The Flyers, while streaky and sometimes more Mr. Hyde than Dr. Jekyll, have proved they can play in the postseason.
Still, Montreal is fast up front, solid on defense, has good goaltending, and is a far more physical and difficult team than the Capitals.
The Flyers will compete and could surprise, but the favored Canadiens will win.
Montreal in 6.
Rich Hofmann
Four games, no wins. That is the regular-season record of the Flyers vs. Canadiens. To ignore it is to ignore a significant reality - that is, that the Canadiens' speed is real, and a real handful.
Four games, no wins. That is the regular-season record of the Flyers vs. Canadiens. To ignore it is to ignore a significant reality - that is, that the Canadiens' speed is real, and a real handful.
Here is the caveat: In three of the four games, Antero Nittymaki was in goal for the Flyers. He will not be this time. Martin Biron, fresh from victory in his first playoff series - especially that nerve-wracking Game 7 in which he was relentlessly pressured by the Capitals - has arrived in some style. The Flyers might just have found a goaltender after all.
I think the Flyers, even though tired, will play with a lot of emotion and fire in Game 1. Game 2 will be much harder. The key to the series might just be Game 3 back at the Wachovia Center. But this might all just be wishful thinking. The Flyers' defense is strained, clearly, and Kimmo Timonen and Braydon Coburn cannot play 35 minutes a game. This will be their downfall.
Montreal in 6.
Sam Donnellon
