Flyers believe health, experience will lead to different result

Despite heading into the playoffs with little momentum after a 4-5-1 finish and missing a golden opportunity to have home-ice in the first round, the Flyers believe this years playoff rematch with the Penguins will have a different result because of health.

In the 2008 Eastern Conference Finals, the Flyers top defensemen Kimmo Timonen, Braydon Coburn saw limited action during the series. Timonen did not appear in a game until the series finale and Coburn was lost for the series in Game 2 after taking a puck to the face that resulted in 50+ stitches.

Beatwriters with the Flyers tell me, the organization truly believes it would have been a much different series if Coburn and Timonen were in the lineup throughout the series. The Flyers were also without 34 goal scorer Simon Gagne.

All three players will be at 100% health for the start of the series which begins Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. , and the Flyers believe they are a deeper team than last year and that the Penguins have taken a few steps back.

Knuble: “We’re a year older and more experienced and healthy”