Flyers-Devils Game 2 Preview

The Flyers will look to take a 2-0 series lead against the Devils tonight when they take the ice at 7:30 PM for Game 2 of their Eastern Conference Semifinal series. Here’s a preview of tonight’s action at the Wells Fargo Center:

Injury News:
The Flyers don’t have any injuries from Game 1, as Scott Hartnell took a shot in his lower leg but is expected to play. The big injury news, however, is that the Devils’ star winger, sniper Ilya Kovalchuk, will miss Game 2 with a lower-body injury that he suffered in the first round against Florida. Some believe it’s a back injury, while others are calling it a groin injury. Either way, it means the Devils will be without one of their best offensive players. Due to their lack of depth, Devils’ head coach Peter DeBoer has decided to move defender Peter Harrold up to offense and rookie defenseman Adam Larsson will make his postseason debut in his place.

Projected Line Combinations (left to right):
Flyers:
Hartnell-Giroux-Jagr
JVR-Briere-Voracek
Talbot-Couturier-Wellwood
Read-Schenn-Simmonds

Devils:
Parise-Elias-Zubrus
Ponikarovsky-Zajac-Clarkson
Sykora-Henrique-Bernier
Carter-Gionta-Harrold

Defensive Pairings:
Flyers:
Carle-Timonen
Grossmann-Coburn
Lilja-Gustafsson

Devils:
Volchenkov-Fayne
Zidlicky-Salvador
Larsson-Greene

Ilya Bryzgalov and Martin Brodeur will both start in net tonight, just as they have this entire postseason for their respective teams.

3 Keys to the Game:
1) Starting Off Strong
The Flyers started off very poorly in Game 1, and it nearly cost them. They went down 1-0 after the first period, and had it not been for 15 saves by Ilya Bryzgalov, many of which were high quality, the scoreline could have been much worse. It appeared that the Flyers had put their tendency to start off slowly behind them in the latter half of the series against the Penguins, so it remains to be seen whether the slow start was due to rust or if it will become a habit in this series at well. If the Flyers can start out the way they finished Game 1, they should take home a win tonight.

2) Ilya Bryzgalov and Martin Brodeur
I know this was a key to Game 1 as well, but the first game reinforced how important it is to this series. After a very good opening period, Ilya Bryzgalov’s play slumped and he kept the Devils in the game by letting in two soft goals. At the same time, Brodeur kept the Devils in the game by denying several spectacular Flyers’ scoring chances, although he was at fault for James van Riemsdyk’s goal in the 2nd period since he was the one who turned the puck over. Quite simply, the goaltending (by both teams) was what kept the Devils in the game until Danny Briere’s OT winner. The Flyers can win despite Bryzgalov’s shortcomings and have done so a few times this postseason, but that won’t always be the case and it would certainly be nice to see him step up and play like the $51M man that he is. If he can outplay Brodeur this series, the Flyers will gain the upper hand in the only matchup that didn’t favor them, which is a recipe for both winning games and a berth in the next round of the playoffs.

3) No Kovalchuk
Ilya Kovalchuk is out for tonight’s game (and potentially longer) with a lower-body injury. This hurts the Devils in more ways than one. On one hand, they lose their most talented offensive player who has been a mainstay on their power play. On the other hand, due to their lack of depth up front, defenseman Peter Harrold is replacing Kovalchuk as a winger, which means rookie defenseman Adam Larsson will make his first postseason start tonight. The Flyers need to exploit both of these matchups. They need to try to isolate their worst defensive group on Harrold’s line, since that line isn’t much of a scoring threat anyway, and they need to try to get their best offensive lines on against Larsson’s defensive pairing. Having home ice and therefore the last change will make this easier, but the Devils are still going to avoid it as much as possible. The Flyers also can’t assume that their job will be easier with Kovalchuk out. The Penguins were missing Paul Martin and James Neal in Game 4 against the Flyers and responded by scoring 10 goals on the Flyers’ home ice.

Prediction:
Flyers 3, Devils 2. I think Bryzgalov steps up and matches Brodeur in net, but the Devils simply don’t have enough offensive firepower without Kovalchuk to win the game. I also think the Flyers’ special teams will be improved, as they’ll do better than 1 for 6 on the PP and they won’t give up a power play goal. Enjoy the game, and let’s go Flyers!