saturday in the puck

[Aces High]

Philadelphia at Tampa Bay

Game Info: 3:00 pm EDT Sat May 8, 2004

PLAYOFF SERIES: Eastern Conference finals; Game 1.

Regular season results are said to be irrelevant in the playoffs.

The Philadelphia Flyers certainly hope so.

After losing all four games to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the regular season, the Flyers try to prove that meaningless when the teams meet in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals.

Having already each won eight playoff games to reach this point, the Flyers and Lightning understandably have little concern for the regular season now. The fact remains, however, that Philadelphia was outscored 18-8 in four straight losses to Tampa Bay this season.

Lightning coach John Tortorella doesn't put any stock in his club's regular season success against the Flyers.

``That means squat,'' he said. ``As far as what we did, what they did, you throw that right out the window. I think both teams by the time Saturday comes along, is going to have a pretty good understanding about what the other team is about.''

One of Philadelphia's biggest concerns in this series will be its ability to control Tampa Bay's quartet of skilled and speedy forwards -- something it couldn't do in the regular season. Martin St. Louis, Brad Richards, Vincent Lecavalier and Fredrik Modin combined for 11 goals and 15 assists in four games against the Flyers.

``We'll have some tough matchups,'' Flyers captain Keith Primeau said. ``They are young, talented, offensive kids who skate very well.''

These teams haven't met since Feb. 17, and Philadelphia has made a couple of key acquisitions since that game. Center Alex Zhamnov has found a home on the Flyers' top line with Jeremy Roenick and Tony Amonte, and defenseman Vladimir Malakhov has added size and skill.

Using virtually the same roster all season has benefitted the Lightning, who went 28-7-2-5 in the second half and earned the top seed in the East with a franchise-record 106 points -- five more than Philadelphia.

The first two rounds of the playoffs posed little trouble for Tampa Bay, which eliminated the New York Islanders in five games and swept Montreal in four straight. The Lightning have outscored opponents 26-10 this postseason.

Nearly every aspect of Tampa Bay's game has been outstanding, but Nikolai Khabibulin's goaltending has clearly been the biggest factor in the Lightning reaching the conference finals for the first time.

Khabibulin, in net for all four regular season wins against the Flyers, has been near perfect in the playoffs, allowing nine goals on 248 shots for a remarkable .964 save percentage. After recording three shutouts in five games against the Islanders, he gave up five goals on 107 shots against Montreal.

``Nik has been our best player and he is going to have to be our best player if we are going to move on in this thing,'' Tortorella said.

Though he doesn't have the numbers that Khabibulin does, Philadelphia's Robert Esche has already outplayed two of the best goaltenders in NHL history -- New Jersey's Martin Brodeur and Toronto's Ed Belfour -- in the first two rounds.

In his first postseason as a starter, Esche is 8-3 with a 2.02 goals-against average and a .931 save percentage.

``He's battled some high-profile goalies, and now he has another one,'' Flyers coach Ken Hitchcock said. ``This is another challenge. Hopefully, he's up for another one.''

Philadelphia had a relatively easy first-round series, beating defending champion New Jersey in five games, but the conference semifinals against the Maple Leafs was a far more physical and demanding series.

Roenick's overtime goal in Game 6 sent the Flyers to the conference finals for the first time since 2000.

``We've had the harder path,'' Flyers winger Mark Recchi said. ``They might have just played that well and made it easier on themselves. Time will tell. We've definitely played two hard, physical series, and they have not had a physical series.''

Philadelphia is hoping Tampa Bay will be rusty because it will have been off eight days by the time the puck drops Saturday. The Flyers, meanwhile, will have had only three days off.

``You have an edge from the standpoint we are still in the mode of playing games,'' Primeau said. ``This is just the right amount of time between games. I don't know how we would have responded if we had to play a Game 7 (against Toronto). I know having days off between round one and two is nice, but it starts to become long. Eight days will be difficult. Who knows how they'll react?''

The key to this series could be whether Philadelphia can do enough to contain Tampa Bay's speed and aggressive forecheck. After facing defensive-minded New Jersey and a veteran-laden team in Toronto, the Flyers now have to deal with the young, fast and highly skilled Lightning.

Philadelphia's job of containment becomes more difficult because of injuries to several key players.

Defenseman Kim Johnsson is playing with a broken bone in his right hand and Malakhov missed Game 6 against the Leafs with a possible concussion. Forward Sami Kapanen, who has been helping out on defense, was injured in overtime of Game 6 after a vicious hit from Toronto's Darcy Tucker, but is expected to play Saturday.

Though Tampa Bay will see a much more physical team than the ones it faced in the first two rounds, Tortorella doesn't want his club to change its style.

``We are going to play our game, we are going to be on the attack and we are going to go,'' he said. ``How Philly plays is how Philly is going to play. We are not going to get away from how we play and we are very aware of that.''

This is the second postseason meeting between the teams and first since Philadelphia defeated Tampa Bay in six games in the 1995-96 conference quarterfinals.

Game 2 is Monday at Tampa Bay.

HOW THEY GOT HERE: Flyers - 3rd seed; beat New Jersey Devils 4-1, quarterfinals; beat Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2, semifinals. Lightning - 1st seed; beat New York Islanders 4-1, quarterfinals; beat Montreal Canadiens 4-0, semifinals.

PLAYOFF TEAM LEADERS: Flyers - Primeau, 5 goals; Zhamnov, 8 assists and 12 points; Donald Brashear, 18 PIM. Lightning - Modin, 5 goals; St. Louis, 7 assists; Modin and St. Louis, 11 points; Andre Roy, Chris Dingman and Lecavalier, 12 PIM.

PLAYOFF SPECIAL TEAMS: Flyers - Power play: 20.0 percent (7 for 35). Penalty killing: 88.9 percent (40 for 45). Lightning - Power play: 12.5 percent (5 for 40). Penalty killing: 84.6 percent (22 for 26).

