Archive: April, 2011
The bare burgundy seats, long since emptied via mass exodus in the final 10 minutes, painted a fair enough picture.
When the final horn sounded on Saturday afternoon, the Wells Fargo Center was nearly as lifeless as the Flyers’ effort in Game 1 against the Bruins. As such, the lower bowl looked more like a preseason game against the Islanders in September rather than a second round playoff game.
And so, the Flyers now trail the Boston Bruins one game to none in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Stop us if you’ve heard that before. This time, after a 7-3 shellacking that Claude Giroux may have described best:
Video: The Daily News' Frank Seravalli and Fluto Shinzawa of the Boston Globe discuss what went wrong for the Flyers in their Game 1 loss to the Bruins in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
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The numbers, at first glance, blend in.
Officially, on sports gambling web site Bodog.com, there is no favorite in the Flyers’ second round series with the Bruins. It’s a pick ‘em.
The Flyers, though, have better odds to win the Eastern Conference:
Flyers players had the day off today in the aftermath of their Game 7 victory over Buffalo.
Now, they watch and wait until tonight to find out who their second-round opponent is. No matter who it is, we know the series will begin at the Wells Fargo Center on Saturday.
Pittsburgh faces Tampa Bay and Montreal faces Boston in a pair of Game 7s tonight. Should be some fun hockey to watch.
Fittingly, the Flyers’ first round series with Buffalo will end tonight - no matter who wins Game 7 at the Wells Fargo Center - with the same two goaltenders that started it.
Brian Boucher will start Game 7, but Sergei Bobrovsky will be his backup on the Flyers’ bench.
It will be Bobrovsky’s first game in a Flyers uniform since being pulled from Game 2.
The hit that Flyers captain Mike Richards delivered on the Sabres' Tim Connolly in Sunday's Game 6 will not warrant a suspension, or even an NHL disciplinary hearing, according to reports from Craig Custance of the Sporting News and Nick Kypreos of Rogers SportsNet.
The Flyers likely would have heard about a hearing last night if it were scheduled for today.
Connolly was rammed into the boards headfirst from behind by Richards with a little over 6 minutes left in the second period.
Video: The Daily News' Frank Seravalli and Rich Hofmann break down the Flyers 4-3 OT loss to the Buffalo Sabres in Game 5 from the Wells Fargo Center.
Get exclusive videos and analysis in our new app for iPhone and Android. Download it here.
Jeff Carter, who sat out the final two periods of Wednesday’s Game 4 loss in Buffalo, is likely to be considered doubtful for Friday’s pivotal Game 5 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals.
Officially, the Flyers are saying their leading goal scorer from the regular season is day-to-day with a lower-body injury. No shock. But Carter collided with 6-8 Buffalo defenseman Tyler Myers late in the first period on Wednesday and appeared to go knee-to-knee with Myers.
Both players briefly left the game. Myers was the only one to return.
BUFFALO -- Glued to a television showing replays inside the Flyers’ locker room, Chris Pronger had a smile on his face on Wednesday night.
“A physical series... I love it!” Pronger said.
So, with the Flyers’ opening round series knotted at two games a piece, the question bears asking: is it time for Pronger to get involved in the nastiness? That would be a big trump card for coach Peter Laviolette to play.
BUFFALO -- Brian Boucher is the Flyers’ Game 3 starting goalie in Buffalo, as Flyers coach Peter Laviolette announced after the team’s morning skate at HSBC Arena.
“I thought Brian came in and the last couple times has done a really nice job for us,” Laviolette said. “He’s on top of his game and in charge of his net. He’s bailed us out of a couple situations. He deserves to go in there and play.”
In a stunning turn of events, Sergei Bobrovsky, the starter in Games 1 and 2, has been relegated to a chair in the middle of the Flyers’ locker room. Bobrovsky was yanked 12 minutes into Saturday’s Game 2 when he allowed 3 goals on just 7 shots.
