Bob Or Bouch?

The stereotype seems to be as old as the sport itself, but it wouldn’t quite be a quest for the Cup without having a goalie controversy in Philadelphia.

The problem that’s plagued the City of Brotherly Love for so long reared its ugly head just 4 periods into the Stanley Cup Playoffs when Sergei Bobrovsky was pulled in favor in Brian Boucher.

Of course, the Flyers came back and won the game to even the series so the fans and media pundits could once again talk about how the Flyers haven’t had a consistent starting goalie since the days of Ron Hextall (which is probably true).

Not to say the Flyers aren’t responsible for the revolving door that hinges on the crease, because they’ve had 10 starting playoff goaltenders in 14 years.

• Martin Biron
• Sergei Bobrovsky
• Brian Boucher
• Sean Burke
• Roman Cechmanek
• Robert Esche
• Michael Leighton
• Antero Niittymaki
• Garth Snow
• John Vanbiesbrouk

But this situation is different than in previous years. They know they have ole’ reliable in Boucher waiting to come off the bench at the first sign of Bob not having his confidence. And they know they have Bob, who provides cat-like reflexes and remarkable quickness that made him the starting playoff goalie in the first place.

The problem with benching Bob is that you may lose the rookie’s confidence. It sounds cliché, but if you stick him on the bench after one bad period, what kind of pressure will he be under if he’s needed at some point down the road? He’ll go in there thinking he’s coming right back to the bench the moment he lets up a goal. But there’s obviously something that Lavliotte sees in the young kid who was playing in Serbia last year that propelled him to start Game 1 in only his first year.

There’s also Michael Leighton, but the guy played one regular season game, gave up four goals and was sent down to the minors. He WILL NOT be the backup, as many talk-radio listeners have called in saying.

Who do you think should start in net for Game 3 in Buffalo? Let us know in the comments section.