Former Flyers In The 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs: Round Two
The second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs has come and gone. While the Philadelphia Flyers did not make it to the postseason, the Vegas Golden Knights, Montreal Canadiens, Tampa Bay Lightning, and New York Islanders advanced to the third round in search of the Stanley Cup in 2021.
Today, as we did about two weeks ago, we’ll take a look at how some former Flyers and their teams fared in the latest edition of this series. As a reminder, players had to have played at least one regular season game with the Flyers, and they had to have either played the majority of their team’s games in the series or had some sort of meaningful impact otherwise.
Former Flyers Jeff Carter, Mark Friedman, Nick Cousins, Wayne Simmonds, Ryan Hartman, Cam Talbot, Brayden Schenn, Sergei Bobrovsky, Radko Gudas, and Michael Raffl were all sent home last round as their teams were eliminated from the playoffs in the first round.
An honorable mention for advancing but not fitting the playing criteria in this round to make the list goes to Braydon Coburn, who has yet to appear in a playoff game for the New York Islanders.
PIERRE-EDOUARD BELLEMARE – COLORADO AVALANCHE
Bellemare and the Avalanche swept away the St. Louis Blues in the first round to set up a date with the Vegas Golden Knights in a battle of #1 versus #2 in the West Division side of the bracket. The Presidents’ Trophy-winning Avalanche won the first two games of the series, but the Golden Knights took four straight games and defeated Colorado in six games to advance to the third round to take on the upstart Montreal Canadiens.
Bellemare, a Flyer from 2014 to 2017 during the infamous Dave Hakstol era, played well in the Avalanche’s bottom six group and showed physicality on top of his defensive play and playmaking, but it was not enough to overcome Vegas’ onslaught of offense.
Bellemare appeared in all six games for the Avalanche and registered two assists, one in Game 3 and one in Game 6, in the series while averaging 9:53 of ice time for Colorado. The 36-year-old native of Le Blanc-Mesnil, France was a crucial part of the Avalanche this season and helped them clinch the best record in the regular season, but it was all for naught come playoff time.
ERIK GUSTAFSSON – MONTREAL CANADIENS
Gustafsson’s Canadiens defeated the North Division’s top seed in the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round after overcoming a 3-1 series deficit. A Flyer for 24 games this season before being shipped off at the trade deadline, Gustafsson registered an assist on Corey Perry’s series-winning goal in Montreal’s 3-1 victory in Game 7.
The Canadiens advanced to take on the #3 seed Winnipeg Jets, who were coming off a sweep of the #2 seed Edmonton Oilers. Montreal gave the Jets a taste of their own medicine by sweeping Winnipeg in four straight games, who were without star center Mark Scheifele for most of the series after his suspension for dangerously hitting Montreal’s Jake Evans near the end of Game 1.
Gustafsson appeared in every game in the series for Montreal, netting a goal and an assist while averaging 10:46 of ice time to help the Canadiens reach the third round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2014.
Three of this year’s final four teams remaining in the postseason were a part of last year’s conference finals, with Montreal being the outlier after their first round loss to Philadelphia. The Canadiens have shocked the hockey world, largely behind the play of goaltender Carey Price, but they have kept the ball rolling and it looks like Gustafsson has made himself at home in these playoffs.
PETR MRAZEK – CAROLINA HURRICANES
Mrazek did not appear in any games in Carolina’s first round series against the Nashville Predators, as he only served as the backup to Alex Nedeljkovic in all six games of the Hurricanes’ series victory, but former Flyer and current Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour tabbed the 29 year-old Czech to play in two of Carolina’s games against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the second round.
Mrazek, who spent 17 games in the Philadelphia crease in 2018 after a midseason trade from Detroit, started Game 3 and Game 4 for the Hurricanes in their second round matchup with the Lightning. Mrazek made 35 saves on 37 shots in Carolina’s 3-2 overtime victory in Game 3, but only made 20 saves on 26 shots in their 6-4 loss in Game 4.
Mrazek was replaced by Nedeljkovic as the starter for Game 5, but the decision proved inconsequential as Tampa Bay won the game 2-0 and bounced the Hurricanes from the playoffs. Mrazek’s 2021 postseason statistics close out with a 1-1 record, an .873 save percentage, and 3.90 goals against average in his two games played as the Hurricanes suffered another disappointing early postseason exit.
LUKE SCHENN – TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING
Schenn, whose Lightning defeated the Florida Panthers in the first round to advance and take on the Carolina Hurricanes, played his usual brand of physical hockey in Tampa Bay’s first three games of the series.
The former Flyers blueliner did not record any points in the series, as he also hasn’t scored a postseason point since Game 5 of the 2020 Eastern Conference Finals against the New York Islanders. He did rack up six hits, one shot on goal, and one blocked shot in an average time-on-ice total of 9:53 before being substituted out of the lineup in Game 4 and Game 5.
The Lightning would dispose of the Hurricanes, surprisingly in just five games, after both teams showed plenty of skill in the regular season and first round of the playoffs. The Hurricanes were also the top seed in the Central Division’s portion of the bracket, rendering this somewhat of an upset despite the fact that the Lightning are the defending Stanley Cup champions. The Lightning will face the Islanders in the next round.