Flyers-Hurricanes: Scott Hartnell and Superstitions Spark Philadelphia Comeback

Down 5-1 heading into the third period, it was all but over for the sloppy Flyers.

They had came out flat and didn't show their usual energy.

I was worried. I mean, the Penguins are coming to town on Saturday; this is no time for sloppy play.

Then the period started. You can thank me (yes, me) for the rest.

No, I don't have magical powers where I can control Scottie Hartnell and make him purely amazing. All I can do is stick to my superstitions.

I stuck around to watch the first few minutes of the period, but it was too ugly to watch. I turned the game off, and flicked through some channels. I ended up watching the Villanova-Saint Joseph's basketball game.

Next thing I knew...

"Beep, beep, beep, beep!"

I pick up my cell phone to see that Scott Hartnell, my boy, has scored his second goal of the night. My thoughts were, "Nice to see some fight in this team tonight."

A few minutes later, that beep rang again.

Same thing. Scott Hartnell has scored, making it a hat trick. (He had scored a goal earlier in the game.)

In the back of my mind, I started to think comeback, but didn't want to turn away from the intriguing 'Nova game. So I stayed on the game, and didn't think much about the Flyers game. Until I heard a familiar beep, that is.

I hesitated to grab the phone—was it a friend, or was it the game?

I picked up the phone, and what did I see? A "Scottie Upshall Goal" message staring right back at me.

Oh my—could this be happening? It was 5-4 now.

I grabbed the remote and almost hit in Comcast SportsNet, but stopped myself.

I'm a very superstitious sports fan, so I absolutely had to stop myself to think. Right when I stopped watching the game, the Flyers had started to score. Why go back to the game and ruin it for my Flyers?

I stayed on the 'Nova game. Plus, the game was pretty interesting, so it's not that bad.

But as time passed, I started to get nervous. My team might be coming back, and I wouldn't know. I was actually biting my nails, waiting for that text alert, hoping my team would score. I was itching to turn the game on, but I didn't. I stayed put like a good boy.

Stupid superstitions.

"Beep, beep, beep, beep."

Did I hear that? Oh my—was that seriously my phone? If it's a Hurricanes goal, the end of the game, or a friend of mine, I'm going to smash it.

I opened the message to see Simon Gagne had tied the game up.

WOW!!!

The rest is history.

The Flyers lasted through a short-handed situation in the overtime to make it to the shoot-out, and ended up winning their first shoot-out of the year--but I'm proud to say I didn't break my superstition—not even in the overtime and shootout.

I'm sorry that I didn't get to catch any of the comeback, but it's worth a hard-earned win. I mean, I really worked up a sweat over that third period and overtime. All that worrying is stressful, you know.

So yes, the Flyers did win because of me.

Scott Hartnell's magnificent play may have had a little something to do with it, but I like to think it was mostly me and my superstitions.

You can thank me anytime.