2012 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs: Philadelphia Flyers vs. New Jersey Devils

By May 1, 2012 Blog, NHL No Comments

#5 Philadelphia Flyers vs. #6 New Jersey Devils

The Philadelphia Flyers dominated the Pittsburgh Penguins in every single sense of the word. They rode into the Consol Energy Center and took it to them. They didn’t give them an inch to breathe and they capitalized on every opportunity. The best thing about that series was the fact that every rookie on the squad answered the question that every hockey critic was posing, can the rookies perform under pressure? The answer was an astounding yes. Schenn played a very physical game and dominated the Penguins on both sides of the puck. Couturier played out of this world defense, stopping Evgeni Malkin at every twist and turn and Read scored big goals at the right time and that doesn’t even touch on Wellwood’s excellent play. The Flyers outworked and outscored the Penguins. They exposed the weak defensive core and took advantage of a goalie that lacked confidence in those around him.

You can’t talk about the things that the Flyers did right without talking about Claude Giroux. Giroux had 14 points in 6 games. In the last game of the series, he approached Laviolette and told him that he wanted the first shift in game 6. What did he do with it? He scored less than a minute into the game and laid out Sidney Crosby. There are a dozen articles out there that say that Giroux has earned the captaincy of the Flyers despite the lack of a C on his jersey. He has come out and been vocally supportive of their inconsistent goaltending. He has been a role player for the team and he has been the go to guy when they need some offense.

I could go on for hours talking about all of the things that this Flyers team is doing right, but it’s nothing you haven’t heard before. The offense that we are seeing here in the playoffs is the same offense that made them number three in the NHL. Unfortunately, we’re also seeing the inconsistent goaltending and the poor defense that we saw all season. Bryzgalov has been less than stellar. He is making big saves when he needs to and that’s important, but he’s letting in far too many soft goals. The only thing that he has going for him is the fact that the offense has been putting up so many goals. I guess if he can keep the other team from getting more than four goals, the Flyers still have a chance, but that’s not how things should work.

The defense hasn’t really done there part either. Sure, they played the highest goal scoring team in the NHL that has two of the best players in the NHL, but that’s no excuse for the amount of goals and odd man rushes they have let up thus far. The defense needs to tighten up. They need to pull a page out of Timmo’s book.

New Jersey on the other hand had a very tough series against the Florida Panthers. Did I think that the Panthers would just lie down and take it? No, but I also didn’t think that they would have made a series out of it. They are a young team that has a big upside, but I didn’t think that they would take it to seven games. Brodeur had a pretty good series. He showed that he is still capable of making big saves at the right time, but he is also showing his age. He is showing that he can’t get to the same places that he used to be able to and that his reflexes aren’t quite as quick. On that same note, the defense of the Devils has shown some pretty large holes that Florida exposed, particularly around the crease.

The Devils need to keep the Flyers from in front of the net. They need to clear them out and keep them to the outside. I know that sounds like a very general statement, but it’s what they need to do. They can’t afford to allow Hartnell and Simmonds to camp out in front of the net. They can’t allow Briere to sneak in and well, be Briere. They need Volchenkov and Green and Larsson and Zidlicky to get in there and clear them out. They’re going to need to play solid defense to even have a chance in this series, because their forwards are going to be outmatched and outworked. Sure, the Devils have a great first two lines. I would even say that they have a solid top 9, but each of those lines are completely outmatched by the Flyers forwards. You could make the argument that Parise/Zajac/Kovy is a better first line than Hartnell/Giroux/Jagr, but I don’t know. I think skill wise the Devils hold the advantage as Parise and Kovy are two of the best wingers in the NHL, but the chemistry that the Flyers have is what keeps them going.

If the Devils are going to make this a series they need to tighten up their defensive core and they need to play a strong special teams game. They need to score on their power plays and they need strong kills. They can’t afford to give up the short handed goals that the Penguins gave. They need to play better and harder than that.

In the regular season the series was split 3-3. The Flyers have scored 18 goals and the Devils have scored 15, so the Devils have shown that they can take the Flyers down. They have shown that they can score big goals, but can they do it in the playoffs? Can they knock out a team that is playing as strong as the Flyers have been? I don’t think so. This has nothing to do with my allegiance to the city. I’m not alone in this observation and after finding out the Kovalchuk is now out for Game 2, the Devils are going to have to overcome even more adversity. I’m just not sure that they can take down a team that is as hot or as deep as the Flyers.

Prediction: Flyers in 5

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