Bryzgalov flubs, Flyers fall
Devils 3, Flyers 1
Bryzgalov flubs, Flyers fall
Rich Hofmann, Daily News Sports Columnist
And so, this is how it ends, one of those only-in-Philadelphia nights. It is a story that we pass down through the hockey generations, like baldness. The Flyers lost a playoff series to the New Jersey Devils and this will be the enduring symbol from the final game:
Flyers goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov, trying to shoot a puck away from the front of his net, away to safety, instead seeing the puck picked out of the air by Devils forward David Clarkson and ricocheting behind him and into the goal.
It was impossible, and it happened.
It was Cechmanek-esque, or burlesque.
It joins the pucks that impossibly sneaked in through John Vanbiesbrouck that year against Toronto, and the Roman Cechmanek meltdown against Buffalo, and the Cup-losing goal that somehow eluded Michael Leighton in 2010, and the dizzily-spinning carousel that was the three-goaltender situation in 2011.
When that goal happened Tuesday night, it was only the first period. The Flyers’ deficit was only 2-1. But as soon as everyone realized what had happened, and that the puck was in the net, it was obvious that another chapter in the endless municipal tragicomedy was being written.
The final score was Devils 3, Flyers 1. The series was over in five games. Pinning it on Bryzgalov would be more than unfair. At the same time, nobody is ever going to forget how that second one got behind him.
The truth is, he played well in the series overall. Really, he has played well since he allowed five goals on 18 shots in Game 4 of the Flyers’ first-round series against Pittsburgh. In the first four games against Pittsburgh, his save percentage was an awful .844. In the next six games, going into last night, his save percentage was a credible .909.
He was good enough for them to win games, but it was the strangest thing during the series. In the games where Bryzgalov was at his best, the team was timid in front of him. They could never get it synced up.
On Tuesday night, playing without suspending star Claude Giroux, the Flyers came out hitting everything. Zac Rinaldo was a human missile. The Flyers took another 1-0 lead, as they seem to do every night -- but they couldn’t hold either that lead or their early emotional edge.
Overall, they played a much better game than they did in Games 2, 3 or 4 of the series. They did not struggle nearly as much with either getting the puck out of their end or with keeping possession in the New Jersey end. It was a much more even game.
But they were playing from behind because of the goal that went bump in the night. They could never overcome the shock.
And so it will be told.
Comments (84)
Groundhog Day— Sam Crow- "When the best player on our team comes to me and says he wants to take the series off and take a cheap shot and not play in the elimination game, I can't say no." -Lavy after NJ hands the Flyers their summer pass.
— theeutmost - As the folks in Phoenix are apt to say about Bryz, 'You see? He is who we thought he was'.— Claire Voyant
- Good bye 6,25,48 and 68. Lets see if Vancouver wants to swap. What a joke out played and out coached in all aspects of the game.— EDDYEDEAGLES
- the Bryz era is over.....— flyerfan from section Z
- Yeah, in 8 years! Ha ha ha — PoPoPhilthy
- Unbelievably disappointing. And to think that the NY Metro area has a shot at yet another championship this year is absolutely nauseating. This entire round was aweful to watch and even more aweful to digest.— Jeff in Langhorne
- Still losers since 1975. Great job! From cloud 9 after beating the Pens to CLAUDIA WHINING LIKE A TEN YEAR OLD. To all the cheap hits by Rinaldo, to all the stupid penalties by Hartnell, to Universe showing his 5 hole is as big as the universe! Congrats Devils! 1975 losers!— CentralPAman
- RICHARDS / CARTER ⬆
