Archive: May, 2010
Sam Carchidi, Inquirer Staff Writer
BOSTON - Flyers left winger Dan Carcillo, who injured his right knee in Friday's 5-4 overime win over the Bruins, said he felt fine in Monday's morning skate and hinted strongly that he will play tonight in Game 5 of the conference semifinals in Boston.
It will be a game-time decision, but, based on Carcillo's comments, he will play.
Coach Peter Laviolette, whose team faces a 3-1 series deficit, said the first five minutes tonight will be the key.
Sam Carchidi, Inquirer Staff Writer
Left winger Simon Gagne, sidelined since April 20 with a broken bone in his right foot, plans to play Friday night in the Flyers' win-or-go-home contest against Boston.
The Bruins lead the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal, three games to none.
Gagne, who had an MRI Thursday afternoon that showed the bone was healing nicely, is expected to play on a line with Mike Richards and Dan Carcillo. He will probably also spend time on the team's struggling power play _ which is 0 for 8 over the last two games _ but not on the penalty kill.
Sam Carchidi, Inquirer Staff Writer
Flyers left winger Simon Gagne said it will be a game-time decision whether he plays Friday against Boston.
Gagne, sidelined since April 20 with a broken right foot, hinted he would be in the lineup. He did not take part in Friday's morning skate in order to rest the foot.
An MRI on Thursday showed that the the foot was healing nicely. If he plays, he probably won't be used on the penalty kill, coach Peter Laviolette said.
Sam Carchidi, Inquirer Staff Writer
Left winger Simon Gagne, who broke his right foot in Game 4 of the conference quarterfinals against New Jersey, was a surprising participant in the Flyers' practice in Voorhees on Thursday morning _ and may play in the conference semifinals against Boston Friday.
Earlier in the week, the Flyers said Gagne would be examined Friday, which was supposed to be the earliest he could begin skating.
Amazing how an 0-3 series deficit speeds up the healing process.
Sam Carchidi, Inquirer Staff Writer
The Inquirer's Sam Carchidi takes your questions about the Flyers in a live chat at 3 p.m.
Sam Carchidi, Inquirer Staff Writer
If you’re among the nearly 20,000 fans who will attend the Wachovia Center for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals Wednesday night, the Bruins' Marc Savard says he is ready for you.
Savard figures to be the fans’ target after Flyers winger Dan Carcillo accused him of
biting his finger during host Boston’s 3-2 win on Monday.
“It just makes you play better," Savard said after Wednesday’s morning skate, referring to the lively crowd expected for the game. “It should be fun.”
Carcillo said he is hoping his line is matched against Savard’s unit. Savard brushed a aside a question about whether he wanted to be matched against Carcillo.
Savard, who denied biting Carcillo, played for Atlanta when he received a one-game suspension for biting Toronto's Darcy Tucker's thumb in 2003.
At the time, Savard's explanation of the bite was similar to what he said after Monday's episode with Carcillo, according to the National Post of Canada. It quoted Savard in 2003 as saying: "He just shoved his fingers in my mouth. I don't know how you get out of a mouth-hold."
Bruins coach Claude Julien downplayed the Savard-Carcillo rematch.
“We’re here to play hockey,” he said. “We not here to worry about anything else but the game.”
Savard said the Bruins _ who have a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series _ need to be prepared for a Flyers’ offensive onslaught, especially early in the game.
“We played Montreal last year in the playoffs; we were up 2-0 when we went to Montreal and they threw everything at us,” he said, “and we have to be ready for the same type of thing. We want to try to grab a hold of this (series) tonight and not let it slip away.”
The Bruins won Game 3 in Montreal last year, 4-2, en route to a four-game sweep.
Said Julien: “We don’t want to let them back in the series, so we need to be ready. It’s not a very complicated thing. It’s a matter of understanding the urgency on both sides here and being able to counter what the other team is going to throw at you.”
One of the keys Wednesday will be faceoffs. Boston won 59 percent of the draws in Game 2 and that led to a lot of puck possession.
Sam Carchidi, Inquirer Staff Writer
BOSTON _ Boston Bruins coach Claude Julien didn’t call Flyers defensemen Chris Pronger a dirty player.
But the implication was there.
“We all know,” Julien said on Sunday, “Chris Pronger takes liberties sometimes.”
Pronger, who got into a high-sticking scrum with Boston’s Mark Recchi in Game 1 that resulted in the Flyers getting a power play, didn’t take Julien’s bait.
“I just worry about my game and let the rest of them do the talking,” he said after Monday’s morning skate.
Flyers coach Peter Laviolette, perhaps sensing that Julien was trying to get the referees' attention, defended Pronger.
“I thought his game was pretty clean,” he said. “That Mark Recchi guy seemed to want to take a couple runs at Pronger. I thought Prongs’ game was pretty good. I didn’t see him really taking liberties. I saw him competing hard in battles. He had the altercation with Mark, but that’s Chris’ job, just like (Zdeno) Chara’s job on the other side is to try to play our skilled guys with an edge.”
Game 2 is Monday night, and the Flyers _ who seemed relaxed and confident after the morning skate _ will try to even the series.
Sam Carchidi, Inquirer Staff Writer
BOSTON _ Same city, same result _ a heartbreaking overtime loss for the Flyers in Boston.
Exactly four months after they lost to the Bruins, 2-1, in the Winter Classic at Fenway Park, the Flyers dropped a wild 5-4 decision to Boston at the TD Garden Saturday.
. For the Flyers, the signs were mixed.in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Positive: They were 2 for 5 on the power play, goalie Brian Boucher was superb, and the Mike Richards-led offense found a way to score four goals.
Negative: The Flyers were badly outplayed in the first period and the overtime, and they allowed 46 shots _ not exactly a playoff-type defense. The Flyers failed to clear the front of the net and, for the most part, left Boucher hung out to dry.
To win Game 2 on Monday, the Flyers must get back to the tight-checking games they played against New Jersey in the previous playoff round. In that series, the Flyers kept the Devils’ chances to a minimum. They forced most of New Jersey’s shots to be fired from the perimeter, and Boucher didn’t have to make a ridiculous number of difficult saves like he did on Saturday.
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Boston’s Tuukka Rask is hoping to become the fourth rookie goalie in NHL history to win the Stanley Cup.
The three: Montreal’s Ken Dryden (1971) and Patrick Roy (1986), and Carolina’s Cam Ward in 2006.
Detroit’s Jimmy Howard is another rookie goalie still playing in the playoffs.
