Editing Philadelphia Flyers (section)

===Broad Street Bullies (1971–1981)===
{{Redirect|Broad Street Bullies|the documentary|Broad Street Bullies (film)}}The team began to shift to a more aggressive style of play while also dominating on offense during this time. Bobby Clarke continued to progress as he led the team in scoring in [[1971–72 NHL season|1971–72]] and became the first Flyer to win an NHL award, the [[Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy]] for perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey. However, in the season's final game, the Flyers needed a win or a tie against the second-year [[Buffalo Sabres]] to beat out Pittsburgh for the final playoff spot. The score was tied late in the game, but with just four seconds on the clock, former Flyer [[Gerry Meehan]] took a shot from just inside the blue line that eluded Flyers goaltender [[Doug Favell]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/buf-vs-phi/1972/04/02/1971020544 | title=Philadelphia Flyers - Buffalo Sabres - April 2nd, 1972}}</ref> The Flyers lost the head-to-head tiebreaker to Pittsburgh and missed the playoffs.

[[File:Bernie Parent jersey.jpg|thumb|192x192px|Jersey of Flyers' goaltender [[Bernie Parent]], who played for the Flyers from 1967 to 1971 and again from 1973 to 1979.]]
As it turned out, it was the last time the Flyers missed the playoffs for 18 years. In the [[1972–73 NHL season|1972–73 season]] the Flyers got rid of the mediocre expansion team label and instead became the intimidating "Broad Street Bullies", a nickname coined by Jack Chevalier and Pete Cafone of the ''[[Philadelphia Bulletin]]'' on January 3, 1973,<ref>{{cite book |title=Walking Together Forever: The Broad Street Bullies, Then and Now |last=Jackson |first=Jim|author-link=Jim Jackson (sportscaster) |publisher=Sports Publishing L.L.C. |pages=1–3}}</ref> after a 3–1 brawling victory over the [[Atlanta Flames]] that led Chevalier to write in his game account, "The image of the fightin' Flyers spreading gradually around the NHL, and people are dreaming up wild nicknames. They're the Mean Machine, the Bullies of Broad Street and Freddy's Philistines." Cafone wrote the accompanying headline: "Broad Street Bullies Muscle Atlanta."<ref>{{cite news |title=Broad Street Bullies Muscle Atlanta |author=Jack Chevalier |newspaper=Philadelphia Bulletin |date=January 3, 1973}}</ref> That same month, Clarke was the youngest player (at that time) in NHL history to be named team captain, replacing Ed Van Impe. Rick MacLeish became the first Flyer to score 50 goals in a season and the Flyers recorded their first winning season.

An overtime goal by [[Gary Dornhoefer]] in game five turned the tide of their first-round series with the [[Minnesota North Stars]] in the Flyers' favor, as the Flyers got their first playoff series win in six games. However, they were outmatched in the semifinals by the Montreal Canadiens, losing in five games. After the season, Clarke became the first expansion team player to be awarded the [[Hart Memorial Trophy]] as the NHL's [[most valuable player]].

====1973–74 Stanley Cup champions====
Goaltender Bernie Parent returned to the franchise in the off-season, and the Flyers proved that the expansion teams could challenge the Original Six in [[1973–74 NHL season|1973–74]]. The Bullies continued their rough-and-tumble ways, led by Dave Schultz's 348 penalty minutes, and reached the top of the [[West Division (NHL)|West Division]] with a record of 50–16–12. The return of Parent proved to be of great benefit, as he established himself as one of if not the best goaltender in the league after winning 47 games, a record which stood for 33 years.<ref name="WhatAboutBob">{{cite magazine |last=Farber |first=Michael |date=February 14, 2011 |title=What About Bob?: The Flyers are stacked for a run at the Cup. The only question mark is in goal—where else? But unflappable Russian rookie Sergei Bobrovsky looks up to the task |url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1181771/index.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628213534/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1181771/index.htm |archive-date=June 28, 2011 |access-date=February 11, 2011 |magazine=Sports Illustrated |quote=In the beginning there was Bernie.}}</ref> Since the Flyers, along with Chicago, allowed the fewest goals in the league, Parent also shared the [[Vezina Trophy]] with Chicago's [[Tony Esposito]].

Come playoff time, the Flyers swept the Atlanta Flames in four games in the first round. In the semifinals, the Flyers faced the [[New York Rangers]]. The series, which saw the home team win every game, went seven games. Fortunately for the Flyers, they had [[Home advantage|home-ice advantage]] as they advanced to the [[1974 Stanley Cup Finals|Stanley Cup Finals]] by winning game seven and in the process made history by becoming the first expansion team to win a playoff series over an Original Six team.