DRY ISLAND ⬇— petemagoop - I said after the pens series that flyers would be embarrassed in the next round once they played a team with a real defense like NJ, which clearly has now happened, so sad, if they only had some defense. Plus Giroux doing his best to act like crosby in game 4 crying and whining and then the stupid hit and suspension., grow up Let the excuses begin yet for another year. Need to get rid of some players .. hartnel, and jagr, bryz to start and then start over. Like that goal bryz caused lost the series for the flyers, they lost cuz they have no defense and were out played and out coached plain and simple. Please let the whinning and excuse making start, there are no excuses no defense lackluster play, no one to blame but the flyers as almost every year, i've had it... Oh well go Phillies— h0ckeyf@n
- Wait till next year, for the 37th time.— primo
- Rick and Carts sure must enjoy playing in front of a real goalie— petemagoop
- we still need a goalie. the more the team changes the more that remains the same.— coloradoeagle
- Yep. They scored 7 goals in the 4 losses, but it's the goalie... — JSaq
- Nice goal Bryz. 50 million dollars and you're supposed to prevent goals, not score them on your own net. Clutz. Agree that over the last 3 games Bryz played alright, but what a terrible time to F*** up. Liked the way the team came out with emotion and hitting everything in sight. Only wish they could have kept it up for the full 60 minutes. Loved Rinaldo's game. I counted 4 certain penalties that should have been called on the Debs, but were ignored by the once-again biased Refs. Shanahan must also go - what a totally incompetent waste of skin.— OrangeFury
- Goodnight Flyers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Take Your loser Phils with you too. NY RULES!— MRD
- We'll get 'em next year boys. Didn't expect much of them this season and they gave us a hell of a first round. In the end I think our youth caught up with us. A lot of our key players have never played this long before nor have they dealt with this kind of defensive adversity thrown their way. Put the C on Claude's chest and let's get back at it. I'll be wearing my Flyers t-shirt proudly tomorrow. Let the blame game begin. LET'S GO FLYERS!!!— henrychinaski
- They submitted meekly, like the cowards we deep down knew they were. I take solace that I am not in the Flyers' front office. Having watched these losers quit, they must now struggle desperately to field a competitive team next season with no salary cap slack due to how much these losers are being paid.— Krupotkin
- Rick and Carts - S/Cup in a month— petemagoop
- Just another failing season for the Flyers.Their main concern this year was only to beat the Penguins.They played their hearts out to do that with some officiating help.Once the officiating was evened out against Jersey they couldn't do a thing.How was it watching the final game of the season from the booth Claude?After your head coach deemed you as the greatest player in hockey you showed you are just as stupid as Sidney Crosby when it's crunch time.— Failureagain
- Bryzgalov is not the reason the Flyers lost this game or the reason we lost this series, but he is definitely the easiest player to blame and the laziest article to write about. LET'S GO FLYERS! Next year.— henrychinaski
- Bryzgalov is not the reason the Flyers lost this game or the reason we lost this series, but he is definitely the easiest player to blame and the laziest article to write about. LET'S GO FLYERS! Next year.— henrychinaski
- this series wasn't on the goalie....they lost to a better coached team...the difference in coaching was evident..— kadhia
- The Flyers are a one trick pony. PP goals. Devils punished you. Your D is big a slow. Hey, where's the best player in the world? LOL. Brz, nice goal.— mainekick
- This series is living proof that hard work overcomes superior skill. The Flyers’ bread and butter has always been outworking the other team. In this series, even though the Flyers have more skilled forwards, d-men, goalie, and coach, the Devils outworked them…and won the series as a result. They turned the tables on the Flyers’ M.O., and it paid off.— mbrown3
- I am of course very happy with the outcome of the game. I have to give the Flyers credit, they played a clean third period and never took out their frustrations. Even when it it was clear they were done, they stayed in the game and tried to win. Respect— Devsrule
- Good luck to you. Nice to see a non-troll fan from another team here. Would be nice to see some more non-Philly people with some class here.
