Philadelphia Flyers Daily Clips April 23, 2011 FLYERS Headlines 1. Philadelphia Inquirer Comeback Backfires 2.

2. Philadelphia Inquirer The Flyers have three goalies, but no answers 3. Philadelphia Inquirer Flyers Notes: Flyers face off for Game 5 shorthanded 4. Philadelphia Inquirer Van Riemsdyk was one of the bright spots 5. Philadelphia Daily News Flyers' rally not enough, as Sabres win Game 5 in OT 6. Philadelphia Daily News Sabres look to have edge, as Flyers are pushed to brink 7. Philadelphia Daily News Flyers' hopes now seem to rest on goalie roulette wheel 8. Philadelphia Daily News With that, one final spin. 9. Philadelphia Daily News Reports: Ex-Flyer Brashear joins Canadian MMA outfit 10. Philadelphia Daily News Broad Street Bully: An undeniably headstrong passion 11. CSNPhilly.com Flyers' rally falls short in wild Game 5 OT defeat 12. CSNPhilly.com Leighton's return can't quite seal Flyers' comeback 13. CSNPhilly.com Flyers notes: Sabres' Ennis finishes what he starts 14. CSNPhilly.com Source: Pronger and Carter done for rest of series 15. Delaware County Times Flyers rally from early 3-0 deficit, but fall in OT 16. Delaware County Times McCaffery: Get pushed around? Not these Flyers 17. Delaware County Times Boucher The Only Answer For Game 6 18. Bucks County Courier-Times OT loss sends Flyers to the brink 19. Bucks County Courier-Times Commentary: Flyers playing goalie guessing game 20. Camden Courier-Post Flyers pushed to brink 21. Camden Courier-Post Laviolette faces tough decision 22. Camden Courier-Post With 3 out, Flyers make odd move 23. NHL.com Sabres stun Flyers 4-3 in OT 24. NHL.com Kids come through for Sabres 25. NHL.com Versteeg showing why Flyers wanted him 26. ESPN.com Sabres write own script in Game 5 win 27. ESPN.com More drama for Flyers' goaltending carousel 28. TSN.ca McKenzie Flyers have shown they can still come back 29. Associated Press Tyler Ennis scores in overtime, gives Sabres 4-3 victory over Flyers and 3-2 series lead 30. Toronto Sun Sabres take control with OT win Buffalo Sabres Headlines 1. Buffalo News Ennis nets overtime winner for Sabres 2. Buffalo News Sabres survive despite being short-handed 3. Buffalo News Silence is golden for Sabres on the road 4. Buffalo News Sabres vs. Flyers, Game Five / Breaking down the game 5. Buffalo News 30 seconds of playoff joy 6. Olean Times Herald Ennis' two goals key Sabres' wild overtime win 7. Olean Times Herald Sabres Boyes trying to recapture post trade form 8. Olean Times Herald Laviolette laughs off Ruffs comments Adirondack Phantoms Headlines

1. Glens Falls Post-Star Leighton, Rinaldo play in Flyers loss NHL Headlines 1. ESPN.com Coyotes sign Brett Hextall to contract 2. ESPN.com Isles to keep Evgeni Nabokov's rights 3. TSN.ca Coyotes clean out lockers unsure if they'll return to desert 4. TSN.ca Coyotes netminder Bryzgalov says he won't go to Winnipeg

FLYERS Articles 1. Philadelphia Inquirer Comeback Backfires Sam Carchidi Cue the Alanis Morissette song. Isn't it ironic . . . The Flyers, who were atop the Eastern Conference standings for most of the regular season, are one loss away from a first-round playoff exit. The Buffalo Sabres, who late in the season looked like they weren't going to qualify for the playoffs, outlasted the Flyers in overtime Friday night, 4-3, and need one more victory to move to the Eastern Conference semifinals. Isn't it ironic . . . Tyler Ennis scored on a rebound with 14 minutes, 29 seconds left in overtime to give Buffalo the pulsating win at the Wells Fargo Center. The Sabres have a lead of three games to two in the series, which resumes Sunday afternoon in Buffalo. The OT goal, scored on a juicy rebound allowed by Michael Leighton, wiped out a gallant comeback by the Flyers, who overcame an early 3-0 deficit to tie the score at 3-3. Leighton relieved Brian Boucher (three goals on 11 shots) in the first period and stopped all 18 shots he faced heading into the overtime. Ennis' goal was his second of the night. "It's a tough situation. The D-man has to go up and block the puck, and he puts a little screen on me," Leighton said of the winning goal. "I just caught it [the sight of the puck] through him. The D has to do that, and it was just a lucky bounce right on the guy's tape."

The Flyers controlled play after Boucher went to the bench, and Leighton was not tested much. "We kept the puck away from our end the first little while, and I didn't get many shots," said Leighton, who made his first NHL appearance in nearly four months. He began the playoffs as the Flyers' third-string goalie. Danny Briere, converting a Mike Richards pass, lifted a backhander past Sabres goalie Ryan Miller to tie the score at 3-3 with 16:24 remaining in the third period. Briere had been stopped by Miller in a similar third-period situation in Buffalo's 1-0 win on Wednesday. The Flyers outshot the Sabres, 39-32. All told, the Flyers attempted 87 shots, compared to Buffalo's 50. But the Sabres blocked 29 shots, while the Flyers blocked eight. "The chances were lopsided Briere said. "It was a tough start. A 3-0 lead [for Buffalo], and the shots were 10-2. It's something we can improve on. . . . We can't hang our heads. We were in a worse position last year. This is group of guys who can do it." The Flyers overcame a deficit of three games to none to stun the Bruins in last year's conference semifinals. "If you ask any guy on this team, I don't think there's one guy who thinks we're not going to come back," said center Claude Giroux, who had a pair of assists. "Since when did we start doing something normal around here?" Added Giroux: "We just have to get ticked off and go win that game in Buffalo and come back here in front of our fans." Buffalo, which lost talented forward Jason Pominville to an undisclosed first-period injury, can take comfort in this stat: The Flyers are 2-14 when trailing a best-of-seven series, three games to two. Goals by James van Riemsdyk (eight shots) and Andrej Meszaros 1:45 apart trimmed Buffalo's three-goal lead to 3-2 midway through the second period. Thomas Vanek and rookie defenseman Marc-Andre Gragnani also scored for Buffalo in the first period. 2. Philadelphia Inquirer The Flyers have three goalies, but no answers Phil Sheridan

Overtime. Michael Leighton in that same net. You were expecting a different outcome? Tyler Ennis' game-winning goal didn't end the Flyers' Stanley Cup dreams, not the way Patrick Kane's did in Game 6 of the Finals last June. But it might as well have. The Flyers could conceivably win two games in a row to beat Buffalo in this series, but they are not winning the Cup this year. Not with Leighton and Brian Boucher and Sergei Bobrovsky as their goalies. This time, everyone saw the winning goal. There was no confusion, no wondering how the puck slipped between Leighton and the goalpost. This time, he allowed a long rebound and gave the onrushing Ennis half the net to shoot at. He hit it, and a truly compelling Flyers comeback was wasted. Kind of like last year, right? Before Ennis ended it, this game had a chance to be a rallying point for another real run at the Cup. Down, 3-0, thanks to a truly abominable performance by Boucher, the Flyers played as good a period of hockey as they have all year. James van Riemsdyk scored. Andrej Meszaros scored. The Flyers had all the momentum and a full period to tie the game or win it. They tied it, thanks to sneaky Danny Briere. They had a terrific chance to win it, thanks to a Buffalo penalty with a little more than two minutes left in regulation. But the Flyers' power play, one of the real culprits as they face first-round elimination, proved inept again - unless aimless passing around the zone is the point of the exercise. They whiffed on that chance, but still had a fresh sheet for overtime. One goal would decide whether this was a victory to draw from throughout the rest of the tournament for the Flyers or the kind of demoralizing loss that is tough to rebound from. There was Leighton, who played fine without being severely tested in two-plus periods of relief, standing in front of that same net. If he didn't see Kane's ghost, didn't hear the echoes of that disbelieving groan from last June, he isn't human. This was just Leighton's second NHL game since that awful, unforgettable night. This is the trap the Flyers built for themselves by failing to make a significant move at that position last summer or at the trade deadline. Coach Peter Laviolette set the dominoes falling by making Bobrovsky disappear after his rough outing in Game 2. The Russian rookie allowed three goals in just seven shots and

was yanked in favor of Boucher. Laviolette could have gone back to Bobrovsky, giving the youngster a vote of confidence and a chance to live up to it. But the coach went with Boucher in Buffalo. Bobrovsky was made persona non grata - no locker in the HSBC Arena dressing room. He hasn't dressed for a game since. Look at the other team. Ryan Miller is obviously a more proven goaltender than anyone the Flyers have run out there in the past decade or so. But he allowed three goals in that same first period of Game 2 that was Bobrovsky's undoing. Bobrovsky allowed two in less than two minutes Friday night, then blew that 3-0 lead entirely. Miller hasn't been benched. He has responded with shutouts in two of his five starts. We'll never know what Bobrovsky might have done if Laviolette had stuck with him. It was a tough decision with a lot of repercussions for this series and beyond. He's coaching a team of veterans who want to win now, and he decided the steadier, more mature Boucher was the answer. And for two games, he was. Boucher won Game 3 and lost Game 4, 1-0. He is a solid goalie, most of the time. Then this: Less than four minutes into the pivot game of this series, playing in front of a sellout home crowd, Boucher allowed two pucks shot from impossible angles to bounce off him and into the net. Visions of Kane's Cup winner and Roman Cechmanek at his most mystifying danced in your head. In with Leighton. Out with any realistic chance to win the Stanley Cup. It really is incredible. This franchise's history with playoff goaltending is so bad, and such a sore point with the people who run the team, a meltdown such as this should be impossible. But here we are: three losses, three goalies, elimination looming as sure as Sunday follows Saturday. What does Laviolette do now? It almost doesn't matter who starts in goal for Game 6 on Easter Sunday. Certainly there is no good choice. Bobrovsky has had the crease yanked out from under him. Boucher is coming off the single worst performance in a very long time. Leighton is haunted. Laviolette might as well pick a name out of a hat. Just a hunch, but the Sabres might well go with Miller.

3. Philadelphia Inquirer Flyers Notes: Flyers face off for Game 5 shorthanded

Sam Carchidi The Flyers were severely shorthanded in Game 5 against Buffalo on Friday night, and it had nothing to do with an excess of penalties. The team was missing stars Chris Pronger and Jeff Carter, along with Andreas Nodl, a depth winger. All were sidelined with injuries. Pronger, the heart of the Flyers' defense, took slapshots Friday morning for the first time since he suffered a broken hand about five weeks ago. But the hand didn't pass the test. Hours later, the Flyers decided their team leader would sit out Game 5 at the Wells Fargo Center. A source close to the situation denied a report that Pronger is out for the rest of the series. Carter, a 6-foot-3, 200-pounder who had a team-high 36 goals in the regular season, injured his right knee Wednesday in a first-period collision with the Sabres' 6-8, 227pound Tyler Myers. Nodl was injured in Game 2. "We prepare the same way, no matter who's in the lineup," coach Peter Laviolette said before the game. "We don't change everything because [someone] comes out." Rinaldo's chance Carter's injury turned into an opportunity for tough-guy Zac Rinaldo, a Phantoms call-up who skated on the fourth line Friday with Blair Betts and Darroll Powe. Rinaldo, 20, wasn't promoted for his offense. He had three goals and 331 penalty minutes with Adirondack this season. On his first shift, Rinaldo got his stick in the face of Buffalo's Chris Butler. Laviolette used Rinaldo over Jody Shelley, who has recovered from orbital-bone surgery. The Flyers reunited their Alphabet Soup Line: Nik Zherdev ("Z") was with James van Riemsdyk ("JVR") and Claude Giroux ("G"). Stats dept. The team that scored first won each of the first four games in the series. Buffalo scored 2 minutes and 24 seconds into Game 5.

Dating back to 2006, NHL teams that have scored first had a 308-147 record (.677) heading into Friday. Miller's feat With his 1-0 win Wednesday, Ryan Miller became the third goalie in Buffalo's history to post two shutouts in one series, joining Bob Sauve (1983 vs. Montreal) and Dominik Hasek (1994 vs. New Jersey). Breakaways In their eight previous series with Buffalo, the Flyers have not lost in a round in which they led the Sabres in games at any point. . . . The Flyers entered Friday with a 33-35 record in playoff overtime games. . . . This is the first time Buffalo has won a pair of 1-0 decisions in the same series. No NHL team had done that since Calgary in a 2004 series against Detroit. The only team to win three 1-0 games in a series: Toronto in a 1994 conference quarterfinals against Chicago. . . . If there is a Game 7, it will be Tuesday at the Wells Fargo Center at 7:30 p.m. . . . Entering Friday, Buffalo had taken 30 penalties in the series, tying Anaheim for the most in this year's NHL playoffs.

4. Philadelphia Inquirer Van Riemsdyk was one of the bright spots Ray Parrillo The Wells Fargo Center was deathly quiet. It was as if the energy had seeped through cracks in the walls and dissipated in the South Philly air. There was a good reason for this. Two good reasons, in fact, and both were early Buffalo goals from near impossible angles that got through the leg pads of Flyers goalie Brian Boucher. With barely enough time to clear their throats, the orange-draped crowd sat stunned, and you could almost see the Flyers' shoulders sag. This wasn't the way the Flyers had promised to start Game 5 of what has evolved into a fascinating first-round Stanley Cup playoff series, especially the day after Sabres coach Lindy Ruff had called them whiners. But nothing drains the confidence from a team as efficiently as poor goaltending. So the Flyers were feeling their way through the dark when James van Riemsdyk switched on the lights and began a comeback from a 3-0 deficit with a goal midway through the second period. "I thought JVR had a strong performance for us tonight," Flyers coach Peter Laviolette said. "I thought he was strong and is really using his speed, size, and the puck seems to be sticking with him. He is getting lots of offensive opportunities."

This series has been a coming out party for the second-year winger, one long answer for those who were beginning to wonder when he'd blend the size and speed the Flyers found so beguiling they made him the second overall pick in the draft. Sure, he'll be only 22 in a couple of weeks, and this is only his second full season, but patience runs thin in the NHL. Van Riemsdyk has probably been the Flyers' most consistent forward in this series. His skates seem turbo-charged, his GPS is homed in on the net, and he'd never displayed such a physical nature on such a consistent basis. On the goal that ended goalie Ryan Miller's shutout streak of four and a half periods, van Riemsdyk took a carom and used his long reach to get the puck behind Miller, who'd come out to challenge him. Suddenly, the game belonged to the Flyers, who got subsequent goals from Andrej Meszaros and Danny Briere to send the game into overtime. Van Riemsdyk, who had a team-high eight shots and attempted a remarkable 13, tried to spare everyone the OT, but Miller refused to budge as van Riemsdyk jammed at the puck in the crease. The Flyers also carried the play during most of the 5 minutes, 31 seconds of overtime play, and van Riemsdyk was in the middle of much of it. But Michael Leighton, who replaced Boucher in the first period to become the third goalie the Flyers have employed in the series, allowed a fat rebound, and Tyler Ennis pounced on it to give the Sabres a 43 win and a lead of three games to two in the best-of-seven series that returns to Buffalo Sunday for Game 6. The last time van Riemsdyk pulled the Flyers out of such a deep funk was late in the first period of the memorable Game 7 in Boston last spring. The Flyers had rubbed out a deficit of three games to none to tie the second-round series but seemed on the cusp of getting blown out when they fell behind 3-0. Laviolette called a timeout and basically told the Flyers they'd win if they scored the next goal. Van Riemsdyk scored, and the Flyers went on to fulfill Laviolette's prophecy. 5. Philadelphia Daily News Flyers' rally not enough, as Sabres win Game 5 in OT Frank Seravalli CLAUDE GIROUX shrugged. "Since when did we start doing things normal here?" Giroux asked. Easy is not a word in the Flyers' version of Merriam-Webster.

Last night, the Flyers' first 15 minutes of Game 5 went like this: three goals-against, two different goaltenders in net, and play so ugly that three times Flyers players ran into each other, skating around like chickens without heads. And that was just the beginning. A three-goal deficit? That's nothing. Even against Ryan Miller, a goaltender who shut out the Flyers twice in the first four games of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series with the Sabres. Last night, the Flyers beat that three-goal hole the hard way. Their way. But in the end, it was the Sabres who had the last laugh as Tyler Ennis gave Buffalo a 4-3 win just 5 minutes, 1 seconds into overtime to scribble over what would have been a storybook ending for the Flyers. Instead of four unanswered goals, Ennis sent the Flyers hurtling back to Buffalo for tomorrow afternoon's Game 6 in elimination mode. But it's not like the the Flyers haven't faced that before. The Flyers were 4-1 in the Stanley Cup playoffs last season with their season hanging in the balance. "We never do anything according to the plan," Giroux said. "I don't think there's one guy on this team that wants to be down 3-2 now. Guys just battled. But we've got to find a way to play like that for 60 minutes." The odds are daunting. In each of the Flyers' first eight playoff matchups with Buffalo, the winner of Game 5 has gone on to win the series. "I feel good about our game," Danny Briere said. "We deserved to win once again, the chances were lopsided. We had a bad start, spotting them a three-goal lead and 10 shots on net." Briere probably didn't emphasize the Flyers' bad start enough, even though most of the blame belongs in Brian Boucher's corner and not the rest of the Flyers team. Both of Buffalo's first two goals were low-percentage, must-have-in-the-playoffs shots. Boucher bobbled one puck from the corner on a shot by Ennis and the other was banked in from behind by Thomas Vanek. Still, that wasn't what got him yanked. Marc-Andre Gragnani made that decision easy for Peter Laviolette when he connected on a power-play point shot just 15:36 into the game. No matter how well Boucher played in Games 2, 3 and 4, it was hard to justify leaving him in net. It was the first time in Boucher's 11-year NHL career he was yanked from a playoff game as the starter.

"I put my team behind the eight ball," Boucher said. "I take full responsibility for it. It was on me. Those are goals that can't go in." Even though they did, the Flyers didn't panic. One by one, they got them back with Leighton in net at the Wells Fargo Center for the first time since Patrick Kane ended the Flyers' parade hopes last June 9 in overtime of Game 6 of the Stanley Cup finals. Leighton had played in only one game all season for the Flyers. "As soon as I went in, we kind of kept the puck away from me for the first little while and I think that was important for me to get back in the rhythm," Leighton said. "Besides that, we dominated the rest of the second and third period. We played a great game." When Ennis scored in overtime, it snapped Leighton's personal shutout streak of 3:04:31, spanning back to his last three starts in the AHL before being recalled by the Flyers on April 5 through re-entry waivers. In reality, Leighton entered with the most razor-thin of margins for error. One more goalagainst likely would have put the Flyers out of their misery, even though Leighton didn't see it that way. "There's not really that much pressure on me," Leighton said. "It's 3-0. If they score on me, it's 4-0. It's kind of out of hand. We played a good game and battled back." The way the Flyers battled back rekindled the magic they created last spring, jarring images of their 3-0 Game 7 and 3-0 series comeback in that epic second-round series against Boston. Slowly but surely, the Flyers tilted the ice in the second period before James van Riemsdyk and Andrej Meszaros tallied goals within 1:45 of each other to cut Buffalo's lead to 3-2. It was a seemingly foregone conclusion that it wouldn't take the Flyers long to knot the score in the third period, as Briere did with his third goal of the series just 3:36 into the period. Over the final two periods and overtime, the Flyers outshot Buffalo by a total of 30-19. In all, the Flyers fired 87 pucks toward Miller: 39 on net, 29 blocked, 19 that missed the net. And at the other end, Leighton stood tall for the Flyers when it mattered most. "We dominated that second and third period," Leighton said, "so we know we can beat this team." The same as it was in Games 1 and 4 of this series, it is the result that matters most. The Flyers are 6-10 all-time in a Game 6 when trailing, 3-2, and they're only 2-14 in those series. The Flyers have been there before.

