Good for Craig Berube.
Better for Jason Akeson.
First Berube: The Flyers coach could easily have fallen trap to a knee-jerk reaction and benched the kid in Sunday’s Eastern Conference playoff Game 2 against the Rangers at the Garden. Akeson, after all, was the unquestionable goat in Game 1 with the foolish double-minor penalty he took in the third period that allowed the Rangers to break open a 1-1 game and win 4-1.
Now Akeson: The Flyers 23-year-old rookie right wing handled the aftermath of his game-changing gaffe with the poise and maturity of a 33-year-old veteran, owning up to his mistake. He was dazed and disappointed after the game, but he never appeared rattled despite suffering the nightmare of all nightmares in his first NHL playoff game and only his third NHL game.
The result of Berube’s faith in Akeson, resisting the temptation to bench him or reduce his ice time, was Akeson scoring the game-tying goal in the Flyers 4-2 win over the Rangers Sunday, which sends the series to Philadelphia tied 1-1 for Tuesday’s Game 3.
Akeson, camped to the right of Henrik Lundqvist, slammed home the rebound of a Vincent Lecavalier slap shot at 5:45 of the second period to tie the game at 2-2, erasing an early 2-0 Rangers lead.
Luke Schenn would give the Flyers a 3-2 lead with a goal at 11:18 of the second, but it was Akeson who was the catalyst.
And Berube showing the patience to stay the course with the kid.
“Should I sit out everybody that takes a penalty?’’ Berube said after the game. “I understand he took a four-minute penalty, but he played well. It was a mistake, and you’ve got to learn from them. But he’s a good player. He’s played well for us. He’s a skilled guy and he knows how to put the puck in the net.’’
The reality is this: Berube was never going to bench Akeson, whom the Flyers called up to the big club from the minor league Adirondack Phantoms for the final regular-season game, because he played well Thursday night, other than the penalty.
“I think he was our best player on the ice in Game 1,’’ Flyers forward and assistant captain Scott Hartnell said. “It was good to see him bounce back and get that second goal. It was huge.’’
Akeson called the goal “pretty exciting for me,’’ adding, “You could tell by my face out there it was pretty fun for me.’’
He had two full days to think about his mistake and its potential gravity in relation to direction the series would take, but he insisted he moved on after the game.
“It’s obviously not a fun thing to go through, but you forget about it and move on,’’ he said. “You can’t dwell on it. You think about it after the game and that’s about it. [Sunday] was another day.’’
A much better day.