— verve - Funny Central PA, cause I can still hear Cindy whining from the golf course. Well, at least Neal, Cooke, Malkin and all the other cheap shots from that team of chokers are already at home.— camtheman
- Maybe Bryz,Claudia and Hartless Ccan join the Penguins on the same golf course.Claudia has the advantage on the course being he sat with his feet up tonight. — Failureagain
- Nah, Crosby is probably too afraid to get anywhere near Claude after he got run over in Game 6 — camtheman
- Where was Claudia Bryz and Hartless this series?Lovie said Claudia was the best player in hockey?Far from it.It looked like Lovie was going to cry after Jersey scored to tie the score at 2-2 in the last game.I think he better worry about a goal tender instead of labeling his players.Like I said before the Flyers played their hearts out just to beat the Penguins. That didn't get them the cup did it?Boo Hoo Hoo. — Failureagain
- 'To safety'? The Bryz tried to pass it through Clarkson like he didn't exist. Corner? Behind the net? That would be 'safety.' Wow -- that was classic.— Tangerine
- Looks good on ya Philly! Flyer fans are the lowest class in the history of the sport. They are stupid, slow, overweight louts that hide their own Easter eggs. Fear the Fist t-shirt campaign? Now they can use those shirts to advertise free fisting services to each other.
My favourite recollection of a typical fat Flyer fan is the stupid idiot who fell under his own massive girth into the Maple Leafs penalty-box when Tie Dome was trying to wash the stench of this dirt-pig away from him.
Better luck next year, trash-boys!
— Martin Bonis - I have more respect for someone like Devsrule above and their classy comment than someone who spews filth and cowers behind their keyboard without saying who there team is. What a piece of trash. — camtheman
- The Flyers need a goalie in the worst way.— fanup
- And non bandwagon fans too! Seriiously, kinda embarrassing they are hocking tix during every commercial. Btw, the Pirates have a championship since the flyers have a cup.
Ha ha ha— PoPoPhilthy - Looks good on ya Philly! Flyer fans are the lowest class in the history of the sport. They are stupid, slow, overweight louts that hide their own Easter eggs. Fear the Fist t-shirt campaign? Now they can use those shirts to advertise free fisting services to each other.
My favourite recollection of a typical fat Flyer fan is the stupid idiot who fell under his own massive girth into the Maple Leafs penalty-box when Tie Domi was trying to wash the stench of this dirt-pig away from him.
— Martin Bonis - Can't blame Bryz since the game could've been another hour and the Flyers still wouldn't have another quality scoring chance. One goal isn't enough unless Bernie Parent is back there. Sigh, Phillies suck too. Let's go Sixers? Maybe more opponent injuries will extend their run.— burholme
- Thanks for a great season that exceeded expectations and beating the pens, that again exceeded expectations. devils were the better team this series.— P Even
- Bryz stole the life from the team tonight. After that goal, the first was weak too, the team had no fight. But they weren't going to win the series anyway. The refs were awful, but to be expected. And now in the playoffs it is legal to interfere with forecheckers at the blue line when it wasn't legal during the season.— fjarmstrong85
- How typical of philly -- you beat the Penguins in a first round series and your coach declares that giroux is the best player in the world, and you acted like the cup was on its way. Typical of the "contact" sport philly teams Flyers/Eagles. Frontrunners who always choke in the end. How many cups since 1975? How many super bowl victories? Well I guess you have the phillies -- stick to the "soft" sports Philly. Leave the contact sport championships to New York and Pittsburgh!— penswincups1963
- Painful way to end a fun season.
go Phils!— raoool - HA HA HA LOOSER FLYER FANS. U DIED LIKE THE PIGS THAT U R.— msgeis
- I was surprised we lasted this long...in the series that is.— Eagle1Vegas
- The real heart of the Flyers was
Mike Richards, but the Philly press
just have to give the C to Pronger
aka "Captain Cripple".— olneyboy - Maybe Rubin can jump in from the Phils and fix this thing...oops, 7-4 Mets comeback over pathetic pitching, never mind.— Eagle1Vegas
- Ha ha ha
Told you so!— PoPoPhilthy - The proof is in the puddin'....Your team just isen't that good! Sorry!— MRD
- This from a team that won 47 games and knocked out all the analysts presumptive pick to win the SC...what a nitwit. — camtheman
- Good ol' Tie Dome.— henrychinaski
- BRIZZY STARDUST And The FYLERS From MARS. Where Did The Real FLYERS Go? WTF?!!!!!!!!!!— Darryl Cofield
- Typical Flyer a-holes - they scored 7 goals in 4 losses and you blame the goalie!— BornOnTheWrongSide_of_PA
- Please get rid of this guy!!! Leighton was better than this dude...— BuddyBall92
- You're Blaming Bryz for your Phailure in this series?....DEFINITELY not his Phault, look to you "D" & your Neutral Zone calamity. We forced it in deep so your forwards had to play D & they didn't know how....No wonder your goalies ALWAYS stink if you're so quick to sell'em out. Thanx for the memories(Again)!— posessedXdevs
- Cole hamels and Claude giroux are as cheap as anyone in their leagues.