"We can't hang our heads," Briere said. "We were in a worse position than that last year. If there's a group of guys that can do it, I believe in this group here." Slap shots The NHL announced yesterday that the start time for a potential Game 7 at the Wells Fargo Center on Tuesday night would be 7:30 . . . Chris Pronger did not return to the Flyers' lineup as expected, missing his 21st consecutive game with a right hand injury. He did skate in the morning skate. The Flyers have officially kept his status as "day-today" . . . In place of Jeff Carter, who missed the game with a lower-body injury, the Flyers dressed tough guy Zac Rinaldo instead of Ben Holmstrom. It was Rinaldo's NHL debut; he played just 1:56 . . . Buffalo lost Jason Pominville in the first period because of injury . . . Every Buffalo skater blocked at least one shot except Patrick Kaleta. * 6. Philadelphia Daily News Sabres look to have edge, as Flyers are pushed to brink Sam Donnellon MAYBE THIS IS the real Eastern Conference final. Maybe we are watching the two best teams crash, crush and steal momentum from each other like crafty thieves. For the fifth game in a row, this series between the young Buffalo Sabres and their beenthere-done-that Olympic-caliber goaltender and a been-there-done-that Flyers team still holding auditions for the job of playoff goaltender came down to a single play, a single shot, one extra piece of execution. A failed clear in overtime, a slap shot that eluded two blockers, a juicy rebound, and the Flyers now find their margin of error, finally, down to nothing. The Buffalo Sabres took Game 5 of this series last night, winning, 4-3, in overtime when Michael Leighton's save of Mike Weber's slapshot bounced onto the stick of Tyler Ennis, who wristed into an empty net at 5 minutes, 31 seconds of the extra period. Yes, Michael Leighton. Last seen looking behind him for Patrick Sharp's Cup-winning goal in overtime, Leighton's relief appearance after Brian Boucher coughed up three early goals was shaping up to be another game-changing move by Peter Laviolette, another chapter in the goalie series that now rivals Rocky for sequels. Bob, Bouch and now, once again, Leights. Where have you gone, Roman Cechmanek? Until the ending, Leighton had stopped 20 Buffalo shots, extending a streak of being unscored upon that began in his final two shutout victories for Adirondack, the Flyers'

farm team. Most of last night's saves were routine, but if Boucher had been able to make the routine on this night, the Flyers would be heading to Buffalo up, three games to two, instead of the reverse. That said, there are plenty of reasons not to give up hope. There is this team's resilient history from a year ago. There is the possibility that Chris Pronger will return to the lineup. And there is their unqualified success as a road team this season, which bore out in the two games played in Buffalo this week. There is also the nagging sense, which will hound the summer with one more loss, that the Flyers are capable of playing better than this, while the Sabres are not. "We feel that we've had control of the puck in every game for the most part, and we've out-chanced them most of the games," Danny Briere said. "I don't know, outplayed is a strong word, but we believe that we are the better team, but there's not much time left to prove that." The Sabres have the advantage because they have played this game of desperation longer than the Flyers, are leaning on recent habits not older ones. Think about it. The Flyers seemed to have first place in the conference locked up in midFebruary. The Sabres seemed to have a high draft pick locked up. Then the Sabres got a new owner, found some chemistry, and their goalie found his form. The Sabres finished 16-4-4, had the best record in the conference since Feb. 23. The Flyers, of course, did not. They meandered to the finish, surrendering the first seed in that final week, promising all the while that the playoffs would amp them up again, cure them of their bad habits. The Sabres said this series would prove they were not the team of their first 4 months. The Flyers said this series would prove they were not the team of the last 2 months. Five games in, each team has proved its point. Emphatically. This has not been a series defined by loud fans and big-screen videos or bad calls by referees. It has been a series defined by opportunities, both cashed in and missed, and the Flyers have been out-urgency-ed in just a few too many of them. You can argue that was not the case last night. It's an argument that holds up for about two periods of play, or roughly the amount of time it took your team to claw out of the hole that two awful goals and one on the power play put them in. The Flyers took over the game from the last half of the first period until they tied it at 3:36 of the third, but that sense of desperation dissipated in the minutes that followed. You could even argue that

Buffalo had better chances until the Flyers made one final push in regulation, a push that earned them their fifth power play of the night, their 26th overall. You know what happened. Another 0-fer. The Flyers are doing all the right things, they are just a tad slow, a step short, missing that little extra urgency that turns a rebound into a messy goal. A series based on razor's edge advantages cannot afford that. It also cannot afford two goals to be scored from below the goal line. Especially when the goaltender on the other side nearly stole a gold medal two winters ago, and has arguably stolen a couple of games in this series as well. So back to Buffalo we go, for an Easter Sunday matinee that means everything to your team. Who will start in goal? Who knows. Will Pronger be able to play? Who knows. The only certainty is the margin of error is finally down to zero, after 2 months of thisclose hockey that has tainted, and threatens to destroy, what was once a monumental season. "We can't hang our heads," said Briere. "We were in a worse position than that last year, so if there is a group of guys who can do it, I believe in this group of guys here." * 7. Philadelphia Daily News Flyers' hopes now seem to rest on goalie roulette wheel Rich Hofmann 'I'D VERY MUCH like to redeem myself," Brian Boucher said. Reporters surrounded him on one side of the Flyers' dressing room. On the other side, Michael Leighton was engulfed by his own group of cameras and notepads. Boucher. Leighton. And Sergei Bobrovsky; remember him. For Flyers coach Peter Laviolette, the roulette wheel spins again. Boucher allowed three goals last night and was yanked in the first period. And so it goes for the Flyers: Bobrovsky, Boucher, Leighton, bingo! But the story is more complicated than that. Because the Flyers were down by 3-0 and then tied the game at 3-3, only to lose it, 4-3, in overtime on a rebound goal by Tyler Ennis. The Buffalo Sabres now lead this opening-round playoff series, three games to two. The first elimination game is tomorrow in Buffalo. Everyone expects Leighton to be the starter, and he should be at this point. One final spin of the wheel, then. One final spin. "I take full responsibility for it," Boucher said. "I put my team behind the eight ball. It was on me. Those are goals that can't go in. I take full responsibility."

The start of Game 5 was an abject disaster for the Flyers. Boucher allowed goals by Ennis and Thomas Vanek that were from angles so sharp as to be Euclidian impossibilities. They were the worst two goals allowed by the Flyers in the playoffs since ... Oh, hey, there's Leighton. "I was anticipating a pass and he shot it on net," Boucher said of the first goal. "The second one, aside from maybe coming out and playing the puck before that, I don't know if I could have done anything differently. I mean, the guy banked it off me . . . "It was my responsibility tonight. I take ownership in that. To put your team in a hole like that, when it's an important game, they didn't deserve that. I'd like to get a second crack at it. We'll see what happens." Actually, Boucher was not pulled until after the third goal, this one by Marc-Andre Gragnani, with 4:24 left in the first period. In the tunnel, he threw his helmet and violently attacked a nearby rack of sticks. But that damage was minor compared with what he had committed on the ice. There was no reason to see it coming. Boucher had never had anything approaching that kind of a game in the playoffs before, not ever. There was no hint in earlier series games, either. His best game, in fact, might have been his 1-0 defeat in Game 4 on Wednesday night in Buffalo. But this was a disaster, even worse the Game 2 disaster authored by Bobrovsky. Anyway, Boucher was out, and now Leighton was in. Leighton had been pulled twice in the Stanley Cup final last season, and then he hurt his back, and then he spent the season in the minors, and now he's back in net for a team that prefers either to balance upon the high wire or to wrap it around its own neck. Which is where it is now. "Obviously, the guys battled hard to get back in the game," Boucher said. "It was right there. If we play the way we did when it was 3-0, we should be in good shape. But we're down, 3-2, and the urgency has to be at the highest level. "I don't know if there is any momentum. I know [coach Peter Laviolette] does not believe in that. He believes that whoever is more desperate will get the edge." At 3-0, the Flyers were pretty desperate, and Leighton had a pretty good seat for the kind of comeback they now seem to attempt every year. Last season, it was the historic Game 7 in the second round against Boston - and the first goal came from James van Riemsdyk. This time, it was van Riemsdyk again, on a rebound he was able to corral with his long reach and slip it around Buffalo goaltender Ryan Miller.

That was at 8:12 of the second period. Less than 2 minutes later, the score was 3-2, courtesy of an Andrej Meszaros blast from about 50 feet. The Wells Fargo Center had gotten back into it on the van Riemsdyk goal - and, really, in the minutes leading up to it as the Flyers pressured the Buffalo net. The building was convulsing after Meszaros' goal. And when Danny Briere scored on a pass from Mike Richards from behind the net in the third period, it was 3-3 and it was bedlam. The Sabres, to their credit, pulled themselves together and had the better of the play for the next few minutes. But Leighton was good, and the game settled into the kind of nervous affair so familiar to anyone who has ever watched playoff hockey. As time ticked down, everyone knew the next mistake might lose it, or the next bounce might win it. Ennis got the bounce, a big one off the pad of Leighton after a point shot by Buffalo's Mike Weber. And now Boucher can only wonder. "I'll bounce back," he said. "I'm a pretty resilient person. I'm upset right now - I'm not going to lie to you. It was a big game, and I wanted to have a good start and I didn't have that. I'm disappointed." 8. Philadelphia Daily News With that, one final spin. Sam Donnellon Score: Sabres 4, Flyers 3, OT How it happened: Buffalo scored two goals from below the goal line in the first 4 minutes, bouncing each off Brian Boucher, who was replaced by Michael Leighton after a third first-period goal, this one on the power play. The Flyers dominated the second period with 15 shots to Buffalo's 5, scoring two goals in the span of 1:45 before tying it early in the third. Tyler Ennis scored off a rebound 5:31 into overtime. Heroes: Danny Briere extracted his revenge on Ryan Miller, who stopped him cold from just about the same spot to the goaltender's left in Game 4. This time, Briere got Miller moving and lifted it past him. A nod to Michael Leighton, who pitched in beautifully in relief. Goats: The Flyers actually had the better of the early going before Boucher allowed two soft goals. That quieted the sellout Wells Fargo Center crowd and made the whole first period seem like the home team was skating with clouded visors. Missed passes, pucks shooting past sticks in the crease - but the Flyers kept at it.

Did you notice: Kris Versteeg's work on the Flyers' second and third goals? Andrej Meszaros got the second goal on a blistering shot that Buffalo goaltender Ryan Miller never saw. He never saw it because of the dogged work done by Versteeg in front of the net, swirling around and gaining position around two larger Sabres defensemen. Versteeg was also the reason the puck was in Buffalo's zone as he passed the puck to himself and around a Sabre as he crossed the blueline. Versteeg crashed hard to keep a dumped puck in the zone on the third goal, allowing Mike Richards to get to it and feed Briere in front of the net. Powerless: The Flyers were 0-for-6 on the power play and are now 2-for-27 in this series. Game 6 suspense: Whom do you start tomorrow? Do you return to Brian Boucher, who played so well in Games 2 and 3? Leighton, who (nearly) saved your bacon last night? Or do you return to Game 1 starter Sergei Bobrovsky, who allowed just one goal before his disastrous start in Game 2? Up next: Game 6 is tomorrow afternoon at HSBC Arena (3 p.m., NBC) 9. Philadelphia Daily News Reports: Ex-Flyer Brashear joins Canadian MMA outfit Kerith Gabriel It appears there was a method to Donald Brashear's years of bedlam after all. According to Yahoo Sports and other websites, the former Flyers goon joined the world of mixed martial arts, signing with Canadian-based fight outfit Ringside. Brashear, 39, who is playing semi-pro hockey in Quebec, has yet to file for his license to fight in the province. According to multiple reports, the delay could be from Brashear's current legal battle involving a postgame fight on March 25, for which he was charged with assault and suspended for five games. Brashear, whose website says he trained with Philly boxing legend Joe Frazier, could apply and be licensed in time to appear on Ringside's June 4 fight card in Quebec City. The left winger played 15-plus NHL seasons, including four with the Flyers. He racked up an astounding 2,634 penalty minutes - 648 in orange-and-black. He had 85 goals and 125 assists, and also played for Montreal, Vancouver, Washington and the Rangers. While Brashear is known as a bruiser, during his time in Vancouver he was on the wrong end of a scuffle in February 2000 with Boston's Marty McSorley. Brashear won a fight, but McSorley later retaliated with a slash. Brashear fell and hit his head on the ice and later suffered a seizure. McSorley received an indefinite suspension from the NHL and

was charged with assault with a weapon. McSorley was found guilty and placed on 18 months' probation, and never played another NHL game. 10. Philadelphia Daily News Broad Street Bully: An undeniably headstrong passion Dan Geringer AFTER WATCHING last night's crushing 4-3 overtime loss bring them to the brink of playoff elimination, Broad Street Bully wondered if our Flyers can summon the die-hard heart of superfan Eric Rothstein, and keep the Stanley Cup dream alive. So who is this Eric Rothstein? His head is shaved, except for an orange-and-black mohawk that his go-to stylist, Gloria at Shape Ups on Grant Avenue near Bustleton, touches up weekly before the orange fades into yellow. He has a Flyers logo tattooed on each side of his mohawk, giving his head the look of an old-school Flyers helmet. So even in the sea of orange-and-black-clad fans at last night's game, Rothstein, 41, who had his glaring game face on even during pregame warm-ups, stood out as the hardest core die-hard at the Wells Fargo Center. Born in South Philly, raised in Olney and now living in Northeast Philadelphia, Rothstein told Broad Street Bully, "I base my whole life around the Flyers." He said that his dad, Paul, who passed away on July 13, "never missed a game. If the Flyers were on, that's what we were watching. I watched both championship parades sitting on his shoulders. He raised me right." As he said this, Rothstein's face - as tough as any Flyers' enforcer's - suddenly softened. "This season hasn't really been the same without him," Rothstein said. "People tell me he's always here with me at the game. I don't know. Maybe he is." Rothstein said that his mom, Rochelle, and sister, Lisa, were always big Flyers fans, but that lately he's had a falling out with Lisa because her son developed an admiration for Pittsburgh Penguins superstar Sidney Crosby. "I can't live with that," said Rothstein, who hates all things Penguin with a passion. "Not in my family." Unlike even the most fervent fans, Rothstein wears his Flyers heart on his sleeve - and on his head - all year-round. Even in the heat of summer, he's rocking Flyers gear. "I don't own anything else," he said. "If I have to get dressed up, I have a Flyers tie." For years, he's never missed a home game - arranging his work hours at Slack's Hoagie Shack in Port Richmond around the Flyers schedule, arriving hours early, standing next to the Flyers' bench to watch warmups, then taking his seat in Section 213, Row 15 for the game. If the Flyers lose, he said, "I get what I call 'Post Flyers Loss Depression.' "

"You don't want to be around me after a loss," he said. "I need Prozac." But he never stops believing in them, never stops dreaming, never stops wearing Flyers gear. Then the hardest core die-hard that Broad Street Bully ever met walked off into the South Philly night, hoping that the Flyers can win tomorrow night to force Game 7 on Tuesday. 11. CSNPhilly.com Flyers' rally falls short in wild Game 5 OT defeat Tim Panaccio Brian Boucher stared into the cameras, grimaced and spoke. I take full responsibility for it, said the Flyers goalie. I put my team behind the eight ball. It was on me. Those are goals that cant go in. Two brutal goals in less than four minutes. Then a third on the power play. Eleven shots overall. Bouchers shocking failure in Game 5 wasnt the sole reason the Flyers lost 4-3 in overtime to the Buffalo Sabres on Friday night at Wells Fargo Center. Yet, it was a significant one as the Sabres can close out this Eastern Conference quarterfinal series with a victory in Game 6 Easter Sunday in Buffalo. The Sabres now lead the series, 3-2. Tyler Ennis rebound won it in overtime. As bad as Boucher was, the Flyers mounted an incredible comeback to tie the game and force overtime. The reality is, what lost the game was the Flyers power play, which has been an abject failure since mid-November. The PP went 0 for 5 and is now 2 of 26 in the series. All three Buffalo wins have been by one goal. A goal the power play should have provided. And hasnt. You could say that about any game, Laviolette said of his power play. Its a fair assessment. The power play actually robbed the Flyers of momentum at critical junctures even during their comeback.

Flyers center Danny Briere said no one thinks this team is dead in the water right now. I feel good about our game; we deserved to win that, he said. The chances were lopsided. Bad start spotting them a three-goal lead and 10-2 on shots on net. Just a bad start. But the rest of the way, we cant hang our heads. We were in worst position last year. So, if there is a group of guys who can do it, I believe in this group of guys here. The incredible, second-period comeback saw the Flyers dominate every aspect of play but one the power play, where they went scoreless on three tries. Even strength, however, they scored twice while outshooting the Sabres, 15-5. Buffalo clung to a 3-2 lead to start the third period. At 3:36 Kris Versteeg, hustling all night, chased down a puck behind the net, fell on his fanny and trapped it for Mike Richards. Richards quickly threw it across from behind the net to Briere, who jammed it inside the right post off his backhand to tie the game. The comeback was complete. The Flyers had a power play in the final minutes of regulation, had a couple chances, then after Peter Laviolette called his timeout, over passed the puck without a shot. Ryan Miller was very sharp in overtime with four saves. Ryan was good once again, Briere said. He made the difference tonight with the amount of chances we had. Late on the power play he made a good save on JVR [James van Riemsdyk]. If only the start had been better for Boucher. The first goal from Ennis came at the end of a long shift with a gassed Nikolay Zherdev dogging Ennis down the left side off transition, then tiring as Ennis eluded him and fired from a bad angle off Bouchers pad and through his five-hole at 2:24. Almost 90 seconds later, Thomas Vanek, working from below the goal line to Bouchers left, fired a shot that somehow squeezed through the right post at 3:51, making it 2-0 amid dropped jaws from the stunned, sellout crowd. The second one, I dont know if I could have done anything differently, the guy banked it off of me, Boucher said. The first one was me anticipating a pass and he threw it on net. Incredibly, the Flyers talked about using the energy within the building to give them some juice at the start

I take full responsibility for it, Boucher said. Boucher, who has been so strong in this series, looked so awful. Its a tough job, Briere said. Sometimes you can be a hero quick, but it can go the other way pretty quick as well. Thats the nature of the position. Youve got to give Leights [Michael Leighton] a lot of credit. He played one game in the NHL this year, and to come back with the way he played in the last 50, 55 minutes, well see what happens over the next couple of days. The third goal was a 4-on-3 Sabres power play with Richards in the box for slashing in what should have been a continuation of 4-on-4, but thats another story. The Sabres dazzled the Flyers with back-and-forth passing before Marc-Andre Gragnani roofed a shot, chasing Boucher for Leighton at 3-0. Laviolette was calm between periods. I think just breathe and settle down, Claude Giroux said of his message. I think it wasnt time to panic. We had 40 minutes left and three goals. We have a lot of guys on this team that can score goals. Hope guys are pretty excited for Sunday. From the point Leighton entered, the Flyers were all over the Sabres, outshooting them 13-1 at one juncture in the second period. Remember Boston last spring? Flyers trailing 3-0 in Game 4? JVR ignited the historic comeback. Likewise here as he got a stretch rebound in the crease at 8:12 for the first, Flyer goal. We knew we had a lot more to give after that first period, JVR said. Two minutes later, Versteeg threaded a pass between two defenders to himself to gain entry into the zone. Versteeg then went to the net to screen out Miller as Andrej Meszaros blasted from the point. Now it was 3-2. To that point, from the time Boucher left the game in the first period, the Sabres had just three shots on net. Thats how dominant the Flyers were. Not only that, they were killing the Sabres on the backcheck, even Zherdev, who doesnt do that very often. We feel that weve had control of the puck in every game for the most part, and weve out-chanced them most of the games, Briere said. I dont know, outplayed is a strong word, but we believe that we are the better team, but theres not much time left to prove that.

