Even though the Philadelphia Flyers have a 3-1 series lead, I feel the need to point out that the Flyers remade their team over the summer and spent $51 million on Ilya Bryzgalov, in no small part because they were upset with Sergei Bobrovsky’s showing in their 2011 playoff run. Which wasn’t entirely unwarranted, sure Bobrovsky was a rookie and they kept him on a very short leash, but in their defense, he did post a 3.23 GAA and .880 save percentage in six playoff contests.
So how has Bryzgalov done after four postseason games? Well, you already know its bad, but if you need to put numbers to it, Bryzgalov has a 4.96 GAA and .840 save percentage.
To be fair, a goaltender’s statistics are usually not just an indication of how he’s doing, but also how his team has been. Playing against the Pittsburgh Penguins also isn’t going to leave any netminder looking pretty. Still, with numbers like that, the Philadelphia Flyers have to be getting worried.
“I’m not worried about Bryz,” Flyers center Claude Giroux said. “He knows what he’s got to do. He’s a lead goaltender, and we’ve got to do a better job in front of him. He’ll be our best player in Game 5.”
Their best player? After Wednesday’s performance? Well, this has been a wild series, so what’s one more twist?