NHL Playoff Recap - Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, Game 5(7) Philadelphia Flyers 3, (2) New Jersey Devils 0 - Flyers win series 4-1 In playoff hockey, where every inch of ice is contested, and every move met with extreme resistance, the deciding factors are usually special teams and goaltending. That’s not news to hockey fans, and it’s exactly how the underdog Philadelphia Flyers ended the New Jersey Devils’ season Thursday night. The Flyers won Game 5 thanks to their superior power play and penalty kill, and the stellar goaltending of Brian Boucher, who stopped 26 shots in earning his second career playoff shutout. Philadelphia also overcame the absence of star forwards Jeff Carter and Simon Gagne, lost for the rest of the series, and probably for the season, due to foot injuries sustained in Game 4. After those devastating injuries, pundits seemed to think the Flyers were a prime candidate to blow a commanding 3-1 series lead. Philly veterans bristled at the suggestion, but Carter and Gagne combined for 101 points during the regular season and were two of the key cogs in the Flyers’ well-rounded attack. Given the key losses, Philadelphia would have seemed outclassed. But when everything seems to go wrong, the goalie can be the savior.
Boucher gave up just eight goals in the series, and held the Devils scoreless at even strength for the final three games. The journeyman netminder, a veteran of six NHL teams, has been a backup for most of his career, and was possibly the biggest question mark for Philadelphia entering the playoffs. All Boucher did was outduel the great Martin Brodeur and defuse a Devils offense that features Ilya Kovalchuk, acquired from Atlanta at the trade deadline, who, despite having a good series by most accounts (and virtually guaranteeing victory to the media after Game 4), and couldn’t carry the New Jersey attack on his own. Thursday night in Newark, New Jersey, the Flyers gave Boucher all the offense he would need right away, as Danny Briere tipped a Claude Giroux pass past Brodeur on an early first-period power play, giving Philly a 1-0 edge. A Giroux slapshot at 11:48 of the second period put the Devils on the ropes. New Jersey slid further toward the edge of the cliff 51 seconds later, when Dean McAmmond took a four-minute high-sticking penalty. Giroux made the Devils pay. His second goal in 1:59 was his third point of the game, and the Flyers’ lead was 3-0. A defense anchored by the dominant Chris Pronger, plus superior special teams, helped Boucher shut the door on the Devils.
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