Flyers Drop Game 1

...Well I guess that is not how things were drawn up before the game by either team. The Flyers lost game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals 6-5 to go down in the series 1-0. The game was a crazy game to say the least, and each team had multiple leads during the contest.

The Flyers got on the board early and often in Game 1. Unfortunately for them, so did the Blackhawks. The Flyers could never seem to get any momentum going, as once the Flyers would score, it seemed like the Blackhawks wasted no time getting the goal back. The Flyers opened the scoring in the 1st period, as Ville Leino fired a puck towards the net that went off a defenseman and made its way in. The Blackhawks came right back and score 1 minute later. The Blackhawks scored again a few minutes after that, but the Flyers answered with 2 more before the period was over, goals from Scott Hartnell and Danny Briere, to make it a 3-2 Flyers lead at the first intermission.

If you flipped over to Comcast at this point, you could see Roy Halladay complete the 20th perfect game in MLB history. Maybe this would be a good sign for a great Philadelphia sports night.

Unfortunately, the Blackhawks scored 1 minute into the 2nd period on a 2 on 1, and the game was tied at 3. About 7 minutes into the period, Blair Betts scored a goal, but again, the Blackhawks had an answer; the Blackhawks scored 2 minutes after Blair's tally to make it 4-4, and then scored again 5 minutes after that. Michael Leighton was yanked after this goal, a move I did not agree with. For the 2nd straight period, the Flyers scored in the final minute and a half of the period, with Arron Asham scoring in his 2nd straight game to make the score 5-5 going into the 3rd.

Michael Leighton was clearly not playing well, and I understand getting him out of the game in a game he is playing poorly, and tryint to re-fresh for Game 2. However, the Flyers were only down 1 goal at the time Leighton was pulled, and the game was tied going into the 3rd period. I would have rather had Leighton in the net for the 3rd period of a winnable game than Brian Boucher. The only reason to me to pull a goalie is when a goalie is playing poorly, and you have basically conceded that the game would be lost. This would have been a fine situation if the score were 5-1 or 5-2. However, the Flyers were only down 1 goal, and you want to keep the goalie out there who gives you the best shot at winning or getting on a hot streak - and to me that is Leighton. I'm not defending Leighton's play last night, because it was subpar, but I still would have kept him out there.

The 3rd period slowed down and calmed down a little bit, and Antti Niemi, the Blackhawks goalie, who had been struggling all game, along with Leighton, turned his game around and shut down the Flyers. I believe Leighton could have done the same if he was out there. The Blackhawks scored what would be the game winning goal 8 minutes in, on a fairly weak goal where Boucher bit on a shot fake and was out of position for the shot. The Blackhawks then clamped down on defense, and the Flyers never got any great chances towards the end of the game, and only finished the 3rd period with 6 shots in the period. Before the 3rd period, the Flyers were outshooting and outchancing the Blackhawks.

Either way, the Blackhawks really had to win this game more than the Flyers did. The Flyers really need to try to get Game 2 now, and come back home with the series tied 1-1. The Flyers got this crazy game out of the way; they now need to re-focus, relax, and play some better hockey all around. The Flyers seem to be able to play well playing fast, or slow hockey, but I think the Flyers need to try to slow the pace down a little bit. The Flyers need to do a better job in the neutral zone of not allowing the Blackhawks to come through and gain entry to the Flyers zone so easily. If the Flyers can win Game 2, they have still accomplished their goal of splitting in Chicago.

Micahel Leighton needs to step up his game, and show that he can look comfortable in between the pipes, because he never got into a rhythm. Also, the Flyers need to show they can hold onto a lead because blowing 3 leads in the game in unacceptable, even if they are only 1 goal leads, and early in the game. After they take the lead, if they do in Game 2, they need to do a better job on defense of not giving up shots in the slot, and just taking advantage of whatever scoring chances they get, much like Game 4 in Montreal.

Game 2 is not necessarily a must win, but if they do not take it, it makes both Game 3 and Game 4 at home must win games for the Flyers. A win in Game 2 would also allow the Flyers to calm down a little bit, and play their game coming back home for Games 3 and 4. They now just need to re-group, and execute Peter Laviolette's game plan for Game 2.

Flyers Make It a Series

The Flyers won last night 4-0 in Boston to actually make this 2nd round series competitive. The Flyers still are up against the wall, and still need to take 2 more in a row, starting tomorrow night in Philadelphia.

