Wait for playoff second round: Philadelphia Flyers rule out being affected by inactivity: NHL News
The Philadelphia Flyers have played down the suggestions that the team’s present period of rest and leisure might affect the players’ performance level.
Flyers have ousted their opponents, the Pittsburgh Penguins, from the Eastern Conference playoff quarterfinals series in six games, and are waiting to know who they will face in the next round.
Some of the teams are up against each other for Game 7/final game of the playoff series.
Flyers are expected to meet the New York Rangers, Boston Bruins or New Jersey Devils.
Until their opponents are not decided, Flyers are out on rest and practice as preparations for the next phase and some of NHL circles fear they might lose touch and excitement of the game during this phase of lull and inactivity.
They have not played a game since last Sunday and do not have a game until next weekend. The team officials are said to be trying to spend the time the best they can.
Having a break of a day on Monday following ousting of Penguins, the team returned to practice for last two days, and passed rest of the time while watching playoff games on television.
The games have proved to be a source of inspiration for some players. They have played down the fears of becoming dull in their performance during the resting period.
Flyers’ forward, Claude Giroux, said:
"When you're watching the games on TV, you want to be playing."
His remarks came in line with coach, Peter Laviolette’s comments in which he claimed that they were spending their time the best possible way.
Laviolette said:
"We're doing the best we can do right now and we're doing it the best we can. When the puck drops, our guys will be excited to play."
The players are joined by some of the injured players, who had missed a number of games during the first round of the playoffs, making themselves available for the second round.
Defensemen, Nicklas Grossmann and Andrej Meszaros, are notable among the players returning from injuries to practise with teammates.
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