Flyers vs. Devils Scouting Report

Flyers: Recently, the Flyers' offense has been anything but explosive. They scored four or more goals just three times over the final 20 games of the regular season. Mike Richards (62 points) just barely cracks the NHL's top 50 scoring list. Jeff Carter (33 goals) hasn't scored in his last five games. After Richards and Carter, only Danny Briere (26 goals) was able to break the 20-goal plateau after six players scored more than 25 last season. The Flyers' offense will determine how far this team goes.

Devils: The Devils aren't recognized for their offensive firepower, but that figured to change once they acquired sniper Ilya Kovalchuk from Atlanta on Feb. 4. Kovy hasn't translated into exactly what GM Lou Lamoriello wanted, but he still put up a respectable 27 points in 27 games. The Devils have plenty of weapons with Zach Parise (82 points), Travis Zajac (67) and Jamie Langenbrunner (62) as a supporting cast.

EDGE: Devils

Flyers: Chris Pronger is the Flyers' rock. Pronger, who helped Anaheim capture the Stanley Cup in 2007, anchors the Flyers' strongest asset. Many say Pronger and the Flyers are built for the playoffs. With Kimmo Timonen and Matt Carle humming in the background, one could make a case that this is the Flyers' single strongest defensive unit in franchise history. Lukas Krajicek has been steady, too. Braydon Coburn, Ryan Parent and Oskars Bartulis need to cut down on boneheaded turnovers.

Devils: New Jersey allowed the fewest amount of goals in the NHL this season and it wasn't even close. A lot of that is due to Marty Brodeur and his 2.24 goals-against average and .916 save percentage and the Devils' life-sucking trap system. The Devils aren't led by Scott Stevens or Scott Neidermayer anymore. Andy Greene and Colin White are their biggest names, which doesn't say much. But all of the Devils' heavy hitters on defense finished as a plus this season.

EDGE: Flyers

Flyers: Brian Boucher is not going to turn a lot of heads in this category - and that's more a bow to his opponent, Marty Brodeur, and less a slap to the face of Boucher. The Flyers' starter enters the playoffs having won three of his last four starts, all confidence-builders at the end of a brutal 9-18-0 haul that was most of his season. While it's true that Boucher hasn't gotten the goal support in his starts needed to win, his sub-.900 save percentage in 1,742 minutes of work will raise a few eyebrows. Boucher, however, won't be counted on to steal games. Instead, the Flyers simply need him to be competitive to have a chance to win.

Devils: Marty Brodeur's name says it all. He is the NHL's all-time leader in wins (602) and shutouts (110). He broke another record this season, for most games played during one year with 77. At 37, Brodeur is still ticking, though the Flyers have gotten the best of him this season. This lifelong Devil accounts for most of the Flyers' question marks about winning this series.

EDGE: Devils

Flyers: In his short, 8-year run as an NHL coach, Peter Laviolette has been to the top of the mountain, winning a Stanley Cup as head coach of the Hurricanes in 2006. Unlike Devils coach Jacques Lemaire, Laviolette is not a stickler for matchups. He will be focused on squaring up Pronger with Kovalchuk when possible. Laviolette's aggressive offensive system has served the Flyers well against the Devils this season.

Devils: Lemaire is the much more experienced coach in this matchup, having just completed his 16th regular season as an NHL head coach. He has won 588 games and pushed the Devils to the 1995 Stanley Cup with his legendary defense-first, disciplined neutral-zone trap. Lemaire hasn't found success recently. He hasn't coached a team past the first round since he took Minnesota to the Western Conference finals in 2003.

EDGE: Pick 'em

Flyers: The Flyers' power play finished the regular season third overall in the NHL, converting at a rate of 21.4 percent. They have been fairly consistent all season with the man advantage. With an 11th-place ranking on the penalty kill, the Flyers (83 percent) might seem mediocre when down a man. The standings, with five or 10 spots often separated by just one percentage point, don't always tell the story. The PK has been hot recently. They killed 20 in a row before Dan Carcillo's 4-minute double minor last Friday in New York.

Devils: New Jersey finished just a shade below the Flyers in penalty killing with an 82.8 percent success rate. The Flyers scored four power-play goals in six games against the Devils this year but never converted more than one chance per game. New Jersey's 11th-ranked (18.7 percent) power play scored five times in those six contests but it didn't make much of a difference in the overall result.

EDGE: Flyers

Flyers: Aside from a mindless penalty from Scott Hartnell (54 minor penalties this season), the Flyers have managed to stay very disciplined all season. They need to keep Hartnell in check this series. The Flyers have collected at least one point in 10 of their final 13 games at the Wachovia Center, where they enjoyed a 24-14-3 record in front of some of the most raucous fans in the NHL.

Devils: New Jersey, meanwhile, finished 20th in attendance. The Devils, quite famously, had a tough time selling tickets to some of their playoff games at the Meadowlands. Tickets haven't been hard to come by in downtown Newark, either, which could lend itself a friendlier crowd for the Flyers.

EDGE: Flyers

1. Goaltending. The Flyers don't need to put any undue pressure on Brian Boucher. He does not need to steal games for the Flyers to win this series. He simply needs to make key saves when called upon, control his rebounds and keep the game close. The Flyers' strong defense, aided by deft shot-blocking, should help his case.

2. Scoring depth. No player on the Flyers' roster aside from Jeff Carter, Mike Richards and Danny Briere eclipsed the 20-goal mark this season. Claude Giroux, Scott Hartnell, James van Riemsdyk and Simon Gagne need to put the puck in the net in order for the Flyers - who haven't been near their 2.9 goals per game average over the last 20 games - to be successful.

3. Quick start. This is imperative for the Flyers in both the series and each game. They need to win at least one of the first two games in Newark in order to win this series. The Flyers will have a big home-ice advantage at the Wachovia Center. Winning one would also further instill doubt in the Devils' heads about their ability to beat the Flyers. The Flyers have the NHL's fifth-worst winning percentage (.242) when the opponent scores first.