The Flyers really outplayed the Bruins in Game 4 in Boston from start the finish. The Scott Hartnell-Ville Leino-Danny Briere line did most of the damage, as Ville Leino was flying all over the ice. Take a look back, and you can see that we reported during the first round series against the Devils that Ville Leino should be playing, and possibly taking Scott Hartnell's spot in the lineup. Leino got the Flyers on the board in the first, and did most of the damage on the next 2 goals, getting an assist on 1, and skating circles around the Bruins to keep the puck in the offensive zone for a Hartnell goal the other time. Beisdes Leino, and Hartnell, Simon Gagne had 2 goals to close out the game.

Speaking of Scott Hartnell, he finally showed up for a game. He scored for the first time in 22 games, and did have a good game overall, skating better, and being more aggressive. This line will need to continue the strong play if the Flyers want to win the series.

The game was somewhat strange in that you had the Flyers really dominating, the Bruins taking dumb penalties, and then giving up in the 3rd period taking cheap shots at the Flyers the entire period. The Flyers, being the most hated team by officials in sports, would have gotten suspensions thrown their way if they had done some of the things the Bruins were doing in the 3rd. Claude Giroux was boarded late in the 2nd period, continued to play for the rest of the 2nd, but then sat out the 3rd period. It looks like this was more precautionary and that Giroux will be good to go Game 6.

Brian Boucher, however, will not be good to go for Game 6, and will probably miss the rest of the playoffs with a strained MCL. Boucher has been very good in these playoffs, and will definitely be missed, but I'm not so sure Michael Leighton is much of a downgrade from Boucher, even though Leighton does not have the playoff experience that Boucher does. Leighton saved all 14 shots he faced after he entered the game last night, but the Flyers did a very good job defensively, really for the first time all series.

Game 6 will be important, and the home crowd will need to get the Flyers into the game. Kotite's Corner will be present in the crowd cheering on the orange and black. Game 6 will start at 8 o'clock.

Flyers Need to Take Next 2

The Flyers get back on their home ice tonight in a must win game in the 2nd round of the playoffs against the Bruins, who currently hold a 2-0 series lead.

The first two games of the series, both in Boston, have been fairly evenly matched, with the Flyers playing well for stretches and the Bruins playing well for stretches. Unfortunately, the Flyers have been playing catch up in both games, and then unable to keep their momentum going at the end of games. The Bruins got a fortuitous bounce of the puck in overtime in Game 1 to win that game, and then got another bounce with the puck ending up in front of the net that they scored with less than 3 minutes left in Game 2.

Both games really could have gone either way, and the Flyers are unfortunate to be down 2-0, but they are down 2-0 nonetheless. Getting back in front of the home crowd should do a lot for the Flyers, and help them get back in the series. The Flyers won both home games in their first round series, also Games 3 and 4, and will need to do the same against the Bruins, or else they will have to come back from a 3-1 deficit.

The work starts tonight in Game 3. The Flyers need to get some contributions from players they wouldn’t normally get them from with the injuries. Carter, Gagne, and Laperriere remain out with injuries. Scott Hartnell also has yet to show up in the playoffs, but it’s not due to injury, it’s due to the fact that he sucks all of a sudden. Mike Richards, Chris Pronger, and Brian Boucher have been the 3 best Flyers throughout the playoffs so far probably. Boucher did not have a very good Game 2, and should have not let in a couple of the Bruins goals that game, but overall has been solid. Boucher will need to step it up back at home. Danny Briere really found his game at the end of the Devils series, and has continued it into this series. Claude Giroux has also been a beast, and Ville Leino had a very good Game 2 assisting on both Flyers goals.

The Flyers need to continue to rely on these guys, but also need Giroux to step it up in this series, as he did all of his damage so far in the Devils series. Also, even though he is young, JVR needs to step it up as well, as he has a lot of skill and is flying around the ice, just has not produced the point results. It is unfortunate that Scott Hartnell has been killing this team with his play, but he has just been awful. He looks like he forgot how to play hockey. I would be calling for Hartnell to be a healthy scratch, but that is not really feasible with all the injuries.

Either way, no matter who it is, the Flyers need everyone to elevate their game to win these next 2 games. You want to pull out a solid win tonight, you don’t want a game that is 2-2 towards the end and anything can happen. Also, the Flyers need to get the first goal tonight, and not play from behind. Both games, the Bruins have gotten on the board early in the first period, and that cannot happen tonight.

Surprisingly... Flyers Will Play Bruins

The Montreal Canadiens beat the Washington Capitals in Game 7 of their first round series, which means that the Flyers will face off against the Boston Bruins in the 2nd round. The Canadiens unexpectedly came back from 3 games to 1 down to the Capitals, and won the last three, two of which were in Washington.