GOALTENDERS: Flyers - Esche (8-3, 1 SO, 2.02 GAA); Sean Burke (0-0, 1.50). Lightning - Khabibulin (8-1, 4, 0.99); John Grahame (no appearances)

REGULAR SEASON SERIES: Lightning, 4-0. Khabibulin was in net for all four wins against the Flyers, allowing eight goals on 99 shots. St. Louis had three goals and five assists and Modin had four goals and two assists for Tampa Bay. Esche, one of four goalies used by the Flyers against the Lightning, was 0-1 with a 3.60 goals-against average in two games.

Team Comparison
Team G W L T OTL Pts Standings GF GA Home/Road
Philadelphia 82 40 21 15 6 101 1st, Atlantic 229 186 16-10-12-3 Road
Tampa Bay 82 46 22 8 6 106 1st, Southeast 245 192 24-10-4-3 Home


PHI vs TAM
X Forwards
Defense X
Goalie X
X Special Teams
Coaching X
X Intangibles
Overall X

(3) Philadelphia vs. (1) Tampa Bay
EXPERIENCE vs. RAW TALENT
While Philadelphia makes its 14th conference finals appearance, Tampa Bay is making its first. The experience on this season's Flyers roster will play a vital factor, as will the raw talent of Tampa Bay's top stars.

Stat Comparisons
Philadelphia Flyers Tampa Bay Lightning
Head to Head
26 M. Recchi Goals M. St. Louis 38
75 M. Recchi Points M. St. Louis 94
20 J. LeClair Plus/Minus M. St. Louis 35
212 D. Brashear PIM C. Dingman 140
1.00 A. Niittymaki Goals Against Avg. J. Grahame 2.06
Team
20.7 Power Play (%) 16.2
83.3 Penalty Killing (%) 84.9
2.74 Goals For Avg. 2.95
2.23 Goals Against Avg. 2.31

 

[Aces High]

PHILADELPHIA (48-24-15- 6) AT TAMPA BAY (54-23- 8- 6) 3:00 p.m. ET

Goaltending Statistics ( + = Rookie Goaltender )
PHILADELPHIA
GPI MINS AVG W L T EN SO GA SA SV% G A PIM
SEAN BURKE 1 40 1.50 0 0 0 0 0 1 9 .889 0 0 0
ROBERT ESCHE 11 625 2.02 8 3 0 0 1 21 303 .931 0 0 4
PHI TOTALS 11 668 1.98 8 3 0 0 1 22 312 .929

TAMPA BAY
GPI MINS AVG W L T EN SO GA SA SV% G A PIM
NIKOLAI KHABIBULIN 9 543 0.99 8 1 0 1 4 9 248 .964 0 0 0
TAM TOTALS 9 545 1.10 8 1 0 1 4 10 249 .960

Win/Loss Comparison
PHILADELPHIA HOME UNITS AWAY UNITS TOTAL UNITS
2003 30-14-3 420 18-16-12 -75 48-30-15 34
LAST 10 5-0-0 500 2-3-0 -25 7-3-0 47

TAMPA BAY HOME UNITS AWAY UNITS TOTAL UNITS
2003 28-14-4 220 26-15-4 1350 54-29-8 157
LAST 10 4-2-0 -100 4-0-0 405 8-2-0 30


Over/Under Comparison
(Note: units reflect money line result on the 'over')

PHILADELPHIA HOME UNITS AWAY UNITS TOTAL UNITS
2003 23-19-5 335 23-19-4 225 46-38-9 56
LAST 10 2-3-0 -90 3-2-0 90 5-5-0

TAMPA BAY HOME UNITS AWAY UNITS TOTAL UNITS
2003 22-19-5 130 20-20-5 -160 42-39-10 -3
LAST 10 1-5-0 -520 1-3-0 -250 2-8-0 -77


Scoring Statistics
OVERALL LAST 10 GAMES
HOME AWAY TOTAL HOME AWAY TOTAL
PHILADELPHIA 3.1 2.5 2.8 3.6 2.0 2.8
OPPONENT 2.1 2.4 2.2 1.4 2.6 2.0

OVERALL LAST 10 GAMES
HOME AWAY TOTAL HOME AWAY TOTAL
TAMPA BAY 3.0 2.9 3.0 2.3 3.3 2.7
OPPONENT 2.2 2.2 2.2 1.3 1.0 1.2

Review of Recent Games
PHILADELPHIA
SCORE/W-L-T HOME LINE TOTAL
DATE OPP (*=OT) OPEN CLOSE OPEN CLOSE O/U GOALTENDER
4/10/04 NJ 3-2 W 0.0-125 0.0-125 4.5u 4.5u O ESCHE
4/12/04 at NJ 2-4 L 0.0-155 0.0-155 4.5u 4.5u O ESCHE
4/14/04 at NJ 3-0 W 0.0-160 0.0-160 4.5 4.5 U ESCHE
4/17/04 NJ 3-1 W 0.0-140 0.0-150 4.5u 4.5u U ESCHE
4/22/04 TOR 3-1 W 0.0-175 0.0-175 4.5u 4.5u U ESCHE
4/25/04 TOR 2-1 W 0.0-165 0.0-165 4.5u 4.5u U ESCHE
4/28/04 at TOR 1-4 L 0.0-150 0.0-160 4.5u 4.5u O ESCHE
4/30/04 at TOR 1-3 L 0.0-140 0.0-145 4.5u 4.5u U ESCHE
5/02/04 TOR 7-2 W 0.0-160 0.0-140 4.5u 4.5u O ESCHE
5/04/04 at TOR 3-2 W 0.0-155 0.0-155 4.5u 4.5u O ESCHE

