Flyers Not Dampened by Game 1 Loss

Last Sunday, some of the players of the Philadelphia Flyers can be seen laughing and groaning playfully as they did their practice warm-ups in a corner of the United Center, kicking a soccer ball in a circle.  This was the scenario a day after the Flyers lost the first game in the Stanley Cup finals, and there had been no evidence of pressure or uptight atmosphere permeating the scene. During Game 1 in Chicago, the Flyers were unable to hold fast to three leads and proceeded to give up six goals without even having at least one power play. However, their resilience is still pretty evident after this loss to the Blackhawks, refusing to bow down to adversity early in their quest for the Cup. Defenseman Chris Pronger added that the quest for the top spot is a best-of-seven-series and this is precisely why the team did not allow the loss to dampen their spirits. According to Pronger, the end of the world is not imminent and today the sun came out shining. The need for optimism The Flyers had been in dire need of optimism in order to break away from their second-round series opposing Boston, after having dropped the three initial games and dropping behind by three goals in the crucial game. They had to deal with more than a few injuries during the regular season as well as during the first series. The Flyers even had to deal with an elimination game in order to secure a slot in the playoffs, battling the New York Rangers down just so they can steal a spot on the final day for the regular season. However, the Flyers think their Saturday defeat could have been prevented, if they saw their mistakes early on, such as failing to cover up the slot for Michael Leighton, the goalie. They were not worried about their incapacity to win when the Blackhawks were not performing at their best. Pronger said that no one is in panic as of present time and that no one is thinking of doing any rash actions here. He says that it is more important to get into focus and play and stay relaxed as much as possible. Not swayed Although some nerves had been palpable right after the significantly long layoff between games, the Flyers do not think of themselves as the underdogs. Center Danny Briere speaks up and was quote saying: “Any loss during the playoffs is always something huge and I’m not going to sugar coat on that. However, with the way everyone had been talking about how excellent the Blackhawks have been, I don’t think we were really given any chance at all.” It has been said by the NHL that the winner of the very first game has drank from the silver cup in 54 out of the 70 finals, ever since the best-of-seven set-up was initiated in 1939. Even with that bit of statistics, however, the Flyers are not about to be swayed, whatsoever. According to Briere, nothing is over yet as long as the finals are not over.