"Blip on the Nielsen radar"
Kirksville, MO • United States • 30 Years Old • Male
jason.hunsicker
What about Bob?
Posted 3:09 PM ET | Comments 0
Despite Peter Laviolette's proclamation that the pressure is now on Boston, those of us based in reality understand the Flyers are truly feeling the heat of an 0-2 hole as the Eastern Conference semifinals shift to Beantown.
This is very different from last year. In 2010, the Flyers were taking an 0-2 deficit to Philadelphia, not on the road. On top of that, they were getting healthy, with Simon Gagne returning from injury.
Now, not so much. Chris Pronger is likely out tonight, and perhaps for the rest of the season with a mysterious lower back/hamstring ailment. We know Pronger is a tough guy, so if this is keeping him out of the lineup it has to be a serious injury.
With their best defenseman out and the rest of the blue liners doing their best Keystone Cops impersonation (really, Kimmo, would it have been that difficult to stop Braydon Coburn's pass up the boards in OT?), it's hard to imagine the defense shutting down Boston's best. The Bruins will have quality chances, likely many of them.
That's why it's time to turn the page and see what "Bob" can do.
No disrespect to Brian Boucher, but he's not the future of the Flyers' goaltending situation. If you recall, he wasn't even supposed to be the present. Sergei Bobrovsky was the No. 1 netminder heading into the playoffs, and his job was snatched away with one so-so period of play in Game 2. If you stack it up against how awful Boucher was in the first period of Game 5, and Michael Leighton's total breakdown in Game 6, Bob's poor play was easily the best of the worst, if that makes sense.
With the series slipping away, it's time for Lavy to give him another shot. When you look back at Game 2 of this series, Boucher was far from horrible, but not close to spectacular. The game-tying goal was a shot that must be stopped. The game-winning goal, which entered the net below the center of the crossbar, is 50-50 at best.
On the other end, Tim Thomas was fantastic. Time after time, the Flyers were robbed. Shot after shot was stopped. Thomas did what he had to do when his team was not at its best - he put up a wall and stole a win.
Brian Boucher is simply not capable of getting that done. He's a solid citizen, a good person, but if he could do that, it would have shown over the course of his 10-year career.
Can Bobrovsky be that guy? We don't know. But in a series where the Flyers desperately need someone to stand on his head, he might. And if he's not, we may as well know now instead of head into the offseason with disappointment and a huge question mark in net. Again.
This is very different from last year. In 2010, the Flyers were taking an 0-2 deficit to Philadelphia, not on the road. On top of that, they were getting healthy, with Simon Gagne returning from injury.
Now, not so much. Chris Pronger is likely out tonight, and perhaps for the rest of the season with a mysterious lower back/hamstring ailment. We know Pronger is a tough guy, so if this is keeping him out of the lineup it has to be a serious injury.
With their best defenseman out and the rest of the blue liners doing their best Keystone Cops impersonation (really, Kimmo, would it have been that difficult to stop Braydon Coburn's pass up the boards in OT?), it's hard to imagine the defense shutting down Boston's best. The Bruins will have quality chances, likely many of them.
That's why it's time to turn the page and see what "Bob" can do.
No disrespect to Brian Boucher, but he's not the future of the Flyers' goaltending situation. If you recall, he wasn't even supposed to be the present. Sergei Bobrovsky was the No. 1 netminder heading into the playoffs, and his job was snatched away with one so-so period of play in Game 2. If you stack it up against how awful Boucher was in the first period of Game 5, and Michael Leighton's total breakdown in Game 6, Bob's poor play was easily the best of the worst, if that makes sense.
With the series slipping away, it's time for Lavy to give him another shot. When you look back at Game 2 of this series, Boucher was far from horrible, but not close to spectacular. The game-tying goal was a shot that must be stopped. The game-winning goal, which entered the net below the center of the crossbar, is 50-50 at best.
On the other end, Tim Thomas was fantastic. Time after time, the Flyers were robbed. Shot after shot was stopped. Thomas did what he had to do when his team was not at its best - he put up a wall and stole a win.
Brian Boucher is simply not capable of getting that done. He's a solid citizen, a good person, but if he could do that, it would have shown over the course of his 10-year career.
Can Bobrovsky be that guy? We don't know. But in a series where the Flyers desperately need someone to stand on his head, he might. And if he's not, we may as well know now instead of head into the offseason with disappointment and a huge question mark in net. Again.