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Meltzer's Musings: 5th Time in 17 years for Devils Clash

April 27, 2012, 7:33 AM ET [522 Comments]
Bill Meltzer
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • RSSArchiveCONTACT
When the Flyers take on the New Jersey Devils in the Eastern Conference Semifinal, it will be the fifth time since the lockout-shortened 1994-95 season that the two teams will have met in the playoffs. Each team has won twice, with the Flyers prevailing in five games in the most recent (2010 ECQF) clash.

Late last night, I had a debate via text message with Eklund about the toughness of this impending series for the Flyers. I think it is going to be a different sort of challenge than playing Pittsburgh in the first round, but another one that's likely to be a lengthy series (six or seven games) series that is up for grabs. Eklund thinks it will go very much like the 2010 series and be a short one (four or five games) won by Philly with little problem.

I don't think the series from two years ago is a harbinger of anything this year. There have been a lot of changes on both sides since then. Besides, the playoffs have a way of making on-paper analysis utterly useless.

Who would have predicted that the Flyers would move past the first round if Ilya Bryzgalov posted an .871 save percentage and 3.89 GAA? Likewise, no one would have thought the Devils would still be playing if their number one-ranked regular season penalty kill yielded to Florida 9 goals in 27 opportunities.

Every playoff series takes on its own personality, so I'm not going to put too many eggs in the special teams basket right now based on the Flyers' incredible power play performance in the first round or the Devils' sudden struggles on the PK. I'd sooner revert to the regular season PP/PK averages in this case.

On paper, it ought to bode well if the Flyers can capitalize on 20 percent of their power plays in the series, kill better than 80 percent of their own disadvantages, avoid yielding shorthanded goals (the Devils led the NHL with 15 in the regular season, but did not get one in the ECQF) and bag a shorthander at some point in the series. We'll see what actually happens and whether it translates to a series win.

There is already some pre-series smack talk going on about Martin Brodeur being "finished" as an effective NHL starting goaltender in the playoffs. Well, the future Hall of Famer certainly cranked out a vintage performance in Game 7 last night. He had little to no chance at stopping either goal in the Florida comeback and he made a bunch of outstanding saves in his club's double OT victory.

Is Brodeur at the level he was in the 2009-2010 regular season (people forget he was a Vezina finalist because he had a so-so playoff series against Philly) much less at the height of his prime? Absolutely not. He's been injured a lot and he looks awkward now on a lot of his saves. But he's still a tremendous puckhandler and he still finds ways to stop pucks in scrambles around the net.

Among the Devils' skaters, there are numerous players who can give the Flyers fits. Patrik Elias has spent a career torturing Philly. Zach Parise is a game-breaker. Ilya Kovalchuk can strike at any time. Travis Zajac is now healthy after missing most of the season. Calder Trophy finalist Adam Henrique showed last night that the pressure of playoff Game 7 doesn't phase him. David Clarkson is a pain in the posterior to play against. Last but not least, Dainus Zubrus often seems to play his best hockey against his original team.

The New Jersey blueline on paper is not of comparable quality to the ones the team iced in their Stanley Cup years. But it is a serviceable veteran-led unit. The Flyers had better keep their heads up around Anton Volchenkov. Bryce Salvador and Andy Greene are still capable players. Rookie Adam Larsson -- a player whom the Devils project as a future franchise defenseman -- hasn't even been able to get into the lineup in the playoffs yet.

In terms of players who will be the main in-series villains in Philly, Clarkson and Volchenkov are the two prime suspects. But Kovalchuk has been known to lose his cool from time to time, and dish out some questionable stickwork. In addition, Brayden Schenn can attest to the fact that while Kovalchuk may not fight very much, he packs a wallop when he does.

There is every reason for the Flyers (and Flyers fans) to have faith in their ability to beat New Jersey. I think Philly can win games numerous different ways, and they have much more firepower and depth to throw at New Jersey than Florida did. If the Flyers can get some healthy defensemen back in the lineup and Bryzgalov has a strong series, I like their chances of winning.

An easy series for Philly? No way. A winnable one? Absolutely.

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Yesterday at practice, the Flyers spent much of the time focusing on their power play and penalty killing units. The notable developments:

* Nicklas Grossmann no longer had the no-contact jersey and participated fully in practice. There wasn't much contact on the ice, but he did some jostling with Schenn during one of the PP/PK drills. Although Grossmann has not yet been officially "cleared", it is looking more and more like he'll be ready for Game 1.

* Danny Briere returned to practice after taking two straight maintenance days.

* Kimmo Timonen also practiced after two maintenance days.

* Jaromir Jagr practiced yesterday after a maintenance day on Wednesday.

* Andrej Meszaros took part in practice for the third straight day. He is sporting a back brace. He appeared to be a little sore yesterday after pushing himself pretty hard the previous day. His return is still a couple weeks away.

* Marc-Andre Bourdon still has yet to skate since his apparent recurrence of concussion symptoms suffered in the Pittsburgh series.

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