Flyers flatline
Devils 4, Flyers 1
Flyers flatline
Rich Hofmann, Daily News Sports Columnist
Wow, were the Flyers bad on Tuesday night.
A team built on emotion showed little.
A group schooled in aggression rolled over.
A Flyers team that is better than the New Jersey Devils, and that got a long stretch of great goaltending from Ilya Bryzgalov, nonetheless finds itself hip-deep now in a playoff series in which it has surrendered the home-ice advantage. Such are the consequences of a 4-1 loss at home that was truly shocking for the Flyers -- not necessarily for the result but for their complete absence of a pulse for most of the evening.
At the end of the second period, as the Flyers left the ice to a low rumble of boos from the crowd at the Wells Fargo Center, the Devils had to have been wondering exactly what it was going to take. Playing without injured start Ilya Kovalchuk, they had just dominated the Flyers for about the first 19 minutes of the period and were still trailing by 1-0.
The turnaround in the game had been stunning. The Flyers came out trailing sparks. Rookie Matt Read scored just 2 minutes, 53 seconds into the game, and the Flyers’ pressure remained relentless for several minutes after that. But a couple of penalties stopped their momentum, and they could not get it back. It is hard to understand how it could happen -- dominating one minute, paralyzed the next -- but there it was.
The second period was as one-sided as most college football games in September. The only reason Flyers survived was goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov, our current favorite child of scorn. Whatever your opinion, you have to acknowledge this much: when the Flyers have needed him the most -- as things began to crumble against Pittsbrugh; in the first period of Game 1, when the Flyers were shaking off a week’s worth of rust; in the second period Tuesday night -- the guy has been very good.
And, yes, your ears did not deceive you. The chant from the crowd was “Bryz...Bryz...Bryz...” And, yes, it sounds as rhythmic as it reads, which is not at all.
The Flyers did not get a shot in the second period until 1:27 remained -- when they had 6 men on the ice during a delayed penalty call. They finished the period with two shots. And the question in everyone’s head for the next 17 minutes, as they cleaned the ice, was about what kind of carryover there might be in the third period.
Would the Flyers snap out of it?
Would the Devils snap out of frustration?
The answers: no and no.
The Devils finally tied the score, in a 4 on 4 situation, when Adam Larsson fired a wrist shot into the top corner of the net, high to Bryzgalov’s glove side. After which, the Flyers did wake up a bit and the game was much more even. At the same time, the Devils still had the best of the chances as the third period began to bleed away -- and then it happen. On another New Jersey assault, Bryzgalov did a nice job poking a puck away from Zach Parise, but David Clarkson banged in the rebound.
The Devils had a 2-1 lead that they thoroughly deserved. Then, at 14:01, Travis Zajac made it 3-1. Bryce Salvador scored again later, into an empty net.
And now comes the challenge for the Flyers.
Which has to begin with, you know, waking up.
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LOL too many people read the Philly papers after the last game. This is going 6-7, no question.— 3cups8yrs- Looked like they thought they only had to play one period to win. Usually they sleep through the 1st period. Had a golden opp to take a stranglehold...now another 6 or 7 game series. Maybe they read too many press clippings about how much more talented they are than NJ and how it would be over in 5. Not going to win a cup unless you play consistent and bring it in every game. The effort was embarrassing tonight. Stopped skating, stopped working, stopped battling. That better be the last poor performance of these playoffs or forget about the next round.— wilcowaits
- These Guys Forgot To Show Up Tonite. What The Hell Happened To The Passion? Bryz Could Only Hold On So Long. Pick It Up FLYERS. At Least The SIXERS And PHILLIES Won. Two Of Three Aint Bad.— Darryl Cofield
- Now everyone bow down to the CornerPretzelGuy. Does arrogance always come on your pretzels? Personally, I prefer yellow mustard. How come the Flyers or some other professional sports team hasn't hired you yet? Geez, how many pretzels can you carry on that big head of yours?— wilcowaits
- Heartless is right. Bryz stands on his head while everyone else mails it in. G did his best Hartnell impression and the PP was a joke. They better bring the energy real quick because the Devils came to play. That was a horrible game from top to bottom.— xlGmanlx
- The Good news - The flyers got off to a great start and were awesome in the first period.
The Bad news - They took the rest of the night off.— Mike Boryla - Flyers will bounce back. The Penquins won game four 10-3 and the flyers prevailed. Give the devils credit, they kept the pressure on...outshot and outhustled the flyers.
With Philly up 1-nothing, we had 2 first period power plays and did nothing. In my opinion, there was too much trying to make the perfect pass. Get the puck on the net. They passed on so many chances to shoot. The devils kept the heat on and had so many chances
in the first two periods, it could have been 5-1 NJ after 2.
We need to regroup. Maybe this loss will wake them up and bring out a better effort the rest of the way. Go Flyers !!!— Fan74 - Doesn't anyone learn how to lose. One game of thousands watched in lifetime and all this derision. The other team played better. It's a 7 game series. What a venomous gathering.— retzlaff
- Really...Flyers are the better team?? They won a tight game 1 in OT and got their *sses handed to them tonight. Round two means you face a different opponent. Jersey isn't as soft on forechecking, defense and grit as the the Pen's were. I hope and pray Philly continues to take them for granted as the "weaker" opponent. 2012 PLAYOFF STAT ----- BRYZ AND THE FLYERS HAVE THE HIGHEST GAA OF ANY OF THE REMAINING TEAMS IN THE PLAYOFFS. Maybe life isn't all that great in your crease???— snodog66
- Bryz played very well, the rest of the team apparently didn't realize this was a playoff game. But at some point, after all those shots and pretty much no time in the Devils zone, goals will get scored. Remember, you can't score if you don't shoot. The defense let up the goals even more than Bryz, and that can't continue to happen if the Flyers expect to advance.— aisaac
- I was shocked when I saw how even the faceoff stats were. It appeared to me that we lost every single meaningful faceoff. Zubrus never lost one. Giroux 2/7 in the offensive zone. Won't get it done against a team that is hard to gain the zone on b/c of Brodeur.— puttinonthefoil
