March 29, 2024
BANGOR DAILY NEWS (BANGOR, MAINE

Controversy swirls around Flyers> Question of whether to start Snow or Hextall hits team for second time

PHILADELPHIA – The Philadelphia Flyers head into the next playoff series trying to settle an old question: Who’s in goal?

Coach Terry Murray’s surprise decision to start Ron Hextall over Garth Snow in Sunday’s series-clinching victory over the Buffalo Sabres guaranteed a week of interrogations for Murray, Hextall and Snow as the Eastern Conference final opener looming against the New York Rangers.

Murray gave the Flyers Monday off, delaying the inquisition for a day, But it doesn’t matter because while all three will patiently address those questions, none will really answer them. They’ve already practiced that.

When Hextall, the No. 1 goalie all season, suddenly slumped near the end, Murray, Snow and Hextall spent the week before the playoff-opening series against Pittsburgh deflecting inquiries on which goalie would start.

Snow, who played well in several relief appearances after Hextall was pulled from late-season games, got the nod.

His fine play continued against the Penguins. Snow gave up only 13 goals in 139 shots as Philadelphia took the series in five games.

Against the Sabres, Snow again played well, helping the Flyers take a 3-0 lead. But in Game 4, Snow had a shaky third period, allowing three goals as the Sabres eventually won in overtime.

“We gave up some chances, but I thought those chances were shots that needed to be stopped by our goaltender,” Murray said. “Snowy’s done an outstanding job in the games he’s played, but a little bit of the focus fell off his game.”

That loss of focus cost Snow the start in Game 5 – and gave Hextall his first playing time since April 13.

“I was a little surprised,” Hextall said. “Snowy had done such a great job for us, but our coach is not afraid to change goalies. He’s proved that the three years I’ve been here.”


Have feedback? Want to know more? Send us ideas for follow-up stories.

comments for this post are closed

You may also like