Down 3-1, Flyers need to gut it out
VOORHEES, N.J. » Ignoring the obvious, the Flyers have chosen to believe they can turn it all around and knock the Pittsburgh Penguins out of the playoffs.
Perhaps bolstering their previously thin band of confidence was a verbal leap of faith by Sean Couturier, who Thursday said he’s at least holding out some hope that he can play Friday night in Pittsburgh, when the Flyers try to avoid elimination in Game 5 at PPG Paints Arena.
“It’s day to day,” Couturier dutifully reported about the “lower body” ... well, probable right knee problem ... that kept him out of Game 4. He said he was not ruling himself out for this fifth game of a series so far dominated by Sidney Crosby and his merry band of two-time defending champions.
They’re not only much better than the Flyers, they haven’t had near the amount of problems their cross-state peasants have run across. Couturier, for example, was injured when he collided with Radko Gudas in practice Tuesday.
“Feeling better every day,” Couturier said. “We’ll see tomorrow how I feel . ... Like I said, day to day. I’m not going to say how close I am or how far I am (from returning). It’s really on me, seeing how I feel every day and hopefully it keeps getting better.”
When the collision occurred, Couturier threw his stick in anger, leading to speculation he thought it was a significant injury. Given 48 hours to stew, feel and heal, he was obviously feeling better about his chances.
“It was just the way it happened,” he said. “It was more frustration than anything at that time.”
But he emphasized he wasn’t laying any blame with Gudas ... who did not get hurt.
“It’s not a separate drill. We’ve done this drill all year,” Couturier said. “It was bad timing and a fluke accident. I don’t know, there’s no one really to blame. It’s just a fluke accident. I should have maybe had my head up there.”
Eric Lindros did not call to offer his advice on that latter point.
Anyway, Couturier has plenty to be upbeat about ... he’s getting a free ticket to the NHL Awards Show in Las Vegas in June. That’s because he was announced Wednesday as one of three finalists for the Selke Award, which honors the league’s best defensive forward as voted in by the media.
Nice consolation prize after an early playoff exit?
“It’s a great honor,” Couturier said. “It means a lot just to be a finalist, especially with the two other nominees (perennial candidates/winners Anze Kopitar of the Kings and Patrice Bergeron of the Bruins). I kind of model my game (after) the way they play the game. I think they play it the way it should be played and I try to play the same game. Just to be nominated with Kopitar and Bergeron, it’s already a great honor, for sure.”
That said, Couturier had a little more to say about his injury, which is there whether he wants it to be or not. It already had the Flyers a bit handicapped going into Game 4, though the presence of Couturier probably wouldn’t have made much of a difference in the outcome.
The Penguins, who lead 3-1 and aren’t acting stuck up about it, are that much better.
“Yeah, it’s frustrating, I’m not going to lie,” Couturier said. “You want to be out there battling with your teammates, especially at this time of year. It’s an accident. It’s stuff that happens in hockey, I guess.”
***
Hey, Dave Hakstol has realized that Robert Hagg is still around.
The Flyers’ rookie defenseman who was in the top-6 almost all season until getting injured and promptly losing his spot in only two post-injury outings, appears to finally be getting a chance come Friday night.
Hagg was near the top of the NHL list for levying hits on the opposition for much of the season. Given his injury absence, he finished tied for seventh in the league, certainly impressive. But not good enough to play. Hagg had to bite his lip to not levy some verbal hits on the decision-makers who had him ride the bench down the last couple of weeks of the regular season and the first four games of this miserable series, even though he’d seem the right guy to try to put a body on Crosby and Evgeni Malkin to try to slow them down some.
“I was back in. I played two games after my injury, but I don’t have an answer to that,” Hagg said of his frequent healthy scratches. “I guess you have to ask (Hakstol) about that.
“What can I say? I’m looking forward to it tomorrow,” Hagg added. “Hopefully, I can bring something to the team; some energy. We need a win tomorrow and that’s it.”
Referencing Crosby, who has seemingly scored and set up goals at will in this series, Hagg said, “I think we can be more physical on him.”
That’s what he’ll be looking to do, despite the pressure of stepping in cold in a do-or-die playoff game.
“I think it’s perfect,” Hagg said. “I can’t wait to go in and show what I can bring to the team – and if it’s something good, I guess people will talk about it.
“I’m just going to go out there and do what I did my whole season and we’ll see how it goes.”
*** NOTES » Hakstol did not confirm that he’ll insert Hagg for fellow rookie Travis Sanheim, though that’s probably what’s going to happen. About Hagg, Hakstol said, “there’s a chance he’ll be in.” ... It again appeared that Brian Elliott would be the starter in net in Game 5 . ... Couturier on Gudas offering an apology after the accidental collision that knocked Couturier out of the series: “Yeah, he felt bad. Like I said, it wasn’t his fault. It was a total accident. He never saw me. I never really saw him. I saw him last second. It’s just a bad accident and there’s no one really to blame in there.”