Flyers-Devils Game 2 Recap: It’s A Series Now
The Flyers were defeated by the Devils 4-1 in Game 2 of their series last night at the Wells Fargo Center, but that scoreline doesn’t accurately indicate just how thoroughly the Flyers were outplayed by the Devils in the game. Here’s a recap of the action in the Game 2 loss:
The Flyers started off very well in the first period, a rarity for them in this postseason. After chances for both teams, Matt Read scored just 2:53 into the game after taking a pass from Brayden Schenn, firing off the outside of the net, and taking his own rebound and beating Brodeur. Wayne Simmonds also picked up an assist on the goal, and the Flyers looked to be headed for a 2-0 series lead. Just over a minute later, Danny Briere hit the post on a great scoring chance, and the Flyers were buzzing around the net. A couple of penalties killed their momentum, but they still had the better run of play for the majority of the period. Toward the end of the period, the Devils got some chances but Ilya Bryzgalov stood tall in net and they went to intermission with the Flyers leading 1-0.
The Flyers started the 2nd period off on a power play, but couldn’t get a shot on goal during the opportunity. A lack of shots would become a theme in this game, as the Flyers were outshot 12-2 in the 2nd period and were held shotless for the first 18:30 of the period. The Devils had countless opportunities and seemingly spent the entire period on offense in the Flyers’ zone, but Ilya Bryzgalov denied each shot and finished the second period with 25 saves on 25 shots. The Flyers clung to the 1-0 lead going into the third period.
Without any help from his offense, Bryzgalov tried valiantly to make the 1-0 lead stand up in the third period, but he could not. 2 minutes into the 3rd, a Scott Hartnell holding penalty cancelled out a Flyers power play and set up an extended 4-on-4. The Devils’ power play unit moved the puck around and highly touted rookie Adam Larsson, making his postseason debut in place of Ilya Kovalchuk, had the puck on his stick with an open shooting lane to the net. He beat Bryzgalov on the glove side with a twine-seeking wrist shot that Bryz had no chance to stop. The seal on the Flyers’ net had finally been broken, and the score was tied 1-1 on Larsson’s first career postseason goal, which was assisted by former Flyer Dainius Zubrus and Peter Harrold.
The tying goal should have been a wake-up call for the Flyers, but they continued their lethargic play. They couldn’t hold the zone on the rush and the puck stayed in their end for extended periods of time. Stars Claude Giroux, Scott Hartnell, and Danny Briere looked just a beat off their games all night long, along with most of the Flyers. Pucks were behind players or in their skates, and the offense looked very choppy. The fluidity that led to offensive explosions against Pittsburgh and a barrage of shots on Brodeur in Game 1 was completely abesent. Past the halfway point of the period, with the score still tied at 1, it seemed like it was only a matter of time before the Devils took the lead, and with 8:43 remaining they did. Off a faceoff, the Flyers couldn’t clear the puck and Zach Parise had a shot on goal that was saved by Bryzgalov. Both Flyers defenders went to clear David Clarkson off the puck that had rebounded off Bryzgalov, but neither did and Clarkson pushed the puck in for a goal that put the Devils up 2-1. Immediately after the play, he was shoved into the net and knocked it off its moorings, leading to the iconic image of the game: Clarkson lying on the crossbar, celebrating the go-ahead goal.
Less than 3 minutes later, the Devils struck again for the dagger in the Flyers’ hearts. The puck was still in the Flyers’ end, and the Devils took control behind the net. Travis Zajac whipped around the back of the net and put a wraparound shot over Bryzgalov’s outstretched glove before he could slide himself back across the crease. Stephen Gionta and Zubrus picked up the assists on a goal that was simply the result of offensive zone pressure and hard work, and the Devils led 3-1 with 6 minutes to play. The goal was a reward for the work the Devils had been doing all game: they were winning the 1-on-1 battles along the boards and keeping pucks in the offensive zone.
Desperate for some sort of spark, the Flyers pulled Ilya Bryzgalov for over 3 minutes left after the Flyers got a power play to give them a 6-on-4 chance. However, almost immediately the Devils gained control of the puck and defenseman Bryce Salvador fired the puck the length of the ice and into the empty net for his first goal in 100 games (no, really). Rookie Adam Henrique assisted on the goal, and the scoring was capped at 4-1 in favor of the Devils. They always say that it’s not truly a series until one team wins on the road, and after a dominating performance by the Devils in Game 2 that saw them outshoot the Flyers 35-20 it’s certainly a series now.
Revisiting the 3 Keys to the Game:
My 3 keys to Game 2 were starting off strong, the goaltenders, and Ilya Kovalchuk’s abscense. The Flyers had a good start to the game and took the early lead, but the good start was undone by their horrendous second period, which was the worst offensive period I’ve seen them play in a long time. Ilya Bryzgalov fought valiantly in net, but the sheer amount of Devils’ opportunities overwhelmed him and there was nothing he could do about it. This was his best game besides Game 6 against Pittsburgh, so his improvement was one of the lone bright spots on the night (along with rookie Eric Wellwood’s speed). However, Brodeur saved the shots he was supposed to save, and on a night where the Flyers didn’t get many chances and the Devils did, that was enough to win. Finally, the Devils did an excellent job of replacing Ilya Kovalchuk. They slowed the game down to a pace they were comfortable with rather than the breakneck pace that the Flyers like to play at, and in doing so were able to dominate them in all three zones on the ice: offensive, defensive, and neutral. Peter Harrold played well on the 4th line in his conversion to a forward to help replace Kovalchuk, and Larsson scored the game-tying goal in the third period as the replacement in the lineup for Kovalchuk. The Devils couldn’t have handled the injury situation any better or played a better game without him, and the result showed that.