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Timonen Rips Flyers after Loss to NYR

February 11, 2012, 6:02 PM ET [53 Comments]
Tim Panaccio
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Flyers defenseman Kimmo Timonen didn't hold back after Saturday's 5-2 defrocking of the Flyers by the Rangers.

That's five, straight Rangers wins against the Flyers this season.

He talked about the lack of effort and lack of compete. His rant began with my simple question as to whether this game was really all about the Flyers unable to compete with the Rangers on special teams.

Here is the Q&A, courtesy of the Flyers:

Q: Was the big difference in this game the special teams?

“Well obviously they got three [power play] goals, so it was huge. We were disappointed with the effort actually. The emotional level, playing against the top team in the conference…league…to be honest I think we got half the guys going half the guys not.”

Q: Right from the beginning?

“Well, that was my opinion. You might have seen differently but that’s what I saw.”

Q: It’s got to be disappointing since they’re the top team in the conference and they’ve beaten you—

“That’s what I just said. It was a big game for us and I was expecting more. Obviously it was a tight game but they got three power play goals and we didn’t score any. So, obviously it came down to our special teams.”

Q: Did you voice that concern in the dressing room after the game, or even between periods?

“Well I think everyone realized we could’ve played better. It was a tie game, 2-2, but still, I felt like we could’ve pushed more and pressured more, but they got another two points.”

Q: Is it concerning to you that this is a team that, right now, looks like it’s going to win the Eastern Conference. They just seem like they’re consistently a lot better than you guys.

“They play the system every night. They play the same way every night. There are no surprises and if there is a breakdown the goalie makes the save. They block a ton of shots and somehow they get the job done. Like I said, it was a top team and that’s why they’re at the top. They play the same way every night, they work hard, they do the same system every night and their goalie plays very well every night.”

Q: Do you think there’s as much talent in this dressing room?

“Well it comes down to effort and talent and…everything. I don’t think there’s much of a skill level difference from the bottom team to the top team. It comes down to the system, how you execute the system, how do you play every night. Sometime you go up and down and then you lose games and that’s not the way the championship teams play.

Q: I know there’s no captain on this team right now but this is the kind of thing that Pronger would rail about in the room is this where not having him becomes an issue?

“Well obviously we could [use him] but he’s not here and we all should get by that by now. He’s not coming back and obviously we would be more than happy to have him back but he’s not here. Would he say something? I don’t know.”

Q: Is it important to get going tomorrow?

“We just need everybody going at the same time. We just can’t have one or two lines going and four D or whatever. We need everybody to get going here. This is the time of year where you need everybody going and if you don’t, that happens [losing]. And tomorrow if we’re not ready to play, it’s an even tougher opponent than today.”

Q: You look now where we are in the beginning of February with just 27 games left in the regular season do all these games now mean that much more?

“Well obviously we are in the playoffs but you know we’re not that far off so obviously every game matters and every game matters the way like I said you have to bring it every night I don’t care who you are you’re 18 or 40 it doesn’t matter to me every game matters and you have to bring it.”

Q: Is your youth really showing when it comes to (inaudible) and the special teams?

“It’s four guys out there, It’s not just the youth, it’s everybody knowing what to do out there and today we had a couple of mix-ups. Overall I think it’s been okay this year but today we had a couple of breakdowns and they scored.”
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