Flyers 5, Devils 4 (OT)
Goals:
First Period: Zach Parise, Devils (Gomez, Gionta)
Second Period: Geoff Sanderson, Flyers (Umberger)
Patrik Elias, Devils (Gomez)
Sami Kapanen, Flyers (PPG) (Pitkanen, Carter)
Sergei Brylin, Devils (Elias, Oduya)
Mike Richards, Flyers (Kapanen, Afanasenkov)
Scottie Upshall, Flyers (Gagne)
Third Period: Brad Lukowich, Devils (Gomez, Elias)
Overtime: Simon Gagne, Flyers (Jones, Richards)
Shots on Goal: 44-41 Flyers
Penalties: Devils - 8 minutes, Flyers - 6 minutes
--FIRST PERIOD--
I don't know why, but this game is boring me. It shouldn't, but it is. Biron, goaltender of the Flyers? Flyers without Forsberg? Devils losing two bad games? Maybe something will happen. AS SOON AS I TYPE IT, Zach Parise scores! He is the man, but where has he been lately? The second line has been pretty quiet, but this is as good a game as any to get back on track, even though the assists were by first-liners, oddly enough. Good to get an early goal, it's been a while. Parise continues to lead the charge. Any word on his brother's progress? That would be interesting to know, just a sidenote there. Also, feel free to get back to me about what the Vs. crew said about Cam Janssen. There is clearly a difference for the Devils in terms of energy and skating tonight though, that much is evident early on. Flyers aren't doing a whole lot, but they have started to pick up the intensity. The Devils are lapsing defensively quite a bit, not sure where that's coming from. It forced Oduya to hold as there was a breakdown on the defensive side, and now the Flyers get the first power play of the night. Brodeur has been making some pretty sweet saves, so he's got his A-game going tonight. Nice to know. The penalty kill was successful, but dangerous. It gave the Flyers the edge they needed as they unloaded on Brodeur for a while. There were plenty of tense moments, but Marty has been up to the challenge so far. Got to do better taking care of that dang puck. Come on now. Not much changes the rest of the way, the Devils don't get anymore shots on goal and the Flyers get a bunch more. Fifteen as it stands right now, and that doesn't count the many many shots that didn't get on goal but were close. Lots of shots in general being launched by the Flyers, but Brodeur is up to the task. He smells 40 wins and he wants it in the worst way. He will not be denied. Time for the defensemen and wingers and centers to pick it up and play with the same determination. Flyers owned this period after the Devils were strong early.
--SECOND PERIOD--
Tom Chorske sums up all the points that I find relevant in how the Devils would be able to keep and build upon their lead. Win faceoffs, contain defense, get some SHOTS on goal. The usual stuff. I just thought he covered it very well. The bad play for the Devils defense continues as the Flyers score IMMEDIATELY after the start of the period. What a joke. Brodeur can't do it all. It's an uphill battle now. Not much going on as the Flyers control the play and the Devils have their moments. It's pretty even, but it's as if when I typed earlier about how the Devils look vastly different and are skating with urgency, they stopped right after that. They still don't have it right now. The Devils have more shots on goal, but still not the better team. An uneventful power play is nothing to get excited about, but the hot topic appears to be that Brian Gionta is not playing anymore. Hope it's not a big deal, we've already missed him enough. Devils are now down a man, hopefully they can keep things tied up or maybe get a shorthanded goal, though those are rare for this team outside of John Madden. Whew, back-to-back penalty kills were successful, and I do mean back-to-back. Mere seconds separating the two penalties. I wouldn't say undisciplined penalties, they happened due to being out of position and not skating well. Well, hopefully the two kills will build some momentum. Consider momentum built!!!! Patrik Elias takes it upon himself to be the captain, to be one of the first-liners and actually act like it. He figured the other two guys got a point, so he might as well. Score!! Gomez gets another assist and it gives the Devils some breathing room. Not the better team, but I'll take the better score. Keep up the pressure, don't stop now. Another penalty on New Jersey, and this time not as lucky as the Flyers score. It's tied up again, but there's been no doubt who's had the mojo. What is with this team? Well, maybe something better than I thought. Lots of scoring this period, as Elias puts another one in the back of the net. Score!!! Goal is under review, and it stands, but it's given to Brylin and Elias registers an assist. Freakin' A, the scoring never stops. The Flyers have tied it up again, that didn't take long at all. This is messed up in the worst way. It's not open ice action, but the scoring seems like it. Well, maybe it is. It just feels like a 1-1 game, but that's not been the case this period. The Devils have been opportunistic or just plain lucky, the Flyers look like they know what they're doing when they're scoring. Interesting. Holy balls, the Flyers score again. Time to put Clemmy in there.
--THIRD PERIOD--
The sloppy defense continues. Hard to understand, but it's not like any team is exempt from a slump. The Devils have started to pick things up, and they will need to keep the pressure on. Can't worry too much about the defense, it's simply not there. Might as well put the energy into offense and the Devils are getting some good chances, it's just not all adding up. This is not how the Devils play hockey. You feel like if they can get even a point out of this win, it will have been a victory. I'm splitting my attention between this game and the Sharks/Wild game. Their game is one of the most exciting 0-0 games I've seen in a long time. But yes, Go Devils(!) and all that. Devils had a golden power play opportunity but Langenbrunner gets flat-out ROBBED. Dang, yo. As an aside, is Rasmussen worth anything? Eh, he'll probably end up scoring the tying or winning goal. The Devils keep trying, narrowing the shots on goal, both teams getting a lot of pucks thrown at the net. It's Brad Lukowich, score!!! Unlikely hero, but a hero as it stands right now. Just five minutes left, can't allow another goal. Not really worth taking unnecessary chances, either. Time to play conservatively. The Devils close out the third period playing pretty well, aided greatly by a bad penalty call on the Flyers. They didn't score, but they played well, and thankfully Carter missed a wide open net at the end of the game. Looks like I got my wish, the Devils are able to take a point with them. Two points? Maybe too much to ask for? We'll see.
Devils lose in overtime.
