Flyers blow three goal lead, season

by Travis Hughes on Apr 25, 2009 6:15 PM EDT in 2009 Playoffs

We could smell game seven. It was right there. With a three goal lead halfway through the game, it was the Flyers contest to lose.

And boy, they certainly did a good job of doing that.

The Penguins stepped it up and outworked the Flyers in every aspect of the game from the middle of the second period on. In front of the net, they won three battles that led to three goals that tied the game.

Were they cheap goals? You've got that right. Evgeni Malkin poked one through the crease to get Pittsburgh on the board. Then, Mark Eaton knocked a loose puck out of the air for the second goal, and Sidney Crosby did the same thing to tie the score. But that's how you win playoff games, and the Flyers were outworked.

They continued to conduct the momentum train into the third period, and Sergei Gonchar's blast from the point gave Pittsburgh a 4-3 lead that the Flyers wouldn't be able to overcome. An empty net goal by -- who else? -- Crosby would finish out the scoring.

In the third, though, Philadelphia didn't go down without a fight. They held the offensive zone for most of the 20 minutes and got several quality scoring chances on Marc-Andre Fleury. Claude Giroux hit a post, there was a mad flurry in front of the goal with the Pittsburgh goaltender was down and out of the net, but no matter what they did, Philly couldn't put the rubber in the back of the goal.

The third period flurry from the Flyers wouldn't have mattered if they didn't blow the initial lead, though. That was the difference today, obviously. You had to expect that the Penguins would fight back, and when they did, the Flyers just weren't ready for it. That is unacceptable.

But it's the way the whole season has gone for the orange and black. They haven't been able to play a consistent, sustained 60 minutes seemingly all season, and in the end it's rather fitting that the season ends because of that. Danny Briere said after the game that the Flyers lost their focus after Pittsburgh picked up their momentum shifting first goal. That is unacceptable.

It's a frustrating loss, but in hockey more than any other sport, you need losses to make you a stronger team. You need to lose as a team before you win as a team, and the Philadelphia Flyers are still a very young hockey club -- much younger than the Pittsburgh Penguins.

They will continue to get better and that can be a consolation in the coming weeks. Right now, though, this hurts.

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Comments

gonna be a long off season. but the good thing about being a FLyers fan is that they always do something in the off-season.

They need to make a strong push to upgrade the defense. We could use another shutdown guy, even better would be a slick skating puck moving defenseman who can help us get the puck out of our zone.

I think theyll go hard after Jaybo. when the Flyers covet a player they usually find a way to get him. Chris Pronger may also be available for trade.

one way or another its going to be a loooong off-season.

and while Im not jumping on the Fire Stevens bandwagon, I wont be shocked if it happens. the fact of the matter is the team has issues with consistency and its overall mental makeup. that comes from the coach.

by njh3293 on Apr 25, 2009 6:29 PM EDT reply actions

Can we get a cap space update? What’s it going to look like next year and what can we afford to do?

by Mitchell Green on Apr 25, 2009 6:43 PM EDT reply actions

Yeah, I’m going to update that thing… probably on Monday.

Broad Street Hockey - SB Nation's Philadelphia Flyers Blog. Makin' it look mean since 1967.

by Travis Hughes on Apr 25, 2009 7:24 PM EDT up reply actions

well we know that atleast one of the goalies’ salaries are coming off the books. Knuble is either leaving or taking less money. Matt Carle and Joffrey Lupol’s cap hits are huge next season, I’d be shocked to see both of them wearing orange next season.

by njh3293 on Apr 25, 2009 7:29 PM EDT up reply actions

Major bummer. I was so hoping for the series to go 7. I should have known the genius of Carcillo would strike.

On the plus side no more Biron for you folks. Since Hextall left you all have had a ton of mediocre guys guarding your crease. Not that I am complaining.

