As fun as all the talk of Huskies and the universe has been, Ilya Bryzgalov has been a big disappointment for the Philadelphia Flyers this season. In fact, if you erased the team’s memory of who was making what, it’s likely that Sergei Bobrovsky would be getting at least an equal share of the starts.
Still, there’s one interesting possibility that might just redeem Bryzgalov: getting his game together as the playoffs approach.
The Russian netminder is showing some signs of doing just that, too. Breezy played well enough tonight in a 5-0 win against the Florida Panthers that brutal-on-goalies Flyers fans actually gave him an ovation during the three star announcements (according to Sam Carchidi).
Bryzgalov now has two shutouts in his last three games and is currently on a four-game winning streak. He was also quite strong in his most recent loss, too, as he allowed just one goal in a defeat to the San Jose Sharks on Feb. 28. Breezy’s an impressive 7-2-0 with a non-decision in his last 10 games.
That run doesn’t change everything - just look at his overall stats - yet if last year’s playoffs proved anything about the Flyers franchise and their market, it’s that opinions can change on a dime as a result of postseason successes or failures.
For the first time this season, it’s starting to look like that could just be a good thing for Bryzgalov.