Ha ha ha— PoPoPhilthy - A Total TEAM Loss, But The Headline Says BRYZGALOV FLUBS!!!!!!!!!— Darryl Cofield
- This board is a joke.— jvgranquist
- So are the Flyers.....
Ha ha ha ha— PoPoPhilthy - 1976
Ha ha ha— PoPoPhilthy - How can a team look so good in one series and so bad in the next? I mean so bad that you completely forget about their accomplishments this year. They turned into the gang that couldn't do anything right. For sure, Jagr needs to go. Absolutely nothing from him when it mattered the most. And Bryz in goal is like dealing with a schizophrenic who can't always be counted on to take his meds. From the penthouse to the outhouse in two series. Ouch!— rennie_gade
- I have the new team slogan. The Philadelphia Flyers, disappointing fans since 1977.— pucks98
- It's humorous the number of liars that say "I told you so" when this happens, in reality next to no one predicted this type of meltdown. NJ matched up better against us than probably anyone left in the playoffs, that's the way it goes. Bryz could be better but he was hardly the reason we lost, there were times I could have sworn there were 10 Devils on the ice at one time it was so bad. The entire team, and coaching staff for lack of preparation and/or adjustments takes the blame for this. As I said previously, they weren't supposed to be here anyway after they traded away "all of their offense" in the off season. Shows you how much the "experts" know.
— doctorlivingstone - Its time Snider calls out the league on these embarrassing officiated games that always sticks the Flyers. Its been going on to long by the NHL. The NHL still hasn't gotten over the Bullies. Some jerk off in Toronto still has it out for them. I guess trap hockey is better. As for Shanahan? How can you respect a guy who was repeatedly raped as a junior hockey player by his coach and says nothing? Did he like it or taking one for the team? Maybe he can get transefered to Penn State and work with Sandusky because he knows nothing about discipline! As for the Flyers we were beat by the TRAP by the team who ruined Hockey. Can we get a coach that knows how to beat the trap. We get sucked in every time instead of just flipping the puck up high in the air at there D and run them down. Eventually they will get tired of chasing down for icing.— NYYFlyerfan
- Way to keep it classy.....
Your comment above encapsulates the typical Philly mentality. Dude, you are the reason the Philly fan stereotypes exist and persist. Face it man, your beloved Flyers lost. I bet you wear your hat sideways......
Ha ha ha— PoPoPhilthy - Here we go again, time to (rightfully and justifiably) blame the goalie.— PhillyFanInLA
- Where are all the WHITE TRASH flygirls fans now??? Where's the tough guys? At Geno's waiting to sucker punch somebody?? NEWSFLASH...You PUNKS ain't so tough...SCUMBAGS!— Tollman
- Not surprised, Losers for 37 years. I would be surprised if they won.— eaglesman1
- You know what, I'm disappointed about the loss but the Devils deserved to win. Bryz stepped up big time this series and gave this team a chance. You think that after all these years without a cup, maybe it's not the goalie that's holding back this team. Quit trying to blame Bryz for this series, time to look elsewhere for an excuse. What I'm looking forward to next year: A team that's loaded with offense, a healthy Pronger, Bryz to settle in, rookies that have gained some valuable experience and the addition of some defense (hopefully).— RU95
- Really, Rich? No way...shaky, shaky, shaky. He looked like he was just waiting for the next goal to be scored before this one even started. And then went out and 'scored' the series-winning goal. At least Cechmanek worked cheap. Eight more years of this? Yikes...— PhillySubsMac
- You say Clarkson "picked" it out of the air, which implies an active verb. Clarkson was just there; he didn't do anything, it hit his stick. A passive verb with respect to Clarkson is required in that statement, as in "...seeing the puck ricochet off Clarkson's stick and into the net". You're welcome. See you next training camp...— Brian F.
