He also got him some help. Defenseman Jaroslav Modry and winger Vaclav Prospal were acquired at the trade deadline and Patrick Thoresen was signed off waivers.

Briere (14) and Prospal (12) are 1-2 in playoff points for the Flyers, and Biron has made the kind of saves that invoked Stanley Cup winning goalie Bernie Parent’s name more than a few times in Philadelphia. Upshall scored the winning goal in Game 5 against Montreal and Timonen has been their defensive stopper in both series.

“It’s more than hockey players,” Stevens said. “It’s the character of players we brought in across the board.”

Smith is the Flyers captain, just like he was in Edmonton. Timonen and Briere also were captains on their former teams and Cup winning defenseman Derian Hatcher briefly wore the C on his sweater for the Flyers.

“We have people who have been through it and experienced it, not only playing, but in the leadership areas of the game,” Holmgren said.

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When the Flyers really needed leadership Holmgren was the one who delivered the verbal blow. He blasted the Flyers’ effort after a 7-1 loss to Pittsburgh on March 16 that left them clinging to a one-point lead for the eighth and final playoff spot.

“I think it was an embarrassing moment for all of us, not necessarily to lose 7-1, but the way we lost,” he said. “We didn’t have a whole lot of emotion, a whole lot of passion at that time. Maybe it woke everybody up.”

Philadelphia responded with wins in seven of its final nine games to clinch the sixth seed. They knocked off Washington in seven games in the first round, then bounced the Canadiens in five.

“That moment was when we started to focus on us instead of worrying about who we were playing or how they were going to play,” Briere said of the six-goal loss. “It’s been working ever since.”

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