Post by Bret Walker on Apr 8, 2004 13:14:28 GMT -5
The Stanley Cup playoffs kick off tonight in Philadelphia as the Flyers face the Devils in round 1. The Devils are skating without their leader and strongest defenseman, Scott Stevens, while the Flyers' defense, already plagued with injuries throughout the year, takes another hit as the plate in Eric Desjardins' broken arm has snapped, putting him out of the lineup for the rest of the post-season.
Meanwhile, between the pipes for the Devils is battle-tested and playoff-savvy Martin Brodeur. Although he's got the playoff experience, and the skill to carry the Devils to another Cup, the Flyers have seemed to have his number this season, to the tune of 3 wins, 2 losses, and a tie. The Flyers' netminder, Robert Esche, on the other hand has only 30 minutes of playoff experience, giving a rest to a beleaguered Roman Chechmanek during last year's slaughter at the hands of the Ottawa Senators. Also, Esche has been playing poorly of late, letting easy shots go and getting scored on unscreened from center ice. Hopefully he'll be able to shake off his demons before the puck hits the ice at 7:30 tonight.
My allegience is to the Flyers, no doubt. However, I think that if they don't increase their offense, and if Esche stays in his dark cloud, they will be easily beaten by the Devils. However, with the return of Roenick and Primeau, two of the locker room leaders, and even with the loss of Desjardins, the Flyers are bound to get a boost. And let's not forget that Sean Burke, with a lot of playoff experience (mostly bad), is sitting on the Flyers bench, and that Ken Hitchcock has a way of dealing with goaltenders suffering from mental blocks (He coached Ed Belfour when the Dallas Stars won the cup a few years ago).
So, I'm HOPING that the Flyers play like the Flyers of October-February. If they do, I think they'll advance to the next round in five games. If not, I see the Devils in five.
We'll have to wait until tonight to find out which Flyers team shows up.
Meanwhile, between the pipes for the Devils is battle-tested and playoff-savvy Martin Brodeur. Although he's got the playoff experience, and the skill to carry the Devils to another Cup, the Flyers have seemed to have his number this season, to the tune of 3 wins, 2 losses, and a tie. The Flyers' netminder, Robert Esche, on the other hand has only 30 minutes of playoff experience, giving a rest to a beleaguered Roman Chechmanek during last year's slaughter at the hands of the Ottawa Senators. Also, Esche has been playing poorly of late, letting easy shots go and getting scored on unscreened from center ice. Hopefully he'll be able to shake off his demons before the puck hits the ice at 7:30 tonight.
My allegience is to the Flyers, no doubt. However, I think that if they don't increase their offense, and if Esche stays in his dark cloud, they will be easily beaten by the Devils. However, with the return of Roenick and Primeau, two of the locker room leaders, and even with the loss of Desjardins, the Flyers are bound to get a boost. And let's not forget that Sean Burke, with a lot of playoff experience (mostly bad), is sitting on the Flyers bench, and that Ken Hitchcock has a way of dealing with goaltenders suffering from mental blocks (He coached Ed Belfour when the Dallas Stars won the cup a few years ago).
So, I'm HOPING that the Flyers play like the Flyers of October-February. If they do, I think they'll advance to the next round in five games. If not, I see the Devils in five.
We'll have to wait until tonight to find out which Flyers team shows up.
