Let's Go Flyers!!!
Which team will show up against the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night? The team that cruised into the All Star Break as the #1 team in the NHL or the team that collapsed after the All Star Break barely hanging on to win their own division?
As the playoffs get set to start on Thursday vs. Buffalo that is one of multiple questions that need to be answered. The health of Chris Pronger and the play of rookie goaltender Sergio Bobrovsky are huge issues as well. “Bob” was just pulled in the season finale Saturday night after letting in 3 goals on the first 10 shots, not exactly the way you want to head into the playoffs. Bank on Pronger being there for the opener, he is an animal and i think the time off will only benefit him and the rest of the Defense. Pronger may be a little rusty but he doesn’t expend that much energy out there where conditioning should become a factor. My biggest concern is the play of the so called Captain Mike Richards. This guy was an absolute beast during last years playoff run. Hitting everything that moved, scoring clutch goals i.e The Shift.
This year the only thing that stands out are his turnovers. Forcing cross ice passes or silly saucer passes during key power plays. When Pronger went down he became even more invisible on the ice and in some of his post game interviews he bristled at questions concerning the teams struggles. In all honesty the NHL playoffs is a season in itself so I am hoping they can amp things up. They are deeper than any team in the East and if they play like they did from Oct to Jan they go back to the Cup, period. No team would be able to beat them in a 7 game series. However, if they play like they have lately a first round exit would not shock me in the least.
I think they have a good shot at going all the way
Let’s hope they can recapture the magic of last year, but win it all this time!