The Flyers playoff hopes continue to dim today. After losing to the Penguins yesterday to fall into a 2-0 hole in the series, the Flyers learned today that they will play Game 3 without defenseman Braydon Coburn. Coburn took a puck to the face in the first period of Game 2 and had to leave the game. He got 50 stitches on his face around his left eye and lost a lot of blood, making him feel lightheaded. The Flyers have already ruled him out for Game 3, although there is a chance he could return for Game 4 on Thursday. Ryan Parent will suit up in Coburn's place.
The Flyers were already playing without their best defenseman Kimmo Timonen, and now they lose their second best d-man in Coburn. It's another big loss, one that might be too much to overcome. Derian Hatcher, who played well in Game 2, will have to continue to play a huge role for the Flyers. The Flyers lack depth on the blue line, so guys like Lasse Kukkonen and Jaroslav Modry will have to step up and play key roles.
The Penguins offense would be tough enough to stop even if the Flyers were at full strength. The mounting injuries might make beating their cross-state rivals nearly impossible.
The Flyers lost Game Two by the same score as they lost Game One, 4-2, but Sunday's contest was a completely different story in terms of effort. In Game One, the Flyers looked flat-footed and played most of the game back on their heels, while in Game Two they showed more of the effort and intensity that we have grown accustomed to seeing in this playoff run. The Flyers simply took too many penalties that allowed the Penguins to get their offense going and couldn't generate enough offense of their own.
The night started off terrible for the Flyers when Braydon Coburn took a puck to the nose and collapsed to the ice. Coburn was bleeding badly and was taken to the locker room to get stitches and he was unable to return to the game. The Flyers, who were already without Kimmo Timonen, were then forced to play the rest of the game without their best two defensemen, something that spells certain doom against the Penguins attack. Philly did not back down defensively, however, with Derian Hatcher playing an amazing game, logging nearly 30 minutes of ice time and making big hit after big hit. If it wasn't for Hatcher, the Flyers would have been blown out in the game.
There were several questionable calls made by the refs throughout the game that went against both teams. The Penguins had a goal that didn't count because replays didn't show a clear shot of the puck going in. Sidney Crosby shut a puck that appeared to inch past the line and into the goal, but in every camera angle Martin Biron's glove was in the way so it was difficult to tell if it went in. By the laws of physics, the puck probably had to be past the line, but with no good video proof, it was no goal. The Flyers were on the short end of several bad calls, including one that directly set up a powerplay goal by the Penguins. Derian Hatcher made a play on Evgeni Malkin to slow him down and the refs called him for hooking. Replays showed that Hatcher's stick was between Malkin's legs, but the call was questionable at best. Nine seconds after Hatcher goes in the box, the Penguins scored a goal to give them a 2-1 lead. Danny Briere was also called for goalie interference later in the game when he was clearly pushed into Penguins netminder Marc-Andre Fleury by a Pens player. Luckily that call did not result in a goal.
Tonight's contest was a close game throughout. The Penguins scored first on a power play goal by Sidney Crosby in the first period. The Flyers responded with a power play goal of their own early in the second period. Joffrey Lupul fed Jeff Carter for a nice shot to tie the game. The Penguins pulled ahead 2-1 on a goal by Marian Hossa during the Hatcher phantom penalty call, and then the Flyers evened things right back up at the end of the second period on a short handed goal by Mike Richards. Malkin tried to be too fancy with the puck on the power play and Richards took it from him, skated in all alone, and fired the puck past Fleury. The Penguins later added the game winning goal when Max Talbot was fed a nice pass by Gary Roberts and shot the puck past Martin Biron. It was a nice goal by the Penguins fourth line. Pittsburgh later added an empty net goal to make it a 4-2 win.
The effort was better tonight for the Flyers. They played a more physical game, got better goaltending from Martin Biron and managed to get more shots on net. Unfortunately the Penguins proved to be too good and the loss of Coburn proved to be too much to overcome.
Game Three is back in Philadelphia on Tuesday. The Wachovia Center will be rocking so expect the Flyers to come out and play their best hockey. There is a saying in the NBA playoffs that a series doesn't start until someone loses a home game. Home ice isn't quite as important in hockey, but I think it still has some merit. All the Flyers have to do is protect their home ice and they can get right back in this series. However, if they lose either one of the next two at home it will probably end their season. It will be tough, especially if the Flyers lose Coburn for another game, but this team has overcome so many difficult obstacles that I am not ready to write them off yet. There is still a lot of hockey left to be played and you can bet the Flyers won't simply sit back and let the Penguins coast into the Stanley Cup Finals. As the Keystone Clash moves across the state, expect the Flyers and their fans to have a lot more to say about this series.