TAMPA BAY
SCORE/W-L-T HOME LINE TOTAL
DATE OPP (*=OT) OPEN CLOSE OPEN CLOSE O/U GOALTENDER
4/03/04 ATL 1-2 L 0.0-300 0.0-300 6.0u 6.0u U KHABIBULIN
4/08/04 NYI 3-0 W 0.0-210 0.0-210 5.0o 5.0o U KHABIBULIN
4/10/04 NYI 0-3 L 0.0-200 0.0-200 5.0o 5.0o U KHABIBULIN
4/12/04 at NYI 3-0 W 0.0+105 0.0+105 5.0u 5.0u U KHABIBULIN
4/14/04 at NYI 3-0 W 0.0-110 0.0-110 4.5o 4.5o U KHABIBULIN
4/16/04 NYI 3-2 * W 0.0-200 0.0-200 4.5u 4.5u O KHABIBULIN
4/23/04 MON 4-0 W 0.0-200 0.0-200 4.5o 4.5o U KHABIBULIN
4/25/04 MON 3-1 W 0.0-200 0.0-200 4.5o 4.5o U KHABIBULIN
4/27/04 @ MON 4-3 W 0.0-125 0.0-125 4.5o 4.5o O KHABIBULIN
4/29/04 at MON 3-1 W 0.0+105 0.0+110 4.5o 4.5o U KHABIBULIN


Head-to-Head
SCORE (*=OT) HOME LINE TOTAL WINNING
DATE VIS HOM-VIS OPEN CLOSE OPEN CLOSE O/U GOALTENDER
3/08/02 PHI 2-4 0.0+220 0.0+220 5.0 5.0 O BOUCHER
3/18/02 TB 3-3 * -1.5-115 -1.5-125 5.0u 5.0u O
11/19/02 PHI 2-3 0.0+110 0.0+110 5.5u 5.5u U CECHMANE
1/18/03 TB 3-2 0.0-250 0.0-250 5.0o 5.0o P ESCHE
1/28/03 TB 0-3 0.0-240 0.0-240 5.0o 5.0 U GRAHAME
4/04/03 PHI 1-4 0.0-115 0.0+110 5.0u 5.0u P CECHMANE
12/18/03 TB 4-5 * 0.0-230 0.0-250 4.5o 4.5o O KHABIBUL
1/03/04 PHI 6-1 0.0+120 0.0+135 4.5o 4.5o O KHABIBUL
2/02/04 TB 1-2 0.0-180 0.0-160 5.0o 5.0 U KHABIBUL
2/17/04 PHI 5-2 0.0-125 0.0-140 5.0o 5.0o O KHABIBUL


Value Index Analysis (team power ratings)
Team Power Rating
PHILADELPHIA -120
TAMPA BAY -105

VALUE INDEX COMPARISON TO LAS VEGAS LINE:

LV LINE VI VI LINE VI EDGE
PHILADELPHIA -120 -125 .65
TAMPA BAY PK -160 -105

LV LINE VI LINE VI EDGE
OVER/UNDER 4.5 5.0 0.5 OVER

 

[Aces High]

Jeremy Roenick, Philadelphia Flyers - Despite the fact that the Lightning often double-shift their top players like Vincent Lecavalier, Brad Richards and Martin St. Louis, the Flyers have no plans to do the same with some of their top stars like Roenick, Mark Recchi or Keith Primeau. Coach Ken Hitchcock is against a three-line system, saying that the Flyers must roll out four lines if they are to succeed playing the style of hockey they want to play. As a result, don't expect any of the Flyer forwards to top 20 minutes of icetime in a game, unless of course it goes into overtime. Conversely, Richards and Lecavalier could see icetime in the 22-24 minute range. Something to possibly keep in mind when selecting players in any playoff pools.

Vladimir Malakhov, Philadelphia Flyers - Malakhov, who may have a minor concussion suffered in the last round against the Maple Leafs, practiced yesterday and intends to play in game one against the Lightning today, reports the Philly Burbs.

Sami Kapanen, Philadelphia Flyers - Kapanen, the victim of a hard hit at the hands of Darcy Tucker earlier in the week, also practiced yesterday and is expected to be in the lineup for Saturday's game one against the Lightning, reports the Philly Burbs.

Robert Esche, Philadelphia Flyers - Esche is the probable starter for Saturday's game against the Lightning.

Nikolai Khabibulin, Tampa Bay Lightning - Khabibulin is the probable starter for Saturday's game against the Flyers.

 

[Aces High]

To many, Marty St. Louis was the story for Tampa in the first half of the season, riding to his team's rescue almost every night during the regular season.

But the plot has changed during the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Here, the Lightning haven't had one particular player don a red cape and skate faster than a speeding bullet in the postseason. The team has had 20 Supermen during the first two rounds, resulting in Tampa Bay posting an 8-1 record.

"It's not about who scores goals right now. It's about winning and losing," said St. Louis, who had four goals and seven assists against the Islanders and Canadiens in the first two rounds.

Tampa Bay has never advanced past the second round in its first 11 seasons, but now has the opportunity to represent the East in the Stanley Cup Finals -- if it can get past a very good Philadelphia Flyers team.

Coming into the Eastern Conference Finals, the Lightning have scored 26 total goals from 10 different players. In all, 15 different players have picked up playoff points. Spreading the wealth is nothing new for the Lightning. During the regular season, Tampa had six players score 20 or more goals with three (St. Louis, Cory Stillman, and Brad Richards) finishing in the top 10 in scoring. The trio also finished in the top 10 in assists in the NHL in the 2003-04 campaign.

While the skaters were busy filling up the opposition's net, Nikolai Khabibulin spent his time keeping his cage clean. The Tampa Bay netminder has faced 248 shots in this postseason so far, only allowing nine goals in nine games. In the Eastern Conference Semifinals against Montreal, Khabibulin faced 107 shots in the series and made 102 saves.

He enters the Conference Finals on a roll, having won seven consecutive games, more than halfway to the postseason record of 11, which is shared by Ed Belfour (Chicago, 1992), Tom Barrasso (Pittsburgh, 1992) and Patrick Roy (Montreal, 1993). Khabibulin comes in with an 8-1 record, a microscopic 0.99 GAA and a League-leading .964 save percentage.

