PREVIEW 8:00 AM EDT
The outcome of Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semifinal series between the Philadelphia Flyers and New Jersey Devils will go a long way toward determining the Flyers' fate in the series. Win and the series is a 2-2 deadlock with two of three potential games in Philadelphia. Lose and Philly is in a 3-1 hole that few teams ever climb out of successfully.
Thursday's game at the Prudential Center was a missed opportunity for the Flyers. The game play was one of sporadic momentum for both sides and even play overall. Each side scored a power play goal on a shot the opposing goaltender should have stopped. Philly took an early lead but couldn't hold it, and the Devils failed to protect leads of 2-1 and 3-2.
Ultimately, Philadelphia's latter power plays were the story of the game. First there was a controversial disallowed Flyers power play goal late in the second period. In overtime, there was a pair of failed Philadelphia power plays in overtime leading up to Alexei Ponikarovsky's overtime winner that sealed a 4-3 win for the Devils.
Tonight, the Flyers will need a more complete effort, reminiscent of Game 6 of the first-round series against Pittsburgh. The Flyers will be without defensive shutdown center Sean Couturier and several other players (Scott Hartnell and Claude Giroux among them) are said to be playing through injuries that would likely keep them out if it was a regular season game. But that's the nature of the playoffs. All hands need to be on deck tonight.
Peter Laviolette made wholesale line changes at practice yesterday. It remains to be seen what combinations actually start the game. The Flyers' lines below reflect yesterday's combinations.
PROJECTED LINEUPS (subject to change)
FLYERS
JVR - Giroux - Simmonds
Hartnell - Briere - Voracek
Read - Schenn - Jagr
Rinaldo - Talbot - Wellwood
Carle - Timonen
Grossmann - Coburn
Lilja - Gustafsson/Meszaros(?)
Bryzgalov
[Bobrovsky]
DEVILS
Ponikarovsky - Zajac - Kovalchuk
Parise - Elias - Clarkson
Sykora - Henrique - Zubrus
Carter - Gionta - Bernier
Larsson - Volchenkov
Zidlicky - Salvador
Greene - Fayne
Brodeur
[Hedberg]
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In my article for today's Camden Courier Post, I take a look at Flyers' rookie checking line forward Eric Wellwood. Although he does not have a point in the playoffs, he's been one of the club's most effective players in several players, especially the first two games of the current series.
Click
here for more.
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