Flyers 4, Sabres 2 (Flyers lead series, 2-1)
What went right …
1 Goalie roulette. Peter Laviolette entered the postseason with the utmost confidence in rookie Sergei Bobrovsky as his starting netminder. But, after giving up three goals on seven shots in Game 2, the Flyers coach had no problem turning to Brian Boucher last night in Game 3. Boucher responded by turning away 35-of-37 shots, improving his career playoff record versus Buffalo to 6-1. More shocking was seeing Bobrovsky in the press box, with Michael Leighton serving as Boucher’s backup.
2 Danny clutch. It might not be an exaggeration to call Danny Briere the most clutch player in the entire playoffs. He did it again last night, finding the back of the net midway through the second period to give the Flyers a 2-1 lead. He was just a few inches away from tickling the twine again later in the period. Briere now has 37 goals in 89 playoff games.
3 Welcome back, Carter. Jeff Carter is an elite scorer in the regular season, but just can’t turn it on under pressure. Coming into Game 3, Carter had zero points and eight missed shots. But maybe his luck is changing. Carter’s first-period goal gave the Flyers a 1-0 lead.
