Lindros: Good return with bad results
Associated Press
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Eric Lindros couldn't do it by
himself.
Lindros, Philadelphia's former captain, returned to the Flyers
for Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals Wednesday night, and
scored the team's lone goal in a 2-1 loss.
|  | | Lindros scored the Flyers' only goal in the Game 6 loss to New Jersey. |
He blasted a shot past New Jersey goaltender Martin Brodeur with
30 seconds left in the game for the final score.
"It feels good to play hockey again," said Lindros, sidelined
10 weeks after a series of concussions. "This is a special time of
year. We have to make sure we make it special Friday after the game
in the dressing room."
Philadelphia has lost two straight and plays host to the Devils
in Game 7 on Friday night. The Flyers managed just 13 shots against
Brodeur -- three by Lindros.
The 6-foot-4 forward nearly scored the first goal of the game.
He poked a rebound past Brodeur one-tenth of a second after the
buzzer ending the second period sounded.
Lindros won the faceoff, and the puck got pushed to him to the
right of Brodeur. The goaltender stopped his first shot but Lindros
scored on the rebound.
Replays showed the goal was late.
"Obviously it would've helped, but heading into the third, on
the road, tied, is not a bad situation," Lindros said. "I didn't
hear the buzzer. I didn't know what was going on."
Lindros stepped on to the ice 2:05 after the opening faceoff and
he was greeted mostly by boos from the sellout crowd at the
Continental Airlines Arena.
He received a standing ovation from many of the Flyers fans who
made the trip up the New Jersey Turnpike.
Lindros came to play from the outset. He skated very hard on his
opening shifts with both his shots missing the net. He had two big
hits on New Jersey Devils rookie forward Steve Kelly in the first
period and he later knocked down tough guy Claude Lemieux in front
of the Devils bench.
Keith Jones stepped in to help Lindros during a third-period
scrum with Ken Daneyko as Kelly took a cheap swipe at Lindros' jaw.
"That's fine," Lindros said about the shot to the face. "I'm
not worried about that stuff."
Lindros was cleared to skate with the team on Monday and
returned after one full practice. He was on the ice for 19 shifts
and nearly 15 minutes, including the Flyers' only power play.
Lindros played on a wing instead of his customary center
position. Daymond Langkow centered the Lindros line and Valeri
Zelepukin played the other wing. He also played on a line with
Keith Primeau and Rick Tocchet and one with Simon Gagne and Jones.
"He was great for us," Primeau said. "It looked like he
didn't miss a beat."
Lindros surprised some of the Devils by how well he played.
"I was impressed. Any time you are as talented as him and big
and strong as him, you're going to do a good job," Daneyko said.
"Obviously, his timing was off, but it didn't hurt him too much."
Lindros wore a new, modified mouthpiece that's supposed to help
reduce the risk of another concussion. He sustained a Grade II
concussion when he was checked by Boston's Hall Gill in a game on
March 4.
After playing four more games, Lindros took himself out of the
lineup and later criticized the team's medical staff for failing to
diagnose the severity of his injury.
Flyers' management fired back, stripping Lindros of his
captaincy in favor of Eric Desjardins. Lindros became a virtual
outcast. His photo was taken off promotional advertisements. He
wasn't included in the team's highlight reels and the mere mention
of his name left players, coaches and even the team's broadcasters
feeling uneasy.
The team's postseason media guide includes an action photo of
Lindros with the "C" airbrushed from his sweater.
His return to practice Tuesday brought a dozen television
cameras and about 100 reporters, nearly three times the coverage of
a normal practice session.
Lindros spoke to some of his teammates, but was not forced to
issue an apology as had been speculated.
His teammates had no problem with him Wednesday night.
"Eric looked good," forward Mark Recchi said. "He got tested
physically and came through with flying colors."
Lindros was nearly done for the season after he sustained his
third concussion of the season and fifth in two years during a
practice drill earlier this month.
But Lindros recovered fairly quickly from the latest concussion
and played for the first time since March 12.
"I kept my shifts short and as the game wore on, I felt more
and more comfortable," he said. |
Eric Lindros puts the Flyers on the board.
Craig Ramsay felt Eric Lindros was ready to play.
