Lavs_timeoutThis is our second annual "Top Ten Philly Sports Moments of the year."  You can find last year's list here.  We will roll out a new moment each day (one over the weekend) from now until New Year's Eve.

The entire Eastern Conference Semifinal series against the Bruins is cause for celebration.  But there is one moment that stands out above all the rest.

The Flyers not only fell behind 3-0 in the series, but also 3-0 in Game 7.  It appeared that they had blown their load.  The energy and resolve it took to even the series up was too great to sustain for another game.  For 15 minutes, the Bruins were all over the Flyers.  And after they scored the third goal, Peter Laviolette had enough.  He called a simple timeout to allow the team to regroup.  "Just one goal" was his message.  Just score one goal.

Minutes later, James van Riemsdyk took care of that.  In a series and game that will go down in history, it was Lavs' timeout that changed not only the course of the season, but also hockey in Philadelphia. As I wrote here, the Flyers' Stanley Cup run brought them back into the mainstream in Philadelphia.  Other than Richards, Carter, and maybe Pronger and Briere, there were no household names for the average sports fan in this city.  With so many young, new faces on the team, and after a rather disappointing season that included a coaching change, the Flyers were nowhere near the level of the Phillies or Eagles. A trip to the Stanley Cup Finals changed all that.  We now have characters and personalities- an identity.  All thanks to that little timeout, which spawned another month of excitement and countless positive sentiments for hockey in this city.

Thanks, Lavs.

Watch the full game highlights and video of the final two minutes from behind the bench, after the jump.

Rest of the Top Ten here.  As always, leave your memories of this moment in the comments.