(AP)After coming up short in their (reported) attempts to acquire a goaltender at the trade deadline, you just knew Michael Leighton would come up small when the Flyers took the ice against a weak Panthers team. Leighton, whom the Flyers will now trust to be the starting goalie for the rest of the season, gave up 4 goals and was yanked mid-way through the second period. His replacement, Brian Boucher, didn't play much better, giving up 2 goals on the first 3 shots he faced, and the Flyers got smoked by the Panthers, 7-4.
So are the Flyers screwed in net, are Leighton and Boucher now completely unreliable because of their poor performance against the Panthers? No, it was simply unfortunate timing. I'm sure there will be many fans and sportswriters who will play the "I told you so" card but, really, this was just one bad game for a goalie who has been pretty good for the Flyers over the last month. Let's not rush to judgement on Michael Leighton just yet. Sure, he might be among the worst starting goaltenders in the league, but let's see if he can be reliable enough to help the Flyers make a playoff run before we start pointing fingers.
Having said that, Tomas Vokoun of the Panthers proved he would have look pretty nice in a Flyers uniform. Oh well.
Leighton's run is smoke and mirrors. Anyone who doesn't see an average goalie playing behind a solid defense is fooling themselves. Sadly it seems Homer is amongst that group. Leighton leaves huge rebounds and is often caught out of position, especially when he scrambles. If the Flyers play poorly can he steal a game? uh, unlikely, and that's clear when the rose colored glasses come off. Per usual, Flyers are washed up in net and anything at the deadline would have been an improvement.
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