12. CSNPhilly.com Leighton's return can't quite seal Flyers' comeback Sarah Baicker The doors to the Flyers bench swung open and Michael Leighton, to a round of cheers from the crowd, took his first strides out onto the Wells Fargo Center Ice. He looked on as starting goalie Brian Boucher hung his head and left the game. To be clear, this was late in the first period of Game 5 this year. You know, 2011. We understand if you might feel a bit misled after all, the Boucher-for-Leighton mid-game switch has notoriously happened more than a few times in the past. But Friday night, the circumstances were different. Boucher had lasted less than 16 minutes, allowing three ugly goals on only 11 Buffalo Sabre shots. And Leightons last 30 games were spent playing with the Adirondack Phantoms in the American Hockey League. Of course, this is Flyers hockey were all used to goalies making headlines. This time, though, Leightons return was not enough to help the Flyers cap an impressive comeback in which they surged from a 3-0 deficit to tie the game at 3 in the third period, before falling to the Sabres 4-3 in overtime. These are big games, Danny Briere said. Its the playoffs. Its a tough job. Sometimes you can be a hero quick, it can go the other way quick as well. Its the nature of the position. But youve got to give Leights a lot of credit. After entering the game at 15:36 of the opening period, Leighton wasnt tested much by the Sabres. He faced just two shots in the closing minutes of the first period, and only five through all 20 minutes of the second he saved 20 of 21 in all. But if his entrance in the game had an effect on his teammates, it was a wildly positive one. The Flyers play picked up almost immediately. After a tough start to the game, the Flyers finally put ample pressure of Sabres goalie Ryan Miller, catching him out of position twice during the second period. During that same period, they outshot Buffalo 15-5. Just minutes into the third period, they knotted the score. At that point, when it was 3-0, we needed to make a change, coach Peter Laviolette said. I thought Michael came in and he did a good job for us. He just settled it down in there. There werent a lot of chances in the game or throughout it. I thought Michael came in and did a good job. Said Claude Giroux, We decided to switch it up I bit, and I think we got momentum, we just kind of switched it up and were able to come back.

There was a feeling amongst those whove followed the team so far this postseason that Leighton would make an appearance at some point before the Flyers run ended it just didnt seem likely to happen so soon. But after Boucher allowed one soft goal, and then another, and still another, Leighton finally got the call. And he was ready for it. Ive kind of been prepared the whole time, Leighton said. (Goalie coach Jeff) Reese has told me he doesnt know whats going to happen in the playoffs with injuries and stuff, so Ive been really working hard in practice and preparing for this situation and sure enough it comes up. By now, its rather old news that this was a rough year for Leighton. Originally re-signed over the summer with the belief that he would begin the 2010-11 season as the Flyers starting goalie, he was quickly thwarted by back problems that continued to affect his play well into the season. He played just one regular-season game with the Flyers this year, a 7-4 victory on Dec. 30 in Los Angeles. Though he got the win, he looked shaky and uncertain through all 60 minutes and the Flyers did not again seek his services. Until now. When the Flyers recalled him, Leighton had just sealed up his season with two shutout victories for the Phantoms, but he hadn't played at the NHL level in months. So he must have been feeling the pressure, right? No, not really, Leighton said. Theres not much pressure on me. Its 3-0, if they score on me its 4-0. We played a great game and we battled back and like I said we should be proud. Leightons shutout streak was finally ended by Tyler Ennis at 184:31. From goalie who shut out the Montreal Canadiens a team record three times in the Eastern Conference Final, to netminder banished to the minors, to Bouchers relief in 2011, its already been a wild ride for Leighton. The biggest question facing him now is: Does he start Game 6 in Buffalo? Definitely I want to play, he said. But Boosh has done a great job to get us in this situation and tonight was one of those nights where two of those goals you could probably take 100 shots from there and you might score one, so its a tough bounce. We have confidence in Boosh. Hes going to bounce back and play a good one in Buffalo." Laviolette, true to form, would offer no clue as to his

"Im going to sleep on that," he said, when asked about goalie choices for Game 6. "And then probably give you nothing." 13. CSNPhilly.com Flyers notes: Sabres' Ennis finishes what he starts Tim Panaccio and Sarah Baicker Tyler Ennis had an impact game Good Friday night at the Wells Fargo Center. He began the game with a goal for the Buffalo Sabres. And he ended it with one too, at 5:31 of overtime, as the Sabres won 4-3 and can finish the Flyers off Sunday in Buffalo. It was definitely a roller coaster of a game, Ennis said. But we worked hard and worked through it. This is definitely a great place to play, and anytime you can silence the crowd like that, it's an awesome feeling. Incredibly, he thought he would be the hero. Not Thomas Vanek or Tim Connolly or Nathan Gerbe. Everyone was excited in the locker room before overtime, Ennis said. All I know, is I wanted to score the winner. I just wanted to be the guy who ended it. Tough guy call-up It was a surprising move and a definite over-reaction by the Flyers that tough guy Zac Rinaldo was in the lineup to replace Jeff Carter. This is the playoffs. Theres no need for a guy with 331 penalty minutes unless youre telling the NHL, OK, you wont call the rough stuff? Heres some rough stuff from us deal with it." In fact, heading into the game, Rinaldo had more suspensions (four) than he did goals (three). He had been ejected from his last two games with the Adirdondack Phantoms, both times in the first period. Talk about a curious decision. All that considered, it isn't much of a surprise that Rinaldo played just 1:56 through two periods three shifts. He did have three hits, though. Kaletas take Patrick Kaleta insisted he was not trying to deliberately injure Nikolay Zherdev in Game 4 by opening the door as the Z was being checked into the bench gate. The gate opened and Zherdev tumbled into the Sabres' bench.

Not on purpose, Kaleta said. Theres a chain and what you do is pop it open and slide down It happens, its kind of funny. Just because I did it, whatever. Whining II Sabres coach Lindy Ruff was asked about how he thought his Flyers whining comments would play out in Philly. He said, he only cared how they played out with his players. I think we got a lot of motivation from their comments, Ruff said. The comment we got away with murder. I think we got a lot of motivation from that. That really fired us up, thats what I really think. When we heard the phrase, theyre getting away with murder that was our motivation. Loose pucks Jason Pominville went off the ice in the second period with a right leg/ankle injury and did not return. His loss was evident on the Sabres' power play. Then again, this is just as significant as the Flyers losing Carter in Game 4. The Flyers went 0 for 5 on the power play through regulation and are now 2 for 26 in the series. The Flyers had 87 attempts 39 on net, 29 that were blocked and 19 missed. The Flyers have put at least 60 pucks towards the net in four of the five games of the series. Andrej Meszaros had a goal and an assist, played a team-high 28:40, posted five shots on goal and recorded two hits. Every skater on Buffalos roster blocked at least one shot tonight except Patrick Kaleta. The Flyers are 6-10 in Game 6 when trailing a series 3-2. They are 2-14 in 16 series all-time. The two series they won were the 2010 Eastern Conference semifinals vs. Boston and the 1989 Patrick Division finals vs. Pittsburgh.

14. CSNPhilly.com Source: Pronger and Carter done for rest of series Tim Panaccio While Chris Pronger seems to making progress on his injured right hand, a source close to the Flyers defenseman told CSNPhilly.com that he will not be available to play at any point in this Eastern Conference quarterfinal series. Officially, the Flyers are listing him as day-to-day. Additionally, dont expect to see Jeff Carter in any remaining games, as well. He has a severely sprained MCL in his right knee and is wearing a brace. Pronger is still experiencing pain in the fractured area around the right hand, the source said, adding he is still unable to take contact with the hand sufficiently to defend himself on the ice.

There is concern about what kind of impact he could have if he cant even defend himself. The kind of game he plays, he cant play with that hand right now, the source said. Pronger, the source said, has felt pressure from many sides, especially the media, to play in the series, but doesnt want to compromise safety only to get re-injured and perhaps suffer another setback. Pronger took slap shots for the first time in weeks at the morning skate but also was wincing at times. He has pain, the source said. In fairness, Pronger's slap shots Friday morning didnt have as much authority on them as weve seen in the past. Pronger stayed on the ice after teammates left shooting pucks. He also declined interviews. Pronger did take part in every aspect of the drills but as Matt Carle -- his on-ice partner -said, the decision was going to likely come down to how much pain he had this morning and what he can tolerate. Obviously, we know the answer. If Pronger had played, it was going to be in a limited role. When he comes out there, you expect him to be the Hall of Fame defenseman he is, Carle said, admitting he had no idea what Prongers intentions were of playing. You dont think anything less of him. We have to see how hes feeling. Hes the only one who can answer that. Carle said teammates were encouraged to see him finally take slap shots, which he has not done since March. Its been a long process for him and frustrating at time, but for him to be able to unload, but like I said, you dont know when he is doing that, how hes feeling. Hell probably would not tell you until the summertime when hes taking those shots how much pain he is feeling, if at all. Coach Peter Laviolette said he thought Pronger looked good and was encouraged by his shooting. As for Carter, the Flyers learned to live without him for 11 games in the middle of the playoffs last season with a broken right foot, courtesy of a Pronger slap shot. How ironic both are out for this series now?

If the Flyers are going to defeat the Sabres and move on, its not about having Pronger or even Carter available. Its about having traffic and scoring some goals on Sabres goalie Ryan Miller who had shut them out twice, going into Game 5. Whining Sabres coach Lindy Ruff accused the Flyers of doing a lot of whining on Thursday. Laviolette said he wasnt going to get into a rhetoric war with Ruff. I thought it was funny, Laviolette said. One of the coaches did a little spoof on it today in the coaches office and took out the word whining and put in winning. It was pretty funny. We dont get involved in that crap. But it was funny. We had a good time with it. Lineups In addition to Carter (right knee sprain), Andreas Nodl (right eye) did not skate. He too will not play in Game 5. It would appear Darroll Powe will work in Carters spot on Claude Girouxs line with James van Riemsdyk and that Ben Holmstrom will replace Powe on Blair Betts fourth line with Dan Carcillo. Buzzword in the room was traffic as players said the Flyers need more traffic on Miller. 15. Delaware County Times Flyers rally from early 3-0 deficit, but fall in OT Anthony SanFilippo PHILADELPHIA Its not last season anymore. Down three goals early in the first period, the Flyers fought their way back, evoking memories of a miraculous run a year ago. However, it all came to a crashing halt when Tyler Ennis banged home the rebound of a Mike Weber shot in overtime to give the Buffalo Sabres a 4-3 win over the Flyers at Wells Fargo Center in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. Buffalo now leads the best-of-seven series 3-2 and can eliminate the Flyers Sunday afternoon in Buffalo. I feel good about our game, said Danny Briere. We deserved to win that one once again. The chances were lopsided. It was just a rough start. Something we need to improve on obviously, but thats the way. We were in a worse position last year and if theres a group of guys that can do it, I believe in this group here. Its a tough loss, but the worst thing we can do is hang our heads right now. We have to continue to work hard because I believe good things can still happen.

After their worst period of the postseason, the Flyers answered with perhaps their best in the second, and followed it up with a solid third period to overcome a three goal deficit and force the overtime period. And just like last season, it all started with a goal from James van Riemsdyk. With Ryan Miller unable to corral the rebound of an Andrej Meszaros shot, van Riemsdyk used his long reach to grab the puck and slide it past Miller and there was a spark. It was certainly reminiscent of the comeback in Game 7 of the Boston series, because from there the Flyers took over. Meszaros scored less than two minutes later on a howitzer from the point, and also like that historic game in Boston, Briere tied it in the third period when he lifted a backhander past Miller for his third goal of the playoffs. The play was set up by a relentless forecheck by Kris Versteeg as he stripped Chris Butler and got the puck to Mike Richards who found Briere on the doorstep with a brilliant pass behind the net. The Flyers peppered Miller throughout the third, but the Sabres world class goalie was up to the task, making fine saves on Nik Zherdev and Claude Giroux on golden scoring chances. But the game wasnt all that lopsided in favor of the Flyers. Concerned more with running around and proving that they are still the Flyers and that their machismo as a physical hockey team hasnt waned, the Flyers were caught by surprise when the Sabres played the first period as a disciplined team intent on winning a hockey game and not worried about the other shenanigans, no matter how much bluster their coach portrayed in that fashion. That, and the two worst goals allowed by Brian Boucher all season put the Flyers in a three-goal hole. While the likes of Zac Rinaldo, playing in his first NHL game after averaging 5.52 penalty minutes per game in the AHL this season, and Dan Carcillo bouncing off everything with a white buffalo and a couple of rapiers emblazoned on it, the Sabres were scoring cheap goals. First it was Ennis shooting from a horrible angle along the goal line banking a shot in off of Bouchers pad to give the Sabres an early lead.

Then, a minute-and-a-half later Thomas Vanek did the same thing from the other side of the net, and it was 2-0 Buffalo before you could blink an eye. I was anticipating a pass and he shot it on net, Boucher said. The second one, I dont think I would do anything differently, it just went in off my knee. I take full responsibility for it. I put my team behind the eight ball. Its on me. Those are goals that cant go in. Following a goalie interference penalty by Briere, Marc-Andre Gragnani scored on the power play for the Sabres to make it 3-0 and the end of Bouchers night a little more than 15 minutes of action, 11 shots faced, three goals allowed. It sent shivers all the way up to the press box. I have to tell you, I was numb in the first period, admitted team president Peter Luukko. Into the net came one of last years playoff heroes Michael Leighton. He played just one game for the Flyers all season and was waived to the Phantoms after early season back surgery. Nobody wanted him in the league. He was left to play out his season in the minors. Nobody wanted him when the Flyers recalled him earlier this month and he cleared waivers again. The third goalie for the start of the series, Leighton was called on to backup Boucher after Sergei Bobrovsky gagged in Game 2. Boucher was great for nearly three games, but was not sharp at all Friday and threw a temper tantrum down the tunnel leading to the Flyers locker room, throwing his glove, his helmet and knocking over a whole rack of his teammates sticks while the game was still going on. Who Laviolette will turn to for Game 6 is a mystery, but one that has become a bit of a custom for the Flyers. Id very much like to redeem myself, Boucher said. It was my responsibility tonight. I take ownership in that. To put your team in a hole like that in such an important game they didnt deserve that. Id to get a second crack at it. Well see what happens. The Flyers are just 2-14 all-time when trailing 3-2, with one of those wins coming in the shocker against Boston last spring.

I can look around the room at my teammates that were there and those that have proven they can rise when the desperation is needed, Briere said. And, the guys that we added have won Stanley Cups so they know what it takes. We never thought it would be easy. This is a good challenge for us. Weve been good on the road and we know we can win in Buffalo. We feel that weve controlled the puck in every game so far and weve out chanced them We believe that we are the better team, but theres not much time left to prove that.

16. Delaware County Times McCaffery: Get pushed around? Not these Flyers Jack McCaffery PHILADELPHIA - Lindy Ruff can close his eyes and hear what the Flyers are thinking, are saying, are meaning. He can close them and hear the echoes, near and distant, from two decades ago, from two nights ago. Whiners, the Buffalo Sabres coach said. The Flyers? Those Flyers? These Flyers? Now? Ruff didnt get to be a coach in the NHL without knowing all the rules, those written, those spoken. And one of the rules is to take a playoff series, any playoff series, and make it personal. Its good for business. His goalie, Ryan Miller, had tried as much over the weekend, waiting until he was surrounded by cameras and questioning the Flyers toughness. Im not trying to start any controversy, he said. No. Not him. But that was after Game 2. By the time the Sabres had defeated the Flyers, 4-3 in overtime of Game 5 Friday at the Wells Fargo Center, that was already tame by NHL playoff standards. In that society, three games are more than enough to turn ordinary comments into fighting words and fighting words into fights. And once that happens, the Flyers will be the Flyers. Goaltenders, they will change. Five games into this postseason, they are already onto their third. But they will never edit a long-ago franchise mission statement to never be intimidated. Its why 20-year-old centerman Zac Rinaldo was in orange uniform No. 51, in the lineup and ultimately in the faces of the Sabres Friday. That would be the same Zac Rinaldo who had never before been deemed worthy of dressing for a regular-season NHL game, but whose reputation as a hockey irritant was phone-book thick. Once, hed served a 12game OHL suspension for administering a blind-side hit in a particularly sour-blooded

game. This season with the Phantoms, he played 60 games, scored three goals and had 331 penalty minutes. Within two minutes Friday, Rinaldo had crashed into Thomas Vanek, the first Sabre in his way. Then he appeared to catch Chris Butler in the mouth with a stick before ramming Patrick Kaleta into the boards. That meant Rinaldos NHL career was one shift long, yet already he had assured that the Sabres team chiropractor would be busy later. Whether or not it would mean the Flyers would be busy next week, well, apparently that wasnt in the roster-construction plans. Ruff had accused them of whining that after three games of the series in which the Flyers regularly had been tossed about. And that was the Flyers cue to dress somebody whose uniform number and bush-league penaltyminute total would be high. Emotions get going in the playoffs, Kris Versteeg said. Put a camera on Lindy Ruff and see who whines. Thats all Ill say. Its just something he always does to keep the attention off his team. Ruff whines, the Flyers whine, everybody whines in hockey whenever the inconvenient penalty-box door screeches open. Its part of the culture. Its something to talk about, said Danny Briere, whose third-period goal forced a 3-3 tie. There are things that will motivate us. Not that. Ruff, though, cleverly made it a Thursday topic, thus forcing the Flyers to respond, first verbally, then with that odd lineup. I thought it was funny, Peter Laviolette said. One of the coaches did a little spoof on it today in the coaches office. He took out the word whining and he put in winning. We dont get involved in too involved in that crap. So it was funny. We had a good time with it. Turned out, the Flyers were closer to reacting to Ruff with a snarl than a smile. Given the events of the morning skate, there were hints that Rinaldo was hanging around for more than a hockey internship. One was the delay in rugged Jody Shelley leaving the ice, a pattern of a player likely to be scratched that night. There would have to be a suitable replacement. But the more dramatic signs pointed to a slightly more accomplished Flyer being dressed one Chris Pronger. For the first time since breaking his hand March 8, Pronger was seen attempting slapshots. That was believed to be his final passed endurance test before being cleared to play. The Flyers, terrified to say anything about injuries under some weird pressure from above, seemed to be brightened by the prospect of Pronger returning. And given that they really couldnt afford to roll back to Buffalo while facing elimination, there wasnt much reason for them to continue to shield a Hall of Fame-level defenseman from harm. Later, though, some word had leaked that Prongers workout was not as successful as it looked. So by the time the Flyers re-appeared Friday, there was no Pronger. But there was Rinaldo.

