Flyers owner upset but not ready to give up

BOSTON -- Philadelphia Flyers chairman Ed Snider was noticeably upset after just witnessing his beloved team drop a 5-1 decision to the Boston Bruins in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference Semifinal series on Wednesday.
 
Snider, who was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1988, was seen walking around the Flyers locker room in TD Garden following the team's disappointing loss. He looked up at the ceiling every so often, and then down at his cellphone. One would get the feeling that he's a little surprised his team now finds itself in the same 3-0 series hole this year, as it was in 2010.
 
"I just think that Boston is playing very well and maybe we weren't quite as prepared as we should have been for what they did at the beginning of the game," Snider told reporters.
 
Still, the man responsible for bringing the NHL to Philadelphia 45 years ago and winning back-to-back Stanley Cups remains confident that the team can turn things around. In his words, nothing is impossible.
 
"It's a really difficult thing to do (rallying from a 3-0 deficit) and they would be the first team in history to do it two years in a row," Snider told reporters. "It's an awful lot to expect (winning a series after falling behind, 3-0) and Boston is playing very well. We're going to have to step up our game in order to compete with them."
 
Even though the Flyers were behind the eight-ball by two goals just 63 seconds into the game, at no time during the game did Snider feel the Flyers lost their fight to battle back.
 
"I thought there was a fight tonight … I don't think they quit," he said. "They kept playing. They played hard, but unfortunately we didn't score enough goals to make a difference. But, I never would think this team doesn't fight. It fights always. It's shown that throughout. It came back from a 3-2 deficit going into Buffalo, won two in a row, won that series. Last year, we showed fight throughout the playoffs with very much the same squad so I have a lot of faith in these guys. They're not going to ever quit."
 
Snider was also asked about Philadelphia's precarious goaltending situation. Wednesday's switch of Sergei Bobrovsky for Brian Boucher midway through the second period marked the seventh in-game change in 10 postseason games by coach Peter Laviolette.
 
"It's unusual … that's all I can say," Snider said. "It's unusual, but I don't think it's wrong. I think it's something that had to be done and I think the coach has done a good job deciding what he's going to do and when he's going to do it. I don't have an opinion (on the goalie changes). The coach is making a decision and I think I have no qualms with the decisions that he's made. He's doing everything in his power to win."
 
Snider wouldn't tip his hand when asked if he felt the organization has the goaltending necessary to win a championship.
 
"The season's not over and we'll evaluate everything when the season is over," he said.

While Snider admitted similarities between the Bruins and Flyers, he also praised Bruins goalie Tim Thomas, who has stopped 83 of the last 84 shots he’s faced in this series.
 
"We did the same thing to them in the last game, scored two quick goals," Snider said. "Not that quick, but pretty quick, and they came back and scored two in the second period. We've had trouble scoring against their goalie, who's played extremely well. We've had a lot of chances and … I don't know, I think this guy (Tim Thomas) has maybe stopped 80 shots in a row or something like that. I don't know, but he's playing extremely well."
 
Follow Mike Morreale on Twitter at: @mike_morreale