Flyers swept
Bruins 5, Flyers 1
Flyers swept
Rich Hofmann, Daily News Sports Columnist
BOSTON -- And so it ends for the Flyers, quickly and profoundly. Four games, four losses, and now more than 4 months to try to figure out what went wrong.
Facing elimination, the Flyers did nothing to embarrass themselves on Friday night at TD Garden. They played a credible, competitive game. But they lost to the Bruins again, lost again, by a score of 5-1.
Now they go home to questions -- about why they keep falling into holes in games and series and other times, again and again testing their skill and their impressive level of fortitude; about how much time this nucleus might have together, especially given the series of injuries suffered by 36-year-old defenseman Chris Pronger, who played only three games this spring; and about their goaltending, a hardy perennial that bloomed into a full-grown riot the last couple of weeks.
The worst thing they could do would be to make a lot of pronouncements right now because so many of these issues are linked together. All they can do now is live with the flip side of their destiny. Last year at this time, the Flyers were celebrating a historic comeback against these self-fame Bruins. On Friday night, though, they were the ones wearing the grim faces in the handshake line.
The night began with the kind of intrigue that has become the Flyers’ custom. Coach Peter Laviolette declined to announce his starting goaltender until about 3 hours before game time -- and his choice, not surprisingly, was Sergei Bobrovsky. The circle was now complete. And, for the record, the Flyers’ 11 playoff games were net-minded, in order, by:
Bobrovsky; Bobrovsky and Brian Boucher; Boucher; Boucher; Boucher and Michael Leighton; Leighton and Boucher; Boucher; Boucher and Bobrovsky; Boucher and Bobrovsky and then Boucher again; Boucher and Bobrovsky; and then, last night, Bobrovsky.
(And, remember, this material will be on the final exam.)
Eleven games. Three different starters. Six games when the starter left, either because he was terrible (three times), the team in front of him was terrible (twice), or because of injury (once).
It was the entire story of the Flyers’ first-round series against Buffalo. It has been a continuing annoyance against the Bruins. And it was part of the pre-game speculation before Game 4 -- that, and whether or not Pronger would make a go of it after leaving Game 1 with about 2 minutes to go, never to return, with a still-undisclosed injury.
Would he? Wouldn’t he? For a while, on the NHL website, the pre-game lineup list Pronger as in. But he did not warm up and then the lineup was changed. Pronger, out.
So that was how it began.
In the first period, the Bruins not only got the first goal -- at 12:02 on a power play tap in by the Bruins’ human tank, Milan Lucic -- but they completely dominated. At one point in the period, the Flyers went 14:32 without a shot on goal, which is pretty hard to do when you are in desperation/elimination mode. But there it was.
To start the game, Laviolette made a key line change, grouping his three best forwards -- Claude Giroux, James van Riemsdyk and Danny Briere -- on the same line. It really didn’t generate much, though, and as things evolved, Briere would rejoin his regular linemates, Ville Leino and Scott Hartnell.
The Flyers were better to start the second period, but it was really an incremental improvement. The Bruins really had the game in lockdown mode, and they also managed a couple of very long stretches in the the Flyers’ end of the ice. Bobrovsky was not being asked to be spectacular, but he was good. And it was growing into one of those typically nervous playoff games where both teams probed for the mistake that might change things.
The Flyers’ Mike Richards, as it turned out, forced the key turnover that resulted in a 2-on-1 along with teammate Kris Versteeg. Richards ended up sliding the puck to Versteeg, who beat Thomas for his first goal of the playoffs. The time was 13:22 of the second. The scored was tied at 1-1.
The long, nervous night continued.
But the Bruins got the next one, at 2:42 of the third period, when defenseman Johnny Boychuk fired a 40-foot screamer that beat Bobrovsky high to the glove side. It might have tipped a stick along the way, and the puck might have sailed a little, and maybe this and maybe that -- but it was 2-1, Boston.
With the Flyers pressing for the tying goal, it was Lucic instead who went in alone on Bobrovsky and scored to make it 3-1. The last two Boston goals were scored into an empty net.
At which point, for the Flyers, the off-season unofficially began -- along with the questions.
