Devils-Flyers Outlook
By Judd Hall
No. 2 New Jersey Devils vs. No. 7 Philadelphia Flyers
Series Price: New Jersey -230, Philadelphia +190
Series Format: New Jersey, 2-2-1-1-1
Skinny: The Flyers entered this season with expectations of bringing home the Stanley Cup. And it looked like those aspirations for the fans were justified after opening the season with 12 wins in their first 19 games. But as so many people know, your luck can change at the drop of a hat.
Philadelphia followed up that strong start to the season with a 1-6 slump. It wasn’t so bad that they lost those games. What was inexcusable to the ownership was the fact that Philly was outplayed by lesser opponents (or at least considered that at the time). That slide was reason enough to hand John Stevens his walking papers, handing the head coaching duties over to Peter Laviolette on December 4.
Philly looked like they were getting back on track under the former Hurricanes’ coach, going 23-16-3 from Dec. 5 to March 13. But the injury bug took a hold of this club and never let go, particularly in goal. Ray Emery went down in February with a season ending hip injury. Michael Leighton was claimed off the waiver wire to be the club’s backstop, but he too found a way to suffer a season ending injury of his own. Now the Flyers rely on Brian Boucher to work between the pipes.
To Boucher’s credit, he’s led this team to the Eastern Conference Final before…back in 2000. Does that mean he’s old as hell? Not really, considering he’s just 32. One thing that Flyer fans can take solace in is the fact that he was 4-3 in his last seven starts of the regular season. And he played great in six of those appearances.
Boucher is able to depend on some of the better special teams play in the NHL in front of him. The Flyers are third in the league on the power play (21.5%) and 11th on the penalty kill (83.0%).
How can Philadelphia come through with such strong numbers in important facets of team? It helps when you have great talent in front of Boucher. Danny Briere, Chris Pronger, Jeff Carter and Mike Richards are great options to have on offense. Plus, Pronger has give the hardnosed Flyer blueline a legit power play quarterback.
While there has been a lot of change for Philly, the Devils are living proof that continuity is the lynchpin for a successful organization. Lou Lamoriello seemingly wills this team into being a Stanley Cup contender on a yearly basis.
Lamoriello has set up a strong offense around Zach Parise (38 goals, 44 assists, 82 points) and Jamie Langenbrunner (19-42-61). But he also brings in great talent when needed, like Ilya Kovalchuk. The former Thrasher (still leads them with 31 goals) has posted 10 goals and 17 assists in his 27 games in a New Jersey sweater.
As good as the offense has been for the Devils, goaltending is what they are known for across the land. Martin Brodeur has played great this season with a 45-25-6 with a 2.24 GAA. Brodeur has truly shined this month, going 4-1-1 with a 0.99 GAA in six starts.
Gambling Notes: These two clubs know quite a bit about each, having faced off six times over the season since they’re both in the Atlantic Division. New Jersey wasn’t exactly thrilled to see that the Flyers were its reward for winning the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. Maybe that’s because Philly won five of those six meetings with the ‘under’ going 4-2.
Both clubs posted identical 14-10 marks against other Atlantic foes this season. But the Devils did get the advantage of covering the puck line in 15 of their games. The ‘under’ when 15-9 for the Flyers, while New Jersey saw it go 14-10.
Outlook: This is going to be one long, drawn out series between divisional foes. Philadelphia has a much better team than what its record would indicate. And they have beaten the hell out of New Jersey every chance they got.
What was missing in three of those tests was Kovalchuk, who joined the Devils on February 4. He’s ready to make a name for himself since he’ll be an unrestricted free agent this summer. Add in a strong run by Kovalchuk and Brodeur’s top flight goaltending and you have New Jersey winning in seven games.
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