Last night on Martin Brodeur's 40th birthday, the New Jersey Devils rallied from an early 2-0 deficit to beat the Philadelphia Flyers 4-2, and take a 3-1 series lead. Here are some notes on last night's game.
- AS OF 1:20PM ET: Lots to touch on from last night's game but I'll start with what could impact the result of Game 5. Claude Giroux's hit on Dainius Zubrus last night was undoubtedly a hit to the head, but I don't think he'll be suspended. He's a star player, the Flyers are trailing the series 3-1, he doesn't have a history of reckless hits and Zubrus was okay. As I said, it was a hit to the head and Zubrus' head was the initial point of contact, but for the reasons listed above I think he'll avoid suspension. Obviously I could be wrong, but personally I'm expecting a $2500 fine.
- Congratulations to Martin Brodeur on picking up a playoff win, and registering an assist. That must have been a good way to celebrate.
- Sticking with Brodeur, here are a couple quick facts on him: he became the oldest player, or goaltender, to record a playoff assist on his birthday. He now owns a 2-2 record on his birthday. He is the first goaltender in NHL history to play a playoff game as a teenager and a 40-year old. Lastly, he has more assist this post-season than Patrik Elias and Petr Sykora.
- The Devils were very impressive last night. They came out with a lot of energy, carried play early and found themselves down 2-0. When you're playing better than your opponent and are trailing by two it can be tough not to get demoralized and almost give up on the game; but the Devils stuck to their game plan, continued to work their asses off every shift and for that reason they came out on top. They've worked harder than Philadelphia in this series and they've done a great job of playing between the whistles, and those are arguably the biggest reasons the Devils lead this series.
- I wrote before the series in my prediction blog that one of the reasons I predicted the Devils in this series is because I thought Philadelphia would be mentally drained from their first round series, and the Flyers do look that way.
They Flyers are known to be a hard-working in your face team that wins every battle they can, and that's exactly what they haven't been in this series. They played that way in round 1 and had great success. They haven't played that way in this series, and they're down by two games heading into Game 5. It's no coincidence.
- Based off Ilya Bryzgalov's play in the first round I can't believe I'm saying this, but he's the only reason the Flyers have been in a couple of games this series. The Devils have peppered him with shots over the past few games and have had many Grade A chances and, like last night, Bryzgalov has managed to keep the games close. Unfortunately for him, the rest of the team haven't been able to carry their weight.
- A lot of Devils have had great post-seasons so far, which is why they're still playing, and many of them I've singled out in my blogs, but one guy I haven't given enough credit to is Mark Fayne. For the most part he's been very steady on the Devils blue line throughout the post-season and has played a lot of good hard minutes for Pete DeBoer and the Devils each and every night. He hasn't received much credit for his play, but he's one of the big reasons the Devils have made it this far. In case you're wondering, he had an assist and was plus-2 in 24:39 TOI. No Devil played more.
- Travis Zajac has ten points in eleven games this post-season and has won over 57 percent of the faceoffs he has taken. I think it's safe to say everyone understands how important he is to the team.
- Tim Sestito saw his first playoff action of the season last night, and played pretty well in the limited amount of time he had (6:51). He led the Devils with four hits.
- If the Devils can finish off the Flyers and advance to the next round, I think it's realistic to expect Jacob Josefson to return at some point during that time. He was playing great hockey before he suffered his injury, so it he would certainly be a welcome addition back to the lineup. He would obviously give the Devils more forward depth, too. Tough lineup decisions would have to be made if and when he returns which is great news for a coaching staff come playoff time. If you have tough decisions, it likely means your team is deep and healthy. That's always good.
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