Stanley Cup Playoffs: New Jersey Devils 5 Keys to Beating the Philadelphia Flyers
Now that the New Jersey Devils have dispatched those pesky felines from Florida they must turn their attention to Broad street and the bullies from Philadelphia. The Flyers present a whole new set of problems for New Jersey beyond the one dimensional attack of the Panthers.
I along with Philadelphia Flyers Featured Writer Johnny Machurek take a look at each teams 5 keys to the winning the Battle of I-95.
1. Kill them with kindness – The Devils possessed a record setting penalty kill during the regular season, but it’s been an entirely different story in the playoffs. Florida picked them apart to the tune of nine power play goals in the seven-game series. On the other side, the Flyers led the NHL in power play goals with 12 through round one. The Devils are a much more effective team at 5-on-5 play. They must keep their composure against Philadelphia and stay out of the penalty box to have a shot in this series.
2. Back to the drawing board – Had New Jersey been able to win face-offs with any kind of regularity they would have dispatched Florida much sooner. Coming into the series with Philly, Jersey is a league worst 45.5% on the draw. Outside of Travis Zajac, not a single Devils center has even looked remotely competent from the circle. The Devils must show a considerable improvement in this area and fast.
3. Last line of defense – Martin Brodeur will be 40-years-old by the time we drop the puck on game four of this series. He was sensational against the Panthers despite being pulled in the game three loss. He finished with a GAA of 2.06 and a save percentage of .920. His counterpart Ilya Bryzgalov was the exact opposite with a GAA of 3.89 and sub-par save percentage of .870. This is the one area in which the Devils may hold a clear and distinct advantage in the series.
4. Oh Captain, My Captain – Zach Parise had a decent first round. He collected four points (2g 2a) and led the team in shots with 32. If Ilya Kovalchuk truly is banged up than Parise must step up and start burying some of these chances. I believe he has to be New Jersey’s best offensive weapon form here on out.
5. Regulators, mount up – Calder Trophy finalist Adam Henrique finally woke up in game 7 with two goals including the double-overtime winner. He has to build on that experience and have it carry over into the Flyers series. Philadelphia boasts a formidable posse of young guns themselves with Matt Read, Brayden Schenn and Sean Coutourier. Read led all rookies in goal scoring during the regular season with 24. Many Philly faithful believe Read should have been nominated for the top rookie honors instead of Henrique. The 22-year-old Devils center has a chance to step to the forefront and show the world that his nomination was no fluke.
Now we look at the Philadelphia’s 5 keys to success with Flyers writer Johnny Machurek.
1. Ilya Bryzgalov: This is going to be the most important factor for the Flyers to have any success in this round. Bryz was terrible in the first round but showed up big in game six. This year he has been fantastic against the Devils with a record of 3-0, a 0.29 GAA, a .987 save percentage, and two shutouts. For him to have success he will
need help from the second key to success.2. Defense Wins Championships: If it wasn’t for the play of the offense, there is no way the Flyers advance to the second round. You cannot allow four-goals a game and expect to win a series, or have a game where you give up 10-goals. The one bright spot was game six when Philadelphia blocked 40-shots to close out the series. Philly
needs that play to carry over.3. Ain’t Nuttin But a G Thang: Claude Giroux put this team on his back last round and scored 14-points and currently is the playoff points leader. It really showed during the clincher when he set the tone with a big hit on Sidney Crosby and then scored a goal. After the goal Giroux said ‘Let’s Go’ and pounded the glass. Players will be
looking towards G to set the tone for them.4. Now You’re Playing with Power: A problem in the past has been a strength thus far for the Flyers. Philadelphia had an amazing power play percentage of 52.2%, which was easily the best of the first round. The Flyers were 12-of-23 with the man advantage. You can’t expect them to keep up those numbers, but even half of that will be more than enough.
5. I’m Gonna Break My Rusty Cage: One of the biggest questions out there is how much rust will the Flyers have? It will be seven-days between their last game and puck drop on Sunday. The rest could be a good thing, it leaves the Flyers fresher and able to heal some wounds. Philly need to come out and play with some jam, you can’t give away
games in the playoffs.
I believe this is going to be fantastic series and it will be much closer than many experts believe that’s why I’m going to stick with my team and pick the Devils in 7.
Follow me on Twitter! @StevePalumboNHL
Email me at [email protected]
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[...] have narrowed New Jersey’s objectives in the series down to 5 key areas and they are as follows…. 1. Kill them with kindness - The Devils possessed a record [...]
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