Finally, its nice blog you have over here. Just too bad you folks pull for the Flyers. :-)

by Carl Putnam on Apr 25, 2009 6:58 PM EDT reply actions

Carcillo is gonna take a lot of heat but he is there to fight. Paul Holmgren knew what he was doing when he traded Upshall for Carcillo (maybe that’s the problem). I think it was a bad idea to accept an unprovoked fight like that up 3-0 but the fact is you blow a 3-0 lead as a team. I love Jeff Carter (as a player, not as a Flyer) but I was real disappointed to see his lack of backcheck after he gave up that puck to Crosby at the end. If he busts his tail from the get go he would have been in position to stop that wrap around and maybe get one more chance up ice. I agree with CP2, you guys do a good job over here. Keep it up.

by Rob Parker on Apr 25, 2009 7:03 PM EDT reply actions

Brutal

What stings about this one is that the boys had the game where they wanted it. When you’re up 3-0 in a game like that, it’s time to turn up the defensive intensity. I hate to say this, but it seems like there was some grit missing. It’s a long season, but you win as a team and lose as a team, and the players on that team are going to be sitting around wondering how they let it slip through their fingers.

by Gizmoitus on Apr 25, 2009 7:10 PM EDT reply actions

bill clement basically picked the pens. quote, “if the penguins go on and win the stanley cup, what does that tell you about the flyers level of competition.” yes bill, youre right and i love you, but it’s not about contending, its about winning. at the end of the day no one cares how good your team was, it’s now. it’s right now. and right now, we lost to a good team, well get better, but so will they. and thats tommorow, not right now, so for now this sucks. gonna go take some time off and watch pointless nfl draft speculation.

by kolparty on Apr 25, 2009 7:42 PM EDT reply actions

Good season, looking forward to the future.

we need some better D, alberts and carle need to go. loving Parent, Giroux, and Powe this season and we get JVR and sbisa next year. JayBo would be great, and i hear that we get a lot of cap this season. I think we should resign Knuble to another year. could care either way what we do with Lups. i feel comfortable with the way this team is heading and looking forward to next year.

P.S. – can we finally see some Money in the net wearing orange next year, or do we keep our current goalies???

by JpH89 on Apr 25, 2009 8:04 PM EDT reply actions

Thanks Guys

Just wanted to thank you guys for a blog where I don’t have to read a bunch of trash about the refs or how gay this or that player is. I’m a Pens fan, but finally found your page. So much better than the junk spewed on PuckDaddy. Didn’t get to see todays game, so it was refreshing to check in and see your comments and not have to wade through 300 posts by idiots for or against the Pens. Thanks again and hope to see you guys again next year.

by Be The Man on Apr 25, 2009 9:31 PM EDT reply actions

Good core but need more help

What I saw was a Penguin team that was bigger, faster and more skilled. But take heart Flyer faithful, we have a good solid group of young players to build around. We need some defensemen that are big and physical to handle guys like Crosby, Malkin and Staal.

As for the coach, I didn’t understand his strategy. Our forechecking was non existent because our defensemen didn’t pinch in along the boards. We began the game giving up center ice. By the second period we were giving up the blue line and more.

By the way, has anyone seen Jeff Carter?

by Asian Treat on Apr 25, 2009 9:42 PM EDT reply actions

Our forechecking was non existent because our defensemen didn’t pinch in along the boards.

The explanation for that could be that Stevens was simply trying to play it safe. The presence on the Penguins blueline of such offensively gifted defensemen as Sergei Gonchar and Kris Letang makes pinching up in the Penguins’ end extremely dangerous. If either Gonchar or Letang wind up gaining possession of the puck, he will most likely make a slick break-out pass to Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin in the neutral zone and spring them on a rush in the opposite direction. If any of the Flyers blueliners are caught deep in the Pens zone in that a situation, there is chance they wouldn’t be able to get back to break up the odd-man rush, giving the Penguins a clear shot an unprotected Martin Biron. An unwillingness on the part of Stevens or the Flyers D to take such a risk could explain their lack of offensive aggressiveness.

by kellyn on Apr 27, 2009 12:21 AM EDT up reply actions

Good series

Flyers fans you have a good team and a good future. I am not sure you can say the Flyers “are much younger than the Penguins” though. Regardless of what the average age of each team is. Crosby , Malkin and Staal are the youngest guys out there and they are also the best.