- Barry Melrose is an idiot.— 5280philly
- It was like groundhog day. The Flyers kept doing what wasn't working the whole series. It was like watching a video loop— rustypop58
- Been very supportive of the Bryz. But he really is a loser. How can you let that type of goal go in. We were out played by a better team but letting in that goal just means he wasnt focused. he just doesnt have IT. Time to eat his contract and just cut him. What else can we do??— rporciuncula
- So many players completely disappeared in this series. Jägr, JVR looked lost and useless, Hartnalll, Grossman, Lilja, and the rest. Honestly, the only reason the Flyers won the Pitts series is that the Pens have no defense— mish798798
- The injury reports start tomorrow with 3-5 guys requiring some sort of surgery or rehab. Let's face it-They blew their collective wad on Penguin series. That said, the defense is still terrible and needs to be addressed. Even with 8 weeks off, Mesz was a stud out there tonight compared to the rest of those traffic cones. Bryz was mediocer and will never get the Flyers to the next level. His only technique is drop to his knees and shrug his shoulder-He is fundamentally unsound, and as we learned tonight, a complete liability.— Mike Boryla
- My thanks to the Phillies, Flyers & Sixers. Tonight, you may have finally cured me of my addiction to Philly sports.— eaglegreen1
- Bryz play was freaky but not surprising - he was so cavalier with the puck the whole series. Someone should have told him after Game 2 that he's not Ron Hextall.— mudge42
- "Good enough to win" is not good enough for a $51 Million goalie.
With the exception of one month, this guy was terrible.— VicM - Score one goal in an elimination game and it's all the goalie's fault.
Go back to watching baseball.— dougleader - another year of watching the flyers and i loved it just as i have the last 40 some odd years. i wouldn't want to be a fan in any other city. sixers, flyers, eagles and phillies rock. thanks for the fun you guys always bring into my living room.— tmq
- The goalie situation is clear for all to see. On the offensive side of the puck, we lost this series because the Devils had a system that choked the life out of us. If the coaches don't see that their system was ineffective, it won't matter how many forwards we trade, waive or sign - we'll be in the same situation. So begins our off-season to re-think, repair & retool in the hope of beginning another Cup-run....next year.— FlyerPhanVA
- It wasn't that the team played timid when he was playing well. They were in shock.— denny99
- Devs fan here - I don't think you should blame this on Bryz, you have a quality goalie there. Yes, a few were questionable, but Marty had a few of those as well. The game winner in game 5?....Timmo should have iced it & not passed it back to Bryz. He wasn't expecting it & yea, he froze a bit. But there were several periods when he did all he could to give your team a chance to win. "If" I was a Phan, I would be pointing my finger more towards the coaching staff. It was clear to me the Devs targeted keeping the Orange forwards on the defensive side of the puck & the Orange coaches did not make adjustments to right that. The Devs exploited that the entire series with not much of an answer. Bryz is the best thing to wear pads in your town in years. Get behind him, support him & hope your mgmt surrounds him with a great goalie coach/staff to work on a few tweaks...........FORE!— posessedXdevs
- Yeah.....no offense and a lousy defense but let's blame the goalie. Not the ownership, management, coaching, players, media nor the fans (yes, the fans).
This embarrassing debacle loss to the Devils is on everyone, other than Bryz. Yes, the fans because ownership/management/media has everyone brainwashed that "Philly hockey" is a 'smash-mouth, put you through the wall brand' and the Flyers represent toughness. Actually stupidity is more like it after the same game plan has failed for 37 years.
But never fear as the unending pitcher of Kool-Aid continues to be poured for the fans: we'll just blame the (fill in the blank depending upon the year)!! It's the goalie!! No wait, it's the officials!! No, it's the league!! No, no, no...it's the sport itself!— TheIceDog
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