VOORHEES, N.J. — Flyers coach Peter Laviolette spent his Monday afternoon conducting somber exit meetings with many of the players, breaking only to joust passionately with the media for nearly 40 minutes.
Yet, what the second-year Flyers coach did the most during the slowly moving clean-out day was go to bat for captain Mike Richards, who had guns drawn at him over the Flyers’ second-round sweep at the hands of the Boston Bruins.
“I wish we were practicing today,” Laviolette said, when questioned on his captain’s leadership abilities. “I don’t think you should go on a witch hunt for Mike Richards just because we’re not. That doesn’t make sense to me. This is the same guy who led this team to within two games of the [Stanley] Cup last year.”
Phila.Bright 