Split Series

New Jersey put away the Philadelphia Flyers 5-3 at the Prudential Center Friday to even the first round series at one all. Danius Zubrus powered home the fourth goal with four minutes left to play to give the Devils a one score cushion in game two of the Eastern conference playoff series. Ilya Kovalchuk deposited the final goal for the decisive Devils’ victory. New Jersey held the seventh seeded Flyers to a pair of power play goals as the Flyers failed to capitalize on the one-man advantage most of the night. The Devils were a man down seven times but Philadelphia couldn’t solve their solid defense in this best-of-seven series. New Jersey has topped the Flyers just twice in eight tries this season.
Brian Boucher stopped 28 in goal for Philadelphia, while New Jersey netminder, Martin Brodeur, made 26 saves. Brodeur was stingy, snuffing and stopping break-in shots by Daniel Carcillo and Ian Laperriere with eight minutes in regulation to keep the score knotted at 3-3. The Devils jumped out to a 1-0 lead on Zach Parise’s backhanded goal at 2:45 in the first period. Patrik Elias picked up a loose puck and fed it to Parise for one of Elias’ three assists. New Jersey gave up their first lead in the series before the first period horn sounded. The Flyers scored two goals on their first five shots. Arron Asham and Claude Giroux tallied goals for the visiting Flyers to give Philadelphia a 2-1 edge. Asham tipped the puck off the post for the first goal and Giroux muscled in front of Brodeur for the follow-up flick. New Jersey put it together in front of a sold-out Newark crowd to erase the Flyers’ lead. The Devils took a 3-2 advantage on a pair of goals by their defensemen. Colin White evened the score at 2-2 early in the second period. It was White’s first playoff goal in nine years. Andy Greene netted the third New Jersey goal on a power play midway through the period. Greene re-directed an Elias pass past Boucher for the Devils’ second lead of the game. It wasn’t always pretty for the Devils’ defensemen. White and Greene combined for four penalties. Chris Pronger chipped in a goal to tie the game at three apiece on a Flyers’ power play. Despite the Pronger goal, the Devils’ defense was excellent on penalty kills and took the momentum of their second period comeback into the final period. Brodeur was even more brilliant as the shining star.
Zubrus’ goal came off a rebound to key the Atlantic Division champion Devils’ late push. The Flyers were slow in clearing the zone and unable to stop the speedy skaters from New Jersey in the third period. Zubrus and Parise took whacks at the puck, but it was Zubrus who was credited with the game-winner at 15:56. Philadelphia was awarded the contest’s first power play on Kovalchuk’s elbow to the aggressive Carcillo, but it was the New Jersey newcomer who finished off the evening’s scoring with an empty net goal at 19:27. The former Atlanta Thrasher logged 21 minutes of ice time and was charged with three penalties in Friday’s feisty exchange. New Jersey captain, Jamie Langenbrunner, attempted five shots and finished with an assist on the final goal as the Devils dodged the Flyers. Philadelphia’s captain, Mike Richards, managed two assists in the losing effort. Game three is scheduled for Sunday at the Wachovia Center.

Parting Points: The Penguins and Red Wings both bounced back to even their first round series.

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