Rock Posted April 5, 2004 Share Posted April 5, 2004 Here's my questions: (To put things in perspective, one of my questions last year at the start of the playoffs was: How can the Devils smallish checking line contain the Bruins Big line [in scoring and in stature]? Well they did and the Devils won.) Actually the 1st question is sort of the same. How can the Devils small forwards and a defense with no Stevens contain the Big Flyer forwards? Can the Devils get enough scoring? Esche had their number the last 3 games. To me a really good situation would be for the Devils to chase Esche. Then shell Burke in the next game. Oh well these questions and more will gnaw at me until the puck is dropped on Thursday. Hopefully they will be answered positively for the Devils, as they mostly have been for the last 10 years! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hattrick Posted April 5, 2004 Share Posted April 5, 2004 I hope and pray that I'm wrong, but it seems the hunger to win isn't there for our beloved Devils. Maybe the missing ingredient is not having Stevens around. If the Devils do lose, I hope they put a hurtin' on the Cryers. but if the Cryers to beat the Devils, they will not finish the job by winning the Cup. Again, I hope and pray that the Devils beat the Flyers. GO DEVILS!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Risky Posted April 5, 2004 Share Posted April 5, 2004 Rock is right. They need to embarass one of the goalies early. We can beat Esche. He was a frigging backup in Phoenix for cripes sake. Crash the net and cash in on rebounds. EGG will get owned, despite what some think. Turner or Jamie needs to be up on that line. Friesen and Kozlov gotta do something. If they don't, this could be a quick one (and not in a good way). Our D needs to play smart, man-to-man coverage and not give up the odd-man rushes. They need to pinch down in the slot and force shots to the outside. Clear rebounds and don't be afraid to ice the puck. These will all be 2-1, 1-0 games, so score early and score first is the winning ingredient. Ultimately, the Flyers goaltending question-mark is still hanging in the air. Boucher was their savior in 2000, then Checkmanek. No one thought these guys were bad until they got embarassed in the playoffs. It's our turn and we have to do it quick. Let's go Devils. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LetsGoDevils Posted April 5, 2004 Share Posted April 5, 2004 I just hope we have more than one line show up for the playoffs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koufax75 Posted April 5, 2004 Share Posted April 5, 2004 I give a small advantage to the Devils. New Jersey are the defending NHL Champions, they have won 3 cups in 9 years. Philly... They have lost so many times in the playoff. They have much more pressure on them. If they lost, that would be another dissappointment. So, my prediction: Devils in 6. How is Rafalski? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nieuwy25 Posted April 5, 2004 Share Posted April 5, 2004 Nieuwy....if it's a quick series and the Devils win every game it would be in the Devils favor. Hard to argue with that logic! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ice Man Posted April 5, 2004 Share Posted April 5, 2004 Triumph as usual a terrific analysis. The weak link is goaltending for the Flyers. This is a big weak link. The Devils need to score early (first goal) in the first game and then stay focus during the first game pressuring the Flyers goalie and win. This will put so much pressure on the Flyers to protect their net that it will off load some of their offensive strength during the remaining games. This could be a series to the end.. 7 games. Devils will win 7th game in Philly because they know how to win the big ones. Yesterday's game wasn't as big. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triumph Posted April 5, 2004 Author Share Posted April 5, 2004 Risky and IceMan have really good points about first goals. I'd like to add to that the fact that we want to avoid overtime. Yeah, Esche has never handled it, but neither have the Devils' rookies, not to mention that we have a small defensive corps. 5 periods of Flyer forechecking is going to force them into mistakes. The only way a team beats the Devils is if they outplay the Devils at their own game. The only way to make that not happen is if the Devils score the first goal. We don't have much margin for error here. Neither do the Flyers. It's just going to be a great series. Damn, do I wish I had TV this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrangeBlood Posted April 5, 2004 Share Posted April 5, 2004 Well, things have certainly changed. Not so long ago, facing the Devils was Philly fans' purest nightmare. Now, I'd have to say that Jersey was the team I wanted to face more than any other in the first round. The ole' "let's just get it on and see what happens" attitude. If we can beat the Devs in the first round, I see that as a huge psychological boost for the Flyers, so the sooner we face you, the better. And now, we're in for some great hockey. I agree with the sentiments put forth... early in the series will dictate the outcome. Either team goes down 2-0, it'll be over in a hurry. I think either team can overcome losing Game 1, though. I don't see a physical series. The Devs know how to survive the playoffs and they're not going to initiate a physical war and the Flyers just don't play that physical anymore, not to mention that a first round war is how they lost in the second round last year. This series will be about patience and methodical play. Conservation of energy, positional soundness and work along the wall. The Devs have had that type of series mastered for the better part of a decade now. The Flyers are more up and comers in that arena. The Flyers, though, do have more overall talent depth in each area, IMO, except in net. This is a change from previous years. It used to be that the Devs could shut down a handful of individual Flyers and that was all she wrote. Now that won't work. I see it as a low scoring affair, with the non-heavies doing most of the scoring (Handzus, Primeau, etc). Flyers in 6. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaDevsFan Posted April 5, 2004 Share Posted April 5, 2004 Good analysis Tri, but i have to say this, you mention the Flyers top 9 being the best in the NHL. While I agree on paper they look very strong, I do not agree that their top 9 are the kind that wins in the post season. Look at Primeau, recchi, LeClair, Handzus, Zhamnov, and even Amonte what have these guys done in the post season?? I mean Primeau 110 post season games 9 goals? other than recchi and Lecalir who have respectable numbers 92 games 36 goals (recchi) and 136 games 40 goals (Leclair) Their "big gun" forwards just disapear in the playoffs. If it was just 1 season I would say ok, but every yr. you watch their team in the playoffs and yes their goaltending is shakey at times but even more than that they cannot score. Look 2 yrs ago against Ottawa 4 goals in what 5 or 6 games? You better have a wall in net if you are gonna score less than a goal a game. The point is on Paper the flyers always look good. Lets see them in the spotlight do it. I want to see them beat Marty 4 out of 7 games. I just do not think they will. I honestly like this matchup better than some of the other possibilities. I like the way we have been getting scoring from some other sources over the last 2 weeks. I think actually opening on the road is good for this team too. Play the slow it down defensive style that won the Jennings trophy this yr. get the flyers squeezing their sticks early, and their fans booing and thinking "here we go again" and we win this series. Key is to come out strong, no VERY STRONG in game 1 and take it right to them in their own building. We win game 1 and they start thinking about it. that is exactly what we need, especially if we win game 1 and Esche does not play well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LetsGoDevils Posted April 5, 2004 Share Posted April 5, 2004 So, when the Devils knock the Flyers out of the playoffs again, how many Flyer fans will be sending Fan mail to Clarke? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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