(PREVIEW 8:30 AM)

The Flyers can ill-afford to fall behind 0-2 in the Stanley Cup Final, so they need to quickly put aside the frustration of losing a game in which they held three leads and stayed out of the penalty box but paid dearly for playing far too loose defensively. The Blackhawks didn't bring anything close to their A-game in the opener, and I expect Chicago to play a much better game tonight. The Flyers are going to have to elevate their own performance significantly and, of course, Michael Leighton will need a big bounceback effort in goal tonight if the series is to go back to Philadelphia tied 1-1.

Teams keep their lineups a closely guarded secret in the playoffs, especially in the Final. But indications as of now are that the Flyers will dress five defensemen tonight, benching Ryan Parent and inserting Dan Carcillo back into the lineup. This is a risky strategy in case of injury or penalty problems, but the struggles of the third pairing made Parent and fifth defenseman Lukas Krajicek virtually unusable anyway.

In terms of keys to the game, all the usual factors apply. The Flyers need to play classic road hockey, keeping their game simple and winning the little battles. The outcome of tonight's game could very well be the difference between having a real shot at winning the series and facing the extraordinarily difficult task of virtually needing to win the next three in a row to have a shot at winning.

***

Today's Daily Drop at Versus.com looks at the non-issue of whether the Flyers ought to start Brian Boucher over Michael Leighton tonight.

To be honest, I would not have written on this topic today were it not for all the nonsense stirred up by those who haven't been watching the Flyers on a game-in and game-out basis this season.

With all due respect to Brian Boucher, who played very well in the New Jersey series and is the type of guy who is easy to root for, the Flyers are a better team with Leighton this season.

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