1972–73 Philadelphia Flyers season

The Flyers earned the nickname "Broad Street Bullies" en route to their first winning season and first playoff series victory, beating the Minnesota North Stars, before losing in the semifinals to the Montreal Canadiens.

It was during the 1972–73 season that the Flyers shed the mediocre expansion team label by recording their first winning season and becoming known as the intimidating "Broad Street Bullies", a nickname coined by Jack Chevalier and Pete Cafone of the Philadelphia Bulletin on January 3, 1973[2] 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.

[12] On February 13, Rick MacLeish became the first Flyer to score four goals in a game, a team record that has been tied but not surpassed in regular season play several times since.

[14][15] A few weeks later on March 4, MacLeish scored four goals in a game again, this time also tying the team record for points in a single period (4).

[17] During a 4–1 win over the Minnesota North Stars on April 5, Barry Ashbee became the first Flyer to record three assists in a period during a playoff game.