Philly Sports Jabronis
By Anthony SanFilippo, PhiladelphiaFlyers.com
NEW YORK – The Flyers played perhaps their best first period of the first Round – and it cost them.
“We lost the game in the first period,” said coach Craig Berube. “It was all about execution. There were some plays there that if we would have executed we would have probably had some success.”
Instead, the Flyers hit the first intermission trailing, despite dominating the period puck possession-wise and it eventually translated into a 4-2 Los on Game 5 of the first round series which the Rangers now lead 3-2.
Game 6 is Tuesday night at Wells Fargo Center.
We’ve come back all season long when it matters and we have to stay confident about that.”
It’s funny, because the team looked really confident and was dictating the pace and tempo of the game in the first period. The Flyers were forcing the Rangers to play the way the Flyers wanted.
But a couple of missed chances on the power play and a few more opportunities where the Flyers had good looks went awry.
And when a little wrister from Marc Staal glanced off Braydon Coburn’s stick as knuckled past Steve Mason, the Flyers had to be cursing their fortune.
“I just think we were a little too sloppy,” said Andrew MacDonald “We weren’t making strong plays or good decisions consistently enough and it cost us.”
The Rangers scored twice more in the second period to take a 3-0 lead and although the Flyers battle back to within a goal thanks to a power play tally by Vincent Lecavalier and Giroux’s first of the series, Brian Boyle sealed it for New York with an empty-netter.
It means the Flyers now have to win two in a row to advance to the second round and they find themselves in a do-or-due situation for the first time.
But if there’s anything you need to know about these Flyers it’s this – they play their best when everything is on the line. And now everything – as in the whole season – is riding on Tuesday. And if they win, it will be double or nothing Wednesday back here at Madison Square Garden.
“It’s a tight series -we all know that,” Berube said. “But we’re confident because we all know we can play better. It’s not like we’re getting outplayed. It’s a tight series between two good teams. It’s right there.”
