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Bill McCreary and Don Koharski aren't exactly the easiest referees for the Flyers to play under.
Everyone knows the Flyers use their size and crash the net.
So you can imagine the righteous indignation some of coach Ken Hitchcock's players felt after being warned by McCreary and Koharski to stay away from "Crazy Eddie" Belfour in the Flyers' 3-1 victory Thursday in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
The irony is, the Flyers weren't doing enough to distract Belfour, because they
weren't that close to begin with.
"Yeah, they [referees] came to the bench regularly telling us to stay out
of the crease," captain Keith Primeau said. "We were nowhere near
it. You are allowed to play near the blue [goalie crease] without touching the
goaltender, and that is where we played."
Both officials warned the Flyers more than once, Primeau said. Chances are that
Belfour is already jawing at the refs.
"Yeah, they put some guys in the crease," Belfour said after the game.
Hitchcock was asked whether the Mighty Quinn might also be trying to influence
the officiating in the series.
"I know the Quinn-McCreary matchup," Hitchcock replied, referring
to Leafs coach Pat Quinn and the referee. "I saw it firsthand at the Olympics.
There's no Christmas cards getting [sent], either."
The sense Primeau got was that the officials don't want to start whistling players
for goaltender interference and affecting play down low. Primeau was nailed
twice for goaltender interference in the Devils series.
Belfour is well-known for losing his cool when forwards have the audacity to
invade his space. Early in the game, John LeClair was warned after making contact
with Belfour. Yet it was clear that LeClair was outside the crease and the contact
was initiated by Belfour, not him.
In the final 3 minutes, 29 seconds of the game, Belfour went to play a puck
in the left corner. Branko Radivojevic also went after it and tried to jab at
the puck with his stick. Belfour took exception to Radivojevic's stick between
his pads and slashed him, earning a penalty.
"You could see nothing major happened," Radivojevic said. "I
was going for the puck. He was there. It was his fault. I'm clean. I did nothing
wrong."
Jeremy Roenick has seen Belfour long enough to know that if you get in his mask,
he becomes Vesuvius and erupts.
"It's exactly what we wanted; it's exactly what our game plan was,"
Roenick told Toronto reporters. "You just had the feeling he was going
to react. He's an emotional guy, a very competitive guy, and he wasn't going
to go away quietly."
It takes a lot to get LeClair riled. So when the one Flyer who likes to plant
himself down low was warned about the blue, LeClair shrugged it off.
"I am not changing anything," he said. "I know I wasn't in the
blue anyway. If I am not in the blue and they hit me, it's not my problem. They
mentioned it a couple of times, being in the crease. They know we're going to
the net... . I don't even think about it. I believe I am not breaking rules,
and I will continue to do it."
The Flyers took 26 shots on Belfour. When Hitchcock coached the goalie in Dallas,
he said the key to Belfour's success was allowing him to see shots and making
certain his defensemen didn't block them. Now that Hitchcock is on the other
side, you know what he's preaching: Create traffic to obscure Belfour's vision.
Knowing Belfour can get riled, and given that the officials are already on the
Flyers for sins not yet committed, can we expect there might be some contact
in Game 2 tomorrow?
"Why would I take a whack at him?" Radivojevic replied. "I will
play the same way. He should be in the crease and not in the corner. If we get
traffic, I guess I will be ticking him off a little bit."
Ever the politician, Hitchcock insisted that nothing the Flyers do is going
to throw Belfour off his game.
"You are just hoping if you think traffic bothers this guy. It doesn't,"
Hitchcock said. "The game was 3-1 and two or three minutes left and he
whacks Cowboy [Radivojevic]. Not a big deal. He did it to send a message."
The Flyers got the message. Expect their reply tomorrow night - in the blue.
Loose pucks.Defenseman Kim Johnsson (fractured bone/right hand) skated but did
not shoot any pucks. He is questionable for tomorrow. "I'm trying to get
ready as fast as I can," Johnsson said. "It's just about holding the
stick. It's getting better."... Toronto will return to the area today...
. Several players said the ice was awful because of the heat and humidity at
the Wachovia Center. "The water just stayed on the ice" in the final
period and never froze, Simon Gagne said. "It was tough for both teams,"
Hitchcock added.