The Flyers always have had a way of showing what they are thinking. Lindy Ruff knew that all along.

17. Delaware County Times Boucher The Only Answer For Game 6 Anthony SanFilippo Peter Laviolette said he's going to sleep on his goaltender decision for Game 6... but won't make a public declaration Saturday. That's fine, it's all part of the gamesmanship of the playoffs. But if Laviolette is a smart coach, and there's plenty of evidence to prove that is the case, he will go back to Brian Boucher in goal for Game 6. Really, there's no other choice. Here's why: He's the best goalie they have when it comes to dealing with the pressure of an elimination game. Yes, Michael Leighton did the job in three elimination games against Boston last season but don't forget the Bruins were bereft of any offensive talent whatsoever at that point and the Flyers had a date with destiny. That was also pre-back injury Leighton. He's a lot different now. He's good enough to win in the AHL, but not the NHL - otherwise he'd have played more than one NHL game this season AND he wouldn't have started the playoffs third on the depth chart. He's fine in an emergency, but once again you saw his weaknesses in Game 5. He allowed just one goal - the game winner, but it was a big rebound - something he is prone to giving up. Not to mention, he looked shaky throughout the rest of the game. There were a few shots he stopped with good positioning, but there were a lot of close calls too. He seemed rusty. He seemed a little slow - no matter what the players and coaches say about him calming things down - he went untested until late in the third period.

As for Sergei Bobrovsky, he might have the most skill, talent and upside, but he is a notready-for-prime-time player. Let's talk Bobrovsky down the road. For now, he's a nonfactor. Which leaves Boucher. Yes, he gave up a pair of unsightly goals in the first period. Yes he put his team in a bad spot by only stopping eight of 11 shots before leaving the ice, trailing the game 3-0. Yes he is a journeyman and, to most observers, no better than a backup. But, he is best prepared to handle the rigors of a Game 6 in Buffalo. Remember, until the crazy first period ensued, Boucher led all goalies in save percentage in the playoffs better than Henrik Lundqvist. Better than Roberto Luongo. Better than Antti Niemi. Better than Marc-Andre Fleury. Better than Carey Price. Better than all of them. And now, after a horrible performance - the worst of his career and the first time in 32 career playoff starts that he was yanked - Boucher wants another crack at it. Id very much like to redeem myself, Boucher said. It was my responsibility tonight. I take ownership in that. To put your team in a hole like that in such an important game they didnt deserve that. Id to get a second crack at it. Well see what happens. If you listen to Leighton, he's already resigned to the fact that it's Boucher's series to lose. "I definitely want to play but Boosh has done a great job to get us in this situation and tonight was one of those nights," Leighton said. "Two of those goals... you can probably take 100 shots from there and you might score one, so it's a tough bounce. (Like Patrick Kane in Game 6 of the Cup Finals, but I digress) We have confidence in Boosh. He's going to bounce back and play a good one in Buffalo." Boucher wants to get back in the net. Leighton wants him there too. All that's left is for Laviolette to wake up tomorrow and realize the same thing - it's his best and only choice. "I'll bounce back," Boucher said. "I'm a pretty resilient person. I'm pretty upset right now, I'm not going to lie to you. It was a big game and I wanted to have a good start and I didn't have that." There's no guarantee Boucher will win Game 6 - or both Game 6 and Game 7 for that matter, but if you're playing the odds, he's a better bet than anyone else. ........................... On a separate note, but still related tot he goaltending situation, it was a little more than a year ago that I was talking to Flyers' president Peter Luukko in the press box and he told me the Flyers couldn't continue to go on the same way with the goalies.

"We can't keep going the same way we have year after year," Luukko said. "We have to go in a different direction with goaltending - get someone young and stick with him." That was before the unexpected run to the Finals. Before Leighton's magic act. Before Boucher's gutsy first round performance. But, they did follow what Luukko said - and tried to turn things over to Bobrovsky. But, that didn't work either - at least not now. Once again the offseason will be ripe with questions about goalies. Will the Flyers ever learn? Or will we see another playoff with the two of the three goalies currently in the mix trying to win a Cup again? It seems like the vicious circle that will never end. Pity.

18. Bucks County Courier-Times OT loss sends Flyers to the brink Wayne Fish PHILADELPHIA - There might be only one game left for the Flyers to show if they can still recapture last season's playoff magic. After taking a 2-1 lead in their playoff series with the Sabres, it looked like the Flyers were headed in the right direction. Then came a frustrating loss in Buffalo on Wednesday, and an even more vexing one on Friday night - a 4-3 overtime defeat that spoiled a gallant three-goal comeback. Now the Flyers, down 3-2 in the Eastern Conference best-of-seven quarterfinal series, are faced with elimination on Sunday in Game 6 at Buffalo. In their playoff history, the Flyers are 2-14 when trailing a series by a 3-2 margin. Their only comebacks came in 1989, when they rallied against Pittsburgh in the Patrick Division finals, and last season when they stormed back from 0-3 to shock Boston. The Flyers were down 3-0 in the first 15:36, and the first two goals past Brian Boucher were shockingly soft. Then the third puck hit the net, and that prompted coach Peter Laviolette to go to his third goalie of the series, Michael Leighton. Leighton held the fort as the Flyers stormed back in the second period to close the gap to 3-2. And then a Danny Briere goal early in the third tied it. But at 5:31 of overtime, Tyler Ennis scored off a Mike Weber rebound, and now the Flyers have their backs to the proverbial wall.

If the Flyers are down about the prospect of going home early, they're trying hard not to show it. Briere is still a believer. "I felt good about our game," Briere said. "We deserved to win that once again. The chances were lopsided. Bad start spotting them a three-goal lead; I think it was 10 to two in shots on net. It was just a rough start, something we need to improve on. "We can't hang our heads. We were in a worse position than that last year, so if there is a group of guys who can do it, I believe in this group of guys here." Laviolette said he has faith. "The resiliency that we showed to fight back into it, we kept coming," Laviolette said. "We had a lot of opportunities, we just weren't able to get the fourth one. "I have a tremendous amount of confidence in the group. At no point did I think we were going to lose the game tonight. We were going back to Buffalo and we had to win there anyway. So nothing changes for us. We have to go to Buffalo and win, period." As for the decision regarding which goaltender will start on Sunday, Laviolette said: "I'm going to sleep on that and then probably give you nothing." Boucher was distraught after the loss, basically saying he let his teammates down. "It was my responsibility tonight," he said. "I take ownership. To put your team in a hole like that when it's an important game, they didn't deserve that. I'd like to get a second crack at it; we'll see what happens. I'll bounce back, I'm a pretty resilient person." Claude Giroux said the Flyers haven't given up hope. "Hopefully, no one should be happy," he said. "I think there is no guy on this team that wants to be down 3-2. We've got to find a way to play 60 minutes, just like in the second period." The Flyers came roaring back in that second period, outscoring Buffalo by a 2-0 margin and outshooting them, 15-5. James van Riemsdyk got it going with a goal at 8:12. Andrej Meszaros fired a bullet that Ryan Miller stopped. But JVR pounced on the rebound and backhanded it into the net. Just 1:45 later, Meszaros sent a rocket that eluded Miller.

Then Briere scored off a Kris Versteeg steal at 3:36 of the third, and the Flyers seemed to have momentum on their side. But Ennis called a halt to the proceedings with his putback goal. In what amounted to their most bumbling start of the year, the Flyers allowed two goals in the first four minutes, watched Boucher get lifted after allowing a third, and found themselves on the short end of a 3-0 score at the first intermission. Boucher was awful. He permitted a goal from Ennis at 2:24 on shot not more than three feet above the end line. Then, at 3:51, Thomas Vanek banked home a shot from below the end line that hit Boucher's right pad and kicked in. Finally, with Briere in the penalty box, Marc-Andre Gragnani scored from the right faceoff dot at 15:36. That was all for Boucher, who was replaced by Leighton, seeing his first postseason action since Game 6 of last season's Stanley Cup Finals. Short shots Zac Rinaldo was the replacement for Jeff Carter, who suffered a sprained medial collateral ligament in his right knee during a collision with Tyler Myers in Game 4, and is out for the series. ... All-time, the Flyers are 28-34 in elimination games. 19. Bucks County Courier-Times Commentary: Flyers playing goalie guessing game Dom Cosentino PHILADELPHIA - Step right up, everybody. If it's springtime, it must mean the goaltender roulette wheel is spinning again in South Philly. So come one, come all, come gather 'round and watch her go. Yes, yes. The options are orange and black, and while there's no telling which one has lady luck on its side, it's starting to look like both will lose after Friday night. Peter Laviolette put forth an air of calm after the Flyers' 4-3 loss to the Buffalo Sabres put them in a 3-2 series hole, but it's difficult to ignore the notion that the coach made a panicked decision earlier this week that in part put the team in this now-perilous position. Sure, Brian Boucher played admirably in relief of Sergei Bobrovsky in Game 2. But the risk of moving Boucher from the bullpen while banishing Bob to the bench after that was fraught with risk, and that risk - quite literally - caught the Flyers from behind in Game 5.

Boucher first gave up a soft goal when Tyler Ennis beat him from a side angle a little more than two minutes in. But a minute-and-a-half later, Thomas Vanek somehow got one by him even though Vanek was actually positioned somewhere behind the net, which ought to be tough to do. By the time Boosh gave up a third goal - and at least that one was tricky enough to have come on a power play - Laviolette made the decision to recycle Michael Leighton, who less than three weeks ago was still plying his wares in Adirondack. Come one, come all... But now what? "I'm going to sleep on that," Laviolette said, "and then probably give you nothing." Well, OK. Laviolette's uncertainty is somewhat understandable, considering the stakes. He's entitled to sleep on it, maybe mull it over with a cup of coffee in the morning, perhaps even take it for a walk before buying it lunch. But a decision will have to come at some point, and the Flyers are quickly running out of opportunities to manufacture some urgency now that they're one loss away from being eliminated in the first round. Having the 22-year-old Bobrovsky as a starter, with the 34-year-old Boucher at the ready as his closer, seemed like a working strategy, at least until Laviolette figured it wasn't. The coach himself said after Game 2 that having Boucher around as a stopper worked as a way to steady this team in times of trouble. Come one, come all... But now what? "I have a tremendous amount of confidence in the group in that room," Laviolette said this time. "At no point did I think we were going to lose the game (Friday night). Yet, we did. We were going back to Buffalo anyway and we had to win a game in Buffalo. So nothing changes for us. We have to go to Buffalo and win, period." Which is true, except for that otherwise minor detail that if they lose in Buffalo, their season is over. As they scuffled toward the finish in the season's final month, the general feeling was that the Flyers were waiting for the playoffs to turn it on, that with their position in the postseason secure, there was little urgency, little reason to worry. Not having Chris Pronger and now Jeff Carter also provided some cover. Come one, come all... But now what?

Claude Giroux said he figured guys would be "(ticked) off" enough to do what they have to do, which is now all they have left. "I think no one should be happy," Giroux said. "I think there's not one guy on this team that wants to be down 3-2 right now." It's certainly an understatement to say this series has had its share of momentum shifts, that it's been chaotically back-and-forth, that's it's been wonderfully entertaining. And Game 5, with the Sabres owning the first period before the Flyers came all the way back, only to lose, really encapsulated that. There's always the chance things can shift back in the Flyers' favor for Game 6, then again in Game 7. But that's the thing about chance: It's unknowable, and it's filled with risk. "Since when," Giroux wondered, "did we start doing things normal here?" So come one, come all. Come take your chances on the South Philly goaltender roulette. Go ahead and bet orange and black. This season, anyway, it might soon be your last opportunity. 20. Camden Courier-Post Flyers pushed to brink Chuck Gormley PHILADELPHIA The irony in the imagery was hard to ignore. At one end of the Flyers locker room, third-string goaltender Michael Leighton talked about keeping his teammates in a game they had no business being in. "We played a great game and battled back," Leighton said, "and we just fell a little short." At the other end of the room, backup-turned-starter Brian Boucher stared into the glare of television cameras and admitted what everyone had seen for themselves -- that two soft goals set the stage for what became a 4-3 overtime loss to the Buffalo Sabres in the most crucial game of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals. "I take full responsibility for it," Boucher said. "I put my team behind the eight-ball and it was on me. Those are goals that can't go in." Tyler Ennis shoved the Flyers to the brink of playoff elimination when he scored 5 minutes, 31 seconds into overtime, snapping a Mike Weber rebound past Leighton to give the Sabres a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series.

In their playoff history, the Sabres are 5-1 when leading a best-of-seven playoff series 32. The Flyers are 2-14 when trailing a playoff series 3-2, their only victories coming against the Penguins in the 1989 playoffs and against the Bruins last spring, when they rallied from an 0-3 deficit in the conference semifinals. "We know what it takes," Flyers center Claude Giroux said. "We can't be panicking. We just have to go out there and play our game like we did in the second and third period." The biggest question heading into Sunday's pivotal Game 6 in Buffalo is which goaltender Peter Laviolette will start. "I'm going to sleep on that and then probably give you nothing,"'Laviolette said. Boucher made a public plea to get a second chance. "I'd very much like to redeem myself,"' he said. "I take ownership for (Game 5). To put you team in a hole like that in an important game like, they didn't deserve that. I'd like to get a second crack at it. We'll see what happens I've bounced back before."

21. Camden Courier-Post Laviolette faces tough decision Kevin Callahan When the Flyers snoozed to a 2-0 deficit with "God Bless America" still echoing Friday night, the timing seemed right for coach Peter Laviolette to pull his goalie. Only, this wouldn't be a traditional goalie benching. It wouldn't involve replacing Brian Boucher with backup Michael Leighton. Instead, it would involve yanking Boucher and playing six skaters on five the rest of the game. Really, desperate times call for desperate doings. And, the Flyers were scrambled. They trailed early in the first period in the suddenly silent Wells Fargo Center, and they couldn't score. That's a bad combination. Even before the quick collapse, Laviolette looked as desperate as Lindsay Lohan by dressing the unproven Zac Rinaldo for Game 5. Rinaldo is much better known for his suspensions in the American Hockey League than for scoring goals. Down 2-0 against the Sabres before all the home fans had come in from the parking lot -and with Ryan Miller tending the Buffalo net -- things seemed so desperate for the Flyers that they probably hoped fog would envelop the Wells Fargo Center ice as it once did the

ice inside Buffalo's old Memorial Auditorium during the 1975 Stanley Cup finals. That seemed like the only way the Flyers might finally score. After all, the U.S. Olympic silver-medalist goalie had been golden in Game 4 in Buffalo, shutting out the Flyers 1-0. And, Miller had blanked the Flyers 1-0 in the first game of the series in Philly. So, yeah, the question didn't seem to be if the Flyers could stop the Sabres from scoring anymore after thudding to a 2-0 deficit. Instead, it was if the Orange and Black could somehow get the puck behind Miller, even with a man advantage the rest of the way. Now, a much different question must be answered after the Sabres slapped away the Flyers' comeback with a 4-3 overtime win Friday night. The answer to this question isn't as routine as a Miller save or as bizarre as the tongue-in-check suggestion of playing six skaters on five with no goalie. And, the answer isn't as easy as replacing a goalie when you're down 3-0 in the first period. The season now hinges on this answer because the Sabres are up 3-2 in the series. Which goalie will Laviolette start in Sunday's Game 6? After using three goalies in the first five games, Laviolette has only himself to blame for this dilemma. Will he stay with Leighton after he allowed the overtime game-winner off a rebound? Otherwise, Leighton played solidly and kept the Flyers in the game. Indeed, this is a desperate time for the Flyers. They face elimination in the first round after going to the Stanley Cup finals last year. And, of course, they did post the secondbest record in the Eastern Conference during the regular season. So, could Laviolette play a little Russian Roulette and go back to Sergei Bobrovsky, who started the first two games but hasn't dressed for the last three? Or, might Boucher be back after doing a better job of kicking sticks on the bench than making kick saves? It doesn't seem likely Boucher will be back, not after allowing the Sabres to score twice in the first 3:51 and being beaten three times on 11 shots. When the Sabres scored to make it 3-0, Coach Hook pulled Boucher quicker than you could say "Bob."

The Flyers were in position to make Laviolette look like a master motivator once they'd tied the score 3-3. Now, the Flyers coach must be masterful when he makes the biggest personnel decision of the season. Whichever goalie Laviolette decides to start must also finish the game. Otherwise, the Flyers are done. 22. Camden Courier-Post With 3 out, Flyers make odd move Chuck Gormley

PHILADELPHIA If Flyers defenseman Chris Pronger could not lace 'em up for Friday night's crucial Game 5 against the Buffalo Sabres, is there any reason to believe he can play in the remainder of the first-round series? Sidelined since March 8 with a broken right hand, Pronger participated in Friday's morning skate and took a few slap shots for the first time in four weeks, leading to speculation he would make his 2011 playoff debut at the Wells Fargo Center. Instead, Pronger decided discretion was the better part of valor and sat out his 21st straight game. With Game 6 slated for Sunday afternoon in Buffalo and Game 7 a possibility for Tuesday night in Philadelphia, it's entirely possible Pronger will not play again until the second round of the playoffs -- if the Flyers advance that far. The same is likely for right wing Jeff Carter, who sat out Friday's game with a sprained medial collateral ligament in his right knee. Carter has not skated since Wednesday night's collision with Sabres defenseman Tyler Myers in Game 4 in Buffalo. Left wing Andreas Nodl (eye laceration) also sat out for the Flyers, clearing the way for Zac Rinaldo to make his NHL debut in a Stanley Cup playoff game. Rinaldo, 20, was a very interesting choice by Laviolette, considering he had 331 penalty minutes for the Phantoms this season and had more American Hockey League suspensions (four) than he had goals (three). Rinaldo was the third Flyer to make his NHL playoff debut in this series, joining goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky and defenseman Danny Syvret. "Look at a guy like Bobrovsky, who played our opening game," Laviolette said. "At some point young players need an opportunity, and when you get that opportunity you need to make the most of it."

But Rinaldo? When a healthy Jody Shelley, a veteran of 596 NHL games and seven career playoff games, is itching to get into the lineup? The 5-foot-11, 180-pound native of Mississauga, Ontario, was suspended four times for a total of nine games this season and missed the final three games of the regular season for intent to injure. Rinaldo played on a fourth line with center Blair Betts and Dan Carcillo, while right wing Darroll Powe moved up to play on a line with Claude Giroux and James van Riemsdyk.

