Devils Game 4 Review

Well, it was fun while it lasted.  The Flyers may not be officially eliminated, but it would take a miracle.  3-1 comebacks are quite rare, and the Devils dominated game 2 and 4.  It's very hard to envision the Flyers mounting any comeback of consequence.  Maybe I'll give them a 1-in-3 chance of winning game 5, mainly because I have tickets to the game and I don't want to feel like I wasted my money.

The Devils have completely swarmed the Flyers.  Game 1 started off this way, but everyone wrote it off due the Devils being sharp and the Flyers waking up from the week-long layoff.  Instead, that trend has accelerated.

I feel like there's a "chicken and the egg" scenario at play.  The Devils forecheck has overwhelmed the Flyers, and now they look confused and are being completely outskated.  Which came first?  The overwhelming forecheck making the Flyers look slow, or the Flyers simply didn't have jump which allowed the Devils to forecheck so effectively?

I think it's probably the tactics.  The Flyers forwards try to leave the zone so quickly, as they have all year, but the Devils have successfully pressured the Flyers defensemen.  Without the time or ability to find the forwards, the defensemen keep playing the puck to empty space, and the Devils get there first.

At the same time, I don't discount the Flyers mental let-down from beating Pittsburgh.  They put so much energy and passion into this series, it was like they couldn't get up for this series mentally.  The situation was ripe for a letdown, and the Flyers fan base was certainly lulled into a false sense of security--"we killed the mighty Pens, so we'll crush the Devils easily."  Admittedly, I didn't think a letdown would become a total disintegration like we are seeing though.

The Flyers look confused and tentative, and Laviolette probably does not have some magic elixir up his sleeve.  The Devils might put them out of their misery pretty quick.


Notes:
-An up and down night for Giroux. He scored a nice shorthanded goal, allaying my fears that the rumors of his bad groin would prevent him from bursts of speed.  After scoring however, he was more interested in barking at the ref than anything else.  It was a bad sign, indicating his emotions were getting away from him.

Later, after the officials blew a call on Brodeur for playing the puck outside the trapezoid, Giroux again assailed the officials, then took out his frustration with a dirty check to Zubrus's head.  This was pretty much the type of headshot for which I roasted Malkin and Neal.  Late, opportunistic headhunting.  If it was my NHL, Giroux would be suspended.  As it is, given that Giroux didn't make an egregiously illegal hit by leaving his feet or throwing an elbow, has no prior history, and Zubrus wasn't hurt, I suspect all we'll see is a fine.

-Speaking of Brodeur, his special treatment from the refs continues.  The interference call on Hartnell was blatantly wrong, as Hartnell was clearly checked into him, and at mild contact Brodeur wildly kicked his legs and threw his arms around.  He also dodged a penalty for handling the puck.  That's 3 games in a row where Brodeur has drawn a penalty on the Flyers when there simply wasn't much (or anything at all) there.  [JVR called for slashing in Game 2 when going for a loose puck, Schenn makes slight skate-to-skate contact and Broduer flops in game 3].

-The Flyers' lines are all mixed up.  Couturier played, but barely.  This broke up his checking line with Wellwood and Talbot, so Wellwood also barely played.  I do support Laviolette's decision to break up the Jagr-Giroux-Hartnell.  Whether it's injuries or whatever, their not playing well individually or collectively.

-Regarding Bryzgalov, anyone who tries to pin this debacle on the goaltending is an idiot.  The Flyers were dominated in games 2 and 4, but the game was close to the end because of Bryzgalov.  I don't like how he threw up his hands after the Devils' 3rd goal last night though, even if it was shockingly bad coverage.  For once the Flyers can reflect on their playoff run and don't need to ask themselves how they were sabotaged by goaltending.

Devils Game 1 Review

It all seemed too predictable.

Predictably, the long layoff exacerbated the Flyers' slow starts, and the Devils had the game's first 10 shots and its first goal.

Predictably, the Flyers slowly took over the game against a fatigued Devils team.

Predictably, Brodeur had some real strong stretches, but doesn't dominate entire games anymore. 

Predictably, it was Danny Briere popping up to score two key goals.

Overall, I think we saw a preview of what this series will look like.  The Devils contained the Flyers at times, denying the Flyers space and stopping attacks before they started.  In time, however, the Flyers asserted their superiority. 

Notes:
-Briere simply turns it up in the playoffs.  He had a terrible regular season, making the success of his season entirely hinge on his playoff performance.  Well now he has 7 goals in 7 playoff games.  As good as he was in the playoffs last year, it took him 8 games to get 7 goals then.  This is all the more impressive considering he finished the season with only 3 goals in his last 34 regular season games.

-Playoff JVR is back.  He revved it up and drove the net a few times.  He didn't finish any of those plays, though he did roof a loose puck with style for one goal.  Laviolette put JVR up with Briere and Voracek, reducing the ice time of Schenn in the process, but it looks like that may be the right call.

-The Flyers were able to spread out their defensemen's ice time much more tonight than at any point of the Pittsburgh series.  The health of Grossman, increased faith in Lilja and Gustafsson, and quite frankly less threatening forward talent on the Devils made this possible.  This may not be a good sign because of what it implies about his health, but Timonen actually had the fewest even strength minutes of any defensemen.

-The Devils had success taking away the Flyers passing outlets and forcing the Flyers defensemen to carry the puck further than they normally would up the ice.  The Devils got their 3rd goal on a chain of events that started this way.

-Wellwood played a very good game, and looked like one of the few Flyers ready to go from the start.  As a member of the checking line with Talbot and Cooter, Wellwood will continue to see more ice time than Schenn, Read or Simmonds.

-My review of Bryzgalov today was a pretty strong start, but could've been better later.  In particular, he was a little slow moving around and reacting, leaving his five-hole open.  Bryzgalov didn't have much to do in the 3rd period, but he should've done better on the Sykora goal and made a momentum preserving stop.