The Flyers just never seem to know when they've had enough.
Brian Boucher was not lying yesterday when he explained the Flyers' situation in the Eastern Conference semifinals after their 7-3 Game 1 shellacking on Saturday afternoon in front of the home fans. The clichés, thrown around yesterday were plentiful.
"It's only one game," Boucher said. "We are down 0-1. Whether we lose a game, 1-0, in triple overtime, or 7-3, we are still down, 1-0. It wouldn't change how things are going."
True. But here's another sad sports cliché that the Flyers are now suddenly staring in the face as they prepare for tonight's Game 2: a must-win situation.
On the outset, it seems outlandish - especially considering all that this team has accomplished when given no other option but to win. The Flyers were one bounce of the puck away from being swept by the Bruins in overtime last May; they went to the Stanley Cup finals.
Just last round, the Bruins lost the first two games of their series against Montreal at home before rebounding to win in overtime in Game 7.
To say that the Flyers would be cooked if they dropped Game 2 tonight is not an accurate statement. But to say that the Flyers can routinely pull off these magic tricks because they are "just built for it" is just as foolish. They don't have nine lives.
The well of desperation that they have been going to repeatedly since April 11, 2010 - when they skated into the playoffs via shootout victory over the Rangers on the final day of the regular season - does not have an infinite depth. There are only so many times you can test nature. There is a reason why the statistics so heavily favor teams with two- and three-game leads in playoff series.
The Flyers are just 3-13 all-time when trailing 2-0 in any series.
