VOORHEES, N.J. – Ten years after the Philadelphia Flyers counted on goalie Brian Boucher to help bail them out of an 0-2 playoff hole, they need him again.
Boucher was in the net the last time — and one of only two times in team history — Philadelphia rallied from an 0-2 hole to win a round. He’ll get the start against the Boston Bruins in Game 3 tonight and the Flyers facing the same deficit.
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The Flyers won four straight games against Pittsburgh in the 2000 Eastern Conference semifinals, including the classic five-overtime Game 4. In 2000, the Flyers dropped the first two at home. This year they lost two in Boston.
“We were pretty down going to Pittsburgh, feeling pretty bad about ourselves,” Boucher said. “We had not played well the first two games. We’re at home here. That’s one of the advantages. To be honest, we could probably play a bit better.”
The Flyers were beaten but not terribly outplayed in their first two losses to the Bruins. The Flyers hope a return to home ice and a rowdy arena for Game 3 can help get them back.
But it will take more than a hostile crowd and a dose of nostalgia to spark the Flyers.
“It’s not that we’ve played bad, but just play with more desperation than we’ve shown the last two games,” forward Danny Briere said. “We need a little bit more of the way we played in the first round against (New) Jersey, kind of take their will away. I think we can do a better job of that.”
Flyers Coach Peter Laviolette gave the team the day off.
The Bruins held an optional practice in Massachusetts and most of the top players took the day off.
“They held serve, now it’s our turn,” Laviolette said.
Both teams were ready to move on from a supposed biting incident in Game 2.
Flyers forward Daniel Carcillo accused Bruins forward Marc Savard of biting his finger. Carcillo complained that Savard bit him after a whistle in the second period.
Bruins Coach Claude Julien accused Carcillo, a regular atop the NHL’s penalty minutes, of exaggerating the chomp.
“When you watch replays, everybody’s seen how he embellishes,” Julien said. “So it’s hard to believe a guy when you see stuff that he does. We really don’t pay attention to that.”
Carcillo didn’t want to respond to Julien’s biting remarks. Savard called it a “non-issue” Tuesday.
“It’s the last game, it’s over and hopefully I get matched up against his line,” Carcillo said.
Asked what has to change in Game 3, Flyers captain Mike Richards said, “I’m not sure.”
The Bruins would love to quickly put away the Flyers.
“It’s a huge opportunity,” Savard said.
“We look at each game as the biggest game of the series and certainly Game 3 is going to be the same way.”
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