By Allan Muir, SI.com
There was certainly a moral victory to be claimed from the play of Philadelphia's battered blueline in Game 2. Problem is, no one's counting moral victories this time of year. And they're certainly not going to help the Flyers get the four wins they need over heavily favored Pittsburgh to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals.
Trailing two games to none after Sunday's 4-2 loss to the Penguins, they now have just five chances left to get those four wins. And while they head back to the friendly confines of the Wachovia Center for Games 3 and 4, the hole already might be too deep.
Plenty of teams have come back from a two-game deficit before, but few have turned the trick absent the services of such key personnel. Already down a man after No. 1 defender Kimmo Timonen was sidelined by a blood clot in his foot prior to Game 1, the Flyers lost their No. 2 after Braydon Coburn took a deflected puck in the face in the opening minutes of Sunday night's contest.
Their absence left 49 minutes to be accounted for, forcing big minutes on five players better suited for more limited roles. Derian Hatcher, playing on one leg, logged nearly 29 minutes of ice-about twice the amount of work he should have to remain effective. Randy Jones soaked up 26 minutes, nearly seven minutes more than his average. Jason Smith -- chipping in with maybe his best performance of the postseason -- took on 21 minutes.
It was a valiant effort. In the first period, the Pens didn't get off a single shot five-on-five. At the end of the second, the game was tied at two and both Pittsburgh goals had come on the power play. The Flyers maintained their level of physical play, with Hatcher and Smith combining for 11 hits. They played conservatively with the puck, and they managed to keep Evgeni Malkin, so lethal in Game 1, completely bottled up. But as the contest wore on and the minutes added up, it was just a matter of time before the Philly defense buckled under the strain.
Amazingly, the Pens didn't take full advantage of their opportunity, waiting until the third before finally getting pucks behind the Philly defense with regularity. By that time though the slower-footed Flyers struggled to chase it down, and the Pens met them in the corners, hammering away and exacting a toll that soon would pay off.
No surprise that the winning goal came on what looked like a tired play. Flyers coach John Stevens promised his team would limit the turnovers that killed them in Game 1's 4-2 loss to the Penguins and they did, charting just six on the night. But the sixth was the killer, as first Steve Downie, and then Hatcher, failed to execute what should have been an easy clear just six feet from the blueline. Then, as the puck was dumped behind the Flyer net, neither Hatcher nor Modry picked up Gary Roberts behind the net, or Maxime Talbot, who sailed up the middle untouched to take Roberts' pass before slamming home the deciding goal.
As frustrated as he was after the loss, Stevens really couldn't have asked for much more out of his defensive group. But if Coburn's unavailable for Tuesday night's contest -- and there was no immediate word after the game -- it's going to take more than a gritty effort to wrest control of this series from a confident Penguins team that's now 10-1 in the postseason.
It's going to take a miracle.
Allan Muir is the senior editor of Beckett Hockey magazine and serves as the NHL's official scorer for Dallas Stars home games.
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Comments (95)
living in pit for the last 3 years after living in detroit for 37, i would love to a matchup of these 2 teams. I keep getting asked who my team is....please, my heart runs through the great state of MICHIGAN! GOOOOO WINGS!
diks23 | 05/12/08, 07:13 AM
Report Offensive Commentdiks23....you're forgiven. GO PENS!!!!!!!!
Therrien Rocks | 05/12/08, 07:47 AM
Report Offensive CommentYou want to count the Flyers out? GO ahead. 4 games out of 5 is what they have to win. THe two games Pittsburgh won were GIVEN to them. The Flyers lost those games SO MUCH MORE than Pittsburgh won them.
GO FLYERS - wait until you see what a real home team looks like!
mhf109b | 05/12/08, 08:53 AM
Report Offensive CommentYou want to count the Flyers out? GO ahead. 4 games out of 5 is what they have to win. THe two games Pittsburgh won were GIVEN to them. The Flyers lost those games SO MUCH MORE than Pittsburgh won them.
GO FLYERS - wait until you see what a real home team looks like!
mhf109b | 05/12/08, 08:53 AM Report Offensive Comment
Comical, but then, what else can you say? Any excuse to avoid admitting that the Pens beat your team.
perfect360 | 05/12/08, 09:05 AM
Report Offensive Comment"THe two games Pittsburgh won were GIVEN to them. The Flyers lost those games SO MUCH MORE than Pittsburgh won them."
mhf109b | 05/12/08, 08:53 AM
Count the open nets the Pens missed on power plays, Malkin gift wrapping a shortie to Richards, and the obvious goal by Crosby that was denied, the score after 2 periods should have been at least 4-1. The Pens are trying to give it away but the Flyers don't accept charity very well.
WiscHockey | 05/12/08, 09:11 AM
Report Offensive Commentflyers suck, talk about teams given wins, montreal and washington handed them those series. Dotn worry the pain of this experience will be over thursday flyer fans. Your team stinks like your city. Bye Bye!!! better luck next year, losers!!! Go Pens!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
jfreel05 | 05/12/08, 09:23 AM
Report Offensive CommentIt not that the Flyers Suck...Like the Sens..Rangers, Its just the Pens are just to good and the only other team that will give them some kind of competition is detroit.
Philly fans have so many excuses it's noy even funny. Now we'll see how u react when the Pens win in Philly, I give u guys one game and It will be all over when the Pens come home for game 5...end of story. By the way, where is all the philly fans??? Very quiet today...HMMMM
GO PENS! ...in 5
oode | 05/12/08, 09:37 AM
Report Offensive CommentThe Flyers lost those games SO MUCH MORE than Pittsburgh won them. "mhf109b"....