Kaleta-gate Sabres pest Patrick Kaleta claims he had no idea Flyers right wing Nik Zherdev was being checked into the boards at the same time he opened the door to the Buffalo bench in Game 4, causing Zherdev to fall into enemy territory. "It probably wouldn't be getting this much publicity if it wasn't me," Kaleta said. "But in no way was it intentional. "There was a line change going on. You pop the door open and slide down. You don't want there to be a too-many-men-on-the-ice penalty." Actually, Laviolette said that's exactly what should have been called on the play, which left Zherdev kneeling on the floor of the Buffalo bench. "Yeah, at the time I had a problem with it because they had seven guys on the ice and they weren't tagged for it," Laviolette said. "But Nik's fine. He can handle that stuff. Certainly, we don't want to see anybody getting hurt." Kaleta, whose teammates are calling him "Door Man," said his timing was simply good fortune. "It's what you do," he said. "You do it so many times, you kind of take it for granted." Winning whining The Flyers' coaching staff may not be Charlie Sheen followers, but Laviolette said they got a chuckle out of the "whining" comments Sabres coach Lindy Ruff made. "I thought it was funny," Laviolette said. "One of the coaches did a little spoof on it today in the coaches' office and took out the word "whining' and put in "winning.' It was pretty funny. We don't get involved in that crap. But it was funny. We had a good time with it." Loose pucks The Flyers and Sabres have been wearing playoff T-shirts trumpeting their postseason slogans. The Sabres' T-shirts read: "Winning is not a goal. It's a belief." The Flyers'

playoff motto: "With all of our will -- we will." . . . Sabres C Tim Connolly has gone 27 straight playoff games without a goal.

23. NHL.com Sabres stun Flyers 4-3 in OT Adam Kimelman PHILADELPHIA -- It was W.C. Fields who famously said, "All things being equal, I'd rather be in Philadelphia." Buffalo Sabres forward Tyler Ennis might have that saying on a poster in his house. Ennis scored his second goal of the game 5:31 into overtime, giving the Buffalo Sabres a 4-3 win against the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series. The Sabres lead the series 3-2, with Game 6 set for Sunday in Buffalo (3 p.m. ET, NBC, TSN, RDS). Game 7, if necessary, will be Tuesday in Philadelphia (7:30 p.m. ET, TSN). Marc-Andre Gragnani and Thomas Vanek also scored for the Sabres, and goalie Ryan Miller stopped 36 shots. The news wasn't all good in the first for the Sabres, who lost forward Jason Pominville with 3:09 left in the first period. He hopped off the ice with about three minutes left in the first period and was unable to put any weight on his left leg. The Sabres announced he had a lower-body injury and would not return. TSN reported he suffered a skate cut to his left leg, and he was spotted leaving the Wells Fargo Center on crutches, wearing a boot on that went from his foot to calf. Andrej Meszaros had a goal and an assist for the Flyers, who also got goals from James van Riemsdyk and Danny Briere. Ennis, the Sabres most dangerous forward all night, was alone just outside the crease when Mike Weber took a slap shot from the left point. Michael Leighton stopped the shot with his right pad, but he kicked it right to Ennis, who buried it for his second goal of the game. "I saw it pop out," Ennis said. "I tried to get to the net. I knew (Weber) was shooting it. Just hoping he (Leighton) would kick it to me. You just got to go backdoor sometimes, got to get to the net a little more sometimes. When I saw him shooting, sometimes the paddle deflects to that spot and it did." It's not the first big goal Ennis has scored in Philadelphia. He scored his first NHL goal in his first game here, Nov. 14, 2009. "It's definitely a fun place to play," he said of Philadelphia. "Pretty crazy."

Ennis goal negated a big comeback by the Flyers, who came back from a 3-0 first-period deficit to force overtime. The comeback started when van Riemsdyk scored his second of the series at 8:12 of the second period. Claude Giroux sent the puck to Meszaros at the left point. He fired a shot that Miller came out to stop, but van Riemsdyk was able to sweep the rebound around Miller and into the net. Philadelphia got within a goal on Meszaros' first of the postseason. Kris Versteeg went between two Sabres two players to take the puck into the Buffalo zone, and then set up in front of Miller. The Flyers worked the puck out high, and Miller couldn't stop Meszaros' blast from just inside the blue line to make it 3-2 at 9:57. "In the second period I thought that everybody looked strong," Flyers coach Peter Laviolette said. "We had our best period of the night. We were hard-charging, trying to fight back in. We felt like if we could win that period, we could win the game. The guys did a really good job at unloading the tanks and getting back in." They had enough left to tie game 3:36 into the third on Briere's third goal of the series. Versteeg's hustle set up the play, as he raced behind the Buffalo net to tip the puck away from Sabres defenseman Chris Butler. The puck bounced to Mike Richards, who threw a pass behind the net to Briere, and the former Sabre flipped a backhander over Miller from the right post. "Kris Versteeg did a good job in keeping the puck in play," Briere said. "He was able to get it to Richie and Richie did a great job as he chipped the puck to me on the side of the net. The puck was in the air, (and) I was a little bit lucky on the goal." The Sabres stemmed the tide, starting with a penalty kill with 2:22 left in the third period, and the momentum from that kill carried into overtime. "I like the fact that we were able to regroup," Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. "We started the third period real good. I think we outshot them. We gave up the one opportunity and they ended up scoring. I told the team that we need to relax and need to make plays and play in the offensive zone. I thought we made some good plays with the big kill late in the third period and I can't say enough. They have done a tremendous job to this point on the penalty kill." The Sabres came out firing early, scoring twice in the game's first 3:51 and chasing goalie Brian Boucher after less than 16 minutes. Ennis gave the Sabres a 1-0 lead just 2:24 into the game. He got the puck on the left side of the ice in the Flyers' zone, skated through a Nikolay Zherdev check and took a sharpangled shot that went off Boucher's left leg and into the net.

Just 1:27 later, Vanek made it 2-0 when he scored from another odd angle. Patrick Kaleta tipped the puck behind the Philadelphia net to Vanek, who was behind the goal line on the left side when he shot the puck off Boucher's flexed left knee and into the net at 3:51. Buffalo made it 3-0 on Gragnani's first playoff goal. The Sabres had a 4-on-3 power play following a goalie-interference penalty on Briere. Buffalo worked the puck around the perimeter, with Tyler Myers in the middle sending it to Gragnani in the right circle. The rookie defensemans shot went through a Vanek screen and just inside the far post at 15:36. That ended Boucher's night after he allowed three goals on 11 shots. Leighton entered the game, becoming the third Philadelphia goalie of the series. It's the second straight year Philadelphia has used three goalies in one playoff series -last year in the second round against Boston, the Flyers used Boucher, Leighton and rookie Johan Backlund. "The first one I was anticipating a pass and he shot it on net," Boucher said. "The second one, aside from maybe coming out and playing the puck before that, I don't know if I would've played that any differently. I mean, the guy banked it off me. But the first one was me anticipating a pass and he threw it on net. "I take full responsibility for it. I put my team behind the eight-ball. It was on me. Those are goals that can't go in." Leighton came in and stopped 20 shots in just his second NHL game of the season. His only other action came Dec. 30. Days later, he was waived and sent to the AHL. "I've kind of been prepared the whole time," Leighton said. "When I came up here, for myself, I've been working hard, practicing, and staying ready. I've been really working hard at practice and preparing for this situation and sure enough it comes up." Laviolette wasn't ready to reveal anything about his goaltending plans for Game 6. "I'm going to sleep on that and probably give you (the media) nothing," he said. The Sabres don't plan on spending too much time celebrating their win. They know they still have a lot of work to do. "We can celebrate this for about 20 more minutes because we have to focus on the next one," Ennis said. "We got one more." 24. NHL.com Kids come through for Sabres

Adam Kimelman PHILADELPHIA -- The Wells Fargo Center can be one of the League's louder, tougher arenas to play in, and when you add in the Flyers' fast, physical style of play, it can make for a long night for young players, especially during the Stanley Cup Playoffs. However, the Sabres' biggest contributors in their 4-3 overtime victory here in Game 5 Friday were some of their youngest players. Rookie forward Tyler Ennis, 21, scored a pair of goals, including the game-winner; defenseman Marc-Andre Gragnani, 24, scored his first Stanley Cup Playoff goal; defenseman Mike Weber, 23, fired the shot that led to Ennis' goal and was a plus-1 in 18:18 of ice time; and defenseman Tyler Myers, 21, played a game-high 27:48, quarterbacked the power play and set up Gragnani's goal. "I think if you want to go deep, you need that," forward Thomas Vanek said of the play of the team's youngsters. "They were good for us all year long, and at certain points of the game and series, we need everyone. We can't just play veterans and whatever and I think the real key play and winning goal was Weber, he had his head up and what a good shot; he didn't try to go top shelf and miss the net, he made a smart play and Ennis was just driving the net." The biggest play was made by Ennis, who went to the right post and was in perfect position to bang the rebound of Weber's shot from the left point past goaltender Michael Leighton 5:31 into overtime. "I saw it pop out," Ennis said. "I tried to get to the net. I knew (Weber) was shooting it. Just hoping he (Leighton) would kick it to me. You just got to go backdoor sometimes, got to get to the net a little more sometimes. When I saw him shooting, sometimes the paddle deflects to that spot and it did." Ennis also scored the game's first goal. The 5-foot-9, 157-pounder shrugged off a check by 6-foot-2, 203-pound Nikolay Zherdev along the left wall in the Flyers' end and fired a shot on net that snuck past goalie Brian Boucher just 2:24 into the game. Sabres coach Lindy Ruff has been looking for his best offensive players to start making contributions in the series, and that list included Ennis, who was fourth on the team in the regular season with 20 goals and 49 points, but until Game 5 had just 1 assist in the series. "It puts a smile on your face as a coach because I thought Ennis was tremendous tonight," Ruff said. "You are going to one of the toughest buildings and one of the loudest to play in. That kid played fearless and hard and started from the first shift. If anyone deserved the game-winning goal it would probably be him, but our young guys have to be given credit because they haven't been in this situation before."

Ennis said the youthful enthusiasm helped the team heading into overtime. "I think everyone was really excited," he said. "I know I was. I haven't been in too many NHL (playoff) overtime games. I was in one last year, I think double-overtime against Boston. I know I just wanted to score the winner. I wanted to be that guy to score it. "Maybe the veteran guys were a little more calm and the younger guys were maybe a little more excited, but it's just fun, for sure." As young as Ennis and his teammates may be, they're experienced enough to know there's still work to be done before they can make plans for the second round. "We can celebrate this for about 20 more minutes because we have to focus on the next one," Ennis said. "We got one more."

25. NHL.com Versteeg showing why Flyers wanted him Adam Kimelman PHILADELPHIA -- Kris Versteeg called his season "a whirlwind," but it could be picking up the right kind of speed at just the right time. Now playing for his third team in nine months, Versteeg on Friday had probably his best game with the Philadelphia Flyers since being acquired by the team in February. Showcasing the skill, speed and hustle that made him so desirable, he drew an assist and helped set up another goal during the Flyers' furious comeback from a 3-0 first-period deficit in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series against Buffalo, though the Sabres won the game 4-3 in overtime. Versteeg skated the puck around three Buffalo defenders to enter the Sabres' zone and then screened goalie Ryan Miller to help Andrej Meszaros' goal get through to make it 32 at 9:57 of the second. In the third, he raced behind the Buffalo net and tipped the puck away from the Sabres' Chris Butler. Mike Richards got the loose puck and found Danny Briere on the right post for the game-tying goal 3:36 into the third. Versteeg had just 11 points in 27 games with the Flyers following his acquisition from the Toronto Maple Leafs. He has 3 assists in five playoff games, but he believes he's playing better than the numbers might show. "Probably coming up (to my best with the Flyers) right now," he told NHL.com. "There were little spurts here and there where I felt pretty good. At the start it was pretty tough.

You're trying to come to a team and trying to make an impact. You're trying to get used to a lot of new things. Been a pretty big whirlwind for me this year. I'm trying to get down to level ground and help this team win. It's a great group of guys here and we've been having a lot of fun." Versteeg had help in that fun Friday by playing on a line with Mike Richards. "I think we've had a lot of chemistry since Day 1," Versteeg said. "I don't think the numbers at time show it, but the plays and the chances we've had as a line have been good. Sometimes we get rewarded, sometimes we don't. Maybe that comes with being a line for just the last 15, 20 games of the season. I think it's been coming along. (Richards) is a world-class player and he makes you a better player than you are." Versteeg also said it helps to have a coach like Peter Laviolette on the bench. Laviolette said following the 4-3 overtime loss in Game 5 that even when his team was down 3-0 in the first period he never felt his team was going to lose. "He's a confident coach and it definitely spreads throughout the lineup," Versteeg said. "Just puts confidence into everybody's blood. It's great to have a coach like that who can believe in you whether you're down three or up three. It's great to see that." After winning the Stanley Cup in June with the Blackhawks who beat the Flyers in six games -- Versteeg was traded over the summer to the Maple Leafs, who then shipped him to the Flyers. Versteeg said all that movement hasn't been easy, but he's hoping to keep this run going as long as he can. "We have two big games ahead of us," he said. "Guys throughout the lineup are going to have to step up." Laperriere knows he has a lot to be thankful forBy Adam Kimelman - NHL.com Staff Writer There's a bit of irony in that the one-year anniversary of the worst day of Ian Laperriere's professional life falls on Good Friday. One year ago today, Laperriere was doing the normal dirty work he excelled at during 17 NHL seasons when something horrifically abnormal happened. He dived to block a shot and the puck caught him in the face, causing a brain contusion, among other injuries, and speeding up the end of his hockey career. A year after the gruesome injury, Laperriere doesn't display an ounce of bitterness over what happened. "I don't want to go down that route to be negative," he told NHL.com a few days before the anniversary. "I'm more the kind of guy that's going to look at the positive. I have a lot to be thankful for."

Laperriere played 17 seasons, starting in 1993-94 with the St. Louis Blues, the team that drafted him in the seventh round of the 1992 Entry Draft. He also played with the New York Rangers, Los Angeles Kings and Colorado Avalanche before arriving in Philadelphia in the summer of 2009. In 1,083 games, Laperriere had 121 goals -- 21 of which came in one season, with the Avs in 2005-06 -- 215 assists and 1,956 penalty minutes. Laperriere reached doublefigures in goals only three times, but had 12 seasons with at least 100 penalty minutes. At 6-foot-1 and 200 pounds, Laperriere never would be considered an "enforcer," but he was more than willing to do whatever was necessary to defend a teammate or help the team. Part of that was a willingness to throw his body in front of pucks, and the Flyers took advantage of that by using him along with Blair Betts as their top penalty-killing forward combination. Laperriere led all Flyers forwards last season, and was sixth among all forwards, with 74 blocked shots. It was a combination of loyalty, courage and the willingness to do this thankless job that led to the worst injury of his career. The Flyers were up 3-0 in Game 5 of their first-round series against the New Jersey Devils, with a chance to eliminate their Atlantic Division rival. But with the Devils on a power play and lots of time left, the Flyers knew they couldn't let up for a second. So when New Jersey's Paul Martin got into shooting position at the point, Laperriere was going to do whatever it took to get in front of that shot. He laid out a few feet in front of Martin, purposely climbing into harm's way, but his angle was off just enough that instead of blocking the puck with his shin pads -- ideal -or upper body -- not as ideal, but still acceptable -- the puck slammed into the right side of Laperriere's face, just above his eye. The lasting memory is Laperriere jumping right back to his feet with a spray of blood trailing him as he tried to get off the ice. "I didn't get knocked out, and I do remember everything," Laperriere said. "I remember a big sting on my face and the fear of losing my eye. That was the first thing that came to my head. I couldn't see anything out of my right eye. I didn't panic, but I was close to it. Jimmy (McCrossin, trainer) came on the ice and that was the first question I asked him, is my eyeball still there. I don't care if I lose my sight but at least I'll have an eyeball in there. I know it sounds gross, but that's what I felt." In the next moment, though, Laperriere displayed the sense of humor that has made him so universally liked and respected by his peers.

"It was the second time I got hit in the face, and my second thought was, are you kidding me? Twice? It took me 16 years before I got one in the face, and in one year twice in the face. By a move I've been doing my whole career, blocking shots like that." Laperriere was referring to a game against Buffalo on Nov. 27, 2009, when he caught a Jason Pominville shot in the mouth, opening a gash that required about 100 stitches to close and costing him seven teeth -- but not only did he not miss any time, he returned to play that game. "It's one of the most courageous things I've ever seen in my life -- hockey or anything -because he's cut up, he's hurting, and he comes back with his lip hanging over his toes," James van Riemsdyk told the Philadelphia Inquirer days later. "I saw him go into corners and finishing checks right after he takes one." While Laperriere was able to laugh off the incident against the Sabres, the blow he suffered against New Jersey was not as funny. Laperriere's eyeball was intact, but he needed 70 stitches to close a gash on his face. He also suffered a non-displaced orbital bone fracture and -- most seriously -- a brain contusion. It was assumed that Laperriere's season -- and possibly his career -- would be over. Instead, one month to the day later, he was in the lineup for Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Montreal Canadiens. "It was one of the most inspirational things I've seen in all my years in the game," Flyers General Manager Paul Holmgren said of Laperriere's playoff return. "It's right up there, if not at the top of the list." But Laperriere's problems werent over. "We beat Boston, we go to Montreal, I'm starting to feel better," Laperriere said. "The first two weeks I had positional vertigo, and that's the scariest thing I've had in my life. I really felt like I was going to be like that for the rest of my life, until the doctors figured out what it was. "In the beginning we thought it was coming from my head, which it is, but it's behind my ears. It took two weeks before the doctors figured that out. And when they fixed me, after that I felt 200 times better. I didn't have the dizziness, I didn't have that vertigo feeling, which is the worst feeling in the world. All of a sudden you're feeling better. I still had headaches, but if you play in the NHL you play through headaches. I know concussions are a big thing right now, but headaches are part of it. I've played with headaches before. "I said 'I can do that, I feel pretty good.' Start skating by myself, no dizziness, not too bad headaches, and all of a sudden you're talking to yourself and the little person on your

shoulder is convincing the big person that you're OK. I won't play 20 minutes, but I might hit seven minutes; I know I can help, I want to be part of it. "The truth is, you get down that road and that's what I did." When asked if he was honest with the doctors that cleared him, Laperriere admits, "No way." "Did I lie? Yes," he continued. "I lied to myself first of all. I convinced myself first I was OK. I passed all the tests, every test they had me pass, I passed them. Yes, I did lie to them. I'm sorry if they take it personal, but I don't regret it." The only thing missing from Laperriere's career resume was any kind of long trip in the postseason. Prior to the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Laperriere had only been to the postseason seven times, for a total of 54 games. With more days behind him then ahead of him, Laperriere was able to justify throwing caution to the wind for one shot at Stanley Cup glory. "I played in this League for a long time, never been close to anything like the Cup or semifinals or anything like that," he said. "Do I regret it? Not a chance. I don't regret anything. When I'm 60 years old, am I going to suffer the consequences? Who knows? Same with the guy who took drugs when they were younger -- is he going to suffer when he's 60? He doesn't know, either. For me, it was my rush, my dream. I didn't want to miss the chance to be part of something special." Laperriere played Games 4 and 5 against Montreal and all six games in the Cup Final against the Chicago Blackhawks, averaging about 7 1/2 minutes per game. He had 13 hits and five blocked shots. He went into the summer expecting to return to full health to start the 2010-11 season, but instead he kept finding excuses as to why he didn't feel normal during his workouts. "I trained all summer and I didn't get any headaches, but I was still in denial," he said. "I'm dehydrated today, I did too much today, I'm 37 and I pushed myself too hard today, all those things. You convince yourself." The morning of a preseason game in Minnesota, however, Laperriere finally reached his breaking point. "I played one preseason game and I felt like things were going 100 miles an hour next to me," Laperriere said. "After that New Jersey game, we flew to Toronto, I didn't play that night, and the next morning we flew to Minnesota and that's when I couldn't bear the headaches any more. I called Jimmy, said I want to meet you at the rink. (Team president) Peter Luukko was there, (GM) Paul Holmgren was on the road. I was nervous, because I lied to them all along, and I was nervous for their reaction."

