NHL Playoffs 2012: Preview and Prediction for Game 4 of Devils vs. Flyers

Sunday at 7:30 p.m. ET, the Philadelphia Flyers and New Jersey Devils will face off at Prudential Center in Newark for Game 4 of their Eastern Conference semifinal.

The underdog Devils hold a 2-1 lead in the series after their overtime victory on Thursday night.

Here's the lowdown on what to expect:

Philadelphia Flyers

The Flyers and their fans are clearly surprised to find themselves trailing in this series. After the emotional intensity they brought in the quarterfinal against Pittsburgh, they haven't shown the same fighting spirit so far against New Jersey.

Scott Hartnell admitted on Friday in a conference call that the Devils are giving the Flyers more than they bargained for.

"

"I think everyone is frustrated," Hartnell said. "I know me personally, I've been frustrated. You can tell with [Giroux] that he wants to make something happen every time he's on the ice, and we all know that's basically impossible. Whether it's losing a puck battle at the wrong time or whatever—it seems like it's almost contagious right now."

"

The Flyers are just 2-for-16 with the extra man, and Danny Briere thinks that's the problem:

"

"The last two games, the all-round effort on the power play is not good enough. Seems like we just think they're going to let us do whatever we want out there. Their penalty-kill unit is outworking us by a mile. And it's the reason why we lost the last two games."

"

Rookie center Sean Couturier suffered a leg injury in Game 3 and is doubtful for Sunday. He skated for a few minutes before the Flyers' practice on Saturday but did not skate with the team. It looks like Zac Rinaldo will draw into his roster spot, which will necessitate some line-juggling from Peter Laviolette.

Defenseman Andrej Meszaros did practice for the first time since his back surgery on March 21 and might draw in on the back end.

With a 3.54 goals-against average and .878 save percentage, Ilya Bryzgalov has the worst numbers of any starter remaining in the playoffs.

In this series, he's allowed 11 goals in three games on 91 shots from the Devils. St. Louis' Brian Elliott and Nashville's Pekka Rinne have similar numbers in this round—and their teams are both one game away from elimination.

Bryz needs to be better if the Flyers want to avoid the same fate.

New Jersey Devils

The Devils are riding a high after two straight wins. They're playing a physical game, controlling the boards and stupefying with their penalty kill.

Ilya Kovlachuk returned to the lineup after missing Game 2 with a back injury, and dominated. Kovalchuk is being celebrated for his commitment to the Devils' system and his two-way game, so if he's healthy, he could be a force again in Game 4.

The Devils are a veteran squad. Petr Sykora understands the dangers of growing overconfident:

"

“I’m sure they’re going to be flying,” Sykora said. “We have to stay away from the scrums, keep coming with our forecheck. I think they love a clear neutral zone to come with speed. We have to clog up the neutral zone and make sure they have to come through at least three or four guys shift after shift.”

"

The amazing Martin Brodeur turns 40 on Sunday, so you know he'll be looking to celebrate.

But this is not the Brodeur of old, or the Devils' old defensive system. They've blocked the fewest shots of the remaining teams and with eight goals-against in three games against Philly, it's not impossible that the mighty Marty could spring a leak in Game 4.

Prediction

During their first-round series, the Flyers showed time and again that they do their best work with their backs against the wall. Two days off have given them time to think about the situation they're in, and they won't want to take a 3-1 deficit back to the Wells Fargo Center.

The Devils are defensively tough—a huge change of pace from Pittsburgh—and they're rolling their system well.

It could go either way, but I think on Sunday the bounces will start to go Philly's way. The power play will start to click and Bryz will be better. The end result will be a 4-2 Flyers win.

Follow me on Twitter: @pool88