I told you this wasn’t gonna be an easy series for the Devils. The Philadelphia Flyers showed just why they shouldn’t be taken for granted in this first round matchup last night, outhitting the Devils and battling to a 2-1 victory at the Prudential Center. Brian Boucher was great in net for the Flyers, allowing just one goal on 24 shots faced, and I’m sure there’s a little bit of tension in the Devils’ locker room right now.
As was expected, the Devils did a really good job of keeping the Flyers in check for most of the game, holding them to just 14 shots on the night. With Martin Brodeur in net, you’d think that 14 shots would be far from enough for Philly to get a win, but you can’t even really blame Marty for the goals that went in. Chris Pronger put the Flyers up 1-0 midway through the second, crashing the net and slipping a loose puck through the crease with a nifty little backhand. Seven minutes later, Mike Richards drilled a slapshot past Brodeur to give Philadelphia all the scoring they would need to win this one.
In the 3rd period, the Devils absolutely dominated Philadelphia, outshooting them 9-2, but were unable to capitalize on 6 minutes of penalty time, including a double minor to Oskars Bartulis for high sticking. Travis Zajac scored a late goal to pull them within one, but Boucher shut the door after that.
In his playoff debut with the Devils, Ilya Kovalchuk was solid, but was unable to score. He had a couple of real good chances, including a one rush where he dangled all the way through the Philly defense but chipped a shot high and wide. Overall, it was a frustrating night for Kovalchuk and the rest of the Devils, and they’ll be hoping they can draw this series even tomorrow night. Heading back to rowdy Philly down 2-0 would be a recipe for disaster.