Honestly, nobody can really blame coach Peter Laviolette for trying to ride the hot hand. Problem is, there isn’t one.

On a day in which Michael Leighton made his second start since letting up a Shawn Bradleyesque goal in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals last June, dude let up three goals on 8 shots in the first period before giving way to the Flyers safety net — Brian Boucher.

Ville Leino sends the Flyers back home to play a Game 7 with an overtime goal on a Philly Trifecta Easter Sunday.

The end result was a 5-4 overtime win on a Ville Leino goal.

But, as well as the Flyers again fought back from a deficit and clawed their way to putting four regulation goals past the previously hot Ryan Miller, the guy who needs to get a lot of credit is Boucher.

Bouch simply played like himself, allowing just one goal on 25 shots and putting the Flyers in position to force overtime in Buffalo in a game they had to win to put off the early tee times.

The way they are doing it may not be ideal; it may fill the cardiac wings of every area hospital. But, after last season’s improbable run, do you expect anything different from the Flyers?

Game 7 is Tuesday night in Philly. Something tells me this team comes out and puts the Sabres away early, seizing the momentum provided by Leino’s goal, the play of Boucher and the return of Pronger. Yeah, we never even mentioned that.

If the Flyers reach a deal with Nabokov, the team ships a 7th round draft pick to San Jose. If they fail to sign him, the Flyers owe nothing. It’s really a win-win agreement for the Flyers.

The Flyers have reached a conditional deal for the exclusive rights to negotiate with upcoming free agent goalie Evgeni Nabokov.

Nabokov’s age is somewhat of a concern, as is his big-game playoff performances during his career. However, he could come cheaper than some of the other younger goalies set to test the FA market. That could leave the Flyers with some money to try to add a defensman to their rotation.

While Nabokov is older, he is still a more consistent option than Michael Leighton who played well during the playoffs at times, but has never been anything more than a journeyman goalie in his career.

Nabokov has a career 293-178-29 record and 2.39 GAA and .912 save percentage.

If nothing else, you have to like the aggressiveness GM Paul Holmgren has shown so far in attempting to shore up weak areas of his team before free agency even starts.

A pivotal Game 4 for the Flyers looked like it’d be a rout early in the third period as the Orange and Black held a commanding 4-1 lead. Then, following two penalties, the Blackhawks enjoyed a 5-on-3 advantage and Dave Bolland scored on a power play to pull Chicago to within 4-2. Just 3:49 later, Brian Campbell netted his foirst goal of the series to make the score 4-3 and give the Flyers faithful a sever case of heartburn.

The Flyers are two wins from completing an improbably Stanley Cup run following their 5-3 Game 4 win on Friday.

That’s as close as the Blackhawks would get before Jeff carter scored an empty net goal in the final minute.

Michael Leighton saved 31 of 34 shots on net in the win.

Mike Richards and Matt Carle got the scoring going in the first period as the Flyers jumped out to a 2-0 lead. Claude Giroux added a goal in the last minute of the first to give Philly a 3-1 lead after one.

Ville Leino added a goal at the start of the third to make it 4-1.

The Quest for the Cup now turns into a best-of-three series, which continues at 8 p.m. on Sunday night in Chicago.

Journeyman goalie Michael Leighton has taken the Stanley Cup playoffs by storm and has the Flyers playing for Lord Stanley’s Cup. It seems like forever ago that we were amazed by another goalie’s performance this spring.

Brian Boucher, who took over for an injured Leighton late in the season, played lights out hockey himself against the New Jersey Devils, leading the Orange and Black to an impressive 4-1 series win in round one of the playoffs.

The Flyers wouldn't be in the Stanley Cup Finals without goalie Brian Boucher, who will be in uniform for Game 1.

Granted, Boucher and the Flyers lost the first three games against the Bruins. However, he did get the credit for the first two wins in the dramatic comeback. Oh, and we haven’t even mentioned beating the rangers in a shootout on the last day of the season to just get in the playoffs.

With a 6-4 record and 2.33 GAA this postseason, we understand Boucher wanting to return from a knee injury that was to end his season.

How often do you get a chance to play in the Finals of any sport? With the chances of playing remote, why not be in uniform as long as you can be serviceable if called upon?

If the Flyers do the impossible and hoist the Cup in a week or two, Boucher should be in uniform and sakting on the ice. He’s a big reason why the Flyers are even in this position.