Flat Flyers say playoffs will provide needed spark

Share

Monday, April 11, 2011
Posted: 5:35 p.m.
By Tim Panaccio
CSNPhilly.com
When the Flyers went crawling on hands n knees into the playoffs last year, few gave them any chance to do anything, although they had New Jerseys number even before the puck dropped in their quarterfinal series.

You know the story.

How Peter Laviolettes team became the NHLs Cinderella group, going to the Stanley Cup Final before losing to Chicago.

This spring, its different.

Not that people are dissing the Flyers, but ending the season having lost 14 of 21 games hardly inspires confidence that a run into May, or even June, is on the horizon.

Consequently, hockey pundits have begun listing the Flyers as the underdog in the Eastern Conference quarterfinal series against the Buffalo Sabres, which begins Thursday night at Wells Fargo Center.

Hockey sites, such as ESPN.com, are picking the Sabres to upset the Flyers in six games.

Its nothing really new to us, Danny Briere said. It was the same way through the playoffs last year. I like that people are not really seeing the Flyers as the team to beat. Its not a big deal to us.

Yes, we had a tough stretch at the end, but it was the same thing last year. You have to show up when it matters most. I really believe, just as I believed last year, in my teammates. We have guys, who for some reason are playoff performers.

When I look around the room, I know I can trust everybody or most of the guys sitting beside me and thats a good feeling. We had a lot of guys who are big-time players who show up for big games.

His line with Scott Hartnell and Ville Leino showed up last postseason and carried this club with 27 goals as a unit in 23 games. They are the only line that will go into this years playoffs intact.

Naturally, Hartnell was stunned to hear the Flyers were underdogs in this series.

Oh, thats great news. Thanks, ESPN, Hartnell said. Its anyones game in the playoffs. You look at last year, sneaking in on the last game, then going all the way to the Finals. It was an amazing run. Any team can get hot. We match up well against them. Its a clean slate, its 0-0.

Even the most diehard Flyer fans have to ask themselves this: What is it about the way the Flyers looked in the final month that would convince you theyre playoff ready?

There is a theory out there that the Flyers cared about only one thing in the second half: ending the season and starting the playoffs.

Most of these guys truly believe when they hit the ice Thursday night, it will become, in the words of Jack Lemmon, Its showtime!

The Flyers believe theyre going to perform like there is no tomorrow and make you forget the past 2 months.

Weve been waiting 82 games to get to this position, said Hartnell, who is one of those players who wanted to start the playoffs last October. Losing in the Finalsit is devastating.

You think about it a lot. Weve been waiting all year. Maybe thats why we had the slide the last few weeks. We knew we were in and we were getting ready for it.

The Flyers had a pretty hard, lively practice Monday at Skate Zone without Chris Pronger, who is supposed to address the media on his designated day to speakTuesdayabout his rehab (right hand).

If Pronger doesnt make the opener, it doesnt rule him out of the series. And since were this close to Game 1, its not looking good for Pronger to make it.

Whenever he comes back, well welcome him with open arms, Hartnell said. Weve won games without him. Hes a big presence back there. We miss him.

Like Hartnell, Claude Giroux was surprised at the underdog label.

People are picking the Sabres? he asked. Who is? We cant control predictions and stuff. Well just see on the ice how things go. Its important to focus on how we play. Underdog or favorite to win, it makes no difference.

Laviolette didnt like the question about whether his team was playoff ready.

We had a pretty good year. We won a lot of hockey games, he replied. Where did we finish? Third out of 30? Thats not so bad. Guys who have proven themselves in the playoffs in the past are veteran players in here. We have a lot of experience to draw on.

The Flyers coach also didnt care about how people label his club going in, whether favored or not.

Youve got to go out and play the game well, Laviolette said. THAT team has the best chance of winning. Not the one that was tagged the favorite or the underdog.

E-mail Tim Panaccio at tpanotch@comcast.net.

Related: Jackson's Five: Key questions for Flyers-SabresFlyers notes: Pronger's return still uncertainBuy Flyers gear

Contact Us