PHILADELPHIA — The ever-guarded Peter Laviolette tipped his hand. But make no mistake, this was hardly a slip-up.
Always coy and protective about who will be in his lineup, Laviolette strongly hinted yesterday that Michael Leighton will be back in goal when the Flyers try to force a Game 7 in the Stanley Cup finals.
“I don’t comment on lineups or goaltenders,” the stern-faced Laviolette said at first on the eve of tonight’s Game 6 against the Blackhawks (NBC, 8:00).
That retort has been standard for Laviolette back to his days as coach of the Islanders, the Hurricanes, and even the 2002 U.S. Olympic hockey team. It doesn’t matter if the question is about the starting goalie or if he is considering using five defensemen instead of six for the first time this season as Philadelphia faces elimination yet again.
But yesterday provided a bit of a twist.
“Our goaltender has the best numbers in the playoffs. I didn’t think I had to announce it,” Laviolette said tersely. “I’m very confident in Michael. He’s played excellent in the playoffs. His home numbers are terrific.”
And there it was. All it took was a quick look at the stat sheet to see that Leighton has an NHL-low 2.34 goals-against average in 13 appearances. That league-best number even takes into account his sub-par showing in Game 5 on Sunday night in Chicago when Leighton allowed three goals on 13 shots in the first period.