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ECSF: New Jersey Devils @ Philadelphia Flyers - Game 2 Preview

May 1, 2012, 12:51 PM ET [209 Comments]
Todd Cordell
New Jersey Devils Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
*stats based on playoffs.

Match-up - Devils (48 wins, 102 points) @ Flyers (47 wins, 103 points)
Road/Home records - 24-15-2 -------------- 29-10-2
TV - NBC (HD), CBC (HD)
Puck drop - 7:30 PM ET
Series score - Flyers lead 1-0
Projected starting goalies - Martin Brodeur (NJ) vs. Ilya Bryzgalov (PHI)

Battle of the stats

Goals for/against per game *

Philadelphia - 4.86 / 4.14
New Jersey - 2.62 / 2.62

Powerplay/Penalty Kill percentage *

Philadelphia - 44.8% / 68.8%
New Jersey - 21.4% / 69.7%

Here are the projected lines (subject to change) for the Flyers:

Scott Hartnell - Claude Giroux - Jaromir Jagr
James van Riemsdyk - Danny Briere - Jakub Voracek
Max Talbot - Sean Couturier - Eric Wellwood
Matt Read - Brayden Schenn - Wayne Simmonds

Matt Carle - Kimmo Timonen
Nick Grossmann - Braydon Coburn
Andreas Lilja - Erik Gustafsson

Here are the projected lines (subject to change) for the Devils:

Alexei Ponikarovsky - Travis Zajac - Dainius Zubrus
Zach Parise - Patrik Elias - David Clarkson
Petr Sykora - Adam Henrique - Steve Bernier
Ryan Carter - Stephen Gionta - Peter Harrold

Bryce Salvador- Marek Zidlicky
Andy Greene - Mark Fayne
Anton Volchenkov - Adam Larsson

Notes: Martin Brodeur will start...Cam Janssen, Eric Boulton and Tim Sestito are expect to sit as healthy scratches...Ilya Kovalchuk is out with a lower-body injury...Peter Harrold will move up to RW, all the other RW's will move up and Adam Larsson will take Harrold's spot on defense.

Flyers to watch out for:

Jakub Voracek - He has been outstanding for the Flyers this post-season. He hasn't been talked about too much, but he's certainly a guy New Jersey will need to key on.

James van Reimsdyk - Like his teammate Danny Briere, he always seems to step up in the playoffs. You have to believe playing against his home town team will motivate him even more.

Ilya Bryzgalov - He wasn't great in Game 1, and for that reason the Devils almost came away with a victory. If he isn't at least a little better today, I don't see the Flyers winning again.

Devils to watch out for:

Zach Parise - With Ilya Kovalchuk out, more pressure is on Parise to perform. Let's see how he handles it.

Dainius Zubrus - He has been pretty quiet over the past few games. With him getting an opportunity on the 1st line today due to Kovalchuk's injury, he'll need to step up.

Adam Larsson - He's playing in his first NHL playoff game today and hasn't seen any action since the second last game of the regular season. If he wants to play well, he'll need to keep things simple.

Keys to the game

Philadelphia - Being ready to play

You know the Devils don't want to go down in this series 2-0 and they're going to come out flying tonight, so the Flyers need to be ready to play. If they come out like they did in Game 1, they'll be in trouble.

New Jersey - Sticking to their game plan

The Devils have been good coming off a loss all season long, and that's because they know their game plan, come out and execute it. If they fall behind early, they stick to their plan and if not anything else, often get back into games to at least give themselves a chance. If the Flyers score first today, they'll need to stick with what has gotten them this far.

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