This was a tough series. It was a lot closer than people will remember. Fleury was a major factor. He stole a couple of games that he Flyers could have easily won. Game 2 and Game 4 could easily have gone the Flyers way. I imagine these 2 teams will see each other alot in the playoffs for some time.

by grizzard on Apr 25, 2009 11:57 PM EDT reply actions

Fleury was a major factor.

I agree. For any team to have success in the postseason good, consistent goaltending is practically a necessity. Because injuries have caused him to miss chunks of the past two seasons, Marc-Andre Fleury is not one of the names that comes up often when discussing the best goaltenders currently playing in the NHL but his performance in the playoffs suggest that he could hold his own among the league’s elite. Unfortunately for the Flyers, steady goaltending is not something they have. I’m not particularly familiar with Philadelphia’s farm team or the prospects they have coming up through the junior and minor leagues, but do they have a top goaltending prospect in the wings? I think the best solution to their problem in goal is to attempt to draft a talented young goaltender rather than pursue lest talented veterans through free agency. It’s very difficult to win a playoff round, let alone a championship, without a strong presence in net.

by kellyn on Apr 27, 2009 12:30 AM EDT up reply actions

I appreciate all the positive comments...

The comments by the group have been very positive and a credit for their optimism. It was a good year and this young team will only get better however, goal tending and maturity are what is needed. Jeff Carter, to me, needs to grow up and maybe this will help him. I am sure that he will not want this series to be his legacy. Life moves too fast and regrets in life happen. Hopefully, there are ex players around him to tell him how fast your playing career goes by. This should be a wake up call to Carter and I hope he is smart enough to realize that he needs to improve his level of commitment and to do whatever it takes. He was outplayed by his peers Malkin and Crosby, he has their talent but not their desire.

by Fortune favors the brave(s) on Apr 26, 2009 10:56 AM EDT reply actions

realise?

you can’t spell crosby fan. therefore, you are retarded

by ryantz on Apr 26, 2009 1:06 PM EDT reply actions

That's the British spelling!

Seriously, it is the British spelling of “realize.” That part is acceptable. The rest is not.

One reason we used to dominate the Pens in the 1990s was because of Chris Therien who, for all his faults, could shut down Jagr like nobody’s business. If the Flyers somehow get their hands on, or develop, someone like that I like our chances.

Nice original chant, by the way. We’ve still used it more on you during the playoffs than you have on us. Also, we used it on you for 15 straight years when you could not win in Philadelphia.

Do you see what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps?

by mikefive on Apr 26, 2009 3:06 PM EDT up reply actions

Great Series

Thanks for the being great hosts when we had the game chat over here on Broad Street. To bad your season came to an end but i won’t lie to you I’m glad it was the Pens that went on to the second round. I looks forward to see this rematch next year. Maybe the Flyers will look a little different next year in goal but as for major changes I don’t see any. Cheers and have a good one.

Lifes rough, wear a helment

by lambofgad on Apr 26, 2009 3:47 PM EDT reply actions

crosby

I thought we chanted Crosby Sucks cause Of what my brother saw him doing at the Stall in Woody’s. I didn’t think it had anything to do with his Talent.

by burtonboypa on Apr 27, 2009 5:24 PM EDT reply actions

I am so sick of this debate.

Even though I don’t want to age any more I can’t wait to hear what is said about Richards vs. Crosby in twelve years. To me it is not about scoring titles it is about how many cups they hoist and cheer up Flyers fans I truly believe Richards will win that battle. This is a cap leauge just like Football. In a cap league its not about how many stars you can sign. It is how you put pieces around the stars you have. I cant see how the Penquins can pay Crosby Malkin and Fluery and put pieces in place consistently. I think that roster is going to be a revolving door for years. This years penquins team is nowhere near last years already. And I imagine next years will probably anthother step down. Havent the Steelers taught them anything up there. My concern for the flyers with the cap going down this year how can we get the right players and stay loyal to the guys Snider is definately want to stay loyal to.

by burtonboypa on Apr 27, 2009 5:36 PM EDT reply actions