[[File:Bob Clarke 2012.jpg|thumb|263x263px|[[Bobby Clarke]] played for the Flyers from 1969 to 1984.]]
Their opponent, [[Bobby Orr]] and the Boston Bruins, took game one in Boston, but Bobby Clarke scored an overtime goal in game two to even the series. The Flyers then won games 3 and 4 at home to take a 3–1 series lead, though Boston won game five to stave off elimination. That set the stage for game six at the Spectrum. Kate Smith appeared in person before game six to sing her rendition of "God Bless America", even miming a "knockout punch" after her performance. The Flyers picked up the lead early when Rick MacLeish scored a first-period goal. Late in the game, Orr hauled down Clarke on a breakaway, a penalty which assured the Flyers of victory. Time expired as the Flyers brought the [[Stanley Cup]] to Philadelphia for the first time. Parent, having shutout Boston in game six, won the [[Conn Smythe Trophy]] as the MVP of the playoffs.

====1974–75 Stanley Cup champions====
Under the [[1974–75 NHL season|1974–75 season]], Dave Schultz topped his mark from the previous season by setting an NHL record for penalty minutes with 472. Clarke's efforts earned him his second Hart Trophy and Parent was the lone recipient of the Vezina Trophy. The Flyers as a team improved their record slightly with a mark of 51–18–11, the best record in the NHL. After a first-round bye, the Flyers easily swept the Toronto Maple Leafs and were presented with another New York-area team in the semifinals, the [[New York Islanders]]. The Flyers looked to be headed toward another sweep after winning the first three games. However, the Islanders fought back by winning the next three games, setting up a deciding seventh game. The Flyers were finally able to shut the door on the Islanders, winning game seven, 4–1.

Facing Buffalo in the [[1975 Stanley Cup Finals|Stanley Cup Finals]], the Flyers won the first two games at home. Game three, played in Buffalo, went down in hockey lore as "The Fog Game" due to an unusual May heatwave in Buffalo that forced parts of the game to be played in heavy fog, as Buffalo's arena lacked air conditioning. The Flyers lost games 3 and 4, but won game five at home in dominating fashion, 5–1. On the road for game six, [[Bob Kelly (ice hockey, born 1950)|Bob Kelly]] scored the decisive goal and Parent pitched another shutout (a playoff record fifth shutout) as the Flyers repeated as Stanley Cup champions. Parent also repeated as the playoffs MVP, winning a second consecutive Conn Smythe Trophy.

[[File:Rick MacLeish 1973.JPG|thumb|left|247x247px|[[Rick MacLeish]] played for the Flyers from 1970 to 1981 and again in 1983.]]
The highlight of the [[1975–76 NHL season|1975–76 season]] had no bearing on the season standings. On January 11 at the Spectrum, the Flyers, as part of the [[Super Series '76]], played [[1976 Philadelphia Flyers–Red Army game|a memorable exhibition game]] against the Soviet Union's dominant [[HC CSKA Moscow|Central Red Army]] team. As the Bullies had put intimidation to good use the past three years, the Flyers' rugged style of play led the Soviets to leave the ice midway through the first period, protesting a hit on [[Valeri Kharlamov]], whom Clarke had slashed on the ankle in the famous [[Summit Series|Summit Series '72]], by Ed Van Impe. After some delay, the Soviets returned after they were warned that they would lose their salary for the entire series. The Flyers went on to win the game rather easily, 4–1, and were the only team to defeat the Red Army outright in the series. After that win, the Spectrum became known as the "most intimidating building to play in and has the most intimidating fans." Head coach Fred Shero proclaimed, "Yes we are world champions. If they had won, they would have been world champions. We beat the hell out of a machine."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.flyershistory.net/cgi-bin/hm.cgi?006hm|title=Flyers vs. Red Army}}</ref>
The Flyers recorded the best record in team history (points-wise) with a record of 51–13–16 and set the record for most consecutive home wins in regulation (20). The LCB line, featuring [[Reggie Leach]] at right-wing, Bobby Clarke at center and [[Bill Barber]] at left-wing, set an NHL record for goals by a single line with 141 (Leach 61, Clarke 30, Barber 50). Clarke, on his way to a third Hart Trophy, set a club record for points in one season with 119. Heading into the playoffs, the Flyers squeaked past Toronto in seven games and defeated Boston in five games, with game five featuring a five-goal outburst by Leach, the "[[Riverton, Manitoba|Riverton]] [[Rifle]]", to head to a third-straight appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals. However, the Flyers did not come close to a third straight championship without an injured Bernie Parent, as they ran into an up-and-coming dynasty in Montreal, and were swept in four-straight games. Despite the loss, Leach was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy for scoring a record 19 goals in 16 playoff games.

