Boosh or Bob? Too sloppy to decide
The bare burgundy seats, long since emptied via mass exodus in the final 10 minutes, painted a fair enough picture.
Boosh or Bob? Too sloppy to decide
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:
“It’s more of our loss than their win,” Giroux said. “I think we kind of game them the win.”
Both teams were coming off of emotional, Game 7 wins earlier in the week to skate into the second round. The Flyers, in fact, had an extra day of rest. And yet they played flat – from the drop of the puck – starting in a hole just 1:52 into the contest.
Mike Richards said the Flyers weren’t physical enough, even though they officially outhit the Bruins, 26-20, on the scoresheet. That was just a part of the problem.
They weren’t physical enough in the right areas, most importantly in front of starter-du-jour Brian Boucher. They did not take care of the puck the same way they had in round one against Buffalo, blatantly turning the puck over as if it were a grenade on their stick.
“It wasn’t very good [Saturday], the defensive play,” coach Peter Laviolette said. “Especially, you know, right in front of our goaltender. Too many easy goals, too many easy plays, we weren’t strong enough right in front of our goaltender.”
Make no mistake, Boucher was not much better. He was yanked after 36 minutes and 5 goals against, making way for Sergei Bobrovsky. It was the fourth time in just eight playoff games that the Flyers have replaced their starting goaltender.
Laviolette was quick to not pin the blame on Boucher, who allowed 5 goals on 23 shots.
“Certainly, you don’t want to do that,” Laviolette said, “But I think that just based on the way we played in front of our goaltender, we as a team deserve all of the responsibility as far as that goes.”
That didn’t stop Boucher from taking his part. All-time, the Flyers are now 0-6 in Game 1s against Boston.
“As a goaltender, I’m responsible for stopping the puck and when they get by me, I take responsibility,” Boucher said. “I don’t think any of us played particularly well. There were some plays where I was able to make the first save but not able to make the second one. It wasn’t our best effort and that’s just the way it goes.”
Despite not having their “A” game on Saturday afternoon for Game 1, regardless of reason, the Flyers had a chance to make things interesting in the third period when trailing 5-2. After whiffing on a power play with 12 minutes to play, they blew a 56 second two-man advantage before Richards could finally solve Tim Thomas.
Scoring twice in that sequence would have made the Bruins think.
Instead, Brad Marchand netted his second goal of the afternoon just 1:57 later. Laviolette said his team needed to play much better than to even think about those moments as a possible “turning point” in Game 1.
“The 60 minutes that we played, it was hard to get a turning point anywhere in there,” Laviolette said. “It was an opportunity for us to get back into the game. Turning points, I think, are when you are competitively involved in the game and something all of the sudden goes south or doesn’t go your way, that’s a turning point.”
Monday night’s Game 2, back at the Wells Fargo Center, could be a turning point in the seven-game series. Or not.
And while the goaltending carousel will rage on, even though our gut is that Laviolette will stick with Boucher as the Flyers try to even the series, the truth is that it wouldn’t matter who would play in net on Monday if they continue to invite the Bruins into their living room.
“We could’ve been better as a group,” Richards said. “Defense is played by 5 guys on the ice and the goaltender. We left our goaltender out hanging [Saturday]. We weren’t playing really well.”
Both Boucher and Richards used the ‘it’s just one game’ mentality that has plagued the Flyers all season. What may be most frustrating, after Game 7s dominant win over Buffalo, is that once you think you have this team figured out, they never cease to stop dumbfounding.
“We come off one of our strongest performances in a while, come out and we don’t have a good game,” Laviolette said. “That’s not the way we need to play in order to be successful. Everything’s got to change.”
History, especially recent history, can change pretty quickly. This year’s Bruins team doesn’t look like the bunch that is going to squander a two or three game lead again.
