The scene has shifted to snowy Buffalo for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals between the Sabres and Philadelphia Flyers, and as the locale changes, so do the lineups for both clubs.
Flyers Name Brian Boucher Game 3 Starter; Jordan Leopold Back For Sabres
Brian Boucher will be the Flyers starting goaltender on Monday night, as coach Peter Laviolette opts to go with the calm, veteran presence in net over the young Sergei Bobrovsky, who certainly had a rough start to Game 2 on Saturday before being yanked in the first period.
Boucher replaced Bob in that game, and afterward, defenseman Sean O`Donnell talked about his impact on the game, which the Flyers ultimately won 5-4.
“I think Boosh is very calm,” O’Donnell said. “He’s been around. It takes a special kind of person to come in while we’re down 3-2, in front of 20,000 fans, during a big game. I’m not going to say a must win, but it was a big game. He kind of settled things down for us and I think that was one of the reasons why we played with a little more composure maybe in the last 45 or 50 minutes.”
The Flyers can't expect that type of calming influence from a kid like Bobrovsky, who admitted after Game 2 that he was not in good shape mentally after what happened in the game. As a result, Michael Leighton will ride the bench in place of Bobrovsky, who will take in the action from the press box. There are larger questions looming as a result of this move, but for now, it's tough to argue that Boucher doesn't give the Flyers the best chance at winning Game 3.
Meanwhile, Buffalo will see a welcome addition to their blueline for Game 3. Jordan Leopold, who was out with a broken finger, will be back in the Sabres lineup earlier than expected. He's a similar type of calming influence on a defensive unit that is extremely green. Leopold plays a ton of minutes and is strong in his own end, and he'll be a serious challenge for the Flyers if he is in fact 100 percent.
In other lineup news, Philadelphia's Andreas Nodl will sit out with a minor injury, given Nikolay Zherdev a chance to return to the ice. That's a boost offensively for the Flyers, but also a bit of a downgrade defensively, as Nodl is one of the Flyers shutdown forwards. Chris Pronger skated with his teammates on Monday but will sit out again in Game 3.
For more on the series, visit our blogs: Broad Street Hockey for Flyers coverage, Die By The Blade on the Sabres. You can find full SBNation.com coverage here.
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