"SAY WHAT" how can u say that...see what I mean...excuses...You guys cant admit it, it's called opening up a can of whoop _ss...Ding...Ding, hello...are u in there.....air heads. See we knew what happened to us last year with teams like the flyers pushing us around, we changed that up, now we have guys to protect our stars. Now we can not be stopped, and if we do...it's not going to be Philly.
So take off your face paint, have a beer (maybe a shot)..you'll need it, be prepared to lose.
GO PENS....in 5
oode | 05/12/08, 09:47 AM
Report Offensive CommentOh, by the way in should of been 5-2
GO PENS!!!!!
oode | 05/12/08, 09:49 AM
Report Offensive CommentThe way Philadelphia played at the end of the regular season they're lucky to be in the playoffs at all. We all know how hard it is for Philly to admit it but the Pens are a better team. They have great offensive talent and they have great defensive talent this year to match. They're a strong team and they're having alot of fun. It's they're year.
GO PENS!!!!
North Hills Mullets | 05/12/08, 10:09 AM
Report Offensive CommentNormal cycle for Philly...talk big, watch your team go down in flames.
It must really be tough to be from Philly when your teams seem to let you down on every opportunity.
And then there is the excuse of all excuses..."well at least we go close".
Close is only good in a town like Philadelphia.
pharaoh | 05/12/08, 10:16 AM
Report Offensive CommentLet the players decide the series. Not the fans. Not the refs.
Therrien Rocks | 05/12/08, 11:20 AM
Report Offensive Commenthey it just wasn't meant to be this year (still hoping though). worst team in hockey to the conference finals in a year isn't too bad. now that we actually have a real GM (cough..not clarkie..cough) they'll be right back there next year.
I'd feel worse if the pens actually had a shot to beat detroit for the cup, but that ain't happening. watching the tears stream down sidney's face after they get swept will help a little.
Flyguy9 | 05/12/08, 11:35 AM
Report Offensive CommentSeries hasn't been decided yet, gotta take these next two at home and hope for a road win. Let go fly guys.
Hoosteady | 05/12/08, 11:52 AM
Report Offensive CommentPittsburgh might not be able to beat Detriot, but they will not be swept. I will guarantee you that.
GO PENS!
jjo | 05/12/08, 11:52 AM
Report Offensive CommentFlyers rule!!
Hey Pens fans how BLACK are your lungs??
Nice city! Voted the sootiest in the country. Perfect for you midwesterners!! Your not part of PA. You should be in the crappy state of Ohio!!
Time to take out Malkin --MR Cheapshot!!
phillypie | 05/12/08, 12:14 PM
Report Offensive CommentTHe two games Pittsburgh won were GIVEN to them. The Flyers lost those games SO MUCH MORE than Pittsburgh won them.
GO FLYERS - wait until you see what a real home team looks like!
mhf109b | 05/12/08, 08:53 AM Report Offensive Comment
You may want to lay off the crack pipe a little. That's the only way to explain you believing that somehow the Flyers GAVE the Pens the game last night.
The replay booth didn't overturn the Crosby no goal call. Probably the right call, given camera angles and Biron's glove didn't allow for an absolutely definitive view, but as one of your own newspapers put it, "logic" tells you it WAS a goal. All it takes to fill in the blanks of what the cameras didn't show is a 4th grade understanding of perspective and physics.
Then, Malkin gift wrapped a shorthanded goal for you. You can say what you want about mistakes the Flyers made that led to the loss last night, but none came anywhere near translating directly into a goal as Malkin's decision on that play.
So, you have one puck in the net for the Pens that didn't count, and a gift from Malkin. That's a 2 goal swing in the Flyers favor. So please tell me, how exactly did the Flyers "give" the Pens the win last night? You had 1 goal aside from Malkin's gift, so are you telling me all three of the Pens goals prior to empty netter were GIVEN to them, and none of them were earned by the Pens skill?
perfect360 | 05/12/08, 12:20 PM
Report Offensive CommentIt cracks me up when people claim that the Pens have gotten lucky beacuse Philly "lost" the games more than the Pens "won" them, Isn't that part of what makes a team better??? Not making crucial mistakes? Whether or not a team "wins" a game or just "doesn't lose," the result is the same.
aglebagel | 05/12/08, 12:20 PM
Report Offensive CommentOoo, big, bad phillypie who can't spell! First of all, I've lived all over the country, and overall, I believe Pittsburgh has some of the cleanest air. The reason it got the worst ranking is because of one town in the Mon river valley with about 20,000 people in it. And being from Philly, you shouldn't talk about dirty. Da Burgh is now way cleaner than Philly. And we're not part of your PA? Fine, we'll take the nice part.
aglebagel | 05/12/08, 12:21 PM
Report Offensive CommentFlyers rule!!
Hey Pens fans how BLACK are your lungs??
Nice city! Voted the sootiest in the country. Perfect for you midwesterners!! Your not part of PA. You should be in the crappy state of Ohio!!
Time to take out Malkin --MR Cheapshot!!
phillypie | 05/12/08, 12:14 PM Report Offensive Comment
Hey, at least we can walk down the street without having to worry about the criminals AND the cops. Sounds like you have a pretty nice city yourself.
perfect360 | 05/12/08, 12:25 PM
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