There will be plenty of room for negativity and criticism in the coming hours and days after the Philadelphia Flyers fell in five games to the underdog New Jersey Devils, but a calm, rational eye will see that what this team did this year should be labelled as a success.
After the Flyers were humiliated in a four-game sweep to the Boston Bruins in the 2011 playoffs, it was obvious big changes had to be made.
The Flyers goaltending was so awful that coach Peter Laviolette kept spinning netminders Brian Boucher, Sergei Bobrovsky and Michael Leighton in and out of goal so much that they should've been on a Lazy Susan.
The locker room was splintered.
The Captain and the coach did not get along. The captain's best friend and him ignored the coach's request to partake in a promise to the team to stay sober for thirty days.
The older veterans on the team and the younger players who seemed to prioritize enjoying the nightlife and the young ladies of the Jersey Shore were at odds.
The culture of the team needed to change, and the Flyers needed to get an actual, real life No. 1 goalie.
On June 23, Paul Holmgr ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Joe Boylan
Philadelphia Flyers 2011-12: All in All a Good Season
May 8th, 2012 by Joe Boylan Leave a reply »
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