"Nic has been the backbone of the team and everybody else has contributed," coach John Tortorella said. "That's what has to happen."

In order for the Lightning to advance, they will not only have to keep winning on the road, but also will need scoring help from the defense.

Tampa was undefeated on the road in the first two rounds, posting a perfect 4-0 mark while outscoring the opposition 13-4 in the process. The Bolts, who were 4-1 at home, managed to get through the first few rounds without any consistent scoring from their blue line. Dan Boyle, who scored against Montreal, was the only defender to record a goal in Tampa Bay's first nine games. That may have to change in order for Lightning to keep striking.

 

[Aces High]

Through two rounds of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Philadelphia Flyers have answered every challenge placed in their path.

Entering the tournament, most critics insisted that the Flyers did not have the goalie to make a long run in the postseason. Robert Esche has silenced that talk with his inspired play.

The 26-year-old netminder, in his first postseason tour of duty, is merely 8-3 so far with a 2.02 goals-against average and one shutout. In the two clinching opportunities he has faced, Esche is 2-0 with just three goals allowed on 68 shots.

Then, the Flyers lost rock-solid defenseman Eric Desjardins for the length of the playoffs after he re-injured a broken arm suffered late in the season. Again, prophecies of doom filled the air.

Instead, the Flyers defense -- composed of six Europeans -- has been among the most effective in the playoffs. Philadelphia has received 14 points from its defenseman, including an astounding four game-winning goals.

Kim Johnsson, who has played the last three games with a heavily padded broken right hand, leads the way one goal and six assists. Defensively, Danny Markov has been deployed against top forward lines throughout and is still a blinding plus-8.

Philadelphia's defense, however, faces new challenges in the Eastern Conference Finals. Johnsson's health is tenuous, at best. Reliable veteran defenseman Vladimir Malakhov, acquired late in the season for his experience, was injured late in the series against Toronto and may be unavailable. Forward Sami Kapanen, who was pressed into defensive duty with the injuries to Johnsson and Malakhov, was injured in Tuesday's Game 6 and could also be unavailable.

Up front, there have been almost as many questions.

At the start, there were concerns that captain Keith Primeau was not capable of delivering in the high-stakes atmosphere of the playoffs. After all, Primeau had just three goals and 18 points in 40 previous playoff games with Philadelphia.

All the captain has done is emerge as one of the most dominant players in the postseason. He has five goals, including a spectacular hat trick in the tide-turning Game 5 of the Toronto series, and eight points. He has also posted a plus-6 rating. He has posed matchup problems for both New Jersey and the Maple Leafs. Neither team, in fact, could find answers to the challenges Primeau issued with his all-out passion and physical menace.

There were also concerns that Jeremy Roenick would be uncomfortable on the right wing of the newly minted "Blackhawk Down" line.

Roenick's natural position is center, but coach Ken Hitchcock wanted to leave Alexei Zhamnov at that position and use Roenick as a threat on the flank.

It has worked. Not only did Roenick score a beautiful goal to win the Toronto series in overtime of Game 6, but he has also been among Philadelphia's most productive players. Roenick has four goals and 10 points in 11 outings. Zhamnov, advancing past the first round for the first time in his career, has four goals and eight assists to lead the team in scoring. Tony Amonte, the other player on the line, has six points and is a plus-4. All three are former members of the Chicago Blackhawks, hence the catchy nickname.

Finally, there were concerns that the team would not respond to the strict edicts of coach Ken Hitchcock. Despite Hitchcock's winning a Stanley Cup with Dallas in 1999 and returning to the Finals the following year, there were still a number of doubters who believed Hitchcock did not have the rapport with his players to push them through a long and difficult playoff run.

Instead, the Flyers have been a model of stability through the first two rounds.

Hitchcock defused a potential blowup when Esche refused to talk to the media early in the playoffs, using humor to get over that rough spot. He has handled Primeau beautifully, allowing the captain to shine both in the room and on the ice. Most importantly, he has the entire team believing it has the talent and mental fortitude to accomplish greatness.

But, that can only happen if they find answers to a whole new batch of questions posed by the top-seeded Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Conference Finals.

 

[Aces High]

While many outsiders may be just starting to respect the Tampa Bay Lightning, there is already a room full of converts in Philadelphia's dressing room.

The Flyers, who overcame a stern challenge from the Toronto Maple Leafs in a six-game, second-round slugfest, know they are in for another battle in the Eastern Conference Finals against the red-hot Lightning.

In fact, the Flyers have to look no further than the regular season to see just how difficult a challenge looms in Tampa Bay. In four regular-season matchups, the Lightning emerged victorious each time, outscoring the Flyers, 18-8.

Throughout those games, Tampa Bay victimized Philadelphia with its speed and top-heavy contingent of forwards.

Martin St. Louis terrorized Philadelphia's defense, much in the same way he did every other League defense en route to the regular-season scoring title. St. Louis had three goals -- including the game-winning tally in overtime of the first game -- and five assists. Brad Richards, meanwhile, had two goals and six assists.

Cory Stillman added seven points and Fredrik Modin -- one of the surprise stars of the first two rounds -- rang up four goals and six points. Vincent Lecavalier and Ruslan Fedotenko, the other two forwards on the top lines, combined for seven more points.

So, all told, those six forwards accounted for 36 of the 47 points Tampa Bay accumulated in the four games.

Shutting down those two units will be the biggest task facing Flyers coach Ken Hitchcock. Throughout the playoffs, Hitchcock has done a masterful job of containing the primary threats of his opponents -- mainly the Devils' top line of Patrik Elias, Scott Gomez and Brian Gionta and Toronto's dominating Mats Sundin.

Using heavy puck pressure in all three zones, including a punishing emphasis on banging opposing defensemen behind their own net, the Flyers have forced a plethora of turnovers and wreaked havoc with transition plans. Philadelphia has allowed just 22 goals in its first 11 playoff matches. Only three times have the Flyers allowed more than two goals in a game.

