The fans who went grumbling into the chilly South Philly afternoon could be forgiven for wondering what Biron had in mind when he strayed far from the net to stop a late Penguins rush but fumbled his attempt to poke away the puck. The result was essentially an empty-net goal for Sidney Crosby and zero points for the Flyers when they were less than three minutes from being assured of at least one.
"It was just one of those things. Marty has stolen a bunch of games for us in the past," captain Mike Richards said. "You move on and don't dwell on it too much."
Whether the front office will also accept the mistake with a shrug is another matter. If nothing else, Saturday's game ended the hope that Biron would grab the goalie's job and hold it tight through the rest of the regular season. It would be nice if someone did, and Antero Niittymaki will undoubtedly get another chance at Washington tomorrow night.
Team officials privately, and coach John Stevens publicly, say the trade deadline probably won't provide a big headline. There are salary-cap constraints and a limited number of available players who could make a big difference and, anyway, they like the team they have now.
"If the deadline comes and goes and the team that's here is the team that's here, I think we're pretty confident this group can compete with anybody," Stevens said. "I don't think we're looking for anybody to come in here and save the day. If we were to make any changes at all, I think it will be to complement what's already here and not to resurrect anything."
