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Flyers will change point of attack

One game into the East final and the Flyers may be retreating from what coach Ken Hitchcock called one of the "areas of risk." Hitchcock said the Lightning does such a good job defending the slot, he cannot see creating scoring opportunities from there.

"You are not getting any shots from the slot," Hitchcock said. "Get used to it. They protect the middle of the ice very well. You are not getting anything. You have to find other ways to score. It ain't coming from the middle."

Flyers wing Mark Recchi said the Lightning defense is "compact. Five men back in their zone. That's a team element."

The most important element has been goalie Nikolai Khabibulin who has allowed 10 goals in 10 games, has a 1.00 goals-against average and a .963 save percentage.

"I think we have to deal with reality," Hitchcock said. "This is a team that's tenacious defensively. Look, they have a goals-against average of under one. They have a goaltender with a save percentage of almost .970. You have to deal with that, and you're still going to have to find ways to win."

"We have to find ways to get around him, fluster him and not allow him to feel comfortable," center Jeremy Roenick said. "I don't think we did an effective job on him. He doesn't like to get bumped around. If he is free of contact, the more confident he will be and the better he will see the puck."

Much was made of the rust from the Lightning's eight-day layoff. But it did not seem to affect Khabibulin, who needed to be sharp in Game 1 during a nine-save first period.

"I think Reeser has done a good job with him through the layoff," Lightning coach John Tortorella said of goaltenders coach Jeff Reese. "And Nik is a focused athlete. ... I think you need to give him credit as far as the way he's been focused and brought his game to a whole different level."

Khabibulin said he has benefited from his teammates "doing a very good job blocking shots and clearing out the rebounds. They are all blocking a lot of shots."

And took enough shots at Khabibulin during practice to keep him sharp: "He probably saw more shots during practice and got ready and became sharper on his ankles," wing Cory Stillman said. "He came out with a lot of confidence and was ready to make the first save."

Hitchcock has heard enough about how young the Lightning is. Before the series, comparisons were made between the Flyers age and experience and Tampa Bay's youth and inexperience.

"They are not a young team," Hitchcock said. "They talk young. They are not young. They are (an average of) 28 (years), 9 (months) and we are 29.8. So don't give me that (junk). They are not a young team. They have got guys like (Dave) Andreychuk who is as old as dirt."

With coaching jobs open around the league, it is not surprising to hear the name of Lightning associate coach Craig Ramsay mentioned. But GM Jay Feaster said he has not been contacted by any team seeking permission to speak to Ramsay, and said Ramsay's two-year contract extension was done to ensure he stayed with Tampa Bay.

Asked if he would grant permission for teams to contact Ramsay, Feaster said, "I would sit down with Rammer. But Rammer and I already had the conversation in terms of doing the deal. That was the whole purpose in doing the deal. The whole purpose in terms of structure, its length, the compensation was to keep Rammer here."

Brad Richards has scored three consecutive winners for the Lightning and leads the playoffs with four winners. But the center said he is not doing anything special make the puck come to him at crucial times.

"That's just the way it goes when things are going good," said Richards who has five goals and five assists and leads Tampa Bay with an average 22:56 of ice time. "Something I've wanted to do is score more. All you can do is play hard and hope you're around the puck defensively and offensively, and that creates more opportunities and they go in the net."

The Flyers were supposed to have a full-squad practice Sunday in Brandon, but Hitchock talked to several players and decided to have an optional practice instead. Only eight Flyers skated.

After a rugged and emotional six-game series against the Maple Leafs, traveling to Tampa Bay and then playing well before fading in Game 1, the Flyers thought it would be better to rest.

On Jan. 3, the Lightning was in a 2-8-2 tailspin. It was 15-14-6-1 and 10th in the East. That night, it beat the Flyers 6-1 at the St. Pete Times Forum to start its turnaround. Starting with that game, the Lightning won five of six. Starting with that game, the Lightning went 31-8-2-5 the rest of the regular season.

"They were on the edge of the abyss when they beat us," Hitchcock said. "They made a commitment and they have played the same way (since). They have had the best record in the National Hockey League since that period of time because they play this way every night. You're just going to have to get used to it."