A good deal of that credit must also go to goaltender Robert Esche, who has silenced all the whispers about Philadelphia lacking a playoff-caliber goalie. Esche had only limited experience against the Lightning this season. He stopped nine of 12 shots in relief of Jeff Hackett in January. In a February game, Esche stopped all 10 shots he faced before leaving the game with a knee injury.

Philadelphia's job of containment becomes slightly more difficult with the banged-up status of its defensive corps. Kim Johnsson is playing with a broken bone in his right hand. Vladimir Malakhov missed Tuesday's Game 6 after suffering an injury in the first period of Game 5. Forward Sami Kapanen, who has been helping out on defense, was injured in overtime of Game 6 against Toronto. His status for Saturday's Game 1 is uncertain.

Offensively, the Flyers struggled against Tampa Bay in the regular season, managing just six regular-strength goals and two power-play tallies.

Most of that damage was done by the big-name forwards -- Tony Amonte (two goals and two assists), Mark Recchi (two power-play goals, two assists) and Michal Handzus (two goals, one assist). Each of those players have struggled to find offense in the postseason, however.

And, it is a safe bet that goalie Nikolai Khabibulin will not prove to be a tonic for those struggles. In the four regular-season games against Philadelphia, Khabibulin stopped 91 of the 99 shots thrown his way for a .919 save percentage. He has been even better in the first two rounds of the playoffs with a 0.99 goals-against average and an unbelievable .964 save percentage.

Tampa Bay coach John Tortorella's biggest challenge will be to figure out a way to slow down Flyer captain Keith Primeau, who has been an offensive battering ram throughout these playoffs, despite excelling at his primary role of being a checking center.

It will be interesting to see if Tortorella uses his checking line against Primeau's line in Tampa Bay, where he gets the last change. In Philadelphia, Hitchcock will likely use Primeau against either Richards' or Lecavalier's line.

 

[Aces High]

Philadelphia, PA ? Despite not opening the Eastern Conference Finals until Saturday afternoon, the Flyers boarded their team charter on Thursday afternoon to head to Tampa, Florida.

Flyers Head Coach Ken Hitchcock wanted his team to get acclimated to the climate for a couple of days, as the team will arrive on Thursday evening and practice at the St. Pete Times Forum on Friday afternoon.

Philadelphia lost all four games, including one in overtime, to the Lightning in the regular season. Not that they will make any excuses for it, but the Flyers were not the same team during those earlier matchups, as Robert Esche was injured midway through a 2-1 loss on February 2 in which backup Neil Little allowed two goals. On February 17, Jeremy Roenick and Keith Primeau were out of the lineup, and Alex Zhamnov and Vladimir Malakhov had not yet arrived through trades in a 5-2 defeat.

Even so, Hitchcock said that the Flyers must make adjustments if they are going to be successful and earn a birth in the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 1997.

?We?re the ones who have to change,? said Hitchcock. ?We?re the ones who have to adapt and adjust and be ready. I think sometimes when you just see the name ?Tampa Bay? you say, just because of the name, that they can?t be that good. But they are that good. I think everyone that?s played them lately understands how good they are.?

The Lightning advanced this far by defeating the eighth-seeded New York Islanders in five games and then the seventh-seeded Montreal Canadiens in a four-game sweep. Philadelphia took the harder road by defeating New Jersey in five games and Toronto in six.

Tampa Bay has not played a game since April 29, and the Flyers are hopeful that they will come out a little rusty. The pressure of playing in front of a home crowd in the first two games could also be a factor.

At least Hitchcock hopes so.

?I guess what you?re hoping is that they?re a little rusty, but I also think you?re hoping there?s pressure,? he said. ?Pressure does funny things to you. When you have home ice early in the series, you want to win, and you think you deserve to win, but there?s that pressure. You?re hopeful that some of that seeps over to that side.?

There?s no question that it is the Flyers who have been the better-tested team in the first two rounds of the Stanley Cup Playoffs against a couple of formidable teams. Before a 7-2 rout of Toronto in Game Five, Hitchcock said that his team really hadn?t outplayed anyone yet.

Even so, they battled their way though in impressive fashion with hard-nosed, physical hockey that has left them a ?hardened group,? according their head coach. It may end up helping them down the line against Tampa Bay.

?Later in the series, you can really draw on some of those experiences and having to fight and claw and scratch for every inch of ice,? said Hitchcock. ?We?re going to draw on that, certainly.?

The Lightning are led most notably by Hart Memorial Trophy candidate Martin St. Louis, who led the NHL in scoring during the regular season with 94 points, and goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin, who is leading all playoff goaltenders with a 0.99 goals-against average.

?They have very talented hockey players, and we know they?re well coached,? said Mark Recchi. ?They have some experienced guys that have really helped their young guys. We know going into this seven-game series that it?s a process, and we?re going to have to do things every night to be successful.?

?We feel pretty good right now. We know they beat us four times this year, but the regular season is something else,? said Simon Gagne. ?Every round is going to be tougher and tougher. We?ve played well the first two rounds, but we have to think we?re facing a better team now. We still have to get better and better with every round. This is definitely going to be a tougher series.?

Hitchcock said that he expects the tempo of the game to increase with the Tampa Bay series. New Jersey was a more defensive-oriented team, while Toronto used its physicality to try to gain an advantage.

Philadelphia won the defensive battle with New Jersey and the physical battle with Toronto, which is why the team is in the Conference Finals now.

Recchi said that they would try to keep up the physical play to counter the Lightning?s speed.

?You hope that eventually it creates turnovers or some situation where we get the odd-man break or get other opportunities from it. It?s a process over a whole bunch of games, so we have to do it every night,? he said.

?They are a bunch of young, hungry guys, who are skilled offensively with a couple of veteran guys mixed in who have really settled their locker room, so it poses a big challenge,? said Primeau. ?But, we are ready.?

