He was 1:49 away from advancing to his first Stanley Cup final before the Lightning imploded and lost Game 6. But captain Dave Andreychuk, in his 22nd season and with the most regular-season games among active players (1,579) without reaching the final, said his motivations are no different than his teammates'.
"Obviously, I want to win and get to the finals," he said Friday. "But as a team, we all feel the same way. Nothing changes with my attitude compared with anybody else."
Andreychuk, 40, will play in his 10th Game 7 tonight, which will tie him for third among active players behind New Jersey's Scott Stevens (13) and St. Louis' Al MacInnis (11).
Andreychuk, who is 3-6, said one of his most memorable Game 7s was in 1983, when he was scratched as a Sabres rookie and watched his teammates lose to the Bruins in overtime of a division final.
"Just the excitement to be around it as a young guy," he said.
Andreychuk was one victory away with the Maple Leafs in 1993. Leading three games to two in the conference final, the Leafs lost to the Kings 5-4 in overtime in Game 6 (sound familiar?) then lost 5-4 in Game 7 at Toronto.
"Sure I'd like to see Andy get a chance at it," coach John Tortorella said. "But that's certainly not Dave's focus. This is a team thing, and Dave is a big part of it. But right now, we're just looking at the final game of a great series, and we are going to try to score one more than them so we can move on. Everything falls into place from there."
Gone but not totally forgotten
Give Tortorella credit for being honest. You figure he would say he started thinking about Game 7 the moment the Flyers won Game 6. He said he didn't let go that quickly.
"You have to try to do it immediately," Tortorella said. "Did I do that? No. I'll be honest with you. We know that's a tough loss."
By the time the Lightning reached its charter to come home, though, it was trying to move on to Game 7. But memories lingered.
"Waking up this morning, it (stunk)," center Brad Richards said. "If anything, you got to be mad at how we lost that game."
Immediately after Thursday's game and after practice Friday, the Lightning addressed Game 6 head-on.
"You got to get over that disappointment and get to the anticipation because the consolation is you have a Game 7," Tortorella said. "Not too many times you can play a Game 7." By the time it hits the ice tonight, the Lightning figures to have packed Game 6 away and the knowledge it was 109 seconds from winning the series.
"The "if,' the "could-have, should-have, would-have' shouldn't be in our vocabulary," defenseman Darryl Sydor said. "The road to the Stanley Cup is not always smooth."
What now?
Lightning analyst Bobby "Chief" Taylor said he was happy to hear Richards, and several other Lightning players, were angry after Thursday's loss. It's the best way to overcome such an emotional loss, Taylor said.
Taylor was on the 1975 Cup champion Flyers who had a roller-coaster ride to the final. In the conference final, the Flyers took a three games to none lead on the Islanders. But the Islanders, who overcame a 3-0 deficit against the Penguins in the previous round, won three in a row to force a Game 7.
The Flyers, though, prevailed 4-1. "We were so (peeved) and angry at ourselves," Taylor said. "We knew we were the better team. (The Islanders) were on an emotional high, and we had to match that emotion. That's what the Lightning has to do. They have to say, "This is our game. We're the better team.' That's the attitude you need to have."
Home sweet home
You hear it all the time in sports. Teams play all season to get home-ice advantage, particularly home ice for a Game 7.
"This is the only time it's really worth having home ice," Richards said. "This is where I would want to be in a Game 7 instead of going into Philly. I'm not saying it's impossible to lose. Lots of road teams have won Game 7s. But the odds are on your side when you're at home and you're in your comfort zone."
A total of 114 series have gone to a Game 7, and the home team has won 71 (62 percent). This season, though, two of the three Game 7s were won by the road team (Montreal over Boston, Calgary over Vancouver). Toronto won at home against Ottawa.
Referees disappear
If you like the letter of the law followed, Game 6 was not a good one for referees Kerry Fraser and Stephen Walkom. On the other hand, if you want the players to fight it out among themselves, it was a little slice of heaven.
Only six minor penalties were called, none after the second period. That doesn't mean there weren't infractions. Numerous muggings, slashings and obstructions went uncalled. It got so serious in the overtime, Vinny Lecavalier and Flyers defenseman Vladimir Malakhov were slashing and spearing each other right in front of Walkom with impunity.
"The referees let us play the game," Flyers coach Ken Hitchcock said. "To me, the way the game was called was playoff hockey. Fans were upset by some calls, and players were upset. And that's good stuff. Just let us play. Let us decide it. I thought those two gentlemen did a hell of a job."
Tortorella agreed playoff games should be decided by the players, not officials, but delicately suggested he would like to see some of the rough stuff called. Of course, Tampa Bay is a remarkable 8-of-24 on the power play against the Flyers.
"I do believe the players decide games," Tortorella said. "But I ... you know, the game needs to be called in certain situations. I will put it that way."
Hitchcock apologizes
Hitchcock apologized Thursday to Italian-Americans for any offense they might have taken regarding his comments about Tortorella. Monday, Hitchcock said Tortorella had three strikes against him because he was from Boston, a Red Sox fan and Italian.
The Italian-American community in Philadelphia criticized Hitchcock with letters, e-mails and telephone calls to the Philadelphia Inquirer. Imagine if they knew Tortorella is a Yankees fan.
Hitchcock told the Inquirer he was sorry and the comments "were made in jest."
Lightning radio analyst and former general manager Phil Esposito said, "Look, I don't know Hitch that well, and I didn't like the remark. But I now understand he made it in jest. If you're Italian, you can say that. Hitch isn't Italian."
