It seemed like everything was falling into place for the Flyers. They were up 3-0, at home and had the Penguins on their heels. Game 7, and a potential remarkable comeback, were within reach. They had the momentum, they had the crowd, they had the series...
And they let it all slip away. Rather than remained composed early in the second period, Daniel Carcillo, he of 254 penalty minutes during the regular season, decided to get into a fight with Maxime Talbot. Sure, the crowd loved to see the fight, and they enjoyed it even more when Carcillo dropped Talbot, but it woke the Penguins up. Less than three minutes after the fight, the Penguins had scored twice, and you could feel the excitement being sucked out of the Wachovia Center. Sure, the goals were cheap ones, with Ruslan Fedotenko smacking the puck out from under Martin Biron's leg, and Mark Eaton knocking a puck out of the air, but they were still goals. The Penguins had life, and that would be all they needed. Sidney Crosby would complete the comeback about ten minutes later with another knock in, and everyone could tell where the game was headed. Sergei Gonchar put Pittsburgh ahead with a wicked slap shot early in the third period, and Crosby did the rest, adding an empty net goal to end Philadelphia's season.
So where do the Flyers go from here? Obviously, they have some questions to answer, especially with their consistency. There were times this season that they looked like they could be hoisting the Stanley Cup this June, and other times when they looked like they didn't belong to be on the ice. This last game was a perfect reminder of that, as they came out like gangbusters, only to get complacent and fall flat on their faces. I'm not sure exactly how they can work on that, but it clearly needs to be addressed. They've got the ability to score goals, and Jeff Carter looks like a great player, but many of their scorers disappeared during the playoffs. Carter only had one goal during the series, which is not enough from a guy who scored 46 times during the regular season.
The main issue they have to look at though is their goal tending. Martin Biron is a free agent after the playoffs, and the Flyers have to consider bringing him back. Yes, Biron has his moments when he tries to handle the puck, and sometimes he lets in soft goals, but those are problems present with almost every goalie in the league. Plus, unless Philadelphia wants to put all their trust into Antero Niittymaki to play as the starter, they're going to have to find someone, and Biron is already sitting right here, so they might as well make an effort for him to stay.
What does next season hold for the Flyers? Well, it's hard to tell right now. Again, they need to address what seems to be a complacency as well as their goal tending, but they should be able to compete with the best in the Eastern Conference next season. Claude Giroux looks like he's going to be a special player, and adding him for a full season to a group that already includes some fine offensive players can only help the Flyers. Like I said, they should be a good team again, but as we've seen all too many times from the Flyers, they need to find something that makes them great, because good just gets them sent home before they can lift the Stanley Cup.
That's all I've got for tonight, I'll be back tomorrow to break down the Eagles in the NFL Draft, as well as the Phillies.
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