The East's top seed, with hot rookie Brian Boucher in net, was cruising in the conference final vs. the fourth-seed Devils when it made the mistake of coming out flat for Game 5 in Philadelphia and losing 4-1. After that, the Flyers had a devil of a time getting anything past Martin Brodeur, who allowed only two more goals the rest of the was as New Jersey rallied late for a 2-1 win in Game 6, then eliminated Philly by the same score in a Game 7 made memorable by Scott Stevens booming hit on Eric Lindros. The Flyers were the first team to surrender a 3-1 lead in a conference final and lose.
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