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Proving ground Flyers looking for revenge after embarrassment by SensPosted: Wednesday April 23, 2003 11:41 PM
This series has the makings to be the most compelling of any in the second round because you have two teams trying to prove themselves. The Flyers are coming off an emotionally charged, hard-fought battle with the Maple Leafs -- advancing to the second round for only the second time in six seasons. The Senators, on the other hand, won just the third series in franchise history with their five-game elimination of the Islanders. They are trying to move beyond the second round for the first time. Additionally for Philadelphia, this series offers a chance to atone for last season's first-round sweep against Ottawa. The Flyers scored just two goals in the series as Sens netminder Patrick Lalime posted three shutouts. So the Flyers have a lot to improve upon this time around, which should make this year's affair more interesting. Not to mention, both teams are stronger this year, with better chemistry, confidence and conviction. The Sens have progressed to this point with seven straight playoff appearances. Their first-round victory marked the first time they have ever won a series as the higher seed. That alone is a sign of maturity -- delivering when expected -- and that remains the case in this series. Yet, the Flyers have high expectations, too. Getting beyond the first round is a step -- a relief, in fact -- more than an acceptable result. New to this developing rivalry is head coach Ken Hitchcock. He wasn't behind the bench for the Flyers last year, so from that standpoint he is ambivalent to the history of a season ago. His experience is from the regular season only, and what Hitchcock saw was two teams as evenly matched as you can get. The regular-season series saw the teams go 1-1-2 with just 15 goals scored, no more than four combined in any of the four games. Still, Hitchcock has more history than it first appears with the Senators. He and Senators head coach Jacques Martin served as assistants for Team Canada's gold-medal team in the 2002 Olympic Games, and the two share similar philosophies. Further, Hitchcock and Sens assistant Perry Pearn know each other very well, going all the way back to 1984 with Canada's under-17 program. In other words, these teams are even, play similar, skating-based, puck-pursuit disciplined styles and they know each other's mindset intimately. Putting it another way, there is precious little to choose between the two teams. It will be interesting to see how Flyers goaltender Roman Cechmanek reacts to winning a playoff series for the first time. With that hurdle cleared, maybe the unorthodox, unpredictable Cechmanek will play unburdened, especially with the confidence gained from winning a Game 7 on home ice. Ultimately, though, Philadelphia has to stop Ottawa's power play -- four of their eight goals in the regular season came with the man advantage -- and find a way to get some production on their own power play. The Sens' top players have outperformed the Flyers' top-six forwards in head-to-head matchups -- bolstered by their work on the power play -- and to that end, Philadelphia sorely will miss the services of top blueliner Eric Desjardins, out with a broken foot suffered in Game 5 of the opening round. The Flyers do have a distinct advantage in faceoff proficiency, and that edge in puck possession might be critical early in the series. If they can cut down on the amount of chasing they have to do in Ottawa and turn some of those won draws into scoring chances, the Flyers will be in good shape when the series heads back to Philly. Darren Eliot, a former NHL goaltender, is a hockey analyst for SI.com. Eliot will provide Stanley Cup Playoffs commentary throughout the postseason and is also broadcasting games for NHL Radio. |
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