Flyers Look To End Drought Vs. Rangers
The Philadelphia Inquirer Blog - Flyers Report: Broad Street Bull
Flyers Look To End Drought Vs. Rangers
There were two ways that Saturday’s 6-4 loss to the New Jersey Devils was viewed by the Flyers in the locker room.
Coach Peter Laviolette talked about how he was happy the team played hard in scoring four third period goals after trailing 6-0.
Yet he made it clear that the end result was bitterly disappointing.
“They went out, they played well and they gave it their best,” Laviolette said about the third period. “We came up short and we're leaving here with a loss so I guess that's how we'll look at it."
Earlier this season the Flyers suffered a 6-0 Saturday matinee loss at home to the Boston Bruins. In that game they showed no fight.
Had the Flyers had a similar effort against the Devils, then going in against the Rangers would have been more difficult than the task at hand, which is pretty difficult in its own right.
The Flyers feel at least it will be good that they won’t have long to stew over this defeat.
“I think if you get embarrassed at home the best thing to do is get back in the saddle again and go after an opponent that’s waiting for you, that’s hungry, that’s kind of owned you, like you said, three times earlier this year,” Scott Hartnell said. “So, in Madison Square Garden, we’ve got to come out fired up like we did in that third period and just continue that momentum that we gained in that last twenty minutes.”
Easier said than done.
The Flyers are 0-3 against the Rangers and 0-2 at MSG, having been outscored 6-2 during those games in New York.
This will be the first meeting between the two teams since the Rangers took a 3-2 victory on Jan. 2 during the Winter Classic at Citizens Bank Park.
That game seems so long ago. Remember, a slumping Ilya Bryzgalov was benched?
Now he is playing much better. On Saturday Bryzgalov didn’t allow a goal and made a few nice glove saves in relief of Sergei Bobrovsky.
In his two starts since the all-star break, Bryzgalov has been involved in a 2-1 shootout loss to Winnipeg and a 4-1 win over Nashville.
After Saturday’s performance from Bobrovsky, Bryzgalov likely won’t be looking over his shoulder for a while.
The Flyers need a game where Bryzgalov stands on his head, figuratively of course.
And they must come out with the urgency that was missing for the first 40 minutes against the Devils.
The Rangers lead the Flyers by three points with two games in hand.
With 31 games left, this may not be a must-win situation for the Flyers, but it’s awfully close, not only from a standings-purpose, but for their confidence.
After this there will only be two more meetings with the Rangers.
“We can’t let these points pass away against the Rangers,” Claude Giroux said.
In short, the urgency that the Flyers showed the final 20 minutes, but be displayed for the entire 60 for them to have a chance against the Rangers.
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Bryz has never got lit up like that! Six goals in less than half a game? Even with Philly's spotty D that is unbelievable! Come on Bobbettes, lets hear how it was only a fluke! LOL— DLW- Lets see, 2 of those goals were on 5 on 3 powerplays. One was on a 2 on 1 that was caused by Zubrus tripping Giroux to spring the rush with no call. Bob was not at fault, the refs started handing the Devil's goals, and the Flyer's quit. Then the devils got ahead 6-0 and they quit allowing the Flyers back into it. Sounds like you didnt even watch the game, I wonder if you are Hexy4GM on another account hating on Bob cause he put Leighton in the minors where he belongs.— Sidewinder7
- this must be the same guy who said Bryz didn't face any tough shots in the win over nashville — mos19delta
- I would like to start off by saying that this team is simply everything to me. However, I was deeply disappointed with the first 40 minutes of the game. Lavy needs to put the fishing rod away & concentrate on getting his team ready for the start of the game. It was an embarrassment! First 5 minutes of the game, outshot 8-0 and already shorthanded, 5 on 3. That is unacceptable! Not in our rink, not in our barn. What bothers me most regarding this game is that we had our tough guys, supposed “tough” guys, Rinaldo, Shelley and Sestito on in the line up… And guys like Schenn, Briere, Jagr and Giroux have to play the tough guys on this team. Volchenkov again took out Giroux with none of our “supposed” tough guys out there to help him. Then, minutes later, Jagr got punched in the face twice, is this Philly hockey or is this “Let-the-skilled-guys-fight-for-themselves?” Not going to go anywhere near the playoffs with this kind of hockey, boys. Lavy if you’re the captain of this ship, gets this going right, because it’s going wrong. Twenty minutes doesn’t cut it boys!— stevenlovesphilly
Comment removed.- To all you loser Philly fans that say Bryz has never played well in the playoffs: Modern NHL record playoff shutout streak: 249 minutes, 15 seconds, Ilya Bryzgalov, 2006, Anaheim Mighty Ducks. Do the math, that's over four regulation games! Do some some research before you pop off! Maybe one day BOB will get his first regular season shutout!— DLW
- You're kidding right? What year exactly was that when Bryz was stellar? 2006???? Five years ago!! How is he doing this year fella?
I agree about Laviolette. The league has always had it in for the Flyers, so we might as well commit the penalty that ordinarily is a phantom penalty. Next, we should slug every piece of dirt looking to be a tough guy, in OUR building no less. Fight back already. Bad referee? There are always errant passes which could whiz by the head of a ref who only raises his arm against the Flyers. In other words, player, ref, league, SEND A MESSAGE, "we're sick and tired of this and won't take it anymore. - Its not the goalie, / goalies....its how we started the game! I was there, " DWL " obviously you have no clue about Hockey. Sad for You!! Wanna be hockey guy!— Dfirst
- Sorry...." DLW" ...if that matters? Got your initials wrong, but your Hockey knowledge , Not good!— Dfirst
- Looks like a trade for a defenseman will be forthcoming now. The kids lack of experience down the stretch will be detrimental, plus trying to cover for Coburn.— Romus
- Rangers? Maybe the Texas Rangers but not the Broadway Blues. They were down 6-0 against the Devils.— Wilhelm Von Humboldt
- According to Sam, the Flyers "need today's 20 minutes of urgency for all 60 minutes tomorrow for them to have a chance against the Rangers". Wow, didn't realize the Rangers were the '85 Oilers. What a friggin' juggernaut! Man, they're scary, they're gonna win the Cup for sure!!! Gimme a break... Yeah, fine, they're 0-3 against the Rangers. In the playoffs that'd be a problem; there's still a LOT of season to go.....— Brian F.
- Did I miss something or is there no mention in the story of when the game will be played?— allodat
- DLW....I'm not looking to get into an argument, but why don't you check the progression of his playoff numbers. Four playoff years with a statistical decline that makes Ryan Howard's regression look slight. It would seem that, as the expectations rose, the playoff performance declined. Couple that with the fact that he has been absolutely awful during the first pressure-filled season of his career, and there is certainly cause for concern. Can't really argue with that logic.— CornerPretzelGuy
- I live and breathe Flyers hockey but this is just as bad as having Richards and Carter hungover out there. Why are players like Giroux, Briere, and now Schenn fighting when we got players like Rinaldo and Shelley on the team??? And don't even get me started on ANOTHER zombie start. It's Lavi's job to get this team ready and all this time I've been screaming about poor defense and goaltending, but these poor starts are unacceptable too. For the money these guys make they should be ready to give 60 minutes at least 82 games a year. This is bull sheet.— Kanayd
