No panic from Flyers after 'one tough game' for goaltenders

Danny Briere paused.

His answer - in response to the expected onslaught of questions about the Flyers' goaltending - was not a hard one.

"I don't think we had a hard time at the beginning of [Tuesday's] game," Briere said. "Yes, people look at the score and say, 'It's 3-0, they're struggling.' But if you look at the tape, and you look at what's going on, our goalies got some bad bounces."

Briere did not beat around the bush.

No one patronized Sergei Bobrovsky - not even after the game - when asked about the Flyers' tough start. The three goals he allowed to the Capitals certainly were not "SportsCenter'' top-play nominees. There was no denying that.

But yesterday, as the Flyers gathered for practice at the Skate Zone and viewed video of their 5-4 overtime loss to Washington, there was no change in the locker-room atmosphere.

For the Flyers, there was no sudden revelation about Bobrovsky or Brian Boucher, who followed up Bobrovsky's putrid start by whiffing on all three Washington attempts in the shootout.

One game, Briere said, doesn't make or break a playoff starter - or even a start in a playoff series.

"I'm actually very pleased with our effort and the way we've played with the intensity," Briere said. "It was one tough game for them. We all have tough games at one point or another. I don't think it's a big deal at all. For the most part, they've been there all year for us, giving a chance to win games.

"I don't think it's fair to put the blame on them only. Honestly, I'd be a lot more worried if it was the other way around - if the team didn't play well and 'Bob' stood on his head."

On Tuesday, it was the other way around. The team stood on its head - despite 'Bob' and 'Boosh' - and earned a point by clawing back from a 3-0 deficit to take a 4-3 lead.

But where does that leave the Flyers tonight? Since they collected a single point against Washington, to push their lead to five points instead of six against Pittsburgh in the Atlantic Division, tonight's game against the Sidney Crosby-less Penguins means a little bit more than it did earlier in the week.

Does Peter Laviolette go back to Bobrovsky against Pittsburgh, and risk another two points in a division race to try and test the mettle of his Russian rookie? Bobrovsky has won just five of his last 13 starts.

Or does he give Boucher, the reinvented veteran, a shot in the spotlight, at the risk of shattering Bobrovsky's already questionable confidence?

"Everybody has bad games," Laviolette said. "From the forwards to the defensemen to the coaches. Entire teams.

"It was a tough game that didn't go [Bobrovsky's] way, but he's had a strong year for us. And he's a big reason why we sit where we sit."

Boucher felt the panic alarms going off among not only fans but also the media.

"I get the sense there's a lot of concern, but the guy's got 26 wins this year," Boucher said. "We're in first place in the conference and I think we need to pull back and put things in perspective here. As a tandem we've done a lot of good things this year."

With 10 games left, Boucher said there was still no rush to name an official No. 1 until the postseason starts.

"It's a long season. Ten games is a long time," Boucher said. "If he played 10 games and went on a 10-game tear, it all would be forgotten."

What makes the Flyers' goaltending conundrum so intriguing is that the same stipulation would apply to Boucher himself. Even 11 years after he went through the same ups and downs.

The Flyers announced yesterday that they have signed undrafted college forward Matt Read to a free-agent contract. Read recently finished up his senior year as captain at Bemidji State University in Minnesota, where he collected 35 points in 37 games.

Since Read is 25, he was not required to sign an entry-level contract, which would have restricted the terms of the deal. CBC Sports in Canada reported it is worth $2.7 million over 3 years.

Read set the Bemidji school records for goals, assists and points over a career. He is expected to report to the Phantoms for the rest of the regular season on an amateur tryout contract until his contract kicks in next fall.

The Flyers are 3-1-0 against Pittsburgh this season . . . Paul Holmgren said Jody Shelley's surgery today is "more extensive" than originally thought. His timetable is now 4 to 6 weeks as multiple points in his left orbital bone need to be repaired . . . Jeff Carter missed practice with what Holmgren called a "maintenance day," even though Carter jammed his hand in the boards in the third period against Washington. Holmgren said Carter will play tonight. *

For more news and analysis, read

Frank Seravalli's blog, Frequent Flyers, at

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