Much has been made of the fact the Lightning swept the Flyers in the four-game season series. The Lightning and Flyers insist that means nothing, but it's only the sixth time in the 36-year history of the Flyers they have been swept in a season series of at least four games. Both coaches dismiss the season series because the teams have not played since Feb.17. But for what it's worth, the Lightning won in Tampa 5-2 and 6-1 and in Philadelphia 2-1 and 5-4 in overtime.
THE GOALIES
If one had to pick a Conn Smythe (playoff MVP) winner through the first two rounds, it would have to be the Lightning's Nikolai Khabibulin. Critics, doubters and pessimists insisted Khabibulin would be the Lightning's downfall in the postseason. Instead, he's the chief reason the Lightning has advanced further than ever. He is 8-1 with a league-best 0.99 goals-against average and a ridiculous .964 save percentage.
None of the nine goals he has allowed has been soft, and he has stolen several games when the opponent played as well, if not better, than the Lightning. Meantime, the Flyers' Robert Esche wasn't even supposed to be the No. 1 goalie in Philadelphia this season. But when Jeff Hackett came down with vertigo during the season, Esche was thrown into the spot, and he has taken advantage of it. He went 21-11-7 during the regular season and has been nearly as good as Khabibulin in the postseason. And, one could argue, he has faced tougher competition than Khabibulin.
Esche is 8-3 in the playoffs with a 2.02 GAA and a .931 save percentage. If either team has to turn to the backup, the Flyers might have the edge. Sean Burke has appeared in 35 postseason games. The Lightning's John Grahame has played in one.
BEST MATCHUP
What works best? A skilled team loaded with speed and a dash of grit? Or a physical team that hits the snot out of everything with a dose of skill? We'll find out here. To use a boxing analogy, this series is like Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier. The Lightning is quick, fast, skilled.
The Flyers are big, strong, physical. The matchup to watch is the Flyers' big, physical forwards against the Lightning's mobile but small defense. The Lightning's defense has a couple of players with wide shoulders, including Pavel Kubina and Cory Sarich. But generally, the defense is more mobile and small than big and physical. It won't help that the Lightning's biggest defenseman, Jassen Cullimore, might not play because of an injured wrist. The Lightning's defense will be put to the test against players such as John LeClair, Jeremy Roenick and Keith Primeau.
The Flyers' forwards are skilled but are best known for their grinding style. The Flyers will start hitting from the opening shift, and while the Lightning's defense likely will hold up well early in the series, it could wear down as the series progresses. That, anyway, is the Flyers' game plan.
If the Flyers try to match lines, look for Primeau against Vinny Lecavalier. It might be the best one-on-one matchup of the series.
BEST LINE
Lightning coach John Tortorella has shuffled lines so many times in the postseason it's tough to even name the Lightning's lines at this point. Determining the best is almost impossible, but if you name a line centered by Lecavalier, you're off to a good start. The Lightning's best line in the postseason has been Lecavalier with Martin St. Louis and Ruslan Fedotenko.
Then again, the line of Brad Richards with Fredrik Modin and Cory Stillman has been effective, too. With the Flyers playing a physical game, it's likely bigger forwards such as Lecavalier and Modin will be more effective than a smaller forward such as St. Louis. Then again, St. Louis isn't even supposed to be playing in the NHL because of his size, and the guy likely is the league MVP. The Flyers can juggle lines as well. When together, you might not find a more potent line than Mark Recchi, Roenick and LeClair. Roenick, though, moved from center to right wing in the last series.
If the Lightning can stop that line, if it indeed plays together, it also might have to contend with a line just as good: Alex Zhamnov with Simon Gagne and Tony Amonte.
THE COACHES
On the outside, the two coaches are very different. Tortorella is intense, private and barely shares a smile with the media. Meantime, Philadelphia's Ken Hitchcock is open and prone to telling insightful and humorous stories that the media love. But on the inside - meaning inside the locker room - they are very similar.
They are well-prepared, determined and demanding. While the Lightning players have slowly warmed up to Tortorella, he still can grate on the players. It's no secret Hitchcock often is not popular with his players because of his demanding ways.
But regardless of how their players like them, and how the media like them, this is the bottom line: Only four coaches are preparing game plans today, and Hitchcock and Tortorella are two of them.