His concerns were put to rest immediately, as the only thing he heard was get rest and get better, that his health was first and foremost. "Lappy had laid a lot on the line for the organization," Holmgren said. "The way he came back in the playoffs we felt that if he was still suffering issues, let's get this fixed." Laperriere has used his down time as a season of exploration, getting a jump start on his post-playing career by working in a number of areas for the club, including television, community relations, scouting and player development. "I have so much free time that I've tried everything," he said. "I'm exploring everything. I'm lucky because I have a team that's helping me in that regard. They know what kind of person I am, it's hard for me to stay away from the rink, it's hard for me to stay home and watch the ceiling all day. They give me all the tools." He's also been a constant figure around the Flyers' practice facility, where he continues to work out like he's about to jump back into the lineup. In fact, for most of the season his teammates honored him by demanding his nameplate and dressing stall stay in place. "That they left me there as long as they did, it's awesome, makes me feel special, makes me feel appreciated by my teammates," he said. "That's the ultimate compliment to me. I took pride my whole career for playing for the guy next to me and I played it that way to the end. For those guys to appreciate me enough to keep my equipment around that long, it makes me feel very special and I appreciate that big time." "He was a big part of our team last year for sure, a heart-and-soul guy, and we miss him," goalie Brian Boucher told NHL.com. "To have him around, just being around the guys, joking with the guys, it's good to see. Good for our team, good for him -- it's a win-win." "He's an example for everybody," forward Ville Leino said. "He's an ultimate warrior. Guys love him. He's a great guy. People look up to him. He's working hard and he's always worked hard. He comes in every day and wants to get back. He eats, sleeps and breathes hockey. He's a motivator to every one of us." Laperriere doesn't think about things like that; he just does them because it's all he knows. "I do it because that's the way I do things," he said. "I know, too, the young guys are looking up. That's why the brought me here last year. When I took that puck in the face in November and I came back in the third (period), the doctors thought I was crazy, but I wasn't doing it for me, I was doing it for the young guys around me. If you're OK to play, you should play. That's why they brought me in. "If they can say look at me as an example today, that's the ultimate compliment." Teammates aren't the only ones who appreciate Laperriere. He's become one of the most popular players in recent memory, receiving tremendous ovations anytime he's shown on the video scoreboard.

"I don't score goals or do fancy stuff, I do the dirty work," he said. "Philly fans, Flyers fans, are great hockey fans. They know what it takes to block a shot. People here are blue-collar people who work hard for what they have and they appreciate guys who work hard on the ice." Today that work is limited to running drills for injured and extra players. He has nerve damage in his right eye and has to wear a tinted visor when he skates because indoor lighting exacerbates his symptoms. "I feel fine skating around with two or three guys out there -- I don't have any problems," he said. "I've done two charity games for friends, and when there's a lot of people around, people on the ice and off the ice, with the lights, I have that feeling again of not being as sharp as I could. That's my biggest issue. "I've had eye doctors tell me my eyes don't work together anymore because since I took that puck to the eye it damaged a nerve in my right eye. For regular-day stuff I'm fine. When I get movement around me and lights, that's what throws me off. When I say throw me off, the best way I can explain it is you're a little bit behind. You're there but you're a little behind. And in today's game, you can't be behind." Technically Laperriere is on the Flyers' long-term injured reserve list. While he says he's comfortable in knowing his playing career most likely is over, Laperriere finds no need to make any formal announcement because if he does get healthy, there's nothing preventing him from playing again. "Right now people are like, 'Why don't you announce it,'" he said. "Why now? It won't change anything for anybody. For me, I don't need to rush anything. I've got time, and I'm using my time to stay in shape, trying to think about hockey but in a different way, and looking at it in a different way. Not having to focus on that grind all year, maybe it's going to help my eye here or my head here." At some point, though, he will have to decide something. Laperriere plans on staying in southern New Jersey -- he and his wife are building a home near the Flyers' practice site -- and Holmgren said sometime after the season he'll sit with Laperriere and discuss his future with the organization. Whatever the decision Laperriere ultimately makes, he'll approach it with the same positive attitude he's approached everything else. "I played a long time and have a great family, two great kids, a great wife," Laperriere said. "I just can't be bitter about my place there are some with much less to be thankful for than I am." 26. ESPN.com Sabres write own script in Game 5 win

Scott Burnside PHILADELPHIA -- In this spring of the storybook comeback, the Buffalo Sabres managed to find a way to stick to their own script, not just for Friday's Game 5, but perhaps also their own Stanley Cup tale. Having watched Los Angeles, the New York Rangers and Montreal all give up big leads and lose this week, the Sabres appeared destined to follow that same Hollywood path after blowing a 3-0 first-period lead against the surging Philadelphia Flyers. But 21-year-old Tyler Ennis, who opened the scoring less than three minutes into the game, derailed the Flyers' comeback at 5:31 of the first overtime period by converting the rebound of a Mike Weber point shot to give the Sabres a 4-3 victory and a 3-2 lead in this Eastern Conference quarterfinal series.

"I think everyone was really excited. I know I was," Ennis said after his big moment. "I know I just really wanted to score the winner. I wanted to be that guy to score it. ... Maybe the veteran guys were a little more calm and the younger guys were maybe a little more excited, but just fun for sure." It has become almost commonplace for teams to surge from behind and seize victory from defeat. The arc of these games is as easy to follow as they are improbable to watch. Teams holding a lead but unable to stem the tide, unable to reverse what appears to be inevitable once the comeback snowball starts rolling down the hill. And how many among the sold-out Wells Fargo Center faithful did not believe this one, too, would go that way when Danny Briere, the former Sabre, tied the score at 3 just 3:36 into the third period? Flyers coach Peter Laviolette believed it would be so. "I have a lot of confidence, I mean a tremendous amount of confidence, in the group in that room," Laviolette said. "At no point did I think we were going to lose the game tonight, yet we did." And yet, in the Sabres' dressing room before overtime, netminder Ryan Miller said, there was no sense of the inevitable, or at least that inevitability. "I think we did a good job of settling down, and what we talked about was just how much fun is it going to be to win and who wants to go out and do it," said Miller, who stopped 36 of 39 shots. "It wasn't a long conversation. There is some nervous energy there. The main consensus in the room was, 'Let's just go out; let's try for it.'" This spring, the Sabres are wearing T-shirts with the slogan "Winning is not a goal, it's a belief" written on the back with a strip of 16s (the number of victories needed to win the Stanley Cup) running down the sleeves.

And maybe there is something to that. The Sabres lost Jason Pominville to what appears to be a serious leg injury from a skate cut in the first period. He was seen leaving the arena on crutches, wearing a walking cast. Defenseman Jordan Leopold missed time in the second period and then took a hooking penalty with less than three minutes to go in regulation. The Sabres were outshot 15-5 in the second period when the Flyers cut the Sabres' 3-0 lead to 3-2. Throw in the fact that Buffalo wasn't able to close out Boston in last season's playoffs even though it had an early series lead, and who could blame the youthful Sabres if they suffered from at least some niggling self-doubt, some sense that recent history would become their history, too. "I have watched a lot of games, and there have been a lot of leads that have been lost," Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff said. "You can go through a long list of games that even a twogoal lead is vanished. I think it is the desperation and the emotion that goes with it. All of a sudden, you are up by a couple and you have that tendency to play a little bit safer. I think if you are safe, then you are on the road to being dead in this league because the other team gets you on your heels. "I thought [the Flyers] did a good job of that when they sensed a little bit of oil leaking out of our car in the second period." But somehow the Sabres found a way to keep the Flyers' power play at bay -- they killed all five penalties Friday night and have limited the Flyers to two power-play goals on 26 opportunities in the series. Then, the Sabres took advantage of a good forecheck that led to the winner. "It was a good win for us, and we will enjoy it for the next five or 10 minutes and we know they are going to be desperate," Sabres forward Thomas Vanek said of the Flyers. "They are a good road team. They are going to throw everything at us, so our desperation has to match it and be even greater." Whether this game, those moments of weathering the storm, become part of a larger story will be known only when and if the Sabres close out the Flyers. But if they do, they will remember the night they didn't follow the Hollywood script in Game 5 of the first round. "It's something that's going to happen in playoffs. It's two months of hockey if you do it right," Miller said. "A lot of situations are going to come up. I'm proud of the way we handled it." 27. ESPN.com More drama for Flyers' goaltending carousel Scott Burnside

PHILADELPHIA -- If we had not borne witness to last spring's remarkable goalie carousel that carried the Philadelphia Flyers to the brink of a championship, the temptation would be to write off this team right here and now. Having gone through three goaltenders in five games, the Philadelphia Flyers once again face the never-ending question when it comes to the men who wear the masks in this town: What now? Veteran Brian Boucher, who came on in relief of shaky rookie Sergei Bobrovsky in Game 2 of Philly's first-round series versus Buffalo, was lit up Friday night for three goals on 11 shots before being pulled at 15:36 of the first period. None of the goals was particularly pretty, but the first two, by Tyler Ennis and Thomas Vanek, were ghastly. Boucher was playing pass, and Ennis simply shot the puck on net from a bad angle and it snuck through Boucher to give the Sabres a 1-0 lead just 2:24 into the game. Eightyseven seconds later, Vanek somehow managed to get the puck past Boucher from behind the goal line. "I take full responsibility for it," the classy Boucher said as he stood surrounded by reporters after the game, answering question after question about his meltdown. "I put my team behind the eight ball. It was on me. Those are goals that can't go in. Like I said, I take full responsibility." Michael Leighton replaced Brian Boucher at 15:36 of the first period in Friday's Game 5. That the Flyers stormed back to tie the game with backup Michael Leighton in net, only to lose 4-3 in overtime on Ennis' second goal of the game, might serve to cloud the team's goaltending issues. But where the Flyers' goaltending carousel stops now is the question that remains central to the team's short-term future, and beyond. Flyers coach Peter Laviolette described Boucher's outing Friday as an aberration. "It's just a tough start, some funny goals and the way they went in," the coach said. "But Brian Boucher has been a terrific player for us for the entire year. Even in this series, he came in and he settled things down and gave us an opportunity to win some games. It was just an odd start." The prevailing thought around the team is Laviolette will go back to Boucher for Sunday's Game 6 in Buffalo. Leighton, playing in just his second NHL game of the season after being placed on waivers and sent to the Flyers' minor league team in Adirondack this season, was fine in relief, giving up just one goal (Ennis' overtime winner) on 21 shots.

But there was a reason Leighton was in the minors, and it was because the Flyers believed Bobrovsky and Boucher gave them the best chance to win. Or at least they did until they struggled down the stretch, and they chanced losing Leighton to another team by bringing him back through waivers so he could rejoin the club on the eve of the playoffs. As for Game 6, Leighton said he would like to play. But he also said Boucher "has done a great job to get us in this situation and tonight was one of those nights where, for two of those goals, that guy could take a hundred shots in there and he might score one. So, it's a tough bounce. We have confidence in him that he's going to bounce back and play a good one in Buffalo." A year ago, Laviolette had no choice when it came to his goaltending in the playoffs. With Ray Emery out and Leighton injured, Boucher started and beat New Jersey in the first round. Then, when Boucher got hurt in the conference semifinals, Leighton came back and backstopped the Flyers during their seminal comeback against the Bruins. Leighton played the rest of the way, although Boucher did see action twice in the Stanley Cup finals against Chicago when Leighton played poorly. Now, of course, Laviolette has a choice. Does he go back to Boucher, who helped right the ship in Game 2 of this series when it appeared Bobrovsky's nerves got the better of him? Or does he give Leighton the chance to repeat his miracle return during the Boston series a year ago? "I'm going to sleep on that and then probably give you nothing," Laviolette quipped. "Business as usual." Business as usual, indeed. With Chris Pronger iffy to play in this series, as he has taken longer to return from a hand injury, and Jeff Carter not expected to be available for the foreseeable future with what is believed to be a knee injury, the Flyers are going to need much better from Boucher if they're going to stay alive. He is certainly hoping to get a chance to redeem himself. "I would very much like to redeem myself," Boucher said. "Like I said, it was my responsibility tonight. I take ownership in that. To put your team in a hole like that when it's an important game, they didn't deserve that. I would like to get a second crack at it. We will see what happens." If we hadn't seen with our own eyes how it all turned out last season, we'd say the Flyers are in big trouble. 28. TSN.ca McKenzie Flyers have shown they can still come back

Bob McKenzie Some thoughts from the NHL on TSN panel on Friday night: Philadelphia Flyers Of the teams facing elimination, I feel the Philadelphia Flyers have the best chance of coming back and winning the series. Are there questions about their goaltending? Absolutely. But is there any question that they have the character to come back? Last year they were down 3-0 to the Boston Bruins in the series and they were down 3-0 in Game 7 to the Bruins and managed to come back. They did the same thing in the game on Friday, fighting back from a three-goal deficit, but ultimately fell short. Buffalo is playing well, but I think that the Flyers have the best chance of any team facing elimination. I also won't be surprised if Chris Pronger is back in the lineup for Game 6. If he is, it makes a world of difference, even if he can't shoot the puck 100 percent. Michael Leighton Part of the reason Michael Leighton was recalled on re-entry waivers by the Flyers was in part because I don't think they had complete confidence in Sergei Bobrovsky becuase he struggled so badly down the stretch. Now he's right out of the equation. I think also there is not an overwhelming level of confidence in Brian Boucher and I think that Leighton has the chance to be the starter the next time out. Tyler Ennis The Buffalo Sabres need their rookies and unheralded guys to step up. Gragnani has been leading the team in scoring, and he's a defenceman and a rookie. Jason Pominville left the game in the first period, he took a skate blade to the leg. There's no prognosis on him yet, but it doesn't look good. Tim Connolly has gone 28 games without a goal. Derek Roy is injured and not in the lineup. The Sabres are looking for other sources to generate offence.

29. Associated Press Tyler Ennis scores in overtime, gives Sabres 4-3 victory over Flyers and 3-2 series lead Dan Gelston PHILADELPHIA The Flyers had the stirring comeback. The Sabres will take the win and the shot at winning the playoff series at home. Tyler Ennis scored off a rebound 5:31 into overtime Friday night to give Buffalo a 4-3 victory over Flyers and a 3-2 lead in the first-round series. Mike Webber set up the winner when he fired a slapper that knocked off Michael Leighton's pad. Ennis swooped in from the right side and scored his second goal of the game. The Sabres survived after blowing a 3-0 lead and can advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals with a victory in Game 6 on Sunday in Buffalo. "All I know, is I wanted to score the winner," Ennis said. "I just wanted to be the guy who ended it." Ennis opened the scoring in the first period, and Thomas Vanek and Marc-Andre Gragnani also scored in the period to chase Flyers starting goalie Brian Boucher. Leighton, who led the Flyers to the Stanley Cup finals a year ago, was flawless until overtime. James van Riemsdyk, Andrej Meszaros and Danny Briere scored for the Flyers. The Flyers, the No. 2 seed in the East, are missing Jeff Carter and Chris Pronger and are on their third goalie of the series. Their biggest problem could come Sunday where the Sabres are poised to send the defending Eastern Conference champions home for the offseason. Ryan Miller made 36 saves for Buffalo. Staked to the early lead, it seemed over for Flyers. Miller has two 1-0 victories in the series and appeared to again stump the Flyers. Not for long. After van Riemsdyk and Meszaros scored in the second, Briere stuck it to his former team when his backhander off a behind-the-net feed from Mike Richards made it 3-3. The rally ended there.

Ennis pounded the winner past Leighton, who made only his second appearance for the Flyers this season. "This is definitely a great place to play," Ennis said. "Any time you can silence the crowd like that, it's an awesome feeling." Stuck in a 3-0 hole, the Flyers felt at home. After all, last season they trailed Boston 3-0 in the Eastern Conference semifinals and won the series. The Flyers won Game 7 after trailing 3-0. "We can't hang our heads," Briere said. "We were in a worse position last year, so if there's a group of guys that can do it, I believe in this group here." Like last year's Game 7 in Boston, van Riemsdyk who struck first. With Miller a few feet in front of the crease, van Riemsdyk punched the puck in the empty net to end Miller's shutout streak. Meszaros then scorched a liner from the point to make it 3-2. Flyers fans busted out the derisive "Miller! Miller!" chants. The Flyers outshot the Sabres 15-5 in the second and appeared in control. Hard to believe considering the damage Buffalo inflicted in the first. For the second time in the series, the Sabres chased a Flyers goalie after taking a 3-0 lead. In Game 2, it was rookie Sergei Bobrovsky. On Friday, Boucher was yanked after allowing three goals on 11 shots. Leighton got the call, capping one of the improbable rides of any recent Flyer. He started for the Flyers in the Stanley Cup finals, signed a two-year deal in the summer, then hurt his back and spent all but one game in the minors. Leighton played his first game in Philadelphia since a Jan. 21 start for the Adirondack Phantoms, the Flyers' American Hockey League affiliate. Improbably, he'll likely start Game 6. Boucher allowed two of the softest goals of the season only 1:27 apart early in the first. Ennis and Vanek scored after Boucher let the pucks knock off his leg and into the net. Gragnani banked the puck off the post past a surprised Boucher on a power play for a 3-0 lead late in the first and the Sabres were clearly in control.

