Ya know, I decided to ease off on the posting during this series until at least game 4. I said to myself "I'm not posting on here until after game 4" because for some reason whenever I post they lose or at least play badly the following game. Leading me to believe (we all know superstition is a big part of the NHL playoffs) that this blog is cursed. Either that, or I was just too lazy. But when the Devils went up 3-1 I said I will wait to post until after the series is over. And now it is.
We can now look at this and think how we were one shot away from sweeping these guys. It was a breath of fresh air how we were able to rid these guys so quickly. Especially after the nail-biter of the first round against Florida.
The forecheck won the series for the Devils and I feel that they will play the same way against New York or Washington. Of course I'm pulling for the Caps, because we've had their number for years now and also it would be nice to be rid of the Rangers for good. However, a rematch of 1994 would certainly be an exciting series. Even if it were to be a sweep for either team it'd still be a crazy series just because of how strategically similar we are to NY.
We'll see who the Devils face and I will once again most likely not post at all during that series until it was over. At this point, the Cup seems a possible goal. But being in the final four after the atrocity that was the 2011 season preceded by three straight first round losses is still a great feat.
But let's talk about the series against Philly game by game.
Game 1: we should've won. Plain and simple. There was no reason why we let in two goals in OT by the same player. This is when the cockiness started of Flyer fans. They were riding so high on the Pens series that they felt themselves invincible. Their downfall!
Game 2: We were without Kovy. And you knew it, Pierre McGuire said it about 50 times every period. The Devils rallied behind that fact with their backs up against the wall. It was the 3rd time in the playoffs that they were down by a game and looked very comfortable in that position. They sustained pressure and were the much better team for 55 minutes of the game. And that's the word I've used most in these playoffs: sustain. Flyers just looked flat and Bryz was getting peppered. He let in three goals but he looked great. The forwards of Philly have no idea what to do in their defensive zone and it clearly showed. No back-checking at all. This is something New Jersey does better than anyone. Larsson finally found a dent in the armor of BryzgaLOLov and tied the game. Followed by the funniest Clarkson goal in history (Or so we thought was the funniest ever until last night). Even Salvador scored on an empty net.
Game 3: Once again the Devils were in control, but Bryz wasn't bad. His defense was. The Flyers just looked flat all game but were able to force OT. Then, the man I said would break out soon scored and we won. Alexei Ponikarovsky is this year's Alexander Mogliny for us. We got him for almost nothing and has been a tremendous part of our depth. Now on a line with Kovy and he has thrived there with his fellow Soviet. Now if only Zubrus was on a line with them. I'd call it the Red Army Line.
Game 4: When we went down 2-0 I knew they would come back. I just didn't know how. But even I didn't think it'd be that fast. The Flyers lead lasted only a few minutes. Then Zubrus scored. This goal marked the beginning of the dirty play by Philly. AFTER the puck was in Hartnell game a shove at Zubie. If it was Malkin, Crosby, or Neal, it would've been a scrum. This is when I realized that New Jersey wasn't going to play Broad Street hockey. The Flyers frustrations started to build until it all came to a head with none other than the "greatest player in the world" Claude Giroux. He was mad about not getting a call on Fayne so he turned his back to the play, screamed at the ref, pointed at the ref as he skated away as if to say "watch this", then cheap shots Zubrus late, smiling as he did it. I had so much respect for Giroux until that moment. This is when the Flyers started to really get frustrated and let their emotions which WON them a series against Pittsburgh get the better of them.
Game 5: No Giroux! No Giroux! The Flyers lost, but did I mention no Giroux? For the love of God shut up about Claude Giroux! I was so happy the way the Devils played. Forchecking was there, the consistency was there, and the goaltending was there. All things you need to win a Cup. Clarkson scored that goal and I ran around the house laughing my @$$ off. That was amazing! But it was because there was no Giroux! I love how the NBC Network made sure this game was alllll about A) Giroux being out. And B) The Flyers losing. It became more about how the Flyers lost than how the Devils won. Face it! The Devils outplayed Philly all series long including game 1. Pierre McGuire, you sir, are a joke!
