Reading the comments out there coming off Game 1 of this Flyers-Rangers series and going into Game 2, there seems to be a perception that Ray Emery cost the Flyers the game.
What remains amazing to me is that it was 1-1 in the third period when the Flyers were being so badly outplayed. Emery gave them a chance.
When you don't get offensive draws, when there is no forecheck, no setup and most of all, no shots. how can you blame the goalie? The 4-minute high-stick was decisive but that's not on Emery.
So does this mean the Flyers have no chance in Game 2 because Emery remains in net? I don't buy it. Unless the Flyers play a radically different game today at MSG, it won't make a difference who is in net.
BTW: This is the first time all season Emery will get consecutive starts - not appearances _ but starts.
Mason is still having whiplash problems, as evidenced by his various neck exercises during the Saturday practice.
He says he hopes to play in Game 3 but let's remember he was fairly confident he would be in net for Game 2, as well and things changed dramatically between Friday and Saturday.
“What’s bothering me wasn’t feeling very good," Mason said on Saturday. "Talking with Homer [Paul Holmgren] and Chief [Craig Berube] there, I decided that I needed to give it a little more time before I get back in there.”
I know Berube said the Flyers may have to skate the puck into the Rangers end since they were not able to dump it in, but that takes away from their strength asset and limits the chances of banging defenseman Ryan McDonagh.
I still think they may skate it up a bit more into the entry of the zone, then dump, but I can't imagine they will completely abandon their usual forecheck.
“We didn’t spend much time in the offensive zone and that was the problem," Jakub Voracek said. "It was Game 1. They played well. We had a solid first period, we were hitting well. We didn’t have a great game but we were right there.
"It was 1-1 with 10 minutes left. If we play our game tomorrow, we should be able to win the game. I wouldn’t say the chances [we there] … they stepped up at the right moment."
The Flyers have no shot in Game 2 unless Voracek, Claude Giroux and Scott Hartnell make an impact. They need to get some shots and scoring chances. This was the third time in five games that Giroux had zero shots against the Rangers this season.
That has to change today. If the Flyers can manage a split, and I am not optimistic after how they looked on Thursday, it becomes a different series. If they don't, it becomes avoiding a sweep.
"I think you will see a Flyers team with a different mindset," Hartnell said of Game 2.
Has to be that way, too.
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