That "Booooosh!" cheer that sounded so sweet in Game 2 certainly had a different spin with the "sh" knocked off. That was all for Boucher. Boucher knew he blew his shot to stick as the No. 1 goalie. He whacked a row of sticks with his goalie stick, kicked the sticks and tossed his helmet inside the tunnel leading to the locker room. "I'd very much like to redeem myself," Boucher said. "Like I said, it was my responsibility tonight. I take ownership in that. To put your team in a hole like that, they didn't deserve that." Leighton stopped the final 18 shots in regulation and he might just yet bail out the Flyers again in the playoffs. As usual, coach Peter Laviolette refused to tip his hand. The Flyers played without winger Carter and defenceman Pronger. Carter was knocked out of Game 4 after he hurt his right knee in a collision, and Pronger, who appeared close to a return, is still out with a broken right hand. The Sabres lost forward Jason Pominville and defenceman Jordan Leopold in the first period. Pominville, who scored the only goal in Game 4, slammed down his stick and helmet and hopped on his right leg off the ice. He appeared to get sliced in the back of his leg after a collision in the corner of the Sabres' zone. "It doesn't look too good for him," coach Lindy Ruff said. "We'll know more about that tomorrow." Leopold, who did return, appeared to get cut across his chin and was splitting blood on the bench. In the post-season, a win always helps makes up for injuries. "This puts a smile on your face as a coach," Ruff said. NOTES: Leighton won his only start for the Flyers this season. ... A puck shattered a pane of glass during warmups. 30. Toronto Sun Sabres take control with OT win Mike Zeisberger

PHILADELPHIA, PA - It wouldnt have been quite as crushing to the citys psyche as Wide Right or The Music City Miracle. But had the Sabres lost Game 5 of this best-of-seven first-round series after building up a 3-0 lead on the Philadelphia Flyers on Friday night, it certainly would have ranked as one of the top-10 lowest moments in Buffalo sports history. Fortunately for the Sabres, Tyler Ennis would not let that happen. Ennis saved the day for Lindy Ruffs crew, draining a juicy rebound off the pads of Michael Leighton at 5:31 of overtime for his second goal of the game to give the Sabres a dramatic 4-3 victory over the Flyers at the Wells Fargo Center. The win gave the Sabres a 3-2 lead in the series. More importantly, they have a chance to finish off the Flyers with a victory in Game 6 on Sunday afternoon in Buffalo. Ennis hadnt even celebrated his second birthday yet when Bills kicker Scott Norwood missed his last second field goal attempt in Super Bowl XXV in 1991. And he was just 10 when the Tennessee Titans Kevin Dyson gutted the Bills on the last play of a playoff game by taking a lateral off a kickoff and returning it all the way for the game-winning touchdown. More importantly, like many of the young Sabres, he probably doesnt care about any of those things. Instead, he and his youthful teammate are trying to write their own history. They got off to a good start on Friday night. Asked what was going through his mind in the confines of the Sabres dressing room heading into overtime after his squad had coughed up a three-goal advantage, Ennis replied: I really wanted to score the winner. I really did. I was excited. Its fun to play here. Its pretty crazy. So anytime you can silence the crowd here, its pretty special. The past week has seen some incredible comebacks in these 2011 NHL playoffs. On Tuesday, the San Jose Sharks overcame a 4-0 deficit to defeat the Los Angeles Kings 6-5 in overtime. One night later, the Washington Capitals wiped out a 3-0 New York Rangers lead with three third-period goals before winning it in overtime. On Friday night, with the Philly fans going bonkers, the Flyers looked to do the same, getting goals from James Van Riemsdyk, Andrej Meszaros and Danny Briere in the final 40 minutes to erase an early three-goal Buffalo advantage. But Ennis was not about to let the good citizens of Buffalo suffer through yet another collapse.

I dont really know why all these leads are being lost in all these series, Ruff said. I just think teams are playing with desperation. If you try to play safe, the opposition can smell blood and starts coming at you hard. If there was one guy who deserved to score, it was Ennis. The way he and the young guys played was enough to put a smile on a coachs face. He was tremendous. The same could not be said for Flyers starting goalie Brian Boucher, who was awful. Both Ennis and Thomas Vanek banked bad-angle shots in off Boucher before the game was even four minutes old. And when Marc-Andre Gragnanis shot from the high slot somehow slipped through Boucher later in the first, he was yanked in favour of Leighton. Yes, thats the same Leighton who helped the Flyers march all the way to the Stanley Cup final a year ago. Like in so many years past, the Flyers goaltending situation is a mess. Sergei Bobrovsky got the hook in Game 2. The same happened to Boucher on Friday night. So, who starts in Game 6? Im going to sleep on it, coach Peter Laviolette said. Then, tomorrow, Im not going to tell you. For the Flyers, whose season will come to a disappointing end with one more loss, there is no tomorrow. Buffalo Sabres Articles 1. Buffalo News Ennis nets overtime winner for Sabres John Vogl PHILADELPHIA -- Tyler Ennis gets a lot of credit for having poise, for being one of those young guys who are mature beyond their years. He let loose Friday night and had a blast acting like a kid. Ennis dreamed big and jumped high, celebrating his overtime winner that pushed the Buffalo Sabres past Philadelphia, 4-3. The Game Five victory gave the Sabres a 3-2 series lead, and they can close out the Flyers during an Easter Sunday matinee in HSBC Arena. "We can celebrate this for about 20 more minutes, and then we've got to focus on the next one because we've got one more," said Ennis, who partied hard during the time allowed.

Ennis' exuberance started prior to overtime. He was already picturing the victory celebration. He'd seen enough OT playoff games growing up to know the goal-scorer gets all the attention. As he sat through intermission, he knew he wanted to be that guy. "I think everyone was really excited," Ennis said. "I know I was. I haven't been in too many NHL overtime games. I know I just really wanted to score the winner. I just wanted to be that guy to score it." With 5:31 gone in overtime, Ennis saw a rebound pop right to him. He saw the goal light ignite. He saw his teammates rushing to mob him. He jumped like a kid who just opened his favorite Christmas present. "I was pretty excited," the 21-year-old said. "In my junior days I was known to celebrate pretty hard after goals. I've kind of been a little tame, but when it's a big goal like this, you've got to elevate. You've got to get off that ice. "It's unreal. It's the best feeling. Sometimes when you score a goal you like to see how the bench reacts. It gives you a boost. When you can get everybody off the bench like that, it's a great feeling." Mike Weber and Steve Montador were already on the ice to celebrate. Just after Rob Niedermayer kept the puck in the Philly zone, Montador chipped the puck along the blue line to Mike Weber. Goaltender Michael Leighton got a pad on the point shot, but Ennis drove down the right side to bury the rebound. "I knew Webby was shooting, so I was just hoping he would kick it to me," Ennis said. "When I saw it there, I was pretty excited. It was an awesome feeling when it went in." Folks thought the series couldn't have been tighter through four games. Then came Game Five. The Sabres opened a 3-0 lead, but the Flyers stormed back to tie the game. The Sabres' early dominance disappeared when Jason Pominville did. The right winger suffered a lacerated left leg when stepped on with a skate late in the first period. He reportedly was seen after the game with crutches and a walking boot that went up above the knee. "We'll have more probably [Saturday], but it doesn't look too good," Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. The short-handed Sabres could only attempt to hold on against the shark-like Flyers, who sensed the blood and circled repeatedly in an attempt to get the edge in the series. "It was a little [closer] than it should have been, but all that matters is we got the win," Sabres defenseman Marc-Andre Gragnani said. Things couldn't have started better for the Sabres. They scored the first three goals in 15:36, sent goalie Brian Boucher to the bench and had the Philly fans stunned.

Boucher allowed goals to Ennis and Thomas Vanek that had no business going in during the opening 3:51. After Gragnani scored on a power-play blast to give Buffalo a 3-0 lead, Flyers coach Peter Laviolette summoned Boucher to the bench. Leighton became the third Philadelphia netminder in the series. Boucher replaced playoff starter Sergei Bobrovsky in Game Two. Leighton had it easy until overtime. "We knew we just had to get shots on this guy," Weber said. "We hadn't tested him very much in the second or third. We got a lucky one there with Enzo going to the net, and it feels pretty good." The Sabres' good fortune turned with 3:09 left in the first. Pominville was bumped in the corner, tried skating then abruptly tossed his gloves and stick in the air. He lifted his left leg, coasted to the bench and hopped to the dressing room, reportedly screaming in pain with a bloody leg. Buffalo, which lost defenseman Jordan Leopold with 6:14 left in the first with an upperbody ailment, opened the second with just 16 skaters. The Flyers opened with 12 of the first 13 shots to pull within a goal and get the 19,959 fans believing again. "They come hard," Ennis said. "If you kind of sit back and let them create off the rush, they're going to be dominant. We're both good teams, and sometimes momentum shifts like that. I expect momentum shifts every game, so we just have to limit how long they have the momentum for." The momentum for Philly continued into the third period. Danny Briere tied the game with 3:36 gone. Sabres goalie Ryan Miller wasn't beaten again, finishing with 36 saves and setting up Ennis for his dream sequence. "This is why we play the game," Gragnani said. "The NHL playoffs, overtime on the road. Maybe just being at home beats the feeling with your own fans celebrating, but we'll take it. We're looking forward to Sunday."

2. Buffalo News Sabres survive despite being short-handed Mike Harrington PHILADELPHIA -- The Buffalo Sabres were saved by the bell when the second period ended Friday night. They spent most of the middle frame on their heels and playing with two men missing from the bench, as they were dealing with the Philadelphia Flyers' onslaught as well as injuries to Jason Pominville and Jordan Leopold. "That was a tough second," winger Drew Stafford said after the 4-3 overtime victory. "[The Flyers] got a lot of momentum after the two penalties we took and we couldn't get

any of it back, especially when they started scoring. We got out of the second period, regrouped and stuck with it all the way through overtime." Pominville left for good with about three minutes left in the first period after taking what appeared to be a severe cut with a skate on the left leg. Leopold took a puck to the face and needed several stitches. He missed more than a full period of action, leaving the ice with 5:51 left in the first period and not returning until there was 6:44 left in the second. He played just four shifts and 2:21 of the second period. "I really felt that hurt us," said coach Lindy Ruff. "One guy [Leopold] is getting sewn up and obviously we lost Pommer, which is a big loss." "We just said, 'Keep playing,'" added winger Thomas Vanek. "We shuffled the lines and whoever played with whoever. We just said to skate, work hard and to just play." Stafford, like most in the locker room, said he didn't see what happened to Pominville until he hopped to the bench and burst down the tunnel to the dressing room. "No matter what happened to him, he's out and he's a huge part of our team, our offense, our defense and special teams," Stafford said. "So we just hope for the best." Pominville's loss was felt even more because the Sabres got nailed with three secondperiod penalties, including a delay of game call on Rob Niedermayer that gave the Flyers a two-man advantage for nine seconds. Philly finished 0 for 5 on the power play. "Anytime you lose guys, it's not a good situation -- especially when they're penalty killers and we're killing," Vanek said. "It puts us short-handed but we had other guys to step up." "That was such a battle, especially with them coming back," Stafford said. "We weathered their storm coming out at home at the start and got it going." With Leopold out, Chris Butler played 10:07 in the middle period and Tyler Myers played 9:34. Myers and Butler led the Sabres in ice time at 27:48 and 26:34, respectively. Marc-Andre Gragnani saw 22:33. Paul Gaustad (22:42) and Tim Connolly (22:34) led the forwards in ice time and the Sabres went with mostly three lines minus Pominville, dropping Mike Grier (9:15) and Cody McCormick (5:53) out of the rotation. The penalty time hurt Vanek, who played just 8:13 over the first 40 minutes before ending at 16:17. "We knew after the first they were going to push," Vanek said. "That's a good team. They have a lot of good goalscorers and playmakers. We stayed composed on the bench and didn't get down on ourselves. We kept working hard and in the third period we threw some good looks at them."

3. Buffalo News Silence is golden for Sabres on the road Bucky Gleason PHILADELPHIA -- Tyler Ennis emerged from a euphoric Sabres' dressing room 20 minutes after the game with a smile and his cell phone. Fifty-two friends and family members had sent him text messages and left voice mails after his overtime goal in Game Five, which leads to this question: Where was everybody else? Ennis was certain to wake up this morning with dozens more after scoring the biggest goal of his young career in the same building in which he scored his first. Wells Fargo Center has been pretty good to the kid, and he enjoyed nothing more than hearing the sounds of silence after he buried Mike Weber's rebound for a 4-3 win over the Flyers. Man, was it quiet. "It felt good to silence it a bit," Ennis said. "It's definitely a fun place to play. It's pretty crazy. Some crazy fans were getting into it. It's a fun building to play in, so anytime you can silence the crowd, it's pretty awesome." The Sabres' victory in Game Five was pretty awesome, indeed. Ennis opened the scoring with a fluke first goal and finished the scoring when he swooped down the right wing knowing Weber was hammering a slapper from the point. The puck bounced off Michael Leighton's pads and landed on his stick. Ballgame. Ennis unleashed his inner Danny Briere in celebration, throwing an uppercut into the air that might as well have been a shot under Philly's chin. Briere is the guy Ennis admired while growing up in Edmonton. It appears they have something more in common other than their small stature and shifty moves in the offensive zone. They also score big goals. The Sabres certainly didn't make it easy on themselves. It was an adventure after they coughed up a 3-0 lead over the final two periods of regulation, lost Jason Pominville in the first period and played with a shortened bench. Then again, it's never easy in the postseason, especially against this team in their building. This has been an entertaining and emotional playoff series, and it's been tighter than skinny jeans. Each team has scored a dozen goals in the five games. Overtime was predictable going into the series, less so after Buffalo built a 3-0 lead. Buffalo can now close out Philly with another win in Game Six in HSBC Arena.

"It was a good win for us," winger Thomas Vanek said. "We'll enjoy it for five or 10 minutes. We know they're going to be really desperate. They're a good road team, and they're going to throw everything at us." The series is far from over, but the Flyers are running out of answers. Coach Peter Laviolette trotted out AHL goon Zac Rinaldo after watching his team get pushed around. Rookie goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky was chased in Game Two. Brian Boucher was given the hook Friday after allowing three goals on 11 shots and basically handing Buffalo the victory. Leighton relieved Boucher and surrendered the big rebound for the winner. OK, now what? Boucher had been superb in a pair of victories and the Game Four loss. He led playoff goalies in goals-against average (1.45) and save percentage (.954) going into the fifth game, but he also remained a source of their potential demise. There was a sense he couldn't be trusted for an entire series. If anything, the Sabres should have been throwing more shots on net over the first three games with the idea somebody could pounce on a loose puck. The difference Friday was that Boucher didn't give up many bad rebounds. He was too busy coughing up terrible goals. Ennis wasn't looking to score while skating down the left wing and sending a wrist shot toward the net from below the circle. The puck bounced off Boucher's left knee and slipped past the goal line. Vanek kept that in mind when he found himself behind the goal line later in the period. Vanek flipped a wrist shot that found a hole. It was almost too easy. If the Sabres needed a reminder how quickly big leads can disappear in the Stanley Cup playoffs, they could have checked the highlights over the past few days. The New York Rangers had a 3-0 lead over the Capitals before losing in overtime. Los Angeles had a 40 lead before falling in OT. Philadelphia didn't reach the Stanley Cup final by accident last season. The Flyers came back from a 3-0 series deficit before beating Boston in the conference finals. And they had plenty of time remaining after Leighton replaced Boucher. Sure enough, the Flyers stormed back with two goals in the second period. And the Sabres, in total command early, were reeling. In a close series, the team with more talent usually finds a way to win. Philly was better than Buffalo is every category except goal, but they also had a big-game player, Briere, that the Sabres knew all too well. Briere has more postseason points than anyone since the lockout, and he tied the game in the third period.

It came down to one shot. Ennis answered the call and delivered a message along the way. "We knew somebody was going to be a hero," Weber said. "It was great to see [Ennis] get it." 4. Buffalo News Sabres vs. Flyers, Game Five / Breaking down the game John Vogl The big picture: The Sabres are one win away from heading to the NHL's second round for the first time since 2007. Tyler Ennis' overtime winner allowed the Sabres to leave Philadelphia celebrating a wild victory instead of lamenting a blown three-goal lead. HSBC Arena will be the place to be Easter Sunday. Turning point: The Sabres suffered a population drain late in the first period, with Jason Pominville suffering a game-ending leg laceration. The good vibe of their 3-0 lead went with him, and the Flyers took over, tied the game and sent it to overtime. Player of the game: Ennis knew his time was coming. He created chances the previous two games, and the rookie knew he'd start burying them. He buried two, and now the Sabres have a chance to bury the Flyers. It's one, two, three strikes you're out?: The Sabres have sent Philly scrambling to its third goaltender. Michael Leighton entered during the first period to replace an ineffective Brian Boucher, who replaced an ineffective Sergei Bobrovsky. No love for the zebras: The referees are obviously Public Enemy No. 2 in Philly behind the Sabres. The men in stripes were jeered loudly the instant they stepped onto the ice and were subject to a derogatory chant during the first period. Young love: The Sabres got three goals from rookies, with Ennis scoring twice and Marc-Andre Gragnani adding one. Counting the house: The 19,959 fans did it all. They booed. They cheered. They sat silent. They stood and roared. Ennis made them all shut up. He said it: "I just really wanted to score the winner. I just wanted to be that guy to score it." Ennis on his dressing room thoughts between the third period and overtime. Next: Game Six is 3 p.m. Sunday (NBC) in HSBC Arena. 5. Buffalo News 30 seconds of playoff joy

T.J. Pignataro Father and son from Austria, hoping to see national hero Thomas Vanek play, only saw last 30 seconds of Game Four Alois and Thomas Lindner missed all but 30 seconds of the Sabres' win over the Flyers on Wednesday night, but they still might be the happiest Sabres fans around. It's even more likely that no one traveled farther to the game than they did. The father-son tandem came to Buffalo from Austria this week to soak in the atmosphere in HSBC Arena and to catch a glimpse of their favorite hockey player and their national hero, Thomas Vanek. They started mapping their overseas trip April 8, the day the Sabres, clinched a playoff spot. When the league released its playoff schedule a few days later, the Lindners knew they had a date in Buffalo at 7:30 p.m. April 20 for Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series between the Sabres and Philadelphia Flyers. Easy enough. But American planes often do not run like the German trains they're used to. The Lindners' 4:30 p.m. flight Wednesday from Newark to Buffalo was delayed 70 minutes when their plane was stuck in Burlington, Vt., due to weather. Then, another 80. And, still another half-hour. By then, it was 7:40 p.m. So while Philadelphia's Blair Betts was battling Buffalo's Tim Connolly for the opening faceoff, the Lindners were on a runway in Newark. By the time their flight touched down in Buffalo, the third period was already under way. "We threw money -- 10s, 20s -- at the taxi driver saying 'Take us to the hockey game, we need to go now,'" said Thomas Lindner, who was seeing Vanek in-person for the first time. There were minutes to go when they arrived at HSBC Arena and Thomas Lindner snapped a photograph of the Jumbotron when they got to their seats. It read: 30.8 seconds, giving a whole new meaning to the idea of a last-minute trip. "We were running in here [when the taxi dropped us off]. We were like 'Where is [section] 103?'" Lindner said. "We only came for the hockey game and we missed the game."

