Hockey, like all sports, is all about results. Given that, the Devils have obviously proven to be the better team in their Eastern Conference semifinal matchup with the Flyers. In winning the last three games, the Devils have been more dominant than the final scores have indicated.
However, you will have a hard time convincing me that the Devils are truly this much better than the Flyers. Uncovering the mystery of how the Devils have been this superior is the job of the Flyers and their coaches. And theyre running out of time. I have heard some interesting theories as to what has gone wrong
Urgency
Is it as simple as the Flyers lacking urgency? If you go by appearances, you might think so. But I have a difficult time believing this group, so committed all season, is suddenly lacking the passion to get the job done. Could the conquest of Pittsburgh have meant so much that they have let down and cant muster up any desperation for the Devils? I thought perhaps for a game or two early in the series this might be a factor, but not this deep into the proceedings.
Systems
Could there possibly be something the Devils coaching staff has grabbed on to from watching video that they are exploiting over and over? Its clear the New Jersey fore-check is impressive. In fact, their puck pursuit all over the ice has been impeccable.
However, the Flyers have an outstanding coaching staff. If this was about some kind of necessary tactical adjustment, they would have made it. Somehow, I get the idea that Xs and Os are not the issue.
Rookies Hitting the Wall
Its been known to happen. And perhaps some members of the Flyers much ballyhooed first-year class are struggling. But, the problem with this theory is that many veteran players are just as guilty of mistakes and poor play as are the young guys. I really dont see it as the rookies dragging the Flyers down at this point.
Line Juggling
There are those who believe Peter Laviolettes line juggling has thrown the team off. While, in general, I support maintaining stability with line combinations, its simply not easy to have patience with them in the heat of a playoff series.
Jaromir Jagr was not making an impact in the first two games, so the coach replaced him on the top line. Same thing happened to Scott Hartnell after Game 3. This happens all the time in hockey. But when the changes include a future Hall of Famer and the clubs top goal scorer from the regular season, it gets peoples attention.
The team still lost, so the changes didnt work. But I have no confidence, given the teams overall malaise in the last three games, that things would have been any different had the coach stood pat with the lines the way they were. He looked for a spark and didnt find it. However, I doubt it threw the team off.
Diminishing D
The Flyers learned to live without Chris Pronger. They dealt with injuries to Andrej Meszaros and Marc-Andre Bourdon. They even played through having Kimmo Timonen at less than 100 percent. They did so practically without missing a beat. In fact, they did so with such effectiveness, that we all stopped thinking about all the hits they have taken to their blue line corps.
NHL
The Devils didnt forget, though. From the start of the series, they have tried to pound the Flyer defense and to pressure them into turnovers. It has worked like a charm. Timonen and Nicklas Grossmann look banged up. Erik Gustafsson is making rookie mistakes. Andreas Lilja is struggling. Matt Carle appears worn down. The Devils apparently targeted a perceived weakness and went right after it.
As a result, the Flyers are spending way too much time in their own zone, goalie Ilya Bryzgalov is being forced to make too many saves, and perhaps most important, the Flyers arent able to get the puck into the New Jersey zone to take advantage of their potentially suspect defense corps.
These are all simply theories that have been suggested via my chats on the pregame and postgame shows or from observers of the series. They are possible explanations for this mysterious change in the Flyers play. And yet, since its still a mystery, none of them seem to be quite enough to justify what has transpired.
The question remains: Can the Flyers find a way to overcome these and other issues? They must come back from a 3-1 playoff series deficit for only the second time in franchise history and they have to hit the ground running (or skating) Tuesday night in Game 5. The time remaining to solve the mystery of what has gone wrong in this series and, to do something about it, is just about up.
E-mail Jim Jackson at jjflyer1@aol.com.