BOX SCORE
This certainly wasnt in the Flyers' plans.
Not after the unexpected success they had this season.
What was supposed to be a rebuilding year blossomed into one of those "
"they gotta chance" years.
Especially after the Flyers disposed of the Pittsburgh Penguins in the opening round of the playoffs.
For all intents and purposes, that was your Eastern Conference finals. The New Jersey Devils? A mere afterthought it seemed to the Flyers. A team they took too lightly at series' start.
Not any more.
NHL
In a rainy spring where the field is wide open for any club to win the Stanley Cup, the Flyers are no longer a factor.
The Devils vanquished them, 3-1, in five games Tuesday night at Wells Fargo Center. Truth is, New Jersey broke the Flyers will to compete, much less win, a couple games earlier.
That said, the Flyers finally showed up (late) for Game 5 and competed hard without the NHLs leading playoff performerClaude Giroux (suspension). Still, they were done in by mistakes.
The Flyers skated better than any other game in the series on Tuesday. Their checking was fierce. They established a forecheck. They even got defenseman Andrej Meszaros (disk surgery) back.
And still, they could not defeat the determined Devils.
With the Flyers pressing the attack, all it took to ice the game was Ilya Kovachuks brilliant shot through traffic on the power play five minutes into the third period.
The puck kissed the inside of the left post, making it 3-1.
Irony: After setting a franchise record with 12 power play goals against Pittsburgh, the Flyers scored just three in this series versus the Devils four.
Despite a very strong start and a first goal (again), the Flyers self-destructed during the opening period, while goalie Ilya Bryzgalov did something very reminiscent of a fellow named Roman Cechmanek.
If there were doubts as to whether they had some angst in their bellies, it was removed within the first seven minutes as the Flyers came out hitting and hurting.
Anton Volchenkov rocked Brayden Schenn with a clean hit behind the Devils net, leaving the Flyers rookie shaken going to the bench.
Next shift out, Volchenkov was sandwiched by a vicious, legal hit by Zac Rinaldo with Sean Couturier getting him from the other side. That brought the building down as Volchenkov was laid out on the ice. He left the game, but returned by periods end.
That's my bread and butter right there, Rinaldo said. That's what I feed off of and that's what gets the boys going. We got a goal off it so we just have to keep it going and keep positive.
He and Max Talbot did the same thing to Volchenkov in the second period behind the net, again.
Not even a minute after the first Rinaldo hit, Danny Briere centered a puck to the slot. Schenn, who returned quickly, and Talbot jabbed away. Talbot earned the goal and a 1-0 lead at 7:18.
Then the Flyers got themselves in trouble. After having several successful forechecks, they twice dumped the puck right into Devils goalie Marty Brodeur on the same shift. On the second dump-in, Brodeur sent an outlet pass to Kovalchuk, who found Bryce Salvador in the Flyers' zone.
Salvadors shot deflected high off Wayne Simmonds and into the net to tie the game at 9:27. The play looked offside, but replays showed otherwise.
Three minutes later, Bryzgalov pulled a Checko move. Taking a puck in the crease, the Russian goalie tried to flick it past fast-approaching David Clarkson.
Instead, he lined it off Clarkson with the puck ricocheting into the net for a 2-1 Devils lead.
It was a hideous goal that drained whatever momentum the Flyers had established.
It will be debated all summer long, because thats not what your 51 million goalie is supposed to do in a playoff elimination game.
The second period was every bit as frantic and hard-hitting as the first and it became apparent that the Flyers were targeting Volchenkov every time he touched the puck. Even Nicklas Grossmann pounded him to the ice.
What stood out that period was Brodeur's poor play in handling dump-ins. Early into the stanza, he had a turnover, but Briere dinged a shot off the post.
Every shot in front or to the side of Brodeur that was at his feet became an adventure. And still, the Flyers could not take advantage of him.
Even more disappointing was the Flyers had a power play and failed to get a set-up, let alone a single shot on net. Thats how intense the Devils' penalty kill pressure was on the half-wall and at the points.
With less than eight minutes left, Eric Wellwood got a chipped puck off the penalty kill that was bouncing. It went out of play on an attempted breakaway as the Flyers were trying desperately to spring the high man free every shorthanded chance they got.
Wellwood, who has jets on his skates, twice could not get into the zone cleanly with the puck for a shot.
At least, however, the Flyers were generating chances and getting out of their zone.
Their strategy going into the third? Shoot from everywhere on Marty.
(More coming ...)
E-mail Tim Panaccio at tpanotch@comcast.net