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Flyers Playoff Wrapup: Game 1 vs. Habs |
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WRAPUP AND OT COMMENTARY
That's what happens when you repeatedly fail to clear the zone-- pucks end up in the net.
In a game where you never trailed and were a half-minute from victory, this is a tough loss.
The only thing to add from the game commentary was that I thought Vaclav Prospal was utterly invisible in this game, Randy Jones was guilty a couple funky-looking giveaways and Jeff Carter (apart from the broken stick play) needs to do much better than 5 of 18 on faceoffs.
All in all, this was a decent effort from the Flyers but it's a game they should have won and didn't. They overcame that against Washington, but it's a tougher task to do that against the Habs. A win on Saturday is pretty much crucial.
*****
THIRD PERIOD COMMENTARY
Good luck at the beginning, bad luck at the end.
The Flyers got a fortunate break at the 19 second mark of the period when Carey Price boxed Braydon Coburn's shot and the puck bounced in off Joffrey Lupul's shinpad near the goal line. The Habs tying goal at 19:31 was sheer bad luck, as Jeff Carter snapped his stick on the draw and the puck went directly to Alexei Kovalev.
The tripping call on Mike Richards that set up the powerplay in the final minute was a bad call, as replays showed it was a shoulder check. But at regular speed, I can see why the call was missed.
Over the middle parts of the period, the Flyers generally did a good job of protecting the lead. Scottie Upshall had some strong forechecking shifts in particular, and Derian Hatcher was tremendous on the boards. I also thought Lasse Kukkonen picked up his game after some shaky moments in the first couple periods. He made some nice defensive stops.
Third period shots were 13 for the Flyers, 9 for the Habs. Faceoffs are 41 to 26 in favor of Habs through regulation, including the game-tying goal and a bang-bang chance for Streit.
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SECOND PERIOD COMMENTARY
The Alexei Kovalev shorthanded goal seemed to be a high stick, but there's no point in whining about the decision to let the goal stand on replay. The goal was created by a turnover and counterrush. Any time that happpens, you're tempting fate.
The first Habs goal by Andrei Kostitsyn was created by a bad turnover by Jeff Carter, while his penalty shot was a case of the Flyers getting caught on a line change. Once he hits the blueline with speed he's very elusive. Biron made an outstanding pad save on the penalty shot attempt.
Biron also made a great poke check on Plekanec, who had flown by Derian Hatcher on a counterattack even though Hatch had several strides on him at the beginning.
Habs played their game in this period. It could be worse than 2-2 after 40 minutes. Shots in the second period were 13-9 in the Canadiens favor.
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FIRST PERIOD COMMENTARY
A lot of hard work and a healthy dose of good luck have the Flyers with a 2-0 lead after the briskly played opening 20 minutes.
Montreal controlled the first seven minutes of the period, but the Flyers settled in and started getting puck in deep. The Flyers' forechecking in the second half of the period was outstanding and it's always huge to get a couple goals from the supporting cast.
The Habs hit two posts in the period and Martin Biron had to make a huge save as time expired. On the last sequence, Derian Hatcher tied up the puck on the side boards until the final seconds of the period but the Habs came away with it and got a point-blank chance after Lasse Kukkonen went down in front.
I thought Steve Downie had a very good first period, including coming away with the puck in a board battle where it looked like he had no chance. As expected, the Briere line is seeing a lot of Mike Komisarek and Andrei Markov. Briere had a couple of opportunities, but was denied by Carey Price once and shot over the net on the other. Jeff Carter also had a couple errant shots.
On the Flyers' first goal, it was a matter of making their own break. Yes, it was lucky that R.J. Umberger's attempted pass to Patrick Thoresen was deflected into the net by Patrice Brisebois. But, as the old saying goes, good things can happen when you go to the net.
The second goal was the result of outstanding forechecking by Downie, Thoresen and Jim Dowd. Thirty-nine-year-old veteran Dowd finished it beautifully by roofing a shot from the between the circles.
Shots in the first period were 10 for the Flyers and 9 for Montreal after a quick Habs start. One area the Flyers need to pick up is faceoffs-- Habs won 13 of 17. But the Flyers had only 4 giveaways to six by Montreal, and need to keep that up.
*******
As in any playoff series where the opponent has home ice advantage, the Flyers will be looking for at least a split in the first two games of their Eastern Conference Semifinal series with the Montreal Canadiens.
I'm not going to rehash yesterday's preview blog, except to note that it's critical for the Flyers to keep their feet moving, maintain a tight gap defensively and protect the puck from Montreal's transitional game. That may prove tough in the club's third game in four nights, but it's a must. Montreal is an excellent puck-control team, and if the Flyers don't have their skating legs, they're in trouble.
I think Daniel Briere will be seeing a lot of Mike Komisarek, who is certainly capable of limiting the productivity of the top Flyers line at even strength. The Flyers will need to get scoring from an array of sources, which means that various members of the Richards and Carter lines -- not to mention Kimmo Timonen, Braydon Coburn and Randy Jones -- must chip in. The "different hero every night" script is the one the Flyers must follow.
All the usual keys to the game apply: special teams execution, discipline, limiting chances five-on-five and, most of all, clutch goaltending.
The Habs' top-ranked powerplay struggled in the first round against Boston, but did a lot of damage against the Flyers during the regular season. Both clubs also scored shorthanded goals against the other (Richards for the Flyers, Kostopoulous for the Canadiens). Montreal limited Boston's weak powerplay in the first round, but should face a stiffer test from the Flyers.
Tonight's referees are Don Van Massenhoven and Mike Hasenfratz. The linesmen are Mike
Cvik and Steve Miller.
Flyers lines and scratches (Unofficial and subject to change)
Prospal - Briere - Hartnell
Kapanen - Richards - Lupul
Upshall - Carter - Umberger
Thoresen - Dowd - Downie
Coburn - Timonen
Hatcher - Jones
Smith - Kukkonen
Biron
[Niittymäki]
Scratches
Modry (healthy, departing on bereavement leave tomorrow)
Parent (healthy)
Cote (healthy)
Tolpeko (healthy)
Knuble (hamstring)
Gagne (concussion)
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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