With the Canadiens win, the #6, #7, and #8 seeds all advanced in the Eastern Conference. The only better seed to advance was #4 Pittsburgh. Since hockey re-seeds the teams in the 2nd round, the #7 seeded Flyers will play the #6 seeded Bruins. The Flyers will travel to Boston for Game 1 on Saturday at 12:30 pm.

I think this is very good news for the Flyers, as the Capitals are by far a better team than the Bruins. The Capitals and Bruins are almost complete opposites, as the Capitals had one of the best offenses the NHL has seen in quite some time, and the Bruins do not score many goals, but play very good defensively, and have one of the best young goalies in the NHL.

Even though the Capitals struggle defensively and in between the pipes, they are just too dangerous to want to face in a playoff series. The Capitals had the most points in the NHL by far, and scored the most goals by far. By playing the Bruins, the Flyers might even be the favorite, especially if Brian Boucher can keep playing the way he has been. The Flyers are the better offensive team in this series.

It won't be easy, since the Flyers will start the series without Simon Gagne, Jeff Carter, and now Ian Laperriere. Laperriere has been declared out of the playoffs after visiting with neurosurgeon experts from the University of Pittsburgh. The Flyers will need to stay out of the penalty box against the Bruins. They did not do this against the Devils, and the penalty kill is one of the main reasons they Flyers advanced, and one of the main reasons the penalty kill was so effective was because of Laperriere. He will not be easily replaced on the penalty kill. Simon Gagne could return as early as Game 3.

If the Flyers want to win, they need to get continued good play from the leaders on the team Mike Richards, Chris Pronger, and Kimmo Timonen. Obviously, Boucher needs to continue to be solid in net. The Flyers will continue to need to get Claude Giroux, and Danny Briere to keep playing the way they did the last 2 games of the Devils series, especially without Carter and Gagne in the lineup. The Flyers went 2-1-1 against the Bruins this year, the 1 being an overtime loss in the New Years Classic at Fenway Park. Boucher played 1 of those games against the Bruins and picked up a 3-1 victory. As mentioned earlier, Game 1 will be Saturday at 12:30.

Flyers Put Away Devils

The Flyers closed our their first round series with a pretty convincing series victory over the New Jersey Devils, who really seemed to have little interest in trying to get back into the series. The Flyers won 3-0 on the Devils home ice to eliminate the #2 seed. The Flyers went 9-2 against the Devils this season, including the playoffs.

If anything last night, the Devils had the puck in the Flyers zone more than the Flyers did in the Devils zone, but the Flyers converted their chances into goals, and the Devils did not. New Jersey went 0-8 on the power play, and I think the Flyers solid penalty killing was the main reason they won this series. This was perfectly exemplified last night when Ian Laperriere went down a blocked a slap shot with his face. It took about 60 or 70 stitches to close up a cut above Laperriere's eye.

With Jeff Carter and Simon Gagne out possibly for the rest of the playoffs, the Flyers needed some guys to step up and score some goals. Guys like Danny Briere and Scott Hartnell need to get going, and guys like Claude Giroux, and JVR, both of whom have played well, need to step up into an even bigger role. Danny Briere did his job, and played a great game. He got the Flyers on the board on the power play just over 3 minutes into the game. Two great passes, one from Richards to Giroux, and then from Giroux to Briere wide open in front of the net set up Briere's tally. Briere also saved a goal that appeared to be rolling into the Flyers net on a Devils power play, and Briere swatted the puck away just before it crossed the line. Giroux ended up scoring 2 goals in the 2nd period to put the game away. The Flyers just kind of sat back and didn't make any mistakes in the 3rd period, and won the game, and advanced to the 2nd round.

Unfortunately, the Flyers probably will have to face off against the best team in hockey in the regular season, the Washington Capitals, and Alexander Ovechkin. The Capitals have one of the most potent offenses the NHL has seen in a while, led by Ovechkin, Backstrom, and Semin. I hope that the Canadiens can win another game at least in that series to extend it and put some pressure on the Capitals. As good as the Capitals offense is, their defense and goaltending aren't great.

Either way, the Flyers played a great series, but need to step it up in the 2nd round if they want to beat whoever they end up playing. Boucher needs to continue his strong performance from this series to help this team advance through the playoffs.

Flyers Take Command of Series

The Flyers won yesterday in Game 4 of the first round series to take a commanding 3-1 series lead in front of the home crowd at the Wachovia Center. The Flyers outplayed the Devils in the past 2 games, and I think the home crowd played a factor in that.

