By MARK SPECTOR

sportsnet.ca

CHICAGO -- What is it with the Philadelphia Flyers and goaltending?

Why is it always an issue in Philly, the only town ever to have a netminder nicknamed The Bipolar Goaler (Roman Cechmanek)? From Dunc Wilson to Dominic Roussel, they have so seldom been able to find the right fit in goal in Philly. And now this.

Michael Leighton, the latest err to the Flyers goaltending throne, was brutal right from the first shot in Game 1. We are only one game into this Stanley Cup final and the topic of the day Sunday in Chicago was, which goalie does head coach Peter Laviolette start in Game 2?

Would Laviolette go back to Leighton or start Brian Boucher? Earlier Sunday, he wasn't letting on regarding what he was going to do, other than a lot of soul searching. This was a huge decision, one that could frame the rest of this final for the Flyers.

"You evaluate everything," Laviolette admitted. "You evaluate numbers, you evaluate practices, you evaluate what your players are saying when you're talking to them. And you take everything into consideration and make the best decision that you can."

It was revealed later in the day that Leighton, who spent a lot of time on the practice ice with goalie coach Jeff Reese, will indeed get another shot. But we're betting it's with a short leash. One more shaky outing, and it will be Boucher's series to win or lose.

The Chris Pronger-Dustin Byfuglien matchup never came to fruition in Game 1, mostly because the Blackhawks did not have a single power play. That meant far less camping time at the top of the Flyers crease for Byfuglien, who went pointless and was minus-3 in the game.

"There was a lot of talk -- you guys had a lot to say about him -- so I guess we needed to calm that down real quick," Pronger said. "I have played in the West for 14 years. I played against him a lot. So it's not like I've been out East for my whole career and never played against the guy. That may have been blown out of proportion, I think."

We'll see after Game 2. Philadelphia, the second most penalized team in these playoffs, can't go two games without taking a penalty.

Niklas Hjalmarsson played a fair bit of soccer growing up back in Eksjo, Sweden.

"Yes," the polite Swede said on Sunday morning, with a neatly sewn, seven-stitch gash above his left eye. "I played for a lot of years; I think I quit when I was 14 or 15."

The cut came courtesy of the Flyers' first goal in Game 1. Ville Leino fired the puck on goal, and the rebound came off of goalie Antti Niemi's blocker and struck Hjalmarsson right above the eye. It caromed into the goal for a 1-0 Flyer lead.

"I didn't even see the puck. It was just, 'Boom!' And the puck was in the net," said Hjalmarsson, who was battling Scott Hartnell in the crease.

Was he that good with his head when he played soccer?

"Not really," he said. "I was better with my feet."

Troy Brouwer doesn't call his father Don on game days. He saves those calls for the days between games.

"It's always tough when I talk to my dad, and I'm not able to be with him," Troy said.

Don is recovering from brain surgery to relieve a blood clot. He texted his boy after Brouwer scored twice in Game 1.

"Just that I had a great game, that he's very proud of me and wants me to keep going," said Troy. Don can converse well but he still can't walk well. "When he can make it up and downstairs, he can go home."

Meanwhile, Brouwer isn't looking too far ahead with this Blackhawks roster with which GM Stan Bowman is going to have to make some serious decisions this summer. They have around $45 million committed for 10 players next season.

John Madden, Kim Johnsson and Adam Burish are all unrestricted, and likely good as gone. Restricted free agents are Andrew Ladd, Ben Eager, Colin Fraser, Jordan Hendry, Hjalmarsson and Niemi.

There is no chance that the Blackhawks don't suffer some roster casualties over the summer.

"We've all had the attitude this year that, let's play this year for this year. Next year? Who cares," Brouwer said. "Yeah, everyone knows we're going to have some issues in the off-season. We're going to have to get rid of some players, I'm assuming, with the cap.

"But why worry about that now? You can have the time of your life, try and win the Stanley Cup, and deal with that when it comes around."