jtkratzer

Another rivalry series for the Flyers, with almost a full week off since sending the Penguins packing.

Devils wrapped up an intense double OT Game 7 to advance.

This is going to be a tougher series for both teams, for sure. If the Flyers get Bryz of March or Game 6 for the series, Flyers in 5. Bryz has played really well against the Devils this year and his Game 6 win should give hime a boost of confidence going into Round 2, somewhere he's never been before. Flyers have too much power and depth on offense and their PP is going to be key as the Devils have been polar opposites from the regular season to the first round on their PK.

If they can get Grossman and Meszaros back, that'd be a huge boost as well.

Brodeur is going to be the difference maker for the Devils, and I fully expect him to provide better goaltending than MAF did for the Pens, but I think the speed and depth of the Flyers is going to overwhelm the Devils. The Devils have struggled to maintain leads against Florida, and I honestly think Philly is in a different league offensively right now than Florida and they're going to give the Devils fits.

Flyers scored 30 goals in 6 games and the Devils put up 18 in 7 games. Flyers have 15 even strength goals and 15 special teams goals (12 PP/23 chances, 3 shorties). NJ's penalty kill is the worst of the teams left and was only better than Pittsburgh's. If that trend continues, it could get ugly if the Devils put the Flyers on the power play. Flyers' PK wasn't great either and is only a few percentage points ahead of the Devils, but they played the Pens, who are offensively a far superior team to the Devils.

Mr. Kovalchuk, meet Sean Couturier, aka Mr. Shutdown.

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HockeyMatty85

The reason the Flyers will lose this series is because all they can hope for is "Bryz of March" to show up. Dude is Jekyll and Hyde. Cant win with a goalie who is that inconsistent.

jtkratzer

And I said in the first round if they didn't get solid goaltending from Bryz, they'd be out in 5.

Obviously, with the Flyers offense and PP, they got the job done and then played a complete team game in Game 6.

The Flyers offense and PP is capable of destroying just about any team right now if they keep it up. I doubt they score 5 goals/game for the series, but if the Devils give the Flyers power play opportunities, and Brodeur isn't stellar, it could get ugly.

The Pens defense was pretty soft and MAF didn't play that well except for parts of Game 4 and 5 or get that much support, but he certainly wasn't a goalie that was bad enough to be solely responsible for 5 goals per game against.

Marty is going to be the key cog in this series. If he can somehow shut down the Flyers offense and Bryz doesn't give a March or Game 6 performance every night, the Devils definitely have a good chance to win. But, the numbers don't lie and Bryz has, throughout the entire season, not just March, played very well against the Devils.

swflyers already posted his 3-0, 0.29 GAA, .987 SV% against the Devils this year in another thread.

This is why we play the games. Pittsburgh was already being awarded the Cup before the playoffs started.

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HockeyMatty85

I hear you. Numbers dont lie. But they also dont carry over from the regular season to the playoffs. Whatever numbers Bryz posted in the regular season dont matter anymore. MAF numbers were night and day from the regular season to the playoffs. It really is hard to judge the Flyers right now because that series they played was such a **** show.

jtkratzer

What is a huge question mark is will their power play success continue? Based on the Devils struggling with the Panthers' PP, which isn't as good as Philly's, that's a trend I hope to see continue for Philly.

Bryz is a huge question mark.

The Flyers depth on offense is not a question mark and they will challenge the Devils more than Florida did, and probably more so in their ability to come from behind, as they've done it all season and in the playoffs.

The Flyers defense and their health is also a question mark. Meszaros and Grossman are both skating with the team, but I'd be surprised if they're both ready for Game 1.

If JVR can find his game, especially his playoff game he's had in the past, that makes things tilt even further in Philly's favor.

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swflyers8

Plus, word is Kovalchuk has a groin injury.

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MadDevil

It's going to be an interesting series, that's for sure. I just hope this isn't a replay of the 2010 playoffs, when the Flyers were the absolute worst team the Devils could have matched up against. I think they're a little more evenly matched this time, but who knows.

The Devils have a lot of offense loaded up on the top line with Parise/Zajac/Kovalchuk and we all know the Flyers are going to concentrate on shutting them down. If they do, the second and third lines are going to need produce a lot more than they did against the Panthers. Elias and Clarkson in particular, who were both invisible for much of the first round.

My biggest worry is the Devils defense. They had trouble with the quicker Panthers forwards, and that doesn't bode well against some of the skill the Flyers have up front. The defense isn't the most mobile group and they don't add much offensively either.

The biggest question marks to me are the guys between the pipes. Brodeur was vintage Brodeur in Games 4, 6, and 7 against the Panthers, but the other games he gave up some questionable goals. He's almost 40 years old, so the consistency he once had just isn't there any more. And Bryzgalov, well I don't think I really need to say anything. Even Flyers fans will admit that he's been inconsistent this season.

My heart says the Devils will find a way to win this series, but my mind says the Flyers take it.

Corey Bryant

Philadelphia's big loss to Pittsburgh 10-3 showed up
definite weaknesses in the defence. It will be the
Devils in six games.

jtkratzer

You Sir, are out of your mind.



And the Devils blue liners have not scored a goal in these playoffs yet.

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Corey Bryant

No I'm not out of my mind---just accurate.

Let's just see the Flyers win this series! Ain't gonna
happen!