Forum: Sound off on the Flyers' season
How do you play a competant and credible game in hockey and lose 5-1? In baseball terms that's like losing 10-2 or 35-7 in football.— atp2007- Come on, people. Hockey is like this -- it's about match-ups and momentum. And GOALTENDING. Good goaltending is what gets a team through the rough patches. The Flyers simply do not have it and they burned out pushing uphill. This series was lost in game two, a game that the Flyers essentially controlled. Down 2-0, they just didn't have the heart to climb the mountain again, but few teams with average to below average goal-tending can. The sad part is, they may be able to tweak a few things and make a good run next year if they had a top ten goalie. As it is, you've got to bring in a physical defenseman (Pronger is unreliable) and a stout forward to control the porch.— auntesther
Laviolette may have iced the decision to can him with that empty net stunt after falling behind by 3 at the end. Why embarrass the franchise like that, making the team flail away trying to keep out another meaningless goal? No other NHL coach would've done that. It shows the man has no judgement.— icarus- Owned!!!!! Have a nice summer!!!— Phillysuckswangs
- The Bruins proved without a doubt they are a superior hockey club.— DoctorJayBalboa
Comment removed.- Great point...journalism, as it once was, is dead.
They should no longer be referred to as journalists. More like stenographers.— Nicher 
Fig and MRD, the sweep must be nice for you, but it will NEVER be "payback" for last year. This year will be forgotten soon enough, but everytime some team goes down 0-3, they will bring up the Flyers Comeback ('ruins Choke) from 2010. There have been close to 100 Stanley Cup Champs, but only three teams have done what the Flyers did last year to your 'ruins team...Nice little series this time, but no "payback". Nice try. GO 'Bolts!- 36 years and counting— pflynn20
- All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.— NYPHILLYPHAN
- all i know is when they were pulling Bob at the end of the game i was hoping at least 2 guys were gonna jump on the ice because then MAYBE we'd have a chance of getting it in the zone...u guys gotta be ashamed of yourselves...most of you guys will be back so you gotta focus on whatever you gotta do to not be part of that again...we the people can't watch be sentanced to that again...but to whoever is in charge...we were getting detroyed out there...someone has to be able to hit somebody...the goalies were put in bad spots all playoffs long...and when they were,,,they gave up goals...a lot of those saves would've been great...but that's what it takes to win the cup...goals would be cool...but they'd come easier with some sustained pressure...which there wasn't...there were times when boston had the damn puck and we had absolutely NO hope of getting it from them...i've never seen anything like it...i'll be back next year,,,because of the effort i saw last year,,scraping, skating hard to pucks, winning individual battles, diving in front of shots, inspiring effort and determination not to lose,,,but i can't watch us get DESTOYED again...Pronger,,,get well— theglue
- Fig and MRD, the sweep must be nice for you, but it will NEVER be "payback" for last year. This year will be forgotten soon enough, but everytime some team goes down 0-3, they will bring up the Flyers Comeback ('ruins Choke) from 2010. There have been close to 100 Stanley Cup Champs, but only three teams have done what the Flyers did last year to your 'ruins team...Nice little series this time, but no "payback". Nice try. GO 'Bolts!
- Was Pronger injured so bad he could not play? And why was Z scratched? He had played with the most hustle in previous losses, which is sying something. Versteeg has to go. They've been sub .500 since he arrived.
What a miserable last two months for us life long Flyers fans. I think I am done since I broke the bank this year on tickets. No more, Ed. Your simply not worth the price for this bad product.
— Poppys - And that is that!!!
So long Flyers fans!!!
You got lucky against the Sabres anyway!!
You should have been eliminated in game #6 of that series!!
A young team like the Sabres almost did you!!
Go Sabres!!!— FlyersHater - You finally have the balls to show your true colors pal.
Like I have said many times before to Sabres fan,while the
Flyers figure the goaltending,power play,defence,who to keep or let go...why dont you go find the answer to 40
years of never winning a Stanley Cup,I will play fair and not go into Buffalo Bills futility,40years of nothing,zilch,2 cup finals is all you have to show for,
if not for your border crossing canadian fans attending a lot of Sabres game,your franchise would be long long gone.
Your team could not beat a Flyers team with no goalie,power play,and probably some room issues(?)and you have the nerves
to come on here and write your BS,pal Id chew you up,spit you out so fast,you would look like bin Laden stuck in his
conpound with the Seals dropping down on him.
Hasta la Vista ...Baby !
— mean mean pride,mean mean pride.
