"I really don't know why our home record is not as good as we would expect," Danny Briere said after last night's mistake-riddled, 4-1 loss to the Islanders. "I remember when I was in Phoenix or in Buffalo, Philadelphia was always one of those tough buildings and one of those games when you dreaded coming because it was always so tough. I'm sure it's changed for opponents. They're feeling much more comfortable. I wish I had an explanation for that but I don't."
Here's one: Foes are fairly certain they will wake up the next day in about the same shape as they were the morning before. Only one other team in the Eastern Conference has scored more than the Flyers this season. The difference is that Boston has allowed 44 fewer goals. The difference is that Boston has a goalie it plays responsibly in front of and a humongous defenseman who, whether he is on the ice, about to come on it, or just left it, creates a tentativeness among opposing forwards that is not conducive to scoring goals.
Zdeno Chara was banged up two springs ago when the Flyers completed their incredible comeback against the Bruins. Chris Pronger was not. Last year, Chris Pronger was hurt and, well, Chara was not.
Last year, the Flyers scored 259 regular-season goals and allowed 223, and did not record a shutout all season. From their coach down to their role players, they scoffed at the importance of this, contending that the style by which they won games was irrelevant, as long as they won them. And then they were swept in the playoffs by a team that deemed such a statistic extremely important.
