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“Way to go,” Philadelphia Flyers public address announcer Lou Nolan bellowed into his microphone, the exasperation evident in the pacing of his words.

What had started as a beautiful evening of remembrance and exciting postseason hockey had devolved into chaos with the frustrations of the players on the ice bubbling into the stands and eventually back onto the ice in the form of small projectiles. Enough light-up bracelets entrusted to Flyers fans for the pregame light show made their way to the surface to draw a delay of game penalty, triggering Nolan’s admonishment.

Even the result of the game, which put the Flyers on the brink of elimination, took a back seat. The conversation in the hours since the Washington Capitals rolled to a 6-1 victory in Game 3 has been about the behavior of the fans in the building and by some of the Flyers on the ice.

But how did it get to that point?

Here’s a blow-by-blow of how Game 3 devolved into chaos:

1. Flyers hand out light-up bracelets to every fan for pregame festivities

The Flyers certainly had the best of intentions when they placed light-up bracelets at every seat. The visual when they were all used was stunning, with each bracelet coordinated by section to light up a certain way.

These types of bracelets have been used in numerous arenas before and really add an element to those pregame light and video shows.

However, as we've seen with other giveaways before, if you hand something to someone for free, odds are they will have no problem discarding it. Sometimes they'll use the ice surface as a receptacle.  Unfortunately, as one fan noted when things got nasty later, "This is why we can't have nice things."

2. Ed Snider’s moment of silence interrupted by yelling

If there was any indication that Monday night’s game was going to be an interesting one, it came before the puck even dropped. Following a beautiful tribute video made for Ed Snider, the Flyers founder and owner who died a week before, a moment of silence was held.

Most fans showed respect, but stray screams interrupted what was supposed to be a quiet moment of reflection. It caught the attention of those covering the game in the building and anyone watching on TV. It was easy to pass off at the time as just a few overserved yahoos being irreverant, but maybe it was a little indication of the type of night we were in for: 

Luckily, Lauren Hart was there to save the day with a stirring rendition of God Bless America with video of Kate Smith’s iconic performance from 1974. It brought the house down and made most forget about the silence-interrupting yells until there was reason to bring it up again later.

3. Flyers relinquish early lead, fall behind in second period

The Flyers couldn’t have started the game any better. Coming out of the emotional tribute for Snider, Michael Raffl scored 57 seconds into the game, sending the building into hysterics.

The Capitals tied the game a little less than four minutes later, sucking some of that momentum away. Then Alex Ovechkin scored 8:50 into the second period on a shot that handcuffed goalie Steve Mason to give the Capitals the lead.

It wasn't a great goal to give up by Mason, but Ovechkin's funky release would have given a lot of goalies trouble. Either way, that goal left a sinking feeling.

Just before Ovechkin scored, the Flyers had really started bringing more of the physical game. That’s because the Caps really started controlling the puck. It only kept up after that point, even when the Flyers started getting a little more puck possession. At certain points, some of Philadelphia's players looked more interested in sending a message than evening the score where it mattered most.

Then this happened ...

4. Ryan White knocks Brooks Orpik out of the game

In one of the key moments in the game where emotions started running hotter, Flyers forward Ryan White came halfway across the ice to drill Capitals defenseman Brooks Orpik. It was a clean hit mostly, but Orpik’s head hit the glass, leaving him in bad shape on the ice.

As Orpik was on the ice on all fours, unable to collect himself and unable to get up without significant assistance from the athletic trainer and teammate John Carlson, the crowd booed. They continued booing until Orpik was down the tunnel.

Meanwhile, White was barking at the Capitals bench after the hit. There was no penalty on the play, not that there should have been. It was an important moment in changing the emotions of the game, though.

5. The Capitals put the game out of reach in the third period.

Toward the end of the second period, the Flyers got back to pushing for the tying goal, but were unable to solve Braden Holtby.

Back-to-back power-play goals within the first half of the third period from Evgeny Kuznetsov and John Carlson made the outcome appear inevitable. The Capitals up 4-1 and Holtby playing the part of brick wall did not seem like a challenge the Flyers were going to be able to overcome in a little over half a period. It wasn’t impossible, just unlikely.

6. The powder keg explodes: Pierre-Edouard Bellemare's brutal hit on Dmitry Orlov incites scrum

The seminal moment of the whole ordeal came when Pierre-Edouard Bellemare hit Dmitry Orlov from behind, sending the Capitals defenseman head first into the boards. It’s as dangerous a hit as you’ll see in hockey.

That said, the Caps didn’t have much muscle on the ice. Evgeny Kuznetsov and John Carlson went to have a word with Bellemare before White jumped in and things escalated.

Both White and Radko Gudas appeared to be looking for anyone to give them a reason to drop the gloves. White plowed into Carlson, while Gudas pulled Andre Burakovsky from the scrum after knocking into Kuznetsov. Gudas dropped the gloves and started throwing punches at Burakovsky, who had no interest in the fight.

The crowd pretty much took their cues from there. When only Flyers were given penalties from that scrum, the first of the light-up bracelets hit the ice. One even hit Orlov, who was receiving medical attention at the time. Lucky for him, he was unharmed by the hit aside from a cut on his nose.

As a few more bracelets came down from various segments of the arena, Nolan’s first pleas to the crowd began. “Have some class,” he said as a few bracelets began bouncing onto the ice.

On the next faceoff, things seemed to get settled before a few more bracelets hit the ice before the linesman could drop the puck. It was at that point that the referees issued a warning. The next time it happened, a penalty would be called against the flyers.

7. Alex Ovechkin scores on the ensuing power play.

With Bellemare receiving a five-minute major and game misconduct for checking from behind, Ovechkin scored to make it 5-1.

Many more bracelets rained down at this point, triggering a delay of game penalty, which seemed to only incense the crowd more.

That's when Nolan got back on the PA system:

"OK, those of you that have been throwing, you've done it now," Nolan said. "Two minute bench minor to the Flyers for delaying the game at 14 minutes and 58 seconds."

Some in the crowd cheered.

"Way to go," Nolan responded.

8. Mercifully, the game ends

The Capitals added one more goal when Jay Beagle scored on a power play following a Matt Read slashing penalty. That made it 6-1 and finally everyone was able to get the heck out of there.

After the game, Capitals head coach Barry Trotz lamented the way the game turned out. Even in victory, he was upset by the way the game ended and was critical of how the Flyers responded to falling so far behind.

“Obviously, we pulled the game away and they weren’t interested in playing anymore,” Trotz said (via the Washington Post). “So, we ended up on the power play for the last seven or eight minutes. I just thought it wasn’t good for the game. Plain and simple. We’re on national television, and I don’t think it displays our game very well.”

The aftermath certainly hasn’t been kind to the Flyers, who now have to figure out if there’s any hope to dig themselves out of a 3-0 hole against the NHL’s best team.

Game 4 is set for Wednesday night in Philadelphia.

It was not a good night in Philadelphia. (USATSI)
It was not a good night in Philadelphia.(USATSI)