By Bud L. Ellis
The bad news Friday night for the Philadelphia Flyers came in the final score. But the good news is the Flyers head home even in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals.
The New Jersey Devils evened the playoff series at one game apiece with a 5-3 victory, scoring twice in the final 4:04 to capture Game 2 on Friday in Newark. The series now shifts to Philadelphia for Game 3 Sunday and Game 4 Tuesday.
The Flyers got what they needed Wednesday in winning Game 1. They sought for a road sweep on Friday, and things looked good when Chris Pronger scored on the power play with 1:12 left in the second period, tying the game at 3-3.
But New Jersey broke through for the game-winner with 4:04 to go, and added a empty netter with 33 second remaining to salt this one away.
Down 1-0 early in the first on a short-handed goal, the Flyers rebounded, taking a 2-1 lead after one period on goals by Arron Asham and Claude Giroux. Brian Boucher made 28 saves for Philadelphia.
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Friday, April 16, 2010 at 10:13 pm by bud
Tags: Arron Asham, Brian Boucher, Chris Pronger, Claude Giroux, National Hockey League, New Jersey Devils, Philadelphia Flyers
By Bud L. Ellis
Mired in the logjam fighting for the final three playoff spots in the Eastern Conference, every point in the standings is critical.
The Philadelphia Flyers realize that, and that’s why Monday’s come-from-behind victory over New Jersey was all the more important.
Mike Richards blasted home the game-winner with 7:58 remaining, the Flyers rallying from an early 2-0 deficit to defeat New Jersey 3-2 at the Wachovia Center.
Kimmo Timonen fed Richards, who beat future Hall of Fame goaltender Martin Brodeur to give Philly a 3-2 lead at the 12:02 mark of the third period. Michael Leighton then made it hold up for the Flyers, who moved into a tie for seventh with Tampa Bay in the Eastern Conference standings with 61 points, one behind sixth-place Montreal.
Zach Parise and Anssi Salmela – the later acquired from Atlanta as part of last week’s blockbuster Ilya Kovalchuk trade – scored to give the Devils a 2-0 lead. Philly started its comeback with a James van Riemsdyk goal at 18:24 of the second. Jeff Carter tied the game just 1:12 later to make it 2-2.
Chris Pronger tallied two assists for the Flyers, who go for a home-and-home sweep of a mini-series with the Devils on Wednesday in New Jersey.
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Tuesday, February 9, 2010 at 6:19 pm by bud
Tags: Anssi Salmela, Chris Pronger, Ilya Kovalchuk, James van Riemsdyk, Jeff Carter, Kimmo Timonen, Mike Richards, Montreal Canadians, National Hockey League, New Jersey Devils, Philadelphia Flyers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Zach Parise
