PITTSBURGH – Ilya Bryzgalov stood on a riser in the dressing room surrounded by reporters. The spotlights were shining on him. The microphones were ready to capture any colorful quotes.
They captured this:
"Beeeaaaars!" teammate Jaromir Jagr shouted as he walked past, trying to sound ominous, but sounding more like a baaing sheep. "Beeeaaars!"
This could have been frightening for the Philadelphia Flyers. Bryzgalov had been his Bryz-arre self before this first-round playoff series, saying in his Russian accent: "I'm not afraid of anything. I'm afraid of bear, but bear in the forest."
Then fans showed up in bear costumes, the Pittsburgh Penguins took a three-goal first-period lead, and it looked like Game 1 would be a blowout. It looked like Bryzgalov would be the butt of jokes.
But the Flyers got a couple of breaks, came back and earned a 4-3 overtime victory. This, after they had rallied from two 2-0 deficits to beat Pittsburgh during the regular season. This, making them
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