On Friday night (May 14th, 2010), the Philadelphia Flyers became just the 4th team in professional sports history to overcome a 3-0 deficit in a playoffs series to win the series 4-3.

After losing the first 3 games of this second round NHL playoff series to the 3rd-seeded Boston Bruins, the 7-seed Flyers stayed alive with a Game 4 win at home before stealing Game 5 on the road and tying the series at 3 with a Game 6 victory. Tonight's Game 7 victory capped off one of the most shocking, unthinkable comebacks in playoff history.

The 2010 Flyers join the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs and 1975 New York Islanders in the NHL, and 2004 Boston Red Sox in the MLB, as the only teams to pull off the feat. No NBA team has ever come back from a 3-0 series deficit.

Philadelphia was down by 3 goals in a matter of 15 minutes on the road in this Game 7 battle. Two Milan Lucic goals for Boston, and another by Michael Ryder, gave the Bruins a 3-0 lead early in the game. Two of the goals came on Power Plays after Flyers high-sticking penalties. It appeared that Boston's potential agony and series choke-job was put to rest with the early lead at home.

But a late-period goal by James van Riemsdyk gave the Flyers some hope, and made the score 3-1 by the end of the first period. Then, two quick second-period goals by Philadelphia tied the game at 3. Scott Hartnell and Danny Briere both found the back of the net for the Flyers early in the 2nd period, and it was a brand new game.

The historic, game-winning goal was scored by Flyers veteran winger Simon Gagne, who scored a Power Play goal with 7 minutes left in the third period to give Philadelphia a 4-3 lead. The Power Play goal was a result of a devastating too-many-men-on-the-ice penalty by Boston.

There were no last-minute heroics for Boston, which watched the clock tick down to zero and saw themselves take part in the biggest collapse in NHL playoff history. They had a 3-0 series lead, and a 3-0 lead in Game 7, yet the Boston Bruins could not hold off the Philadelphia Flyers to advance to the next round.

The Philadelphia Flyers' unbelievable comeback makes for another historic moment going forward. In the Eastern Conference Finals, the 7-seed Flyers will take on the 8-seed Montreal Canadiens, who are on a special Cinderella run of their own. Never before has the NHL Conference Final been comprised of a 7-8 matchup.

The Canadiens have taken down heavily favored Washington and Pittsburgh on their way to the Conference Finals. Montreal's de-throning of the 2009 Champion Penguins and Sidney Crosby, just one week after taking down the Cup favorite Capitals and Alex Ovechkin, could be the biggest story in the hockey playoffs in years. But it's going to have to play second-fiddle to the new developing story, the Flyers and their epic comeback.

The 2010 NHL playoffs have been full of terrific storylines. The Conference Finals should be no different. Out West, the 1 and 2 seeds face off in a talent-laden matchup between Chicago and San Jose. But in the East, the 7 and 8 seeds will do battle in a you-can't-make-this-up matchup of historic proportions.

No matter the outcome of the Conference Finals, it will make for quite the David-Goliath fight in the Stanley Cup Finals.

Yesterday, it was necessary to celebrate the Montreal Canadiens' unbelievable Game 7 victory over the Penguins. But today, it's time to reflect on the historic series victory of the Philadelphia Flyers.

The 2010 Flyers-Bruins series will forever be remembered as the biggest comeback/choke in the history of the NHL. It probably can't trump the 2004 Red Sox in baseball, who overcame a 3-0 deficit to the rival New York Yankees on their way to Boston's first World Series title in 86 years. But I'm sure Philadelphia's hockey team will be alright with being the second greatest comeback squad in postseason history.

Congratulations to the Flyers and their heroic comeback effort.