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Rookie rises to occasion

Boucher stops 27 shots as Flyers take Game 3

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Posted: Monday June 26, 2000 10:48 PM

By Bill Harris, SLAM! Sports

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- This kid is all right.

CNNSI.com Analysis Darren Eliot It's official. The air of invincibility has vanished -- certainly in the minds of the Flyers. More obviously, the psyche of the New Jersey Devils appeared fragile in Game 3; no longer sure of themselves. The manner in which they lost Game 2 lingered. The Devils' game was doubt-tinged while the Flyers were refocused and refreshed. Veterans Rick Tocchet and Keith Primeau continued to define leadership doing everything necessary to ensure team success, including carrying the offensive load. Look no further than at the other end of the rink to see that this series and has turned completely around. Rookie Brian Boucher was brilliant making numerous crucial and creative saves. His counterpart, veteran Martin Brodeur, was shaky from the outset and skittish throughout. The Devils' goalie gave up a weak goal at a poor moment, allowing the Flyers to take the all-important two-goal lead in the second period. Philadelphia played tenaciously to the end making that lead stand up, unlike the New Jersey in Game 2.   Multimedia   Click the image to launch the clip Brian Boucher's sensational play lifts Philly to a Game 3 victory. Start (1.21 M .mov) Multimedia Central Click here to go to Multimedia Central for all the latest video and audio.

It might be going a little too far to say rookie goaltender Brian Boucher stole Game 3 of the Eastern Conference final for the Philadelphia Flyers. But following the Flyers' 4-2 victory to take a 2-1 series lead, Boucher undoubtedly was the talk of both dressing rooms.

"Hey, the kid stood on his head," said Devils' Claude Lemieux, who was one of two New Jersey players to beat Boucher.

"Did we make mistakes? Yes. Did we make more mistakes than the Flyers did? No. Did we create as many, if not more, chances than they did? Boucher just had a great performance."

Boucher stopped 27 of the 29 pucks that were fired at him and made four sensational stops. His sprawling arm save on Patrik Elias early in the second period left players on both benches shaking their heads.

"[Elias] got around my poke-check and I just tried to get my arm out," Boucher said. "I didn't even feel it hit me. I was lucky."

Lucky? Boucher's teammates didn't think so.

"Not one guy on this team ever has had the feeling we have to pick it up because Brian is a rookie," Flyers veteran forward Rick Tocchet said.

Added Keith Primeau, "I know how good our goaltender is. But let's not take anything away from [the Devils'] Martin Brodeur. He is more than capable of coming back and stealing a game."

As fate would have it, Boucher stood on his head on an evening when Brodeur was off his game.

A couple of the goals he gave up could be described as soft by his standards, and he seemed to be fighting the puck.

"I don't think that will go down as one of [Brodeur's] better ones," Devils coach Larry Robinson said. "But he has been keeping us in most games and it is about time we returned the favour. We had some opportunities, but the other kid [Boucher] played pretty well."

Regardless, Boucher puts no stock in trying to one-up Brodeur.

"I don't view it as a matchup," Boucher said. "I avoid talking about it, the same way I avoided talking about it with Dominik Hasek [in the first round against Buffalo]. I can't get concerned with what Marty's doing down there. I have to do my thing."

Whatever Boucher's thing is, it got done last night.

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Flyers-Devils Game 3 Summary
Multimedia
Brian Boucher's sensational save inspires the Flyers. (1.21 M) Flyers goalie Brian Boucher explains that his team maintained its momentum and accomplished its goal. (110 K) Devils head coach Larry Robinson believes Thursday's loss provides a test for his team. (123 K) Visit Multimedia Central for the latest audio and video
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