Pronger nets goal in final seconds as Flyers knock off Chicago

(Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

It's only March and it was just one game but the Flyers made quite a statement on Saturday when they took on the Chicago Blackhawks, one of the best teams in the Western Conference. Simply hanging with the Blackhawks for the entire game was impressive enough but the Flyers managed to hang around just long enough to pull off an impressive come-from-behind win.

Trailing 2-1 late in the third period, the Blackhawks had all the momentum until, of all people, Scott Hartnell (who hadn't scored since January 20th) managed to tie the game up. Then, just when the game looked to be headed to overtime, Claude Giroux fed a streaking Chris Pronger who tapped in the game-winner with two seconds left to give the Flyers a 3-2 win.

It all started in net for the Flyers as Michael Leighton played one of his best games of the season, stopping 39 shots, a handful of them of the highlight variety. While Leighton is still struggling with his consistency, games like today show why the Flyers have faith in him. The Blackhawks have a slew of offensive weapons and Leighton managed to stonewall them for most of the afternoon to give the Flyers a chance to pull it out in the end. If Leighton can put together a string of games like today, he will really raise the confidence level of the players and the fans.

With the win, the Flyers inched closer to the 5th seed in the East. With a game in hand, the Flyers now trail the Senators by only 3 points. A few more games like today and the Flyers will not only leapfrog the Senators, they might be looking at overtaking the Devils for the 4th seed.