High Praise For Kapanen

Along with Jeremy Roenick?s overtime goal, the highlight that keeps showing up from Game Six of the second round is the vicious and arguably dirty hit on Sami Kapanen by Toronto?s Darcy Tucker.

Kapanen should be fine to play on Saturday against Tampa Bay, as should Malakhov, who was also hit by Tucker in Game Five and missed Game Six.
Hitchcock was asked about Kapanen?s health and how he has played through the first two rounds. Kapanen has switched back and forth from forward to defense throughout the playoffs, due to the Malakhov injury and an earlier injury to Kim Johnsson.

?He?s fine. He felt pretty good today,? said Hitchcock. ?He signifies what we?re about ? a character guy that really comes to play every night. Wherever we play him, he doesn?t care who we play him with. He doesn?t care if he plays 14 minutes or 20 minutes, he just wants to help the team win. I think our team really feeds off of that unselfishness.?

 

[Aces High]

Flyers forwards Keith Primeau, Mark Recchi and Jeremy Roenick met with the media.

Q. Keith, do you put any stock in the sense that's going around that you've had maybe two tougher series than Tampa, they have been resting for eight or nine days and you might be tired and they might be tired, you might be banged up? What's your thought?

KEITH PRIMEAU: It's the same as, for us, reverse of what occurred in the Toronto series in that it can work for you and it can work against you. We faced a team in Toronto that just finished a grueling seven-game series and had no time really to recover and allowed us to get an early lead in the series. But also, I thought that the rest hurt our precision, hurt some of our energy and worked against us in that regard. So eight days is a long time off at this time of year. The rest is great. I think rest is crucial if you're going to make a long playoff run. But we like our situation in that we didn't have to play a Game 7 in round two, we finished them in six and we feel that three days was plenty, enough time for rest to prepare for this series.

Q. Many of the games in the first two series, you guys were outshot; do you have to limit the chances more in this series?

KEITH PRIMEAU: It was kind of uncustomary for a team to be shot the way we were. We talked about it a lot in the Jersey series, that it was really part of the way they forechecked. Toronto did a good job, as well of getting a lot of shots, and a lot of rebounds, a lot of traffic at the net. But I agree, it's going to be crucial in this series to try to minimize scoring chances as best we can because they have, I think more dangerous offensive players than what we've faced in either of the first two rounds. I take nothing away from either one those two teams but this is a skilled group of forwards.

Q. In the Jersey series, you guys played a team that was very good in transition, and most of those games were really up-and-down the ice, and Hitchcock said yesterday, you can't get into this type of running game with this team, so how are you going to beat them?

KEITH PRIMEAU: Their transition, I agree, is similar to New Jersey. They are as good as anybody in the National Hockey League on transition, but their system is more similar to what we just faced in Toronto if they press up and they want to try to create turnovers. Again, for us our focus has to be being strong, getting pucks out of our zone, being strong at lines, continuing to advance the puck and get pucks in behind if we are going to have a chance to win.

Q. Have you been able to outmuscle most teams you've played this year?

KEITH PRIMEAU: I don't know. I think to a large extent, at times, it's overstated. Do we have some big forwards? Yes. But we really transformed our defense, our defense is extremely skilled. We also have some smaller skill guys up front who just play big. And so, as far as being able to outmuscle teams, we've competed hard and that's the biggest reason we've had success.

Q. How important is it to have the Lightning, as you do, I guess two, good scoring lines?

KEITH PRIMEAU: Again, it's a different challenge than what we've faced to this point, two teams. We faced one really strong offensive line. Other guys filtered into their lineup and were capable of scoring. But this team poses a different threat in that they have their top end loaded, especially the top two lines. It becomes a challenge. More guys have to be aware of them defensively to minimize the chances they get.

Q. You talked yesterday about feeding off of Sami back there; can you talk more about what he brings to you?

KEITH PRIMEAU: He'll be a real sparkplug for us in this series because of his energy and the way he's capable of skating. Sometimes he flies under the radar because of his size, but we as a group know how important Sami is to what we're trying to do.

Q. When you see him - can you describe the effect of him?

KEITH PRIMEAU: I see his energy and I always say, him at five-nine and me at six-five, he's capable of running into people.

Q. Having played these guys four times in the regular season, from your perspective, how do you label their philosophy, is there a label you can put on this type of hockey?

KEITH PRIMEAU: No, I don't know if you can. System-wise they are very strong. They don't allow you a lot in the middle of the ice; they keep you to the outside. They do a tremendous job of their forwards getting back and helping out the defense. Just staples of good teams. I don't know if you really can put a tab on what you would call it.

Q. Even though they are a different style team than Toronto, do you pretty much play the same strategy, keep them away from your goalie?

KEITH PRIMEAU: I think we have to. I think we have to be even better in certain areas on the ice. As Toronto, they try to create a lot of stuff down behind the net so we have to be really aware of not allowing them to create chances from that part of the rink, so that we rely on our defense and our low forward to do a lot of work.

Q. On paper this looks like their youth and speed against your experience and size; does it play out like that?

KEITH PRIMEAU: I think as the precursor, I guess it does. But once we get into the series, it all evens out. I think you look at Toronto, we talk about their age and experience, but it ended up being, you know, our age and experience. So I know they are a young team, but again, they have been through some battles as a group, they were last year, as they have been this year and they have some veteran guys over there who have done a tremendous job of helping to lead their team.

Q. Do you expect this to be an emotional series?

KEITH PRIMEAU: Because of the time of year, it will be intense and it will be competitive and it will be real physical and a real challenge for both sides.
And so, only I think primarily because of the time of year it is.

Q. Jeremy, this is the first time you've been this far in a real long time, and a lot of the older veterans don't have cups; do you use that hunger to your advantage?

JEREMY ROENICK: No question it fuels our hunger. I think even more the uncertainty of what's going to happen with the NHL next year, not knowing whether we are going to have this opportunity again for a long time, if ever, guys like myself, this is an opportunity that doesn't present itself very often and obviously, haven't been to this point, like you said, in 12 years. It's sweet. It is a sweet feeling. We want to keep it going as long as we can.