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Mike Richards is absolutely correct in saying that the Flyers have to play more physical and must clear the crease in front of whoever is in goal. The Bruins do not have the Sabres' speed, but they are certainly a lot bigger than them, especially forwards Lucic, Horton and Thornton. That's why they are going for rebounds all the time. I am sure the Flyers will adapt to that and still can win this series. The fans should be more supportive in my humble opinion.— flyerdommo- flyerdomino, I aree with everything you said. The Flyers definitely need to be more physical, especially in front of their crease. And they (read; Richards) need to be more physical with Krejci, who is a finesse player who doesn't like to be hit. And fans, man up, and support your team when they need it, like now.— Ernie D
- Does it matter who the goalie is in game two because they all are inadequate— shawnmac
- Richards should take a look in the mirror and actually start to play like a captain and one of the highest paid players on this team. His effort is minimal and his contributions are less than that.— ethicaloversite
- No number 1 goalie, same as every year— outta work
- So who would you have grabbed this past offseason? Turco - Replaced by Crawford after posting a GAA over 3. Nabokov - Stunk it up in Russia. Emery wasn't ready until March and they tried to get him. Complain in October if Bryzgalov or Vokoun aren't in net, but we wouldn't be any better if one of the aging goalies from the offseason were in Philly right now. — logicandreason
- I was kind of young at the time, but I never remember reading "Bernie or Bobby Taylor?" as the headlines in 1974 or 1975. Since that time, we've gotten lucky with a late draft pick in Hextall, and unluckly with Lindbergh, but we have never even tried to get a big time goalie. Seriously, think about the names - Tommy Soderstrom, Steph beauregard, Maxime Oulette, Dominic Rousell, Scott LaGrand, Marc LaForrest, Garth Snow... It hurts to write all these terrible failures. The only goalie that we've had that even came close to being decent was Roman Chechmanek, and he was completely insane. When we could have gotten Curtis Joseph, the Flyers opted for a well-past-his-prime John Vanbiesbrouk. I'm not saying there is another Patrick Roy sitting around, but name me another serious contender with goalies that aren't far superior to the Flyers? I understand the cap limitations and many other elements that factor into creating a quality hockey team, but since the late-70's, we have seen a steady decline in the perceived value of that goaltending position in the Flyers organization. This has to change, or it will be another 40 years before we see the Stanley Cup up close and personal....
- I really like Boucher. He is classy, the consummate team player. that said.... "Bob" has all the cat-like reflexes you can't teach. It's called TALENT. It may be raw talent, but the kid has the ability to be very, very good. I watched Pelle play. I see Parent in newsreels. Parent was a shaky tender without confidence when the Flyers traded him to Toronto, early in his career. Watching Jaques Plante he became the premiere goalie, putting his skills to work. Someone must tudor "Bob" the same way, as he can be a great one. In any event, I love the Flyers. Go Flyers GO!! Flyers in six.— PhillyboyinNYC
- Bob. Simple. If we're in a similar position next year at least we give the more talented of the two some playoff ice time.— AJSer
- Depends "which" Boosh shows up!! If same as Saturday, flip a coin.— dogman5
- none of the above,,,get hallady to goaltend— hardball
- Tough Game for the Flyers. I expected a more physical presence from them. But the series they just finished was against a weak team. Boston still has a bad taste in their mouths from last year. If the Flyers can rebound, it'll be no walk in the park.— odnod
- Unless the the team effort in game 2 is better, it doesn't really matter whose in net. But I'm guessing Boucher will get the call.— RowdyRoddy
- What game were some folks watching? Richards was one Flyer who came with his A game. It's camp to critique Richards, expect him to walk on water, but he's a hockey equivalent to Chase Utley. I think the D, which played primarily without against Buffalo, didn't have their legs, and Pronger was rusty. Hopefully, game two we'll see better D. If not, might not get to use a ticket I got for game 5.— retzlaff
- Boucher should get one more shot. if he cant do it he leaves the coach no choice to switch. yesterdays game wasn't all goaltending problems the team played awful in front of the net . they didn't win many battles for the puck. hope they can do better tomorrow. go flyers...— phillysportsnut
