If he is going to accept the Cup Friday night, Richards is going to have to produce more than hustle. He and his linemates are going to have to connect on some of the chances that have eluded them so far.
"I don't feel I need to press for goals," Richards said. "I think they're going to come naturally if I keep working hard and keep going to the net. You're bearing down as much as you can without squeezing the stick. Their goaltender has made some saves that's one bounce away from kind of breaking the floodgates open, hopefully. You just keep going at it."
Unless coach Peter Laviolette is being especially sneaky, it appears he will leave his lines pretty much alone for this latest elimination game. That is in contrast to Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville, who scattered his unproductive top line among three lines Sunday. The message here is simple enough.
"We're comfortable with our lineup," Laviolette said. "I can't really comment on theirs."
The Flyers are going to win this thing playing the way that got them here, or they are going to go down fighting. That is how it shapes up with the Stanley Cup in the arena Wednesday night.
The Flyers have played this opponent tough in a couple of losses and beaten the Hawks twice at home. They have averaged nearly four goals per game.
"We can score eight goals a game if we played our game for 60 minutes," Carter said, showing no sign of diminished confidence. "We have guys that can put the puck in the net. I think we came out last game and they came out fired up and we kind of sat back and they pretty much skated all over us. They outhit us, outworked us."