Q. Is it something that you guys, as a group, that you've talked about, really stressed that this could be the last chance for a lot of you guys?

JEREMY ROENICK: I don't think we sit down and talk about it very much but it's evident to everybody. Everybody really realizes the situation and knows the time of year that we are in. When it gets really warm outside and gets very hot in the buildings, it starts to get a little bit more emotional and exciting. We know what time of the year it is. Like I said, we might not get back here again, so we have to take advantage of our opportunity.

Q. You guys have been very business-like in your approach to this whole post-season, can you articulate how knowing how to deal with all of the distractions, the peripheral stuff will be an advantage?

JEREMY ROENICK: I think Hitch has heard enough out of my mouth all year, so he doesn't want to hear me for another couple of months. (Laughter). I think it's important that everybody understands that this is a total team effort. We have guys that are very capable of comes out and being spokespeople, Recchi, Primeau, guys that are very well spoken, know what's going on, and for some of us, like myself, it has to be a total businesslike situation. I'm trying to learn a new position. A lot of that has to do with preparing differently every game and every day. You know, I can't sit around and worry about what I'm going to say to the media or get caught up in verbal competitions with some of the things that go through my head during the course -- like I wanted to with Antropov with last series. I had to keep those to myself. But what's most important is if the team does well and we come out and win, it doesn't matter what anybody says.

Q. Those distractions, can they disrupt a young team that's not used to dealing with that stuff?

JEREMY ROENICK: It depends on the veteran leadership. It depends on the guys they have leading them. If the team is together and the team is focused and strong, the leaders will take responsibility and bring everybody through it. We have great leaders on our team, Recchi and Joni and Prime, some of the best captains.

Q. Yesterday Hitch said if you looked on paper, the series over the year, people would narrowly pick Tampa Bay in this series. Why would someone say the Flyers could win this series, knowing what you know in the regular season?

MARK RECCHI: I think the biggest part is, we are a team, and we changed some personnel, we brought people in who are tremendous team players, tremendous people, and trying to win. I think since we've got J.R. and Primes back, I said all along, we are going to get stronger and stronger, because we are building as a team again and missing two important pieces like that, eventually, everything is going to continue to get better. The roles will be more defined, like they are now. Now everybody knows what they have to do going into a hockey game. That's why we believe that we do our things right, we can be a successful hockey team.

 

[Aces High]

Q. How much better did you guys get from the start of the playoffs to where you are now? You had to go through two tough series with Toronto and New Jersey?

MARK RECCHI: We got better and better. The better the games got, the better we got, too. We had opportunities to close things out and we did. That says a lot about our resilience. We had to play with some injuries, missing our top defenseman, Malakhov goes down the other night, we've been through a lot. We just, you know, we keep pushing through and we've got a very unselfish group of guys who really don't want to command any attention. It's all about what we are doing as a team now. It's not about any individual. It's about 23 guys right now trying to build something.

Q. What are your memories of playing for Tortorella in Phoenix, the time you were together with him?

JEREMY ROENICK: Yeah, he's a wonderful man, for one thing. He was assistant coach in Phoenix. He did an unbelievable job of being a grade mediator between the players and the coach. I think that's a very important thing that an assistant coach has to do is to be able to get along with the players and have a relationship with them and his personality was one of those that everybody instinctively and immediately was attracted to. So I enjoyed playing for him, and I still enjoy having a friendship with him. It doesn't surprise me the way he's turned this organization around on the ice. Really, his attitude all the time in Phoenix was a competitive one, and he's just really taking that to another level as a head coach. I'm real proud of him.

Q. I know your team has gone through quite a transformation since the last time these two teams played in February, but talking about the Lightning, they have a multitude of scorers now, what does that present to the Flyers?

JEREMY ROENICK: Well, I think everybody on our team realizes what we are up against. We are up against probably one of the best players in the league in St. Louis; we know what kind of challenges he presents. Vinny is a confident young kid, extremely talented that. We know we have to play physical against -- we can't let -- I know we didn't let Modin run around and be a physical impact. And I think with us, we realize what we're up against. We know that we have to play very structurally sound defensively, but we also feel that as high scorers as they have, we have just as high scorers. I mean, Zhamnov is one of most talented guys in the world, Recchi is one of the best play-makers, one of the best scorers in the game, Amonte has been one of best scorers in the game for a long time. I'll put in a puck here and there. And we have Keith Primeau who has been probably our MVP. So, you know, they have some great players, but our players are just as good and it's going to be a fun battle.

Q. Talk about your personal superstitions regarding the Cup.

JEREMY ROENICK: Well, I saw it yesterday on TV and I watched everybody go up and touch it, all the fans go up and touch it. I'm happy it's down here, to tell you the truth. I'm happy it's in the area here in Tampa, because I don't think that's a good thing. They had better not bring that Cup to Philadelphia. Just leave it out until we get out and we can actually grab it. But I'm not touching it and I'm not going to see it until it's right in front of my face and I can get it from my buddy here next to me. But I like that it's down here in Tampa. I like the way they are thinking right now.

Q. Toronto is called the toughest building in the world to win in, the carryover, winning a six-game in overtime and coming here for your first two games, is there a strong carryover?

MARK RECCHI: This is a tough building to play in. It's a tough to play in even when it's not full. It's going to be jammed. There's a lot of excitement down here. It's definitely going to be a fun place to play in. I think you've got to take it for what it is. You've got to enjoy it. Toronto, it's a tough place to play, but it's a fun place to play. It's really enjoyable, you have to take in the atmosphere and really run with it, and we'll do that tomorrow because it's going to be a tremendous atmosphere. We'll try and obviously settle them down a little bit, but, you know, we know what we are up against and we'll be ready for it.

