For the fifth time in their history, the New Jersey Devils and the Philadelphia Flyers will meet in the playoffs. The all-time series between these two Atlantic Division rivals is tied 2-2 with the Flyers taking the last two meetings in 2004 and 2010. Game 1 takes place on Sunday, April 29 in Philadelphia.
As division rivals, these two teams are obviously familiar with one another considering that they play each other six times during the regular season. This year's season series was tied 3-3.
So, which team has the edge? Let's take a look at a position by position breakdown to try and find an answer.
Forwards
Both teams had balanced scoring from their forwards throughout the regular season. The Devils had five 20 goal scorers and the Flyers had four. The Flyers have the best forward on both teams in Claude Giroux. Giroux was third in the league in points scored during the regular season and led all players in scoring through the first round of the playoffs. The Devils have the next two best forwards in Ilya Kovalchuk (5 pts against the Panthers in round one) and Zach Parise (4 pts). In round one, Kovalchuk looked like he was hampered by an injury. If the Devils are going to advance to the Eastern Conference finals, however, they need more production out of both. One of the reasons the Devils were able to advance past the Panthers was because they had better forward depth. For example, they had great production out of their fourth line of Steve Bernier, Stephen Gionta and Ryan Carter as those three combined for 5 goals in the series. The second line of Patrik Elias, Dainius Zubrus and Petr Sykora only had 3 goals (0 after game 3) and the third line came on strong late with Adam Henrique's 2 goals in game 7.
The Flyers, on the other hand, were firing on all cylinders as they scored 30 goals in six games against the Penguins. As previously mentioned, Giroux led the way in scoring. In addition, Danny Briere had 5 goals, Max Talbot and rookie Sean Couturier had 3 apiece and Jakub Voracek, Brayden Schenn, Scott Hartnell and Matt Read all chipped in with 2 goals each, as well. Last but not least, future Hall of Famer Jaromir Jagr also had a good series with 7 points, too.
While the overall depth at forward might be fairly even for both of these teams, the Flyers have better top end talent on their first three lines. Therefore, they have the edge at forward.
Advantage: Philadelphia Flyers
Defensemen
Quite simply, the Devils have a solid defense. They do not have any big names like in the 1990s and early 2000s when they were led by Stevens, Niedermayer and Daneyko. Instead, they have a bunch of blue collar guys. Marek Zidlicky is their best puck mover and he will have to make some plays as the Devils will need their D to add some offense. Andy Greene, Mark Fayne and Peter Harrold can chip in, as well. Veterans Bryce Salvador and Anton Volchenkov will need to try and shutdown Philadelphia's forwards. Salvador was slashed late in game 7 and Volchenkov looked injured throughout the first round so neither will be at 100%. Still, they need to be better on the penalty kill or else this series will be a short one. Should someone get injured, it will be a baptism under fire of sorts for rookie Adam Larsson who has yet to play in these playoffs.
If captain Chris Pronger was still around, the Flyers would take this category handily. Even with him injured, they still have the best overall defenseman in veteran Kimmo Timonen. He has been underrated throughout his career. Braydon Coburn and Matt Carle have come into their own with the Flyers as Coburn will look to help shutdown New Jersey's forwards and Carle will be a bit of a fourth forward out there at times for Philadelphia. Rounding out the group are Pavel Kubina (a Stanley Cup winner with the Lightning in 2004), Andreas Lilja and youngster Erik Gustafsson. If Nicklas Grossmann returns from a concussion, he could be inserted into the lineup, as well.
New Jersey's group plays better defensively, whereas Philadelphia's unit adds more offense. In the end, the Flyers' defense is just a little more well-rounded.
Advantage: Philadelphia Flyers
Goaltending
Devils goalie Martin Brodeur had a great game 7 against the Panthers as he stopped 43 of 45 shots. Everyone knows his playoff pedigree. On the other end, Flyers goalie Ilya Bryzgalov is a complete wildcard. He struggled throughout the series against the Penguins (3.89 goals allowed per game, .871 save percentage) but played well in game 6 as he stopped 30 of 31 shots. In general, his playoff numbers have not been good in recent years. With that said, he was 3-0 against the Devils and only allowed 1 goal in three starts (four games overall) this season. You just never know with him.
It is interesting to note that backup Johan Hedberg was 2-0 against the Flyers this season. If Brodeur struggles in a game, the Devils could turn to Hedberg like they did in game 3 against the Panthers. Still, despite his age, Brodeur has been a model of consistency throughout most of his career. You cannot pick against him in this goalie battle heading into the series.
Advantage: New Jersey Devils
Coaching
This postseason has been a first for Devils coach Peter DeBoer. On the other hand, Flyers coach Peter Laviolette has had plenty of experience in the playoffs as he won the Stanley Cup with Carolina in 2006 and lost in the Stanley Cup finals with Philadelphia in 2010. The Flyers have the clear edge here.
Advantage: Philadelphia Flyers
You would expect this series to be tight. It would obviously be a surprise if the Flyers scored 5 goals per game again. If the Devils are going to take it, they will need their top two lines to contribute on a consistent basis and for Brodeur to be at his best. They simply cannot get into an offensive series with the Flyers, though.
In the end, the Flyers should win it. They can score more consistently and one has to think Bryzgalov will play better than he did against the Penguins, who have a more potent offensive attack than the Devils.
Prediction: Philadelphia Flyers in six games
Source: Statistics found at http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/stats and http://www.hockey-reference.com/
Michael Pellegrini has been a fan of the New Jersey Devils since the mid to late 1990s when they had players like Doug Gilmour and Dave Andreychuk in the later stages of their career.
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