By John Casey
The Flyers finished up the week going 1-2-1. That might seem like an awful week, but considering the team was a combined eight minutes from finishing 0-4, they should take their record and try to build on it.
The two regulation losses to the Briuns and Rangers were overshadowed by the win and overtime loss.
On Saturday against the Blackhawks Scott Hartnell tied the game with a little less than three minutes left in the game. Chris Pronger later won the game in dramatic fashion scoring with 2.1 seconds left.
Then on Tuesday night the team was just under six minutes away from a regulation loss to the Predators when Chris Pronger scored a powerplay goal from the slot. The Flyers trailed 3-1 at one point in the game. They ended up losing in the shootout but just getting the point in the game was a plus.
***Goaltending***
Though the Flyers were able to get a point in Nashville, they ended up losing one of the most important pieces of the team. Goalie Michael Leighton suffered an ankle injury in the game. Backup Brian Boucher had to play in relief.
The extent of Leighton's injury is still unknown. The team will know more once they get the results of an MRI. The Flyers just have to hope the injury is not as bad as it seems right now.
When the trade deadline passed and the Flyers did not add a goalie, GM Paul Holmgren put all his trust in Leighton. Now with Leighton and former starter Ray Emery out injured, it all comes down to if Brian Boucher can carry the load the rest of the way.
Boucher is more than capable of carrying this team into the playoffs. Throughout his NHL career he has gone on streaks where he is virtually unbeatable. All Flyers fans should remember his play during his rookie season carrying the team within one game of the Stanley Cup finals. He had another run while in Phoenix where he set the NHL record for consecutive games with a shutout (5) in 2003-04. If Boucher does have to start down the stretch, he is just one hot streak away from helping the Flyers to another deep playoff run.
To backup Boucher for the time being the Flyers have called up Jeremy Duchesne. As of March 1, Duchesne was playing in the ECHL for the Kalamazoo Wings. He was recalled to the Phantoms after goalie John Grahame was claimed by Colorado right around the deadline. Duchesne was drafted by the Flyers 119th overall in the 2005 NHL entry draft. He spent brief stints with the Phantoms when they were in Philadelphia but only appeared in two games. This season since being called up, Duchesne is 1-1 with a shutout for Adirondack.
Phantoms starter Johan Backlund currently has a groin injury but should be back soon. He will be called up to replace Duchesne when he is healthy.
Rumors were starting today that said the Flyers might be interested in bringing back former starter Robert Esche. Esche has spent the last two seasons playing in the KHL for St. Petersburg in Russia. The rumors just seem a little too crazy. Esche did lead the Flyers to the Conference Finals in 03-04 but never was able to go on a run like that again for the Orange and Black. It will be interesting to see what writers who cover the Flyers have to say about these rumors in the upcoming days.
***The Week Ahead***
The Flyers and Brian Boucher begin another important week of hockey Thursday night when they take on the Stars in Dallas. This weekend the they play a home-and-home with the Thrashers going to Atlanta Saturday and home at the Center on Sunday. Next week the Flyers travel to Ottawa on Tuesday for a game with playoff seeding implications then they host the Wild on Thursday in Philly.
The Flyers must have a better week than last. They fell from sixth to seventh in the past week. That being said, they are only a point behind Montreal to climb back into sixth and two points behind the Senators, who currently sit in fifth. With a good week and a little bit of luck, this team could be sitting in fifth place in the Conference next week. That being said, another week like the last one and the Flyers could very well be fighting for their playoff lives with the ninth place Rangers currently only six points behind them.
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