The Live Blog is back! After missing Game One, a tough loss for the Flyers, the Live Blog will be back on tonight at 7:15 for Game Two. Come and discuss the game as it happens with fellow Flyer fans as Philly looks to even up the series before heading home.
The usually reliable bullpen came up short today for the Phillies, failing to protect a one run lead in the later innings. Adam Eaton started the game and had major control issues, walking 5 batters in 5 innings, but he managed to keep most of the damage off the scoreboard, holding the Giants to just two runs. With the Phillies up 3-2 in the sixth inning, the game was turned over to the bullpen that has been lights out all season. It wasn't the case tonight. Chad Durbin pitched a scoreless sixth but J.C. Romero, who entered the game with a 0.60 ERA, gave up a two-run home run to Giants rookie Steve Holm (who??). That was all the runs the Giants needed and they went on to win the game 4-3.
Offensively the Phillies were unable to capitalize on the wildness of Giants starter Jonathan Sanchez, who walked five batters. Their first run came in the 4th inning when Sanchez walked Adam Eaton with the bases loaded. It was a little redemption for Eaton who walked Randy Johnson with the bases loaded on four straight pitches last week. Ryan Howard then hit a rare triple, the fourth of his career, to drive in another run before coming home on a Pat Burrell sacrifice fly.
Losing two out of three to the Giants gives them an overall record of 3-4 on the West Coast swing. After earning a split with the Diamondbacks, it's disappointing to not be able to win a series with the lowly Giants who might sport the worst lineup in baseball. The loss also drops the Phillies back into a tie for second place with the Mets. The Phillies will now head back home, and after an off day tomorrow they will face the Braves for the first time this season.
If no one watched it, did the Phillies really lose? In a game that was blacked out across the country, the Phillies fell to the Giants 8-2. It was the first time since June 2006 that the Phillies game wasn't on, and it wasn't a bad game to have missed.
The Giants young ace Tim Lincecum shut down the Phillies lineup, going 8 innings and giving up only four hits. He did give up two runs on solo homers by Ryan Howard and Chris Coste, but other than that the Phillies never really challenged Lincecum, who also struck out 8 batters. The only other Phillie hits were singles by Greg Dobbs and Geoff Jenkins.
Jamie Moyer started the game for the Phillies and was out-dueled by a pitcher nearly half his age. Moyer went 4 innings and was shelled for 9 hits and 6 runs. The weak Giants lineup managed two home runs off Moyer, including one by former Phillie Aaron Rowand.
Besides Howard hitting a home run, there wasn't much to see here for Phillies fans. Howard also didn't strike out today, so maybe the game that no one saw ends up being the game that turns his season around.
Highlights of the game you couldn't watch via ESPN:
The Flyers simply don't like to win the first game of a series. For the third time in a row, the Flyers lost a Game One, this time in the Eastern Conference Finals to the Pittsburgh Penguins, 4-2. Philly had previously dropped the first games in the Captials and Canadiens series and we all know how those turned out, so there is no reason to think the season is over.
But, if the Flyers let the Penguins play the way they did yesterday, this series could be over quickly. The Penguins stars, Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby, both scored goals and flashed their speed and ability throughout the game. Malkin was easily the best player on the ice, finishing with two backbreaking goals, one with 7 seconds left in the first period to give the Penguins a lead and the other coming 5 minutes later while shorthanded. If Kimmo Timonen was able to play, his assignment would have been to shadow Malkin and try to slow him down. With the way Malkin played tonight there might not have been much he could have done.
The Flyers didn't play the type of game we have come to expect from them in the playoffs so far. Mike Richards scored both of the teams goals in the first period on garbage-style goals, one being a shot off Pens netminder Marc-Andre Fleury and the other a rebound goal after a huge scrum in front of the net. The rest of the Flyers failed to get anything going offensively, and they even got out-hit by the Penguins throughout the game. Perhaps the long lay-off hindered them, but they simply didn't look like the same team that dominated the Canadiens.
Martin Biron even looked human in net. He has played his least inspiring hockey in the first game of every series and tonight was no exception. While none of the goals were bad goals, he still didn't make many of the amazing saves we have grown accustomed to. If the Flyers go on to win this series, Biron simply has to be dominating in net.
As we know from the previous two series', just because the Flyers lost the first game doesn't mean it's time to panic. They now must make the necessary adjustments to slow down the Penguins attack and try to generate more offense on the other end. If they come out with the same game plan and the same effort, the Flyers will be quickly swept aside by the Penguins. As anyone who has watched the Flyers in the playoffs knows, they aren't going to let that happen. Expect a much different Flyers team to take the ice for Game Two on Sunday.
Highlights of Game One via ESPN, plus commentary from Barry Melrose:
(Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
