In a series in which so much went wrong for the Flyers, goaltending was often the exception. For the four games that preceded Tuesdays Game 5 loss to the New Jersey Devils, the Flyers could hardly break out of their own zone, let alone score a goal.
All throughout this Eastern Conference semifinal series, though, goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov was the Flyers silver lining. Each night, he gave his team the chance to win. It was everyone else out on the ice with him that couldnt get the job done.
And so, in a way, it hurts even more that Bryzgalovs biggest blunder of the seasonif not his entire careerled to the game-winning goal in a 3-1 Devils victory that ended the Flyers playoff run (see game recap).
Isnt that the way it always seems to go with the Flyers?
The second goal is a tough bounce, coach Peter Laviolette said. Were in possession and then we try to move the puck and it ends up in the back of our net. That goal stung. It hurt. I thought our guys were playing really hard at the beginning of the game. It seemed like we were skating and physical play. Thats more of an unfortunate bounce than anything else.
As Laviolette said, Tuesday night had started off so strong. Bryzgalov was in a rhythm. The skaters in front of him managed to put together a competent forecheck. The game was physical, it was fast and it had an altogether different feeling from that of those that preceded it.
Enter Devils winger David Clarkson, and a play that should have been as simple as Bryzgalov covering up the puck and awaiting a whistle.
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Instead, somehow, and for reasons that might never be known to anyone outside the Flyers netminder himself, Bryzgalov paused. He looked up, perhaps right into the face of Clarkson, and heaved the puck directly at him.
The puck bounced off Clarkson and right into the Flyers net, giving the Devils the lead they needed to win and move on to the postseasons next round. The Flyers simply couldnt regain the passion and urgency theyd had in the moments that came before the Devils 2-1 lead.
I saw him coming, Bryzgalov said. I wanted to put the puck in the corner for Kimmo Timonen to start back up. And the puck, I dont know, hit him in his stick and going in the net. A bad bounce, unfortunately. It could go anywherein the corner, higher, lower, but it goes straight between the legs. And the first goal too was deflected. It just was unlucky tonight.
In a way, Bryzgalovs performance Tuesday night was the perfect representation for his season as a whole. There were moments of magnificence but they were, as they have been all year, ruined by an ugly bounce or questionable decision.
Its been a wild ride for the Flyers goaltender, who was lost in the woods in the fall but put together an impressive March, earning NHL Player of the Month honors and setting a new Flyers record for consecutive shutout minutes. But like the rest of his teammates, his summer, too, is beginning too soon (see story).
He may have been the Flyers most consistent player through each of the six games against the New Jersey Devils, but Bryzgalov isnt satisfied with his performance.
Im not happy because were not going any farther than the second round, Bryzgalov said. I cant be happy with my performance. Its a team game. We lose and it doesnt matter who play well, who play bad. We lose it, the whole team lose it. It doesnt matter who play well. Its not enough.
Its a given that the Flyers netminder will take plenty of heat this off-season, for his gaffes, his inconsistencies, his inability to steal a victory in the playoffs.
But in the end, its hard to argue with his assessment of Game 5.
Sometimes you have good bounces, sometimes bad, Bryzgalov said. This night just was unfortunate.
E-mail Sarah Baicker at sbaicker@comcastsportsnet.com.