"We came so close [Thursday] and they tied it up. I think it's just desperation and being pissed off. We're pissed off because I think it was a high stick.
"And you're pissed off because we lost the game in overtime. And you're pissed off because you lost a playoff game. And you're pissed off because you deserve a better result," Timonen said yesterday at the Bell Centre after the team's daily go-over with the coaching staff.
Every hockey club has a personality that defines it. In the Flyers' case, it's about falling behind in games, in a series, in the standings, and then getting angry and doing something about it.
Coach John Stevens' club seems to thrive on adversity.
"I know it seems like that at times, even in the first round, we needed those obstacles and adversity for us to play better," center Danny Briere said. "Sometimes it's a good thing, sometimes it's not, but we will definitely need it now. Hopefully, it is something that will make us dig deeper to get it done again."
The Flyers coughed up a two-goal lead in Game 1 against the Washington Capitals and came back to get a split on the road. They see no reason recent history won't repeat itself. They know they can skate with Montreal. They had the tired legs - three games in four nights, in two countries and three cities - and still skated.
After dropping the playoff opener in the first round, they got a shutout from goalie Marty Biron in the next game. Can Biron repeat?
"I'm confident we can bounce back," Biron said. "We were 30 seconds from a Game 1 win in a hostile environment against a really good team. I think we're confident we can play better. We're also not stupid. We know they're going to come out even better. . . . We haven't done things the easy way the whole year."
Maybe instant adversity is what the Flyers need.
