Posted by Scott Burnside
PHILADELPHIA -- At the time, Chris Kunitz's flying hit on Kimmo Timonen early in the game looked like it had the potential to be a controversial part of the day's proceedings. But by the end of the afternoon, no one seemed all that interested in making a big deal of it.
Kunitz flew into Timonen just behind the Flyers' net in the first six minutes of the game, and the initial look suggested he had either hit or grazed Timonen's head with his forearm or elbow. Following the play, Scott Hartnell chased Kunitz down at the other end of the ice and the two fought. Timonen ended up playing 26:36, the most of any player in the game.
"Man, it's a hard hit," Philadelphia coach John Stevens said. "It was kind of an odd game. This Kunitz, he plays hard. Originally, I thought he left his feet. Now, I'm not sure if he left his feet or he just went in the air when he went through the hit."
Regardless, Stevens acknowledged that the Penguins forward appears to be trying to get to the talented Philadelphia defenseman any time he can.
"He [Timonen] is a great player and he plays against their top guys a lot, and I think Kunitz's job on that line is to try and create space for [Sidney] Crosby just like [Mike] Knuble does and just like [Scott] Hartnell does for the guys they play with," Stevens said.
Timonen seemed reluctant to discuss the hit and whether Kunitz was targeting him.
"No, no, no, next question," Timonen said.
Asked if he had a problem with the hit, Timonen said he was to blame.
"I was in bad position there more than him hitting me hard," he said. "That's playoff hockey. It happens. We're going do the same thing to them if there's a chance, but I was in a bad position. I actually saw him coming, but there was nothing I could do about it."
As for the officiating, Stevens said he thought it was a strange game.
"It was kind of odd," he said. "It seemed like there was nothing being called early, everything was just old-time hockey, and then as the game progressed everything was being called."
Learning from mistakes
You learn a lot in a playoff series by watching players, but you can also learn a lot about coaches by what they do before they get behind the bench. Like Stevens, who took time on the flight home after Game 2 to make sure Claude Giroux was looking in the right direction after taking a crucial penalty in overtime that helped set up the Penguins' winner.
"I think it's important to do that with young players, and he's an important part of our team," Stevens said. "I think part of being a good pro is that you don't let a mistake yesterday affect you today, or a mistake last shift affect your next shift, and I thought it was important Claude do that, and he did."
The 21-year-old Giroux said he appreciated his coach taking the time to make him feel better.
"It was good for him to come and see me," he said. "I was a little mad at myself for making that penalty, but he came to me and said, 'Don't' worry about it, you have to bounce back.' I was able to put that behind me faster."
More subdued Flyers fans?
The Flyers are a bit subdued in their playoff marketing this season. After last year's, um, subtle postseason motto "Vengeance Now," the team has gone positively mushy with "Hungry For More."
ESPN.com Stanley Cup playoffs blog
