LITTLE ROCK — Being ‘lost in woods’ not goal
New Flyers goalie Ilya Bryzgalov is not making any friends in Philadelphia.
Bryzgalov, who signed a nineyear, $51 million contract with the Flyers in June, allowed four goals on the 10 shots he faced in relief Thursday night against the Winnipeg Jets at the Wells Fargo Center.
The Jets beat the Flyers, 9-8.
It was the most goals allowed the Flyers at home since Oct. 23, 1993, when they played the original Winnipeg Jets - who are in Phoenix.
“I have zero confidence in myself right now. I’m terrible,” Bryzgalov told the Philadelphia Inquirer. “I want to apologize to the fans and my teammates. I don’t know what’s going on. I have no answer for you guys. I thought the last game in Montreal was the worst, but today was worse.
“I’m lost in the woods now.”
Bryzgalov entered the game with 15:21 left in the third period, replacing Sergei Bobrovski, who had allowed five goals on 15 shots.
Jets captain Andrew Ladd scored with 1:06 left, handing the Flyers their fourth loss in five games. In those four losses, Philadelphia has allowed 23 goals.
The Flyers defense in front ofBobrovski and Bryzgalov wasn’t good, with captain Chris Pronger out. But that was of little relief to Bryzgalov.
“It doesn’t matter,” Bryzgalov said. “They’re trying to play hard.
Everybody. The bottom line, I’m the goalie. I’m the guy who has to stop the puck.
“I couldn’t stop the simple shot. That’s probably why players make more mistakes, because they have no confidence in their goalie, because the goalie was bad.
“Yeah, I’m the reason why we lose the game.” Home field?
The Buffalo Bills will play their annual game in Toronto on Sunday against the Washington Redskins.
But Bills safety George Wilson (Arkansas Razorbacks) isn’t calling it a home game for Buffalo, which is 4-2 and in second place in theAFC East behind New England.
“The fan support in Toronto is a night-and-day difference from what we have in Buffalo,” Wilson told reporters this week. “For the most part, it’s ashow. You see just as many jerseys for the opposing teams as you do the Bills. They cheer for any big play regardless of whichever team makes it.
“It’s definitely not the same hostile environment that teams have to deal with coming into the Ralph [Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y.] out here.”He said it
From Miami Herald columnist Greg Cote:
“Roger Federer is out of the top three in the ATP rankings for first time in eight years. Not sure, but I think the first syllable of his surname is pronounced, ‘fade.’ ”
“Coaches Jim Harbaugh of the 49ers and Jim Schwartz of the Lions nearly came to blows two weeks ago when Harbaugh celebrated a win with a tooenthusiastic handshake. Looking for bright spots, Dolfans? Tony Sparano has not been in a position to hurt an opposing coach with a celebratory handshake.”
“The Heat’s LeBron James and Dwyane Wade finished 1-3 in ESPN.com’s overall ranking of NBA players. Hey wouldn’t it be great if there were some sort of a league that allowed us to watch them play ?”Quote of the day “I’m tired of hearing about it. I’m tired of
seeing stuff on Twitter, tired of seeing it on YouTube.” UAPB linebacker Bill Ross on the fight between the Golden Lions and Southern University, which led to a combined 40 players from the teams being suspended
Sports, Pages 22 on 10/29/2011