Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Eastern Conference Semifinal: 5) Philadelphia Flyers VS. 6) New Jersey Devils

Welcome to the post for the semifinal series between the Philadelphia Flyers and the New Jersey Devils. Please use this post as a reference for the entire series.

Game 1: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In goal: Ilya Bryzgalov for Philadelphia; Martin Brodeur for New Jersey. New Jersey scored first in the with a Zach Parise goal, his third of the postseason, with a lone assist from Patrik Elias. Philadelphia tied it in the second period as Danny Briere netted his sixth of the playoffs, coming off of Jakub Voracek. The Flyers grabbed the lead thirty-seven seconds later on a James van Riemsdyk goal, fueled by Erik Gustafsson. The Devils retied it on a Travis Zajac power play goal, his fourth of the postseason, powered by Parise and Ilya Kovalchuk. Philadelphia got the lead back in the third period with a power play goal off the tape of Claude Giroux, his seventh of the playoffs, assisted by Kimmo Timonen and Scott Hartnell. New Jersey got an equalizer when Petr Sykora scored, thanks to David Clarkson. The Flyers won in overtime as Briere put away his second (legal, he had one taken away moments earlier) goal of the game and seventh of the postseason, with the help of Voracek and Matt Carle. The three stars of the 4-3 game were Briere, van Riemsdyk, and Parise, while Voracek gets an honorable mention. Philadelphia owns a 1-0 series lead.

Game 2: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In goal: Ilya Bryzgalov for Philadelphia; Martin Brodeur for New Jersey. Philadelphia led off with a Matt Read goal, his third of the postseason, assisted by Brayden Schenn and Wayne Simmonds. New Jersey tied it in the third period as Adam Larsson scored, thanks to Dainius Zubrus and Peter Harrold. The Devils took the lead on a David Clarkson goal, with help from Zach Parise. New Jersey extended the lead with the fifth of the playoffs by Travis Zajac, fueled by Stephen Gionta and Zubrus. Bryce Salvador iced it at 4-1 for the Devils with a shorthanded empty net goal, going in off of Adam Henrique. The three stars went to Bryzgalov (31 for 34 in saves), Clarkson, and Parise, while Zubrus gets an honorable mention. The series is now tied at 1.

Game 3: Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey. In goal: Martin Brodeur for New Jersey; Ilya Bryzgalov for Philadelphia. Philadelphia struck first with a Brayden Schenn power play goal, his third of the postseason, coming off of Danny Briere and Jaromir Jagr. New Jersey tied it with a power play goal of their own, off the tape of Patrik Elias, his third of the playoffs, powered by Marek Zidlicky and Ilya Kovalchuk. Twenty seconds later, Kovalchuk sniped in his fourth of the postseason, helped along by Travis Zajac and Alexei Ponikarovsky. The Flyers tied it in the second period as Matt Carle sank his second of the playoffs, assisted by Jakub Voracek and Scott Hartnell. New Jersey retook the lead in the third period as Zach Parise put away his fourth of the postseason, fueled by Elias and Zidlicky. Philadelphia got another equalizer as Briere potted his eighth of the playoffs, passed from James van Riemsdyk and Wayne Simmonds. The Devils won 4-3 with a Ponikarovsky goal in the overtime, with a lone Kovalchuk helper. The three stars were given to Ponikarovsky, Kovalchuk, and Briere, while Elias and Zidlicky get the honorable mentions. New Jersey takes a 2-1 series lead.

Game 4: Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey. In goal: Martin Brodeur for New Jersey; Ilya Bryzgalov for Philadelphia. Philadelphia opened with a Scott Hartnell power play goal, his third of the postseason, coming off of Claude Giroux and Kimmo Timonen. The Flyers added on with a Giroux shorthanded goal, his eighth of the playoffs, passed from Max Talbot. New Jersey got one back with a power play goal by Petr Sykora, his second of the postseason, powered by Marek Zidlicky and Travis Zajac. The Devils tied it with a Zidlicky goal, fueled by Bryce Salvador and Ilya Kovalchuk. New Jersey got the lead in the second period as Dainius Zubrus netted his second of the playoffs, guided in by Adam Henrique and Sykora. The Devils iced it at 4-2 with an empty netter by Zubrus, his second of the game and third of the postseason in the third period from Mark Fayne and the goalie Brodeur. Zubrus, Brodeur (20 for 22 in saves), and Zidlicky got the three stars while Sykora and Giroux get the honorable mentions. New Jersey has Philadelphia at the brink, holding a 3-1 lead.

Game 5: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In goal: Ilya Bryzgalov for Philadelphia; Martin Brodeur for New Jersey. Philadelphia got started with a Max Talbot goal, his fourth of the postseason, made possible by Brayden Schenn and Danny Briere. New Jersey tied it on a Bryce Salvador goal, his second of the playoffs, courtesy of Adam Henrique and Ilya Kovalchuk. The Devils gained the lead on a David Clarkson tally, his second of the postseason, officially going in unassisted even though Bryzgalov had a lot to do with that one. New Jersey extended the lead in the third period as Ilya Kovalchuk netted his fifth of the playoffs, via Henrique and Dainius Zubrus. This made the final 3-1, where Kovalchuk, Henrique, and Brodeur (27 for 28 in saves) got the three stars. The Devils won the series 4-1, and await an opponent for the Eastern Conference Finals. 

No comments :

Post a Comment