The Flyers were down after the first period 1-0 on a Kovalchuk goal scored on a 5 on 3 power play. Boucher would not allow another goal, and the Flyers went on to score 4, winning 4-1, and seeing players such as Jeff Carter and Danny Briere break out of their slumps.

Jeff Carter got the Flyers going on the power play in the 2nd period wristing a shot past Brodeur. The assist went to Danny Briere. Later in the period, Briere skated in the Devils zone, and ripped a slap shot in the upper corner beating Brodeur and giving the Flyers a 2-1 lead that they would not relinquish. The Flyers got 3rd period goals from goal scoring machine Daniel Carcillo, and another power play tally from Jeff Carter gave the Flyers a 4-1 lead and victory.

Boucher continued to play strong in between the pipes stopping 30 of the Devils 31 shots. The defense has played well for the most part in front of him. Boucher has only allowed 9 goals in the 4 games so far this series. The Devils only goal this game as I said came on a 5 on 3 power play. When the action has been 5 on 5, the Flyers have had control of the last 2 games. Their Flyers have been forechecking relentlessly, and making the Devils defenseman give up pucks, and not enabling the Devils to move easily through the neutral zone. The strong forechecking is a stable of coach Peter Laviolette’s system, which the Flyers seem to be buying into.

The work is not over yet, the Flyers cannot be happy by a strong postseason performance thus far, they need to put the Devils away. It was 10 years ago with Boucher in net that the Flyers had a 3-1 series lead on the Devils, on their way to the Stanley Cup, only to see the Devils win 3 straight games and eliminate the Flyers. Obviously that is in the past, but it can still happen, especially with 2 of the final 3 games of the series in New Jersey. You don’t want to have to go to New Jersey to win a game 7. The Flyers will go to New Jersey for Game 5 Thursday night, and will hopefully be travelling back to Philadelphia without the Devils coming as well. The Flyers will have to win Game 5 however without Jeff Carter, and Simon Gagne, both of whom have injured feet. Ville Leino, and David Laliberte will replace them in the lineup.

Flyers Take 2-1 Series Lead

The Flyers beat the Devils 2-1 in overtime Sunday night to beat the Devils and take a 2-1 series lead in this best of 7 first round series. The Flyers outplayed the Devils most of this game, especially as it went on, and finally solved Brodeur in overtime to put the game away.

This game was easily the most nerve-racking Flyers game all season, and one of those games we as fans are all too familiar with - watching the Flyers dominate the entire 3rd period, and then having them lose on a fluke goal. Well, the Flyers did not let that happen, and even though they couldn't solve Brodeur in the 3rd period, they finally put one past him in overtime.

Daniel Carcillo got the game winner, a little over 3 minutes into overtime on an open net stuff in. The goal came just 5 seconds after a Devils penalty expired making the goal an even strength goal. Mike Richards had the puck at the side of the net and just tried to stuff it into the corner. Brodeur had the corner covered, but the puck popped out in front of the net and Carcillo was there uncovered, and stuffed it in. Gagne was in front of the net also. That line had combined for the 2nd Flyers goal of the game, when Gagne made an unbelievable forechecking hit on a Devils defenseman who gave up the puck. Carcillo immediately swooped in, grabbed the puck and played it out in front to Richards who scored easily. Claude Giroux continued his stellar postseason with the other Flyers goal in the 1st period off a nice pass from Kimmo Timonen.

The Flyers really played well from the start, and benefited from being in front of the home crowd. It seemed to really give the Flyers a boost to play in their own building. The Flyers only got better and more dominant as the game moved along. The 3rd period was completely controlled by the Flyers, and the Flyers seemed to have a legit scoring chance every minute. Brodeur had to show why he is the best goalie of all time to keep the Devils in this one. Even in overtime, the Flyers came right out and had a few scoring chances before Carcillo put the game away.

The Richards, Carcillo, and Gagne line had a superb game. Richards continues to play well this postseason, as he has done the past 2 years. The Giroux, Van Riemsdyk, Asham line also continued to play very well. Giroux has been the best player on the Flyers thus far, besides maybe Pronger, and possibly Boucher. We still need for Jeff Carter to step it up and score a goal. The threesome of Carter, Briere, and Hartnell really need to start playing and give the Flyers something, because they haven't yet in the playoffs. The defense is playing solid for the most part, as Pronger, Timonen, and Coburn had strong games.

The work isn't done yet, the Flyers need to come out with the same intensity that they had at the end of Game 3, because you know that the Devils will be coming out firing on all cylinders. Also, if Brodeur plays like he did tonight, we are going to need to dominate the game just to have a chance to win, similarly to tonight.

