With Froese or Jensen, Flyers Feel Confident

The Philadelphia Flyers undoubtedly miss goaltender Pelle Lindbergh, a teammate who was killed in a November auto accident, but there’s no evidence they are suffering on the ice because of his death.

Lindbergh, winner of the Vezina Trophy last season as the best goalie in the NHL, helped the Flyers get off to a quick start this season, posting a 6-2 record before he was killed.

The Flyers always believed they had the best backup goalie in the league in Bob Froese, and rookie Darren Jensen, who was called up after Lindbergh’s death, defeated the Stanley Cup champion Edmonton Oilers in his first game and has since recorded his first two career shutouts. Last Saturday night, Jensen made 48 saves to blank the St. Louis Blues, 1-0.

Jensen has had a few bad performances, and Froese has let in a soft goal or two, but two games after Jensen recently blanked the Washington Capitals, 4-0, Froese responded with a 3-0 blanking of the Calgary Flames, his third shutout of the season.

Since Lindbergh’s death, the Flyers and Edmonton have gone back and forth at Nos. 1 and 2 in the league, and Philadelphia has remained near the top in fewest goals allowed.

While the Flyers miss Lindbergh personally, his absence on the ice may not hurt the team until the playoffs. Coach Mike Keenan, however, is trying to prevent that possibility.

Juggling goalies is not easy, but Keenan appears to be doing so without ruffling Jensen’s or Froese’s feathers in the process.

When Philadelphia played the Capitals, their closest Patrick Division pursuers, on Jan. 9, Washington had closed to within four points of the Patrick Division-leading Flyers. Keenan, expected to go with his supposed No. 1 goalie Froese, surprised most people when he picked Jensen, who responded with the shutout.

Froese saw what Keenan was trying to do.

“Let me tell you, Mike Keenan knows you better than you know yourself,” he said. “He’s probably smart enough to be a goalie. He was trying to challenge me to challenge myself. I had to let the guys know that I wanted to be the guy now, that I had to take control. Both on and off the ice.”

In his next start, Froese shut out Calgary.

For his part, Keenan simply said he was trying to prepare Jensen for playoff competition.

The Philadelphia players, meanwhile, say they have faith that Froese and Jensen will not be a handicap when the Flyers enter the Stanley Cup wars in April.

“The team has a lot of confidence in both our goaltenders,” captain Dave Poulin said.