Flyers' Richards says 'nothing to be scared of'

When asked about what it takes to climb out of a three-games-to-none hole in a series, Mike Richards didn't pause. He didn't have to stop and think about it.

Commitment, he said.

Interestingly, Richards was standing in front of a sign reading "Commitment" inside the Flyers' locker room. After a motivational speech earlier in the season, when the Flyers were mired in a 3-13-1 slump, various signs with inspirational quotes were hung around the room.

Under the commitment placard, a quote from former New York Rangers coach Tom Renney starts out with, "Impossible is nothing."

Richards knows the Flyers have just 60 minutes tonight to determine if their season will be extended by another 60 minutes.

"Just commitment," Richards said. "Getting focused and getting your mind into it. We know it's a tough task. But it's nothing to be scared of."

Seemingly everyone in the Flyers' locker room had the same mind-set: Win one game and slowly chip away at the mountain still remaining.

"If we get one, we go from there," Brian Boucher said. "I thought [Wednesday] was our best game. We've played pretty good before that. For whatever reason, we haven't gotten results. You've got to make your own opportunities."

In the latest edition of The Hockey News, Ian Laperriere was awarded the John Ferguson Award as the NHL's toughest player . . . Chris Pronger was the second runner-up for the Rod Langway Award for Best Defenseman . . . Mike Richards said the Flyers' power play, which is just 2-for-14 in the series, can "be better" . . . Just three Flyers players failed to register a shot on goal in Game 3 . . . Boston goalie Tuukka Rask has stopped 90 of the 97 shots thrown his way by the Flyers, good for a stellar .927 save percentage . . . The Flyers announced the signing of three prospects to contracts for next year: goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (Russian league), goal-tender Brian Stewart (Northern Michigan University) and forward Andrew Rowe (Michigan State University).

"I've been here for 7 months and for them to show me how they appreciate what I do, I don't have any words to describe that. It was unreal. I'll never forget that."

- Flyers forward Ian Laperriere on the roaring standing ovation he received during Game 3 at the Wachovia Center on Wednesday.