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Peter Laviolette won’t put all the blame on Flyers’ goalies

Nathan Horton, Brian Boucher

Philadelphia Flyers goalie Brian Boucher, moves to cover the puck shot by Boston Bruins’ Nathan Horton in the third period in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinal NHL Stanley Cup playoffs series, Monday, May 2, 2011, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Tom Mihalek)

AP

There are plenty of reasons why the Philadelphia Flyers should go into their two important games in Boston with some confidence. The first is that they probably outplayed the Bruins in Game 2, putting a franchise playoff record 52 shots on Tim Thomas, who was up to the task. There’s also a bit of precedent to the possibility of a comeback. Of course, the Flyers came back from an 0-3 deficit against Boston last year, but the Bruins themselves survived two opening home losses against the Montreal Canadiens before grinding out a series win.

It’s also tough to ignore the fact that both teams were actually better on the road than at home this season. The Flyers earned 25 wins and 55 points on the road* but only 22 wins and 51 points at home; the Bruins earned 24 wins and 53 points in away games versus 22 wins and 50 points in Boston. It’s not a massive difference, but it shows that both teams don’t depend on home cooking.

* Points include “charity points” plus points from wins.

Now that we have some of the positives covered, let’s get to everyone’s favorite negative: the team’s goaltending. After a truly awful Game 1, Brian Boucher was actually quite good in Game 2, making 32 out of 35 saves. Unfortunately for the Flyers, the goalie on the other end of the ice happened to put together a sublime performance.

Flyers head coach Peter Laviolette told Tim Panaccio of CSN Philly that it’s unfair to place all the blame on their goalies and also pointed out that their team doesn’t expect netminders to steal games.

“Certainly we need all of our players to play well. To put that much direction on one player, that is not how we are built. We’re built as a team. We have been successful all year as the sum of all parts. To say we don’t need good goaltending would not be true. We need good offense and defense and that is how we survive here. We don’t do it by one person.

“It’s unfair to single out a guy and put that much [on the goalie]. That is not how we’re built. If it was how we were built, you’d certainly think that.”

(snip)

“I am not letting anyone off the hook here, including the goaltender,” Laviolette said. “The goaltender has to play well, as does our defense. There are certain things we can do better. Our power play needs to click. Our penalty kill has to do its job.”


Perhaps the biggest concern is Boucher’s health, though. Panaccio points out that Boucher is dealing with a dislocated finger, not exactly the most reassuring bit of news for a guy who needs some breaks to go his way.

The Flyers go into Game 3 with some reason for confidence - if nothing else, they still employ players like Danny Briere and James van Riemsdyk - but they know that their goalies aren’t likely to bail them out.

In other words, they’ll need to provide plenty of firepower. It might keep their fans on edge, but it could make for some compelling hockey. (You can see Game 3 Wednesday night at 7 p.m. ET on Versus, by the way.)