boucher split

It's pretty obvious that former goalie Brian Boucher, a veteran of 328 NHL games and 43 more in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, does not get nervous easily.

And he's even comfortable in front of a television camera as an analyst for ESPN, ABC and NBC Sports Philadelphia.
But acting? That's a whole other thing entirely.
"It was nerve-wracking," Boucher told NHL.com about his first foray into scripted television, a cameo appearance playing a fictionalized version of the Philadelphia Flyers general manager on the ABC sitcom "The Goldbergs," which will air March 15. "You walk on the set and it's amazing how real it feels. They have Flyers logos everywhere and the trophies."
In his scene, Boucher is opposite Wendi McLendon-Covey [who plays Beverly Goldberg] and Cedric Yarbrough [who plays furniture-store owner Vic]. The pair try to convince the Flyers GM to purposely lose Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final because a victory would bring on the financial ruin of Vic's furniture store [where Beverly also works] due to a half-baked promotion promising full refunds to customers if the Flyers won the Cup. The show is set in the 1980s and the Flyers did play the Edmonton Oilers in the 1987 Stanley Cup Final, which the Oilers won in 7.
Boucher said McLendon-Covey definitely calmed any acting nerves he had by reminding him, unlike on a studio show, they would have plenty of takes to get it right.
"When I found out I was going to do this, I did prepare. I had only about six lines, but I read them daily. The last thing I want to do is go in there and mess this up," Boucher said. "Wendi, she really put me at ease. She said 'I'm going to screw up too. We will get a couple of chances to get it right' and that helped."
But preparing for a sitcom cameo isn't exactly the same as prepping for an NHL game.
"I had about a month to get my lines down," Boucher said. "That's not exactly the amount of time you get to prepare for a game. In the NHL, games come at you fast and furious."
Overall, the experience was one Boucher will not soon forget.
"I have a lot of respect for actors, the amount of lines they have to remember, you really see how great and talented these people are," Boucher said. "And not just actors. So many people. The camera people, the audio people, the costume people, all of them are amazing. It's such a huge production."
Boucher also said he'd be open to giving acting another shot if the opportunity comes. But this time around will always be special.
"No question," Boucher said. "And it may be the closest I get to being GM of the Flyers."