I said in my last post that Brian Boucher would have to play like Ron Hextall did in his rookie year to get this Flyers team anywhere. He did what he needed to and the Flyers are going to the playoffs on a 2-1 victory in the shootout.
Henrik Lundqvist, who played just as well if not better for the Rangers, looked exhausted and overwhelmed in the shootout.
The Flyers were all but packing their golf bags until early in the third period when Matt Carle scored the biggest goal of his young career on a rebound in the slot. That tied the game and forced overtime and a shootout. Danny Briere may have earned all of his $6.5 million annual salary by making Lundqvist look foolish on the first shootout attempt. Mike Richards then missed for the Flyers and it was tied at one going into the final round.
Claude Giroux came down on Lundqvist like a wrecking ball and beat him five-hole like it was nobody's business.
Olli Jokinen, the final hope for the Rangers, came flying down the ice all the way from his defensive zone, only to be denied by Boucher.
With a win today as well, the New Jersey Devils clinched the second overall seed in the conference and are the opponent all Flyers fans have been hoping for. The Flyers are 5-1 against New Jersey this year and the return of Jeff Carter has clearly sparked the offense. The playoff schedule has not been released yet, but the playoffs overall start on Wednesday. Prediction: Flyers in 6.
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