But the goalie steadied himself the rest of the way and was superb in the dreaded and, for the Flyers, usually fatal shootout.
"He battled through it and was able to put it behind him," Reese said of Bryzgalov's early troubles.
In the shootout, Bryzgalov stopped Ollie Jokinen, Alex Tanguay, Jarome Iginla, and Curtis Glencross. The Flyers own a 2-5 record in shootouts this season and a 21-39 mark in franchise history.
"He was very patient in the shootout," Reese said. "You look at Iginla, he came in really slow and tried to make 17 moves - and [Bryzgalov] just waited, waited, waited. And that's what you have to do as a goaltender - be very patient and wait for the shooter to make his move. I'm happy for him, but, again, give our whole team credit for being very resilient."
After the game, for reasons known only to himself, Bryzgalov - who entered the night with just three saves on 10 shootouts shots this season - refused to talk to the media for the second straight game. (The NHL could hand out a fine.)
Maybe the 31-year-old goalie feels he has been mistreated. Or maybe he thinks staying silent will improve his focus.
As for the comeback, it culminated with Matt Read's winning tally in the shootout. Scott Hartnell keyed the pre-shootout rally with his 29th and 30th goals, tying his career-high in a season. The Flyers also got a brilliant all-around effort from Claude Giroux (two assists), who kept the shootout alive by scoring on his team's third attempt.
Newly acquired defensemen Pavel Kubina (five blocked shots) and Nick Grossman (two assists) also played major roles. Grossman had the first two-point game of his career.
