Despite pounding, Flyers' Bryz needs to play Sat.; Reese says swagger is back
The Philadelphia Inquirer Blog - Flyers Report: Broad Street Bull
Despite pounding, Flyers' Bryz needs to play Sat.; Reese says swagger is back
Sam Carchidi, Inquirer Staff Writer
UPDATE:
The Flyers did not practice Friday, but had a team meeting. Goalie coach Jeff Reese had a long one-on-one with Bryzgalov.
“He felt great today. He came in with his swagger and it’s important that his teammates saw him come in like that," Reese said. "He was joking around and laughing and I think that was very important. He’s going to turn this around, no question.”
In a roundabout way, Reese said Bryzgalov will be back in the nets on Saturday.
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FROM EARLIER:
For the first time in the franchise’s history, the Flyers scored eight goals in a LOSING effort.
It happened Thursday in a wild, pond-like game in which they lost to the Winnipeg Jets, 9-8, before a stunned crowd at the Wels Fargo Center.
The franchise’s previous high for goals scored in a loss was seven _ 9-7 at Hartford in 1984, and 8-7 vs. visiting Tampa Bay last year.
Incredibly, the Flyers fired 84 shots (48 on net, 19 blocked, 17 missed) and still lost. Winnipeg fired 43 shots (25 on net, 11 blocked, seven missed).
Afterward, goalie Ilya Bryzgalov blamed himself for the loss. Bryzgalov was awful in a relief role (four goals on 10 shots), but his timid defense was even worse, repeatedly failing to clear the front of the net.
“You win as a team, you lose as a team,” said winger James van Riemsdyk, who scored two goals and took 14 shots, including nine on goal. “You can’t ever put it on just one guy. We have to be better in front of him. There were a lot of tips and point-blank chances that we have to cut down and make his job a little easier.”
That’s similar to what the players were saying after Wednesday’s 5-1 loss in Montreal.
In his last four appearances, Bryzgalov has a 5.05 GAA and .802 save percentage.
“I’m lost in the woods,” Bryzgalov said, calling it the worst stretch in his career and apologizing to the fans and his teammates. “I have zero confidence in myself now. I am terrible.”
From here, Bryzgalov needs to get right back on the horse. Put him back in there Saturday against visiting Carolina and allow him to work on a new chapter.
Maybe the fact he cleared the air will allow Bryzgalov to relax, regain his focus and start to resemble the elite goalie who played in Phoenix.
Maybe.
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Follow Sam Carchidi on Twitter @BroadStBull.
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Lundqvist is an elite goalie. Bryzgalov is not.— icarus- Or maybe the pressure in Philly is too much for the $51 million dollar man?— Fabulous
- Bob was no better last night. The team is playing bad as a whole. goaltending hasn't been great but neither has the team in front of them. They will come out of it. The initial adrenalen has passed and now they are a team where almost half the roster is new. It will take time.— Sidewinder7
- icarus....Are you series Lundqvist has won nothing how can you call him elite.Brodeur,Roy were elite goalies.— donne8008
- Lundqvist had 11 - count 'em - ELEVEN shutouts last year on a struggling team. I'd say that makes him an elite goalie. Tell us you wouldn't take him over Bryzgalov, so we can have a good laugh. BTW, Brodeur missed the playoffs last year. It takes a whole team to win the Cup. A goalie can't be measured by Cup rings alone.
— icarus - so much for Flyers solving their goalie issues for past 2 decades --same old garbage— warbiscuit
- Goalie issues noted but how long does Lavy put up with Coburn's habit of failing to control play and turn the puck over in his own end?— Arthur_vandalay
- 10 games you idiots. 10!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!— fman727
- First thank you Sam for writing something while Frank is at the park feeding the pigeons. Every team goes through a tough stretch. This is a good time of the year to figure things out.— Atlee
- Relax, do you have many times Brodeur has been counted out only to bounce back? Goalies go up and down. Bryz has a proven win/lose record in the regular season. Oh, BTW, "Lundqvist" is not an ELITE goalie. Roy and Brodeur are elite goalies.— MichaelZoe
- Last night was one of those games we would all like to forget, but as fman27 said - it's only 10 games in - and the Flyers came out on the plus side after those 10 games (5-4-1). It is obvious after these first games that the team defense needs a lot of work, and it will get fixed if Lavy has anything to say about it. I would much rather this happen now and have them learn from their shortcomings than in March or April.— CTL
- I wonder if Ilya Bryzgalov has the mental toughness to play in Philadelphia. It's not Phoenix or Anaheim where he played and many of the fans are casual hockey fans.— zeke128
- Looks like Bryz is in his usual playoff form.
- maybe, but unfortunately his recent play and comments last night will only bring more pressure in the short term from restless/vocal Flyers fans--his candor is refreshing but he didnt do himself any favors with his post-game interview...someone needs to tell him that this is Philly/the Northeast, and not laid-back Phoenix, so he should curb his comments, for his own good--agree, the guy is not "elite" (but nobody said he was when he got here) but certainly good (we'll take good) so he just needs to relax and figure this out and get back to playing the way we (and he) knows he can.— btmb
- I'm not a big Bryz fan. The book on him is clearly to get in front and get deflections, but then again that is 99% of goalies. The D needs to stop aimlessly wrapping the puck around the boards. Forwards have to be willing to minimize risk by chipping the puck out instead of carrying it all the time. Equal blame for everyone.— mike