Flyers Take 1-0 Series Lead

The Flyers took game 1 against the Devils in a very nerve racking game, as the Flyers basically sat back in the 3rd period and trying to hold on a 2-0 lead. They gave up a late goal to make the score 2-1, but held on to take a 2-1 series lead in this first round series.

Brian Boucher was the player of the game for the Flyers, as he made just about every save that came his way, including a few really nice ones. The only goal the Devils scored came off a deflection that he had no chance on. The Devils controlled the play in the first period and Boucher kept it at 0-0 after that period, and the Devils controlled the 3rd period, but Boucher was up to the task. This was Boucher's first playoff win since 2000, also against the Devils.

The Flyers got on the board halfway through the 2nd period on the power play, as the puck was out in front of Brodeur, and Chris Pronger muscled the puck into the net. With just over 3 minutes left in the 2nd period, Mike Richards unleashed a laser that found the upper corner and beat Brodeur on a slap shot. The Flyers took the 2-0 lead into the 3rd period, and then really just sat back and basically wanted to clock to tick down before the Devils could catch up. They came close, but they didn't.

Even though the Flyers won, they were outplayed. They should treat Game 2 as if they were outplayed in Game 1, and show some more energy and a sense of urgency. The Flyers only ended up with 14 shots on the night. The Flyers never really carried the puck into the zone, they were always getting to the red line and dumping it in. And when they did dump the puck in, they were not able to get the forecheck going and start cycling to get some chances. The Flyers did do very well on the penalty kill, as they had to kill off 6 minutes of power play time for the Devils in the 3rd period alone, including a double minor.

Great start to the series, but the Flyers should not be content with this victory. They need to play better in Game 2 and the rest of this series if they want to advance to Round 2, because it is only a matter of time before the Devils players like Parise, and Kovalchuk get going. The Flyers can't count on Boucher carrying them many more games.

Flyers Playoff Preview

The Flyers get underway with the 2010 playoffs this evening when they travel to Newark to play the Devils at the Prudential Center. The Flyers went through a very up and down season, and had to win the final regular season game in a shootout against the Rangers just to get into the playoffs. The Flyers are in as the #7 seed in the East.

This season will definitely be considered a disappointment if the Flyers get bounced in the first round. The Flyers have arguably as much talent as almost anyone in the NHL, and should be competing to win Stanley Cups. The defense did improve this season with the help of Chris Pronger, and the offense, while not great, is above average. The Flyers still have no go to guy in net, and the musical chairs that has been the Flyers goaltending of the past decade has continued. It started with the offseason signing of Ray Emery. Emery started the season in net, and played well. He then had some injury problems and was eventually shut down. Enter Brian Boucher and Michael Leighton. Both goalies got their shot, and Leighton outplayed Boucher. Unfortunately, Leighton also got injured, which left Boucher as the Flyers starter through the end of the season. Boucher did play very well in certain games down the stretch, but overall was not effective. Nothing explains the Flyers inconsistencies in goals more than Boucher vs. Brodeur in the 2010 playoffs… a rematch of the 2000 Eastern Conference Finals that the Flyers lost to the Devils 4 games to 3. We all know the Flyers have had about 100 netminders in between that series and this one, while the Devils have the best goalie in NHL history in Brodeur.

While the goaltending edge obviously goes to the Devils, the Flyers might have the edge in some other categories. As I mentioned earlier, this Flyers team is not without talent. On paper, the Flyers probably have more talent than the Devils, not including goalies. The Flyers have a solid veteran offense made up of playoff veterans such as Danny Briere and Simon Gagne, and younger emerging stars like Glaude Giroux, and James Van Riemsdyk. The leaders of the team, guys like Mike Richards, Jeff Carter, and Chris Pronger will need to have a very good series if the Flyers want to win. Richards and Carter need to step it up offensively, as they led the Flyers in points throughout the season, and will continue to need to do so into the playoffs. Pronger brings an element to the Flyers that they have not had in a while -- A punishing, intimidating veteran defenseman who has a ton of playoff experience, and success. The defense will need to play well in front of Boucher if the Flyers want to beat the Devils.

The Flyers do go into this series as the underdog, but this is not a typical 2-7 matchup. I think the Flyers have underachieved most of the season. If the Flyers continue to underachieve, then they will be out in the first round, and another disappointing season will pass. The Flyers may just be an above average team and nothing more. The Flyers also will not be afraid of the Devils, as they have won 5 of the 6 meetings this year with New Jersey.

Hockey playoffs are always extremely exciting; one of the best things to watch in all of sports is playoff hockey. The Flyers and Devils know each other very well, and get under way tonight in Game 1 at the Prudential Center.