LET'S GET READY TO RUUUUUUUUUUUUUMBLE!
Well, all the loose ends have been tied up. The Flyers will face
the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round of the playoffs in a
series rife with subplots. There's the coaching subplot, with
Roger Neilson and Pat Quinn significant figures in the histories
of both of these franchises. Then there's the goalie subplot,
with the Flyers and John Vanbiesbrouck, their free agent goalie
of choice, going head-to-head against the man they spurned,
Curtis Joseph. And, of course, there's the question of how the
Flyers will do without Hart Trophy candidate Eric Lindros.
It all makes for an intriguing and unusual matchup, unusual
because the Flyers will be considered the underdog in a playoff
series for the first time since they faced New Jersey in 1995.
Toronto is a formidable opponent, an offensive power with four
lines that can score. Sergei Berezin (37 goals), Mats Sundin
(31), and Steve Thomas (28) lead the way, but 9 Leafs reached
double digits in goals. And they have a proven playoff performer
in the nets.
So, who will win? What are the keys to success? For the Flyers,
it's as easy as 1-2-3.
1. DISCIPLINE, DISCIPLINE, DISCIPLINE
Here's a crucial fact. Oddly enough, the Leafs are a better team
when they get outshot. Toronto's record in those games was
27-16-10. When they get more shots than their opponents. they're
just 17-14-15.
Those numbers make one fact very clear - it's suicide to play
Russian Roulette against Toronto. They're a tremendous transition
team that's deadly on the rush. And like a good counterpuncher,
they clobber overaggressive opponents by using their skill and
speed to create turnovers that turn into odd-man rushes and
goals.
For that reason, the most crucial factor in this series will be
whether or not the Flyers can stick to the neutral zone trap.
Toronto struggled mightily against teams that used the trap this
year, going a combined 6-11-1 against Buffalo, Boston,
Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia. If that's not incentive enough for
the Flyers to maintain their discipline and stick to the system
in this series, nothing is.
The Flyers did a good job of staying within the system against
the Leafs in the regular season. They went 3-1 against Toronto
with Vanbiesbrouck in the net and held Mats Sundin to just one
goal in the four-game season series. Hopefully, that trend will
continue.
The signs are encouraging. The Flyers allowed just eight goals in
their final five games. And they played perhaps their best
defensive game of the season on Sunday against Boston, allowing
the Bruins just 11 shots and one scoring chance. Despite the fact
that the Bruins intensity level was worse than shameful, it was
an impressive performance - and one that will need to be repeated
if the Flyers are going to get past the Leafs.
2. CRASH THE CREASE
Curtis Joseph struggled mightily against the Flyers this season,
going 1-3 with a 3.29 goals-against average and a homely .877
save percentage. The reason is simple - the Flyers drive him
friggin' nuts.
Philly's crease-crashing style managed to throw Joseph into a
frenzy more than once this year. Now his coach, Pat Quinn, is
following suit. Quinn spent the early part of this week cementing
himself as a candidate for the playoff sour grapes award, awarded
annually each season, usually to Scott Stevens.
"It (the Flyers tendency to invade the crease) is not overblown,"
Quinn said. "The league mandated it to stop a few years ago, but
Philly is one of the teams that still does it.
"It's not just when the puck goes in the net. You watch, they
back in there all the time. They do all those little things,
encroaching, poaching ... it's not a mean thing on their part,
but they seem to get away with it, especially the physical
contact (with the goalie)."
Clearly, the Flyers need to exploit their mental edge in this
department as much as possible, particularly since John
Vanbiesbrouck would be no match for Cujo at the top of his game.
Does anyone out there agree with me that Geezer didn't turn out
to be the upgrade in goal that the Flyers were looking for? His
final numbers, 27-18-15, 2.18 goals-against, and .902 save
percentage, are not even as impressive as Ron Hextall's numbers
from the previous season (21-17-7, 2.17, .911). And since the
Flyers goals-against numbers for those two seasons (196 this
year, 193 last) are remarkably similar, I think it's a fair
comparison - and it's safe to say that Vanbiesbrouck has not yet
proven himself a worthy acquisition.
That may change now that the postseason is underway.
Vanbiesbrouck does have a history of stepping it up once the big
dance begins.
Of course, he may not need to stand on his head if the Flyers can
force Cujo to the rubber room. And with Keith Jones primed to
jab, poke, and smirk his way to Joseph's heart over the next two
weeks, it's a distinct possibility.
It's also possible that the crease-crashing sins, both real and
imagined, have Joseph determined to send the Flyers home early.
And the fact that Bob Clarke jilted Cujo last summer, despite the
fact that the Flyers were his admitted first choice, should feed
his festering hatred even more.
3. THE BIG LINE MUST DOMINATE
For all of the talk the past few springs about the Flyers
shortcomings in goal, the key to their playoff losses has been
the subpar play of their offensive stars, not their goaltenders.
All that has to change if the Flyers are going to advance past
the Leafs.
One of the most intriguing aspects of this series will be how
well the Flyers can adjust to life without Lindros. I'm sure that
many Flyers fans will regard this as heresy, but I personally
feel that they have a better chance to win without him.
Lindros is an unemotional player whose play seems to mirror that
of the team around him. That's fine and good when the team is
soaring through an unbeaten streak, but not so good when their
backs are against the wall in the postseason. I think it's
dangerous to make a player like that the other ones should look
to for inspiration. And Lindros has still never proven himself a
go-to guy in the clutch.
That said, if the Flyers fail this year, they can't pin it on
#88. This year, the burden will fall upon Rod Brind'Amour and
John LeClair, two outstanding players who weren't very
outstanding in the playoffs last year.
This spring, they'll have the help of Mark Recchi, a very strong
playoff performer for Montreal last year. There was some doubt
about Recchi's availability for this series, but he was cleared
to play yesterday and will be in the lineup Thursday night.
It's very simple, folks. If Brindy, LeClair, and Recchi outplay
the Leafs first line, the Flyers will win. If they don't, they
can't expect Daymond Langkow, Mikael Renberg, Valeri Zelepukin,
and Keith Jones to save them.
You read it here first. This is the year that Brind'Amour and
LeClair will step up and cement their reputations as two of the
best players in the game.
PREDICTION
The Leafs are a very dangerous but fatally flawed team. Their
leaky defense will give the Flyers too many scoring chances for
Curtis Joseph to make the difference. And with Lindros out, the
Flyers will stay within the system and stymie the Leafs potent
transition game.
Philly in 6.
