Turnpike Series: Flyers-Devils
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Turnpike Series: Flyers-Devils
Sam Carchidi, Inquirer Staff Writer
The Turnpike Series has been set.
The fifth-seeded Flyers finally learned their second-round opponent early Friday morning. It’s sixth-seeded New Jersey, which scored a 3-2 double-overtime win at third-seeded Florida in Game 7.
The Flyers will have home-ice advantage, and they will host Game 1 on Sunday at 3 p.m.
The Flyers went 3-3 against the Devils in the regular season, with Ilya Bryzgalov winning all three of his starts and Sergei Bobrovksy losing his three.
Bryzgalov’s numbers were off the charts: a 0.29 GAA and .987 save percentage.
The teams' big guns, Claude Giroux and the Devils’ Ilya Kovalchuk, were outstanding in the series. Giroux had four goals and three assists in the six games, and Kovalchuk had two goals and six assists.
The Devils beat the Flyers in the conference finals in 1995 and 2000, winning the Stanley Cup both years. The Flyers defeated the Devils in the first round in 2004 and 2010.
Here is a look at this season's six matchups:
- Oct. 8 in Newark - Flyers 3, Devils 0. Bryzgalov ended the Flyers’ 85-game, regular-season shutout drought, and rookie Matt Read scored his first goal.
- Nov. 3 at the WFC - Devils 4, Flyers 3 (shootout). Max Talbot scored on a penalty shot, but it wasn’t enough as Bobrovsky and the Flyers fell in a shootout. Kovalchuk had three points and won a fight with the Flyers’ Brayden Schenn.
- Jan. 21 in Newark - Flyers 4, Devils 1. Bryzgalov was forced to make just 19 saves and Wayne Simmonds collected three points in the win. On the power play, the Flyers were 2 for 5, and the Devils were 0 for 6. All the news wasn’t good: Danny Briere suffered a concussion.
- Feb. 4 at the WFC - Devils 6, Flyers 4. Bobrovsky was shelled (six goals on 23 shots) and relieved by Bryzgalov. The Devils built a 6-0 lead and held off a third-period rally.
- March 11 in Newark - Devils 4, Flyers 1. Bobrovsky was again the loser as New Jersey went 2 for 5 on the PP. Kovalchuk had a goal and two assists.
- March 13 at the WFC - Flyers 3, Devils 0. Bryzgalov, who was in the midst of the second-longest shutout streak in the NHL since 1967-68, notched his second 3-0 win over the Devils this season. Defenseman Braydon Coburn had two assists, seven hits and three blocked shots.
The playoff schedule:
Game 1: Sun. at Phila, 3 p.m.
Game 2: Tue. May 1. at Phila, 7:30 p.m.
Game 3: Thurs. May 3, at NJ, 7:30 p.m.
Game 4: Sun. May 6, at NJ, 7:30 p.m.
*Game 5: Tue. May 8, at Phila, TBA.
*Game 6: Thu. May 10, at NJ, TBA.
*Game 7: Sat. May 12, at Phila., TBA.
(* if necessary)
Follow Sam Carchidi on Twitter @BroadStBull.
Young , Rested and at Home, sound like a good combo?
"The legs feed the wolf”
― Herb Brooks— DUDESKINS
Warmup to the Rangers........— Earl J- This series is going to be a lot less dramatic then Pens' series, and one game shorter. Flyers 4-1....go Flyers!— BMan
- Need a quick start to shake off the rust.— burholme
- Snoozefest.....The boys have to finish them quick otherwise they may get bored to a loss by these boring Devils!!— santina
Comment removed.- Flyers sweep. Media and Fans make move for Giroux to replace Christ in the Bible. Change December holiday to "Girouxmas" and jolly red elf revised to jerry curled red head known as Santa Claude.— FlyerBlow
- Once upon a time there were three little pigs named Sidney, Evgeni and Marc-Andre. They went to a smoke filled city called Chokesburgh to seek their fortunes. They built a house of straw and called it Consol. The people of Chokesburgh loved the three little pigs because they promised to bring a silver Cup to the city. But a big bad wolf dressed in orange and black blew Chokesburgh away and sent Sidney, Evgeni and Marc-Andre to the golf course.
- Oh man, nothing like starting the day by snorting in laughter. Thanks for the laugh. — Fly Guy
- Dear Mr. F-Blow: You are hilarious.I can't stop laughing at your funny and very creative post. You are a credit to all Pens fans. BTW it should be getting close to tee time right about now so please return to your hut and finish cleaning Sid's & Geno's balls.
Denny b— Dennyb21 - Easy Dude. Don't be a knucklehead. Go Flyers! — chilenos
- I like this post. I can appreciate the humor. Got my vote for "Girouxmas" btw. I'm celebrating this next year in place of Festivus.
- Atta boy Flyblow... Now your gettin it! Can't beat em, Join em.
— Jiggs700 
Not only have the Flyers played well against New Jersey with Bryz in goal this year, but Philly has done well historically with the Devils as an opponent. The Flyers eliminated the Devs in five games in 2010 behind Brian Boucher and also ousted New Jersey in five in 2004 with Robert Esche in goal. A key goal in the 04 series was a 50 foot blue line blast by Philly defenseman Danny Markov that somehow got past super Marty and demoralized New Jersey, the defending Stanley Cup champion.- you must be 12yo to be talking about History with the devils,
I'm from Philly and a diehard Eagles,Phills and Flyers fan.
The Devils won a couple of Cups at the Cost of the Flyers, don't forget. Go Flyers— chilenos
