Saturday, April 9, 2011
Posted: 11:29 p.m.
By Sarah BaickerCSNPhilly.com
In the final game of the regular season, and facing one of the NHLs bottom-dwellers, the goalie only recently named the Flyers playoff starter was pulled after just 12 minutes between the pipes.
Sergei Bobrovsky was given the gift of a two-goal Flyers lead less than a minute into the eventual 7-4 victory over the New York Islanders, but coughed up three goals on just eight shots. He was yanked from the game in favor of Brian Boucher, who held his own but wasnt without a few shaky moments.
If you didnt already have a reason to be a bit concerned about the Flyers first-round playoff matchup with the Buffalo Sabres, well, now you just might.
But the newly crowned Atlantic Division champs arent feeling the heat.
Bob will be fine, Boucher said. Hes bounced back all year long. Hes a hard worker and I dont have any worries about him at all.
Its true that, as coach Peter Laviolette pointed out, the three goals Bobrovsky allowed werent solely his fault. There was a breakaway, a 5-on-3 and a bad bounceand the Flyers defense certainly could have done some things differently in front of him. But the fact remains that Bobrovskys performance Saturday night was at least somewhat of another hit to the confidence of a team thats been mired in a slump for the last 20 games.
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And they are about to face arguably the hottest opponent in the Eastern Conference; the Sabres are 8-1-2 in their last 11 games.
Hes a resilient kid, Boucher said. The last two months, as a team, its been a bit tough at times. We havent played as well as at the start of the year, and that can be tough on us at times. But hes bounced back, hes been strong for us all year, hes had a great season, hes got 28 wins as a rookieI wish I had that when I was a rookie.
Without getting into details, Laviolette again confirmed that Bobrovsky is the Flyers playoff starter. One ugly outing wasnt about to change that. Bobs 28-13-8 record speaks for itself, and Bouchers ability to take over when he was needed can be spun as a positive.
I dont worry about Bob, said Andrej Meszaros. Hes going to be good. Its good to see Boosh stepped up too, because we never know whats going to happen in the playoffs.
The Flyers will now face the Sabres in the postseason for the ninth time. Their overall record in series against Buffalo is 5-3, but the Sabres have won three of the last fouras well as the last two meetings this season. And it must be mentioned that the goalie tandem of Jhonas Enroth and Ryan Miller is one of the NHLs best.
Theres no guarantee that a Flyers-Sabres series will be a goaltender battle of course, but if it is, the Sabres have the clear edge. Miller is a tested veteran whos proven he can play against the best in the world. And though Enroth is young and unproven, hes on a hot streak and has a solid 8-2-2 record.
They got a lot of offense, lot of skill guys, quick guys, said Scott Hartnell. They got a great power play. Probably being disciplined is the biggest key in the first round. Getting some shots, getting some traffic on Miller is huge, too.
The Flyers won the season series against Buffalo, 2-1-1. But the Bobrovsky-Boucher pairing remains somewhat of a question mark. Bob has been inconsistent, especially recently, and neither goalie stole a shutout this season.
And of course, theres the depth issue that caused general manager Paul Holmgren to make the risky move of recalling Michael Leighton from the Adirondack Phantoms.
You knowjust in case.
But funny things in net have happened before with this team, as anyone who followed last season's improbable playoff run knows. And the Flyers certainly haven't forgotten that.
Danny Briere, perhaps, best expressed the view his team has chosen to take.
We believe that we have three guys that can get the job done, he said. No matter what happens.
E-mail Sarah Baicker at sbaicker@comcastsportsnet.com
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