The Philadelphia Flyers proved once again that they are a team that won't go down easily. After spotting the Pittsburgh Penguins a 3-0 lead in the first period, Philadelphia rallied to tie the game before winning it when Jakub Voracek scored in overtime. While many national experts picked the Penguins to win the Stanley Cup, it turns out that the Flyers got the major boost early in the series. As a fan, I am certainly happy that the team got the win, but it is still a long series. For now, it is fun to think about the exciting comeback win. Here are a few observations about the Flyers in the series opener.
Danny Briere provided a boost
When it comes to the playoffs, Danny Briere knows how to kick it into gear as well as any player in the league. We weren't even sure if he was going to play until two days before this game. Not only did he play but he scored the first two goals of the game for the Flyers. Briere looked sharp in the last two periods and proved to his teammates that his regular season struggles are behind him. It looks like he is off to another strong playoff performance. Briere's history suggests that he will give the Flyers a lot of offense. So far, things are working out well.
The attack was too slow
The Flyers really didn't get a lot of pressure for the first 40 minutes of the game. Marc-Andre Fleury was able to feel comfortable because the Flyers didn't sustain any attack. Once they started applying pressure in the third period, good things happened. We know the Flyers can flip the switch on at any point in a game. However, they have to stop the slow starts. There is a major need for the team to be more aggressive early in games. The passing wasn't too sharp against Pittsburgh and that has to change.
Ilya Bryzgalov settled down
It wasn't the greatest start for Bryzgalov but the goalie has proven that he can settle down in games. I'll take that as a sign that we have a goalie that won't get fazed no matter what situation he faces. To be fair, he wasn't awful in the first period. The first goal wasn't his fault and Pittsburgh had an almost constant attack. But regardless, the team was down by three after one period. Instead of folding over, Bryzgalov proved his ability by shutting the Penguins down the rest of the way and giving his team a chance to win.
* - Mark Paul is a Philadelphia resident and lifelong Flyers fan.
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