailing a best-of-7 NHL playoff series 2-games-1, the Montreal Canadiens have a series record of 7-16 and a Game 4 record of 13-10. Despite an overall 7-16 series record in this situation, the Montreal Canadiens trailed 2-games-1 in both series 1089 (in the 2010 NHL Preliminary round against the Washington Capitals) and series 1097 (in the 2010 NHL Quarterfinals round against the defending NHL champion Pittsburgh Penguins), emerging with series victories in both cases.

After Game 2: The Philadelphia Flyers hosted and defeated the Montreal Canadiens 3-goals-nil for a 2-games-nil lead in MLB/NBA/NHL best-of-7 playoff series 1101. When leading a best-of-7 NHL playoff series 2-games-nil, the Philadephia Flyers have a series record of 16-0 and a Game 3 record of 9-7; when trailing a best-of-7 NHL playoff series 2-games-nil, the Montreal Canadiens have a series record of 5-15 and a Game 3 record of 10-10. In the history of best-of-7 NHL playoff series from 1939 through the 2010 NHL Quarterfinals, teams winning Games 1-2 by shutout had an 11-0 series record and a 7-4 Game 3 record.

After Game 1: The Philadelphia Flyers hosted and defeated the Montreal Canadiens 6-goals-nil for a 1-game-nil lead in MLB/NBA/NHL best-of-7 playoff series 1101. When leading a best-of-7 NHL playoff series 1-game-nil, the Philadephia Flyers have a series record of 21-8 and a Game 2 record of 16-13; when trailing a best-of-7 NHL playoff series 1-game-nil, the Montreal Canadiens have a series record of 16-25 and a Game 2 record of 21-20. The 6-goals-nil whitewashing of Montreal by Philadelphia was the most one-sided best-of-7 NHL playoff Game 1 shutout since series 966, in which the Carolina Hurricanes zeroed the New Jersey Devils 6-goals-nil in the 2006 NHL Quarterfinals (en route to the 2006 NHL championship). In the history of best-of-7 NHL playoff series from 1939 through the 2010 NHL Quarterfinals, teams winning on home ice by a shutout of six or more goals have a series record of 6-2, with an active six-series winning streak. The first NHL team to post a 6-goals-nil best-of-7 Game 1 shutout win on home ice was the Montreal Canadiens, in series 62 against the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1947 NHL Finals: Toronto won the series in six games. So it is that the opponents of the Montreal Canadiens in the 1947 NHL Finals offer a favorable precedent to the 2010 edition of the Canadiens.

Pre-series assessment: In the 2009-10 regular season, Philadelphia finished zero points ahead of Montreal. From 1939 through the 2010 NHL Quarterfinals, when NHL teams led their best-of-7 playoff series opponents by zero regular-season points, the team winning the tiebreaker and playing Game 1 at home (Philadelphia) has posted a 9-6 (.600) best-of-7 series record in those series against those opponents. MLB/NBA/NHL best-of-7 playoff series 1101 is the 110th best-of-7 playoff series for Montreal, and the 63rd for Philadelphia. In best-of-7 playoff series, Montreal has a 74-35 series record, a 27-11 Semifinals-round series record, and a 68-41 Game 1 record, while Philadelphia has a 35-27 series record, a 7-8 Semifinals-round record with an active three-series losing streak, and a 29-33 Game 1 record. Series 1101 is the sixth best-of-7 meeting between Montreal and Philadelphia; in the previous five, Montreal leads 3-series-2.