| | The road to Philadelphia is a bumpy one for Flyers' fans these days and it is not over yet, says ESPN hockey analyst Bill Clement.
A day doesn't go by that another controversy doesn't raise its ugly head in Philly, but those least effected, says Clement, are the players who are playing great hockey. Clement also talked about the other series and warned fans not to read too much into the Game 1 results.
If you missed Clement's April 28 chat, an edited transcript follows:
|  | | Clement says we haven't heard the last from Eric Lindros. |
Jim: I'm a Wings fan and they looked awfully rusty. What must they do to win Game 2? Or did you think the Avs are simply better?
Bill Clement: That's a great question. Game 2 will tell us a whole bunch about this series. The Avs definitely
dominated, and the Wings were rusty. I also mentioned on the air that I thought the Wings may
have been mentally ready to play St. Louis and not Colorado. The guys I think that have to step it
up the most are the big-name guys -- Sergei Fedorov, Brenden Shanahan, Steve Yzerman, Chris Chelios, etc. I thought
Martin Lapointe, Darren McCarty, Kris Draper and Chris Osgood were really good. But the skill guys just weren't there. I
expect a much better effort (Saturday) afternoon.
Tony: Do you think the little "soap opera" in Philly affected their play at all against the Pens?
Bill Clement:
No, I think the Penguins affected their play. I warned everybody in Philly not to discount the
Pens. We know all about their offensive ability, but everybody wanted to underestimate them
defensively. I watched a lot of that game, and the Penguins smothered the Flyers in all areas of
the ice. Can the Flyers play better? Yes. And they had better in Game 2. But now everybody
knows just how strong the Penguins are defensively. Bob Boughner and Darius Kasparaitis did a great job on
the John LeClair-Keith Primeau line. That will be a key matchup in this series.
Chris: Don't you think with Owen Nolan's first-round performance, that he should be a leading candidate
for the Hart?
Bill Clement:
Unfortunately, the Hart voting is already done. It has to be done before the playoffs begin,
otherwise it wouldn't be fair to teams that don't make it or to teams that are eliminated in four
straight. Right now Nolan is a strong candidate for the Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP. Let's see
if the Sharks can last long enough to keep his momentum going.
Ian: I am a huge Stars fan and I was wondering what you thought about the series with the Sharks?
They must have a lot of confidence after upsetting the Blues.
Bill Clement:
Yes, they do, and that's why the Stars better not take them lightly. I don't think they will because
of the bad blood between these two teams. Nevertheless, the Stars are a heavy favorite in this
series just as the Blues were. But we know what happened to the Blues.
TufferNJ: The Devils didn't seem too eager to win (Thursday) night, but I still like their chances of getting past the
Leafs. What do you think? Can they come out and play well enough to win or did they already
accomplish all they could by finally winning a series?
Bill Clement:
I think they can still win. Naturally, they are at a disadvantage being down one game to none. I
said all along that the Devils need some offense from Bobby Holik. He's got this bad playoff
karma that just reduces him to being a role player. He's capable of more. The Devils could have
won Game 1 if a couple of the posts they'd hit had been hit at different angles. How many posts
did they hit, five? So this series is far from over. But the Leafs are driving.
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The former NHL All-Star, who played for 11 years in the NHL with Philadelphia, Washington
and Calgary, is the game analyst for ESPN's extensive schedule of National Hockey Night
telecasts. In 1992-93, he served as ESPN's NHL studio analyst.
Clement first served as ESPN's NHL game analyst from 1986 to 1988. From 1988 to 1992, he
was the analyst for Philadelphia Flyers games on PRISM (a regional cable service in
Philadelphia) and a playoff analyst during the Stanley Cup Finals for SportsChannel America. He
received the 1992 CableACE Award for his work in the playoffs. He also worked Flyers local
over-the-air telecasts (WGBS-TV from 1988-91 and WPHL-TV 1991-92). He was an ice-level
reporter for NBC's coverage of the NHL All-Star Game in 1992 and '93. Clement served as an
analyst for TNT at the 1992 Winter Olympics and as the studio analyst for the 1991 Canada Cup
on CTV (Canada).
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DevilsFanInColorado: If the Penguins get past your old team the Flyers, what changes will be made in Philly? Eric Lindros
would obviously go, right?
Bill Clement:
I think Lindros is gone one way or another. And past that, I'm not sure what would happen.
Things are kind of unpredictable around there these days. But the one group all the nonsense
hasn't seemed to affect are the players in the room and coach Craig Ramsay. They were a
terrific team against Buffalo, but the Sabres didn't have the offensive weapons that the Penguins
have. I still say this will be a long series.
Puckhead: Do you expect the winner of the Detroit-Colorado series to be so physically exhausted as to pave
the way for the Stars to cruise into the Finals? Obviously, West is best so that would give the
Stars their repeat, correct?
Bill Clement:
What makes you think the Stars won't be equally as exhausted? And, of course you are sure the
Stars will beat San Jose, right? If anything, the Stars have shown a fragileness that led to the
second-most injuries in the league this season. I'd be more concerned about the Stars' health than
the Avs or the Wings.
KR: What's your take on the handling of the Roger Neilson situation in Philly?
