NEWARK, N.J.A power play in overtime is rare enough. Two power plays in OT just moments apart are a gift, plain and simple.
And yet, the Flyerswho only days ago were so adept at making their chances on the man advantage countcouldnt find the back of the New Jersey Devils net on the two power play chances they were awarded in overtime Thursday night.The Devils game-winning goal wasnt scored during either of the Flyers power plays, but thats exactly where the Flyers lost the game. Their 4-3 Game 3 loss in OT sent them headed home trailing the Devils in their Eastern Conference semifinal series, two games to one (see game recap).The power plays cost us the game tonight, all around, Danny Briere said. I was trying to protect it the first two games, saying that good things were going to happen, its just a matter of time. But the last two games, the all-around effort on the power play is just not good enough.The Flyers registered just one shot on goal during their four minutes of power play time in OT. To make matters worse, on their first chance, Devils defenseman Mark Fayne had dropped his stickcreating what was, in reality, a two-man advantage.And still, nothing.It seems like we just think that theyre going to let us do whatever we want out there, Briere said. Their penalty-kill unit is outworking us by a mile. Its the reason why we lost the last two games. If the power plays hungry, its a different story. We could be up 3-0 instead of down 2-1.The 10 to 12 guys that are on the power play, its time to step up here now and want to be out there. Its an honor to be out there. Right now, we take it for granted.Instead of capitalizing, the Flyers passed the puck too much during those four minutes in overtime, looking, it seemed, to make the prettiest play possible instead of simplifying and just working to get pucks in on Devils goalie Martin Brodeur.That was certainly the case during that first chance, when too much back and forth resulted in Jakub Voracek mishandling the puck, and watching as it rocketed back toward the Flyers zone. Another chance squandered.Looking for that cute play in the playoffs, it might not work, Brayden Schenn said. Especially when theyre pretty tight and they come with a lot of pressure, weve got to adjust for that.The Devils are notorious for playing a very tight defensive system. Their penalty kill was the most effective in the league during the regular season, killing off 86.9 percent of the penalties the team incurred. But the Flyers knew to expect that. They prepared for it.The problem in overtime on Thursday night wasnt that the Devils were simply too good to beat. It was that the Flyers werent working hard enough to get anything started.Yes, they are coming after us, but were trying to do everything by ourselves, Briere said. Were not winning any battles by ourselves. We know theyre coming hard, but were not playing for each other.Theyre shorthanded and theyre outnumbering us to the puck left and right.When I say that, I include myself, too. Im in the group. We all have to be better on the power play.Unfortunately for the Flyers, the struggles on the man advantage werent limited to those two instances in overtime, either. Theyre now 2 for 16 on power play through three games against New Jerseycompare that to the Pittsburgh series, when they were 12 for 23.But in Game 3, the Devils simply got a lift from killing off those two big penalties in overtime. They recaptured the momentum in a game that could have just as easily slipped away from them.We went on the ice to score the goal and that obviously didnt happen, Voracek said. I think that was a game-changer right there.Flyers coach Peter Laviolette has long said that the key to winning gamesespecially in the playoffsis success on special teams. It worked for his club against the Penguins. What the Prudential Center crowd witnessed Thursday night was the exact opposite.And the Flyers know it. We got to score a goal, Claude Giroux said. Weve got to find a way. Doesnt matter how, weve just got to find a way.E-mail Sarah Baicker at sbaicker@comcastsportsnet.com.