Philadelphia Flyers vs. New Jersey Devils: New Faces Defeat Old Foe

The Philadelphia Flyers beat the New Jersey Devils 3-0 Saturday night, and the team gave plenty of examples of why the Orange and Black are a whole new team.

For one, in just their second regular season game, the team has done something it didn’t do in 82 regular season games (and 11 postseason games) last year, as Ilya Bryzgalov recorded the team’s first shutout since Michael Leighton shut out the Canadiens on May 22, 2010.

Furthermore, the Flyers got goals from two new players 2:09 apart in the third period, as Bemidji State grad Matt Read and former LA King Wayne Simmonds tallied insurance goals against New Jersey’s Martin Brodeur.

The Flyers opened the scoring at 12:05 of the first when the top line of Claude Giroux, James van Riemsdyk and Jaromir Jagr kept the Devils trapped in their own zone for an extended period of time. 

Eventually, defenseman Matt Carle dumped the puck into the corner for JVR, who powered through New Jersey defender Henrik Tallinder to backhand the puck to a wide-open Giroux in the slot.

Giroux had no trouble converting against one of hockey’s all-time greatest goaltenders, as he slapped the pass by Martin Brodeur.

Andreas Nodl nearly made it 2-0 while killing a