Bill Clement:
Well, the doctors told Roger he couldn't be the head coach. It's too stressful. So that took care of
that. But I'm kind of surprised that Roger had his lawyer with him when he met with Bob Clarke,
and I'm also surprised that Roger said publicly that he was disappointed about not being allowed to
get behind the Flyers' bench. I thought he would take the high road and say, "Listen, if it ain't
broke, I don't want to try to fix it. The team is playing great, Craig is doing a great job, and I'll help
from the sidelines until he says he needs me." But I guess Roger's situation is just another twist in
an incredibly windy road in Philly right now.
M2: Was it just me, or did the Avs physically man handle the Wings? I've never seen Fedorov get
pushed around like that. What's your take?
Bill Clement:
Great observation. I also noticed Fedorov being pushed off the puck regularly, which never
happened in the LA series. That usually tells me a player isn't mentally ready to play. You can
expect a whole different look from the Wings Saturday.
Meyer: Who would you rather have on your team: Lidstrom-Bourque or Yzerman-Sakic?
Bill Clement:
It all depends on who the other 18 guys were. But in either case, I'd be really lucky to have that
choice.
Sundstrom: Can the Devils play the same way they did (Thursday) night for the rest of the series and still win? Is
Scott Gomez exhausted from the regular season that he's getting no ice time in the playoffs?
Bill Clement:
I don't think Gomez is exhausted and I think they need to play him more. And I didn't really see all
of the Devils game because we were getting ready to go to air. But I know that the Devils have
to dictate the tempo and the style of the game. They have to force the Leafs to grind out their
wins. If they do that, they take away Toronto's tempo, which they thrive on. So style to me is
everything in this series. Run and gun means Toronto wins.
Jeranthrall: Do you think Ron Tugnutt has been the best goalie of the playoffs thus far? He's been the Smythe
Trophy favorite so far in my estimation
Bill Clement:
I don't think you could go wrong picking Tugnutt right now. The other guy who would have to be
considered would be Patrick Roy. He has the same record as Tugnutt. They both have pitched a
shutout. And their teams appear to be rolling. But let's visit this issue again next week. Games are
coming fast and furious right now, and the last time I checked, we don't hand out the trophies until
the playoffs are over.
Artemis: Do you think that the Avs' lack of an enforcer, such as Tie Domi, will effect their
matchups with bruisers like Martin Lapointe and Bryan Marchment? I also just wanted to say that you and your
broadcasting partner Gary Thorne are phenomenal. The insight, excitement and enthusiasm that the
two of you bring to the television experience is amazing. The two of you are the Shakespeares of
play-by-play.
Bill Clement:
To be, or not to be. I love you, man. Would you like a job being my publicist? Gary's too?
On the enforcer issue, it's more a matter of mental toughness in the playoff than having an
enforcer. If you get into penalty trouble, your team will sink. Both Detroit and Colorado have
talked about discipline and staying out of the penalty box, so the idea is to wear people down with
big hits, with relentless defensive pursuit and with a great forecheck. That's where McCarty and
Lapointe come in handy for Detroit, but enforcers never fight in the playoffs anyway. So that's
why they are not as important. You can win without one in today's NHL. P.S. Keep the cards
and letters coming.
GOTIME: I don't want to beat a dead horse, but don't you think Neilson's comments are 10 times more
direct and worse than what Lindros said? Why isn't there the same backlash?
Bill Clement:
The only way there could be a backlash is if Bob Clarke or owner Ed Snyder fight back verbally
through the media. And neither wants to do that because they are afraid it will disrupt the team.
Trust me when I tell you, there is plenty more to come when the playoffs are over. But for now,
damage control is always the most important issue. Let the players focus -- that's the bottom line.
No distractions.
GoWings: In your estimation, how has the two-referee system worked so far? Is there areas for
improvement?
Bill Clement:
Sure, there are areas that need improving. I think they need better direction from the NHL, and I
think we need to upgrade the caliber of referees in the NHL. But so far in the playoffs, I think
they have done a terrific job, and now that we are in the second round, we've cut down to just the
better refs. And next round, the cream will rise even closer to the top. So to answer your
question, yes, we are having growing pains, but I still think it's the best system.
Derek: As a Bruin fan, I hated to see Ray Borque leave, but can you blame him? I'm picking Colorado to
win the Cup. With Bourque's added edge and Roy's toughness in net, I think they are the team to
beat. Let's have it. Who's your pick?
Bill Clement:
They very well could win it all, but I called this series (Wings-Avs) a pick 'em in seven. It still
may be that. And let's not discount the champs. Dallas is as healthy as they have been all season
and will be very tough to beat. I'm not afraid to make picks, but in my mind this is really close.
Can the Avs win the Stanley Cup? Absolutely. But so could Detroit and Dallas.
Rubberhead: Darryl Sutter used a veteran lineup against the Blues, with success. The Sharks have been
praised for some of the best young forwards in the league, but two of them (Marleau, Korolyk) were
scratches, and Niklas Sundstrom was mostly invisible in the first round. Are these guys overrated?
Bill Clement:
No, I don't think they are overrated, it's just that Darryl is the kind of coach (like Roger Neilson)
who prefers veteran players when the game is on the line. In the playoffs that might work, but in
the big picture the Sharks need to ask themselves if these players are going to develop under
Darryl because in the long run you will need them someday. But for now everything is fine in San
Jose.
I wish we had more time. Unfortunately, the Wings are practicing and I have to head over to the Pepsi Center to get help from the Red Wings in making
sense out of Game 1.
I'll see you next Friday.
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