Dethroned, the heyday of the Broad Street Bullies began to come to an end, as prior to the [[1976–77 NHL season|1976–77 season]], tough-guy Dave Schultz was traded to the [[Los Angeles Kings]]. Despite a slight drop-off in performance, the Flyers dominated the [[Patrick Division]] with what proved to be their fourth-straight division title. After disposing of Toronto in six games, the Flyers found themselves in the semifinals for the fifth consecutive season. Pitted against Boston, the Flyers lost games 1 and 2 at home in overtime and did not return home as they were swept in four straight games. The Flyers lost their hold on the Patrick Division in [[1977–78 NHL season|1977–78]] and settled for second place. After sweeping the [[Colorado Rockies (NHL)|Colorado Rockies]] in two games in the preliminary round, the Flyers moved on to beat Buffalo in five games. They then faced Boston in the semifinals for the second consecutive season, and lost again, this time in five games. Following the season, the Flyers were stunned when head coach Shero left to become general manager and head coach of the New York Rangers. As compensation for Shero, the Flyers received the Rangers' first-round draft pick in [[1978 NHL entry draft|1978]].

[[File:Bill Barber 2012.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Bill Barber]] played for the Flyers from 1972 to 1984.]]
[[Bob McCammon]], who had just coached the Flyers' first year [[American Hockey League]] (AHL) [[Maine Mariners (AHL)|Maine Mariners]] farm club to a [[Calder Cup]] title, replaced Fred Shero behind the bench. After a slow start in [[1978–79 NHL season|1978–79]], the Flyers switched McCammon with [[Pat Quinn (ice hockey)|Pat Quinn]], Shero's previous assistant coach, who had replaced McCammon with the Mariners. Adding to the problems, Bernie Parent suffered a career-ending eye injury. The Flyers rallied under Quinn and finished in second place. Matched up against the [[Vancouver Canucks]] in the preliminary round, the Flyers won the series in three games. The Flyers' season came to an end against Fred Shero's Rangers in a five-game quarterfinals loss.

The Flyers began the [[1979–80 NHL season|1979–80 season]] with a somewhat controversial move by naming Clarke a playing assistant coach and giving the captaincy to [[Mel Bridgman]]. While Clarke was against this initially, he accepted his new role. The Flyers went undefeated for a North American professional sports record 35-straight games (25–0–10), before losing 7–1 to the Minnesota North Stars, a record that still stands to this day.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://records.nhl.com/records/team-records/point-streaks/longest-point-streak-one-season | title=NHL Records}}</ref> The streak started after the team was 1–1 on October 14, and ended on January 7, 1980.<ref name="oldflyers">{{cite web |url=https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/8995699/nhl-old-philadelphia-flyers-know-makes-streak |title=Old Flyers know what makes a streak |publisher=[[ESPN]] |date=February 27, 2013 |access-date=March 7, 2013}}</ref> In doing so, the Flyers wrapped up the Patrick Division title with 14 games to spare and the first overall seed in the playoffs. Their regular season success continued into the playoffs, as the Flyers swept a young [[Wayne Gretzky]] and his [[Edmonton Oilers]] in the first round, then went on to get revenge against Fred "The Fog" Shero and his Rangers by beating them in five before disposing of Minnesota in five to lock up a berth in the Stanley Cup Finals. Facing the Islanders for the Cup, the Flyers ultimately lost in six games on [[Bob Nystrom]]'s overtime Stanley Cup-winning goal. The result of the series was marred by controversy, as the Islanders were [[offside (ice hockey)|offside]] on the play that resulted in their second goal, but the call was not made. Linesman [[Leon Stickle]] admitted after the game that he had blown the call. After a tough, five-game preliminary round series win against the [[Quebec Nordiques]], the team's [[1980–81 NHL season|1980–81 season]] came to an end as they lost in the quarterfinals to the [[Calgary Flames]] in seven games.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.si.com/vault/1980/06/02/824705/putting-the-hammer-to-the-old-bugaboo-bob-nystroms-overtime-goal-gave-the-new-york-islanders-a-whole-new-image-they-are-the-stanley-cup-champions-now-not-a-bunch-of-chokers|title=Putting the Hammer to the Old Bugaboo|date=June 2, 1980|first=Kathy|last=Blumenstock|access-date=November 8, 2014|magazine=[[Sports Illustrated]]}}</ref>