The Canadiens – Flyers series had a very special meaning for Daniel Brière.
It is because the Quebecer, over the course of his prolific career in the NHL, has evolved for both teams. Whether in Montreal or Philadelphia, he had good times and has fond memories of both markets.
The small right-hander, now retired, was therefore very happy to learn that the CH was going to rub shoulders with the Flyers. He certainly wasn’t going to be praying to watch this playoff showdown involving his two former teams.
As we know, the Flyers ultimately won the series 4-2. But to believe Brière, things could (and should!) Have been different.
As part of a telephone interview with TVASports.ca, the sympathetic fellow agreed to give his impressions on what he had retained and observed from the series.
“The more the confrontation progressed, the more emotions were present on both sides. It has become a great series. In the end, the Canadiens gave the Flyers a huge challenge. Much more than people thought.
“I was very impressed with the determination of CH. If you exclude Carey Price, there is no doubt that the Flyers had the advantage, on paper, in other facets of the game.
“Honestly, I think we should have seen a game number seven in this series. The Habs were really not lucky. But unfortunately, that’s the series. You can have all the talent in the world, it also takes a little luck to win. “
The Gallagher-Vigneault saga
One of the events that marked this series is undoubtedly the war of words between Marc Bergevin and Alain Vigneault over the jaw injury suffered by Brendan Gallagher.
Vigneault, on two occasions, had thrown an arrow at “Gally” in relation to his attitude following contact with Niskanen.
Bergevin, he said he was “very disappointed” with the words of the Flyers pilot.
What did Brière think of it?
“I never had the impression that Alain was trying to add fuel to the fire. At first, he only meant that he didn’t believe Gallagher had been seriously injured. It turned against him when we learned of the severity of Brendan’s injury.
“For CH, it’s very sad to have lost Gallagher. He certainly could have made the difference in Game # 6, but also in the full series. A player like Gallagher can make a big difference just by being there.
“On the one hand, Vigneault wanted to protect his players, but on the other Bergevin was frustrated to see his player suffer so much. I have experienced both sides as a player. I can understand the state of mind of the two clans. ”
An eternal problem solved?
Like most observers, Brière said he was amazed by the performance of youngsters Nick Suzuki and Jesperi Kotkaniemi.
The Quebecer is even of the opinion that the CH, by the band, has probably solved a problem that has endured for several seasons.
“These two kids were excellent. They were beautiful to see. It was nice. Kotkaniemi and Suzuki took the CH attack in hand, squarely. That they were able to do this at such a young age says a lot about their potential.
“I want to emphasize the case of Nick Suzuki. I firmly believe that he could become the # 1 center player so sought after in Montreal for several years. The future looks very bright in Montreal. ”
No panic with Domi and Tatar
If many have criticized the performance of Max Domi and Tomas Tatar during these qualifiers, Daniel Brière, he was rather reassuring. He even has a hypothesis regarding the difficulties experienced by the two skaters.
“These are things that happen in the playoffs. Sometimes certain players have difficulty against specific teams. In my case, it was more difficult against some clubs. And I knew which ones it was. You shouldn’t worry too much about Tatar and Domi’s performance in ten playoff games.
“Besides, with the Flyers, we saw the same thing happen with Giroux and Couturier. They did not deliver the goods on the offensive side either. Having said that, a larger contribution from Tatar and Domi would have helped the Canadiens considerably … “
Difficult, you will agree, not to give weight to the words of a man who collected 116 points in 124 playoff games …
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