By ANDREW GROSS
ON THE NHL
(Original publication: May 9, 2004)

Not all of the skepticism was Robert Esche's fault. It's become routine to wonder whether the Philadelphia Flyers would receive sufficient goaltending in the postseason.

Perennial contenders, the Flyers have had postseason runs truncated with John Vanbiesbrouck, Brian Boucher, Sean Burke, Garth Snow and Roman Cechmanek — the ultimate poster boy for soft playoff goals and limited dressing-room support — in net.

But the 26-year-old Esche — who was born and still lives in the Utica suburb of Whitesboro — has led the Flyers to the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since they blew a 3-1 lead to the Devils in 2000.

The Flyers eliminated the Toronto Maple Leafs in six games, and Esche received a loud ovation before Game 5 at the Wachovia Center, perhaps the first Flyers goalie to be cheered like that since Ron Hextall. In the first round, Philadelphia dispatched the Devils in five games.

Equally as important, Esche has earned the respect of his veteran teammates in compiling a 2.02 goals-against average and a .931 save percentage in his first year as the playoff starter. That's no small feat considering the rocky relationship between Esche's predecessor, Cechmanek, and the rest of the team.

"I think Eschey has earned his stripes with the team, not only because of his play on the ice but his attitude off the ice, his attitude in practices,'' Flyers center Jeremy Roenick said. "He gets very upset when he gets scored on in practice. He's very hard on himself. I think guys really respect that. Guys see that he wants to win and he's not just here to make a paycheck.''

Suffice it to say, there was tremendous concern when Esche, struck in the mask in Game 4 against the Maple Leafs, was forced to leave Game 5 after the first period. The Flyers eventually described it as "flu-like symptoms,'' the same catch phrase the Devils used for captain Scott Stevens' extended absence because of a head injury.

But Esche returned for Game 6 to make 34 saves in a 3-2 overtime win, maintaining his composure after Toronto tied the score with two goals in the third period. A stand-up goalie, Esche is rarely spectacular but rarely beats himself.

"He's played with a lot of emotion and he's gotten the job done, that's the bottom line,'' said Burke, reacquired from the Phoenix Coyotes to be Esche's backup. "I don't know if there's anything that stands out as impressing me. He's prepared well, and he's played hard and he's done an excellent job for us.''

Back to work: Rangers general manager Glen Sather, assistant general manager Don Maloney and interim coach Tom Renney return from the world championships in the Czech Republic this week, so the team's search for its next coach will officially be under way. Sather has reportedly already had preliminary discussions with former St. Louis Blues coach Joel Quenneville and recently fired Ottawa Senators coach Jacques Martin. Quenneville, in particular, would be a solid choice.

But Sather should learn from the mistakes of his past and give real consideration to either retaining Renney or promoting Hartford Wolf Pack coach Ryan McGill along with assistant Nick Fotiu. Both Renney and McGill/Fotiu are good teachers with a firm grasp on the players in the system, important qualities given the team's intention to rebuild through youth.

Remember, Sather did not consider then-interim coach John Tortorella before hiring Ron Low for the 2000-01 season.

The Sutter factor: As the San Jose Sharks and Calgary Flames open the Western Conference finals today, much has been made of the fact that Calgary general manager/coach Darryl Sutter's previous job was behind the Sharks' bench. But Ron Wilson, his successor in San Jose, disagrees with the idea that the connection means the teams are similar.

"The similarities are that Darryl Sutter has coached both teams, and it ends right there,'' said Wilson, whose team plays a speed-based, puck-possession game. "We're a completely different team than when Darryl coached it. We play a totally different style.''

Still, Wilson said he knows better than to believe Sutter when he says playing his former team means nothing to him.

"Oh, there will be some emotional ties,'' said Wilson, a minor-league teammate of Sutter. "Darryl can say all he wants that it has no impact on him. I know how I felt the year, two years after (being fired by the Mighty Ducks), every time we played against Anaheim. I wanted to beat them bad. It was never anything personal with the players, but you're always going to think about being let go.''

Empty-netter: For those who missed it, Flyers coach Ken Hitchcock came up with an all-time classic when asked for specifics regarding the injuries to Esche and ex-Ranger defenseman Vladimir Malakhov in Game 5. "Both guys have upper-body injuries, and we will give you the truth tomorrow,'' Hitchcock said. "But we are not going to give you the truth today. We just don't know the time frame on the truth.''

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