But even 30 seconds of playoff hockey was enough of a thrill for the Lindners to readjust their schedule in an effort to attend Game Six on Sunday. "I was so overwhelmed by the atmosphere," said Thomas Lindner, already decked out in his new Thomas Vanek jersey that he bought after the game at the Sabres store. "We were looking out for Number 26." The Lindners built a two-week trip around Game 4 that also saw them tour the White House earlier Wednesday -- they were on time for that -- and has them visiting Toronto and New York City after a stint here. The Lindners were guests of Buffalo residents David Straitiff and Pam Timby, who met Thomas Lindner during a trip to Berlin, Germany last fall. They met at a Berlin Hyatt hotel where Lindner works and struck up a friendship after "Buffalo" came up in conversation. "I was actually hoping for -- and, it's so hard to say -- overtime as long as [the Sabres] were the last to score," admitted Straitiff, who kept in contact with the Lindners' progress -- or, lack thereof to Buffalo before and during Wednesday's game. After the game, the friends wandered the empty concourse of the arena in search of Thomas Vanek's wall mural for several photographs. Vanek, a first-round draft pick by the Sabres, is a reliable 30-goal scorer to local Sabres fans but beloved by Austrians. When the Sabres took Vanek fifth overall in 2003 out of the University of Minnesota, he became the highest-drafted Austrian in NHL history. "He's a hero in Austria," said Alois Lindner, an avid hockey fan who lives near Salzburg, where Vanek grew up. "Austrian ice hockey fans are so proud he has become such a good player." Vanek's exploits in Buffalo have gotten plenty of attention back home. While playing collegiate hockey for the University of Minnesota, Vanek earned MVP honors at the Frozen Four tournament held in the Queen City in 2003, leading the Golden Gophers to the national title. He netted his 200th goal earlier this month in a regular season game in Washington and scored two goals in Game 2 in the current series against the Flyers. One thing could top all of this, according to the Lindners: Thomas Vanek hoisting the Stanley Cup in Austria. 6. Olean Times Herald Ennis' two goals key Sabres' wild overtime win Bill Hoppe

PHILADELPHIA As Tyler Ennis watched Mike Webers point blast bounce off goalie Michael Leightons pad in overtime, the rookies eyes got big. Real big, the speedy Buffalo Sabres winger said. Ennis had scored earlier against the Flyers, his first of the wildly entertaining Eastern Conference quarterfinal. That was just 2:24 into the game Friday, though, about three hours and three games ago. In between, the Sabres built a 3-0 lead, collapsed and settled down again for the extra session. I just really wanted to score the winner, Ennis said. I just wanted to be the guy to score it. The likable 21-year-old got his wish, burying Leightons juicy rebound near the right circle at 5:21. I saw it pop out, Ennis said after the Sabres dramatic 4-3 overtime triumph. I just tried to get to the net. I knew Webby was shooting it. I was just hoping that he would kick it to me. When I saw it there, I was pretty excited. Its an awesome feeling. The Sabres lead the tight best-of-seven series 3-2. They can eliminate the Flyers on Sunday in Game 6 at HSBC Arena. A bit of an emotional roller coaster, huh, Tyler? Yeah, seriously, he said. The Sabres received some bad news, however, as they lost winger Jason Pominville, one of their top scorers and best all-around players, to a potentially devastating injury. About 17 minutes into the game, Pominville went innocently into the corner with a Flyer, skated out and then apparently felt his injury. Pominville immediately threw off his gloves, stick and quickly skated to bench putting without putting pressure on his left foot. Its possible he suffered a sliced tendon. Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said he would know more today. It doesnt look too good, Ruff said. Still, the mood was jovial in the dressing room and during press conferences. Another win and the Sabres will advance to the second round for the first time since 2007. The Sabres, a team filled with youngsters, had weathered a fierce storm inside the raucous Wells Fargo Center.

It puts a smile on your face as a coach because I thought Ennis was tremendous tonight, Ruff said. You are going to one of the toughest buildings and one of the loudest to play in. That kid (Ennis) played fearless and hard and started from the first shift. If anyone deserved the game-winning goal, he said, it would probably be him, but our young guys have to be given credit because they havent been in this situation before. The NHL, a league in which scoring is at a premium and leads are often safe, has a slew of huge comebacks in the opening round. Why? I dont know, Ruff said. Ive watched a lot of games. Theres been a lot of leads that have been lost. You can go through a long list of games where even a two-goal lead has vanished on a lot of teams. I think its the desperation. I think its the emotion that goes. All of a sudden, youre up by a couple and you have that tendency just to be a little bit safer, he said. If youre safe, youre on the road to being dead in this league because every team gets you on your heels. Two days after a dramatic home 1-0 home win, the Sabres put the Flyers on their heels early. Ennis opened the scoring, first beating Nikolay Zherdev down the left wing, and then goalie Brian Boucher almost level with the goal line. It turned out to be a harbinger. At 3:51, Boucher allowed another cheap goal, this time to Thomas Vanek, who knocked a shot in off the inside of his left pad from below the goal line. Marc-Andre Gragnanis four-on-three score from the right circle at 15:36, set up with some nifty passing, ended Bouchers night after only eight saves. Enter Leighton, the Flyers third goalie this series. Then in the second period, charged up by the capacity crowd of 19,959 fans, the Flyers abruptly turned the tables, dominating the Sabres. Goals from James van Riemsdyk and Andrej Meszaros 1:45 apart almost halfway through gave the Flyers life.

Daniel Briere, whose clutch postseason heroics are legendary, tied it 3:36 into the third period, nearly blowing the roof off the arena. The former Sabres star now 38 goals and 90 points in 90 postseason games. They could smell blood in the water, said Sabres goalie Ryan Miller, who made 36 stops. They went for it. I think we slowly turned things in the game. Once the Sabres settled down, they regained some momentum when they killed defenseman Jordan Leopolds late hooking penalty. Leopold left the game for about a period earlier to receive some stitches.

7. Olean Times Herald Sabres Boyes trying to recapture post trade form Bill Hoppe PHILADELPHIA The shine certainly wore off Brad Boyes quickly. The Buffalo Sabres $4 million deadline acquisition is struggling, goalless in his last 16 contests. The center hasnt scored in 35 days. Hes pointless this postseason. What happened to the guy who tallied five times in his first 10 contests? Boyes late-February arrival from St. Louis loudly signaled owner Terry Pegula meant business, the team would pay good money for proven veterans. The 29-year-old immediately rewarded the Sabres, recapturing an elite form reminiscent of his 43-goal campaign in 2007-08. Now hes mostly been skating between Mike Grier and Cody McCormick, two solid-yetunspectacular checkers, in the Sabres Eastern Conference quarterfinal series. Boyes moved the right wing beside Rob Niedermayer and Tyler Ennis on Friday after Jason Pominville left, however. Theres a lot of things that I think about and go through my head, trying to find answers, Boyes said Friday prior the Sabres dramatic 4-3 overtime win against Flyers in Game 5 at the Wells Fargo Center. I dont know if theres one specific one. Ive battled through before. I try not to worry about it. The move to the middle has clearly hurt him. While Boyes played center until his rookie season in 2005-06, he developed into a slick NHL scorer as a left winger. Hes excellent at pulling the trigger down low near the circle. Its been a while since Ive been in the middle, Boyes said. (Ive) adjusted to it a little bit. I feel fairly good down there. Definitely theres responsibilities, but that offense has to be there and you have to produce.

You go through ups and downs, he said. This isnt a good time to be in a funk. But weve got other guys that can score and are playing well. When they get into trouble, then its my cue to step up and score. Injuries forced Boyes to center shortly after he arrived. Sabres coach Lindy Ruff has said Boyes is a better winger and he wants him back there. Right now, though, he cant move him, at least permanently. There is no other option right now, Ruff said recently. With Jochen Hecht (upper body) and Derek Roy (torn quadriceps) out, the Sabres are woefully thin down the middle. Other than No. 1 pivot Tim Connolly, the Sabres other centers are McCormick, Paul Gaustad and Niedermayer. Only Gaustad cracked the 30point mark during the regular season. Ruff defended Boyes earlier this week, saying he would get it done. Hes clearly grown frustrated, though. I dont run around looking for excuses for lack of production, Ruff said Friday morning. I just think theres opportunities that have presented themselves that he hasnt taken advantage of, whether youre playing wing or center. Once youre in the offensive zone, youre not a winger and youre not a centerman, he said. Youre a player. Early in the Sabres 1-0 win Wednesday in Buffalo, Boyes put his own rebound off the post in close. Hes getting closer to scoring his first goal since March 19. The last couple games were a lot better, Ruff said. Hes in on opportunities. The opportunities he gets on special teams are ones he has to take advantage of. I thought the one play he hit the post, those are the type of goals he scores. Boyes will score again. But he has only 31 goals in 175 games since he scored 33 in 2008-09. The decline has been steep. One year is left on his deal. He can only hope he moves back to the wing soon. Theres a lot of things that I think about and go through my head, trying to find answers, Boyes said. I dont know if theres one specific one. Ive battled through before. I try not to worry about it. Sometimes thinking too much isnt the greatest thing. 8. Olean Times Herald Laviolette laughs off Ruffs comments Bill Hoppe

PHILADELPHIA The day after Buffalo Sabres coach Lindy Ruff told the Flyers to stop whining several times, his counterpart laughed off the comments. We thought it was funny, Flyers coach Peter Laviolette said Friday prior to the Sabres 4-3 overtime win in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinal. One of the coaches did a little spoof on it in the coachs office. He took out the word whining and put in winning. It was pretty funny. We dont get involved in too much of that talk. But it is funny. We had a good time with it. Mike Richards allegation the Sabres got away with murder in their 1-0 win Wednesday angered Ruff, who also called the captains words a bunch of crap on Thursday. Richards was penalized five minutes for elbowing Patrick Kaleta in the head. Ruff refused to back down, though, passionately saying Richards comments motivated the Sabres. That really fired us up, Ruff said inside the Wells Fargo Center. Thats what I think. The motivation we got is when you heard the phrase, Theyre getting away with murder. That was our motivation. xxx Injured Flyers stars Chris Pronger and Jeff Carter will miss the rest of the series, according to CSNPhilly.com. Pronger was reportedly set to return from his broken right hand in Game 5. The franchise defenseman skated again Friday morning, staying out on the ice late and even taking slap shots. The Flyers have said nothing about his status. CSN reported hes still experiencing pain. He hasnt played since March 8. Carter, meanwhile, has a severely sprained MCL ligament in his right knee and is wearing a brace, CSN reported. The scoring center collided with Sabres defenseman Tyler Myers on Wednesday. With Carter out, the Flyers gave tough guy Zac Rinaldo his first NHL game. The 20year-old center had 331 penalty minutes in 60 games with AHL Adirondack. xxx Sabres center Jochen Hecht, out since March 29, skated with his teammates prior to Game 5, his first practice in weeks. Jochen feels good, Ruff said. Hes skating now. Hopefully, in the next day or so he can get involved in full practices.

Defenseman Andrej Sekera (upper body) also skated. He last appeared Saturday. The Sabres also scratched goalie Patrick Lalime (healthy), winger Mark Mancari (healthy) and defensemen Shaone Morrisonn (undisclosed) and Dennis Persson (healthy). xxx Ruff was asked Friday morning if he had told center Tim Connolly, whose penchant for passing is legendary, to, Shoot. The. Puck. I think I used that exact phrase last night when I talked to him, Ruff said. Entering Friday, Connolly had zero goals and eight shots in the series.

Adirondack Phantoms Articles 1. Glens Falls Post-Star Leighton, Rinaldo play in Flyers loss Tim McManus Earlier in the day Friday it appeared that Ben Holmstrom was going to make his playoff debut for the Flyers in Game 5 against the Sabres. Instead, the Flyers threw us all a shocking curve as it was Zac Rinaldo instead who made his NHL debut in a 4-3 overtime loss to Buffalo. Rinaldo took about three shifts (1:56 of ice time) and looked good. He wore 51 and threw three hits, including two good ones on his first shift. He also rocked an amazing hat that looked like it came from a Dr. Dre video as he sat next to Flyers captain Mike Richards in the pregame dressing room. After Rinaldos season ended with two straight ejections in the first period, I was shocked to see him dress. But the big story was Michael Leighton. Playing his first NHL game since Jan. 3, he came in relief in the first period with the Flyers down 3-0. He stopped the first 20 shots he saw, extending his combined scoreless streak from the Phantoms to 3 hours, 4 minutes and 31 seconds. That included parts of 11 periods: the end of the third period against Albany on April 1, shutouts against Syracuse and Rochester, and parts of four periods Friday night. It didnt end well, though. The Flyers failed to clear the zone, Leighton left a big rebound on a shot, and Tyler Ennis cleaned it up. He didnt control the rebound well, but Id pin the loss on a lot of things before him: the 0-3 hole, the 0 for 4 power play, including one late in the third when it was tied, or the failure to clear the zone that led to the game winner.

NHL Articles 1. ESPN.com Coyotes sign Brett Hextall to contract Associated Press GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The Phoenix Coyotes signed North Dakota junior forward Brett Hextall to an entry-level contract Friday. Hextall, the 23-year-old son of former NHL goalie Ron Hextall, had 13 goals, 16 assists and 63 penalty minutes in 39 games this past season for the Fighting Sioux. In 115 games in three seasons at North Dakota, he had 39 goals, 42 assists and 242 penalty minutes. Phoenix drafted the 5-foot-11, 195-pound Hextall, from Manhattan Beach, Calif., in the sixth round in 2008. Hextall's grandfather, Bryan Hextall Jr.; great grandfather, Bryan Hextall Sr.; and great uncle, Dennis Hextall, also played in the NHL. Phoenix was swept by Detroit in the first round of the playoffs. 2. ESPN.com Isles to keep Evgeni Nabokov's rights ESPN.com news services The New York Islanders will toll Evgeni Nabokov's one-year, $570,000 contract, retaining the disgruntled goalie's rights for the 2011-12 season, GM Garth Snow told Newsday on Friday. "He was signed by Detroit, put on waivers," Snow told Newsday. "We claimed him and he didn't report. Therefore, we had to suspend him and it's within our right to toll the contract." Snow told Newsday that the team hadn't filed the request yet, but according to the paper, the Islanders have until July 1 to officially file with the league. Both Nabokov's agent and NHL deputy commissioner told Newsday they were aware of the Islanders' plans. Nabokov signed a one-year contract with the Detroit Red Wings in January after spending part of the season with SKA St. Petersburg of the Russian KHL.

However, the NHL's collective bargaining agreement states that anyone who plays in a professional league before signing an NHL contract must clear waivers. Once he signed his one-year deal with the Red Wings, he became available to the Islanders. When Nabokov refused to report to the Islanders, the team suspended him. With three goalies in tow for the '11-12 season, the move would allow the Islanders to finally trade Nabokov. After the suspension, the team was unable to move him until the season ended. "If we were to entertain something like that it would be after the playoffs," Snow told Newsday. "The phase we're in right now is that we just finished up our exit meetings and we have to go through scouts meeting and look at any avenue to make the team better." In order to keep the former San Jose Shark active, the Islanders gave Nabokov permission to play for Russia in this year's world championships. However, a source told Newsday that the team did so only with Nabokov's written assurance that he would not file a grievance with the NHLPA over the extension of the contract. 3. TSN.ca Coyotes clean out lockers unsure if they'll return to desert Associated Press GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The curtains at Jobing.com Arena are all pulled back, revealing 17,000 empty seats and concrete where the ice once was. Behind the benches, deep within the inner workings of the quiet arena, Phoenix's players clean out their lockers, go through season-ending physicals, meet with the coaches and front office staff. After a second straight season of adversity and a disappointing sweep out of the playoffs by Detroit, the Coyotes have nothing left to do but wait. And there's no games, no practices to take their mind off the ownership situation. Just facing the reality that the franchise could move from the desert in the next few weeks and there's nothing they can do about it. "It's a hard time of the year, regardless. It's no fun," Coyotes captain Shane Doan said Friday. "It changes everything, especially when you don't win. It's one of those things; it's a tough time of the year and with everything going on, it adds to it. You wish you were still playing." A lot is riding on what happens next.

Strapped by the financial constraints of being run by the NHL the past two seasons, the Coyotes need to get the ownership issue resolved before they can move ahead with anything financial. Phoenix had a couple of solid signings in the off-season by adding veteran Ray Whitney and Eric Belanger, but couldn't hold onto defenceman Zbynek Michalek or centre Matthew Lombardi. The financial situation also hampered the franchise at the trade deadline, leaving the Coyotes essentially as minor players. Phoenix needs to get the ownership issues resolved before getting too deep into the offseason. Goalie Ilya Bryzgalov, a cornerstone of the franchise, is an unrestricted free agent who'll likely have plenty of high-dollar offers that the Coyotes will need to match. The team also would like to lock up breakout star Keith Yandle, keep young left winger Lauri Korpikoski and a handful of other players, not to mention securing contracts with coaches and finish off an affiliate deal that's been put on hold for months. "It's something that needs to be resolved for us to go forward," Coyotes general manager Don Maloney said. "To have a strong, winning organization, you need to have strong leadership from the top. We're going to get it." The Coyotes are hoping to get a resolution in the next few weeks. Potential owner Michael Hulsizer has the framework of a deal in place to buy the franchise and keep it in the desert, but a lawsuit threatened by the conservative Goldwater Institute has put it on hold. Hulsizer joined a meeting between the City of Glendale and officials from Goldwater on Thursday in hopes of getting a deal worked out, though the sides don't seem any closer to a resolution. Until they do, the off-season to-do list gets put on hold. "There's a ton of issues that need to be worked out in time, but right now it's kind of a holding pattern," coach Dave Tippett said. Once the deal is done, whichever way it goes, one of the top priorities will be to sign Bryzgalov. He went through some streaky stretches during the regular season and wasn't at his best in the playoffs, allowing 18 goals in the four games against Detroit. Still, he was a Vezina Trophy finalist a season ago and is the key to Phoenix's defensive-minded approach; when he plays well, the Coyotes often play well. Bryzgalov has bristled at the idea of going to Winnipeg, one of the cities the Coyotes have been rumoured to be going to, saying if he's going someplace cold, he might rather head back to his native Russia. A goalie's preference for where he plays isn't likely to

affect the ownership situation, but it could have a huge impact on the future of the franchise, wherever it ends up. "We've been here for four years and I love this place," Bryzgalov said. "It's a great place to live, it's a great place to play, but there's nothing I can do. My hands are tied." Though the rest of the Coyotes weren't quite as adamant as their goalie about Winnipeg, pretty much all of them agree that they want to stay in Phoenix. There's also a nice foundation for the team. After missing the playoffs six previous years, the Coyotes put together their two best regular seasons, setting a franchise record with 50 wins and 107 points last year to go with 99 points this season, second-highest in team history. Bryzgalov, if he returns, is among the best goalies in the league when he's playing well, Doan can still be a physical presence at 34 -- just ask the Red Wings -- Yandle developed into an all-star and there's a host of solid young players behind them. The franchise appears to be headed in the right direction. It's just the players don't know where it's going to take them. "Nobody knows what's going on," Yandle said. "None of the players, even the management knows what's going on. It's a tough day. Even if you know you're coming back, it's still a tough day. Hopefully, things will work out and we'll be in this same locker room next year." 4. TSN.ca Coyotes netminder Bryzgalov says he won't go to Winnipeg TSN.ca Staff If the Phoenix Coyotes end up moving to Winnipeg, at least one member of the club has no interest in heading north. Free agent to be, Ilya Bryzgalov, who has spent the better part of four seasons with the Coyotes, doesn't seem keen on the potential move. "You don't want to go to Winnipeg, right?" Bryzgalov told Sun Media on Wednesday. "Not many people live there, not many Russian people there. Plus it's cold. There's no excitement except the hockey. No park, no entertaining for the families, for the kids. It's going to be tough life for your family."

Bryzgalov, who says he's only been to Winnipeg once or twice during his minor hockey days, figures that if he's going to play in a cold climate it might as well be closer to home, and he likely won't entertain a new contract offer from the club if it moves. "Probably not," the 30-year-old Russian said. "I better go to somewhere in Russia, KHL, to be honest, because KHL is Russian people, its family, friends." Bryzgalov, who wasn't on his game during the Coyotes' sweep at the hands of the Detroit Red Wings, wants the team to find a way to stay in Glendale. "I hope team's going to stay," Bryzgalov told the Sun. "It's such a nice area and such nice place to play hockey."

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