For Flyers' Gagne, the magic touch continues
The Philadelphia Inquirer Blog - Flyers Report: Broad Street Bull
For Flyers' Gagne, the magic touch continues
Sam Carchidi, Inquirer Staff Writer
Simon Gagne, the Flyers' veteran left winger who was sidelined with a broken foot earlier in the playoffs, has the magic touch.
Since returning to the lineup earlier than expected, he has played in six playoff games.
The Flyers have won all six, with Gagne scoring six goals.
“What he’s done has been very impressive,” understated coach Peter Laviolette.
Gagne contributed a power-play goal Tuesday as the Flyers defeated Montreal, 3-0, at the rollicking Wachovia Center and took a two-games-to-none lead in the Eastern Conference finals.
“It's tough now,” said Gagne of the series, which shifts to Montreal on Thursday. “It feels pretty good, but at the same time, we've been on the other side, and we know that until the other team (closes) the series, it's not over. For us, we did what we had to do here at home. Get those two wins.
“But at the same time we have a lot of things we can improve on our game, especially five on five. Our goalie had to be very good for us tonight to win the game.”
Michael Leighton made 30 saves, including 13 in an acrobatic first period.
The Flyers, who have set a team playoff record with 13 straight goals, were 2 for 4 on the power play, while Montreal was 0 for 4.
“Our special team was the key tonight. But five on five for the most part of that game, they were definitely a lot better,” Gagne said. “We're up 2 0, but it doesn't mean anything. They're going to go back to Montreal and try to do the same thing that we did tonight.
Someone mentioned to Gagne that the Flyers seem to be shooting high and to the corners on Montreal goalie Jaroslav Halak.
“Oh, yeah? You know what, for any goalie that's a tough spot now to cover. You know, you're taking sometime a perfect shot especially on the goal that Danny B (Briere) scored _ a perfect shot. Doesn't matter if you're Halak or Marty Brodeur or Michael Leighton, it's going to go in.”
The Flyers are 4 for 10 on the power play in the first two games of the series; Montreal is 0 for 8.
“I think it's just about confidence,” Gagne said. “Sometimes when you're confident on the power play, you're able to make plays a little bit more than usual that you're not scared to do. You just have to keep it simple, and we did tonight.”
Now the challenge is to keep it going in Montreal.
* * * * * * * *
For Flyers updates, follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/BroadStBull.
Comment removed.
Hey, Sam..........where is your article praising Richards ?— no5forme- I love you Simon!!!— JesseH
- Simone is playing much smarter and working a lot less than pre-injury. Plus he is playing with a great cast of players right now. The team is really firing on all lines right now. It's funny, if you only listened to the post game reports from the team you'd think they would be trailing in the series. Exactly the mindset they need. Perfection has to be the goal. Every shift. Regarding those "History Will Be Made" commercials. Here are my entries for the Boston Series: What if Gagne waited till Game 5? What if it wasn't the Best of 7? I like "What if Broad Street didn't fight back?" How about another one for the PHL/NYR series: What if they didn't play 82 games? And as great as Cammalleri was in the Pgh series, those commercials feel out of place now that the Habs are trailing 0-2 in the series.— drew138
- drew, i love "what if Gagne waited til Game 5?" or "what if Gagne didn't come back?" I just played the commercial in reverse in my head from the tap in, back to Carle's stick and got goosebumps!!! Well played!— bamkb29
Come on Thursday!! LET'S GO FLYERS!!!- Gagne is on a great streak right now. He's been in the right place at the right time and he's capitalizing on power play chances. he's going to need to keep it up in the finals.. Chicago is playing really well.— bradco
- Keep it going and end the series early so the Flyers can rest for the finals. And no game on Monday would allow us 24 fans a chance to watch the finale by itself.— P Even
- Gagne seems to have gotten the poison out of his system. He's on a wild ride, that's for sure.— Tacklebury
- Gagne is back! The 40 goal scorer has finally returned! Leights has been unbelievable, if at the start of the season someone told me he was going to be Phillys #1 in the playoffs i would have laughed, Leino has looked like an enormous steal, Coburn looks like he has his game back, Hartnell is finally contributing and Briere is earning his paycheck! Its easy to praise these guys because we are getting more than expected, but guys like Pronger are living up to the hype!— Canadian_FlyerFan
- I am shocked with Gagne. He has done very well. Considering his scoring in the playoffs almost matches his whole season of play time.— Flyers_70
- Must have been the Sybian rides during rehab, eh Tacklebury?— FlyerNut
- Kind of glad we didn't get the extra day of rest like Chicago did. The more time off the greater the chance of a reversal of fortune.— spalding_guide
- I think Simon Gagne has surprised a lot of people, and not just Flyers' fans. The Habs seem to be oblivious to him on the ice which explains why he has been so open. But his shots are going in now, which was not the case during much of the regular season. If the Flyers can get a split in Montreal...And remember in May 1974 at the start of the Stanley Cup Final when a reporter asked Fred Shero "Would you be satisfied with a split in Boston?" Shero replied "Only if we lose the first game".— rjsmith
SIMON SAYS SCORE A GOAL!!- eh dear flyers fans, this video is for you. http://www.hockey30.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=itemlist&layout=category&task=category&id=3&Itemid=29 a habs fan...— habsfan25
- Gagne is a 'pure' goal scorer--can you say 7 in 7— petemagoop
- habsfan25, that commercial was a pretty poor excuse of a jab at the Flyers. Not to mention the guy in the commerical looked a bit on the q**r side.— JoeFlyer31
- Hey no5forme, I'm guessing that it might be tough to write an article on Richards if he refuses to speak to you or give you a quote. Why take away from the good things being said about Gagne. Frankly, Gagne is a better story line at this point.— 106S.P.Bailey
- habsfan25: That's it? That's the best the Quebecois mind can put together? Ta mère est une putain, mon ami.— rjsmith