Q. Can you follow up on you like the way the people are thinking here in Tampa and Tampa's thinking, what are you thinking about? What are you saying there?

JEREMY ROENICK: Well, I just love that the Cup is down here. I love that everybody is running around saying: "Hey, this is where the Cup is going to stay, this is it, this is where it belongs." Everybody is all excited to see it. We'll be excited to see it when we win it. Until then, we stay away from it. We're hockey players and we are all superstitious, and that's a superstition and that's what we believe in. Whether you guys believe it or not, that's your own beliefs.

MARK RECCHI: I don't think their players want to touch it.

JEREMY ROENICK: I don't think some of their guys are very happy that it's around, either.

 

[Aces High]

(Sports Network) - The third stage of the Stanley Cup quest begins today when the Tampa Bay Lightning and Philadelphia Flyers square off in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals at the St. Pete Times Forum.

The top-seeded Lightning are a step away from the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time, while the Flyers are in the final four for a league record-tying 14th occasion since the 1967 expansion.

The Lightning continued to prove their doubters wrong in the second round with a four-game sweep of the Montreal Canadiens. The team many predicted would be a first-round upset victim has cruised through the quarters and semis, posting an 8-1 mark in the playoffs so far. The Bolts disposed of the New York Islanders in five games before ousting the Habs.

And as a result of its series-clinching 3-1 victory in Montreal last Thursday night, Tampa has had some time to kick back and await the Flyers. The Lightning have had eight full days of rest to refresh themselves, as opposed to Philadelphia's three-day break.

The Lightning have had their share of heroes during the season, and last round it was centerman Brad Richards taking his turn. Richards scored three goals in the series, including winners in Games 3 and 4. The playmaker bagged the overtime marker in the fourth tilt, and snapped a 1-1 tie with a second- period goal in the clincher.

Vincent Lecavalier also rose up in the semifinals, especially early on in the set. After managing zero points in the first round, the former No. 1 pick registered five goals and two assists versus the Canadiens.

Overall for the Lightning, Martin St. Louis, the leading NHL scorer during the regular season, is tied with winger Fredrik Modin for the club lead at 11 points this postseason.

Goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin, meanwhile, simply picked up where he left off in the first round. The Bulin Wall finished with 27 saves in Game 4 against Montreal, and lowered his goals-against average to 0.99. He sits with an 8-1 record, .964 save percentage and four shutouts through two rounds of the playoffs.

While the top-seeded Lightning are coming off two almost painless series victories, the Flyers have had to overcome the defending-champion New Jersey Devils and the always fierce Toronto Maple Leafs. After knocking off Jersey in five, Philly finished Toronto in six.

The Flyers wrapped up the second series on Tuesday night with a 3-2 overtime victory up at the Air Canada Centre. Jeremy Roenick scored his second goal of the game to end a furious extra session and propel Philly into the conference finals for the first time in four years.

Philadelphia reversed the home dominance trend of the series, as each club had held serve in its own rink through Game 5. The Flyers grabbed control with an embarrassing 7-2 triumph on their ice in the fifth tilt, guided by an inspired effort -- a hat trick -- from captain Keith Primeau.

In addition to his hat trick, Primeau did everything from shadowing Mats Sundin effectively to delivering an inspired speech leading into Game 5. Primeau's defensive presence will be key in trying to slow down Tampa Bay's swift attack.

Goaltender Robert Esche, his mysterious exit from Game 5 aside, had himself another series that assured the folks in Philly that the team has no weakness in net. Esche is 8-3 with a 2.02 goals-against average, and has ousted former Cup winners Martin Brodeur and Ed Belfour -- both Vezina finalists last season.

Esche was suffering from flu-like symptoms in Game 5, but is healthy now. However, defenseman Vladimir Malakhov also left that contest, and he is day- to-day heading into Game 1. The team says the veteran blueliner had his "bell rung," but reports are he has a concussion. Philadelphia will likely need the versatile workhorse to shut down the deep Lightning attack. Malakhov has been the team's co-anchor with Kim Johnsson this spring, getting between 25-30 minutes of ice time per night.

Tampa went 4-0 in the regular season series between these teams, outscoring Philly by an 18-8 margin. Khabibulin played net for the Lightning in all four wins over Philadelphia, recording a 1.98 goals-against average. Esche, meanwhile, played in parts of two games against Tampa during the campaign, including a 6-1 blowout loss in January.

This marks the second time these clubs have met in the postseason. In 1996, the Flyers won a hard-fought six-game series in the first round.

 

[CHARLESMANSON]

Damn now that's a lot of info!!!! lol Thanks for the hard work Aces. I'm taking Tampa.

 

[kickserv]

I myself am unhappy with the info.........I'd like to know what each players best bowling scores are...I could not seem to find that

 

[Aces High]

:tmi:

LETS GO FLYERS !!!!:Yep:


that's the chant in tampa right now, flyer fans representing down there. LETS GO BOYZ !!!!!!!!!!!:shade:


series

flyers + 130 2x


game 1

flyers + 140


no play on the total, favor the under, but with OT and empty netters who knows.


for KS

rex 257
preems 225
jr 188
brash 200
esche 300 perfect baby !!!!! [he's gonna have to b]

too bad the leafs didn't win game 6, i had game 7 tickets to watch the flyers send the laughs home AGAIN.:sadwave:

add another year to the wait KS :banghead:


gl 2day


LETS GO FLYERS !!!!!!!

 

[Aces High]

8 MORE WINS BABY !!! :toast:


CUBBY LET ME HEAR YA !!!! :weed:


Smarty says flyers in 5

 

[Vicc Inzagio]

---= - - =---

---= - - =---

i'm playin' 2day the bolts Ace, but truly man, i'll be so happy for u if the Flyers get through the final run buddy....... best of luck !!!


vicc

 

[devil dave]

still 8 to go.:moon:

 

[CHARLESMANSON]

yeah i didnt read all that I just took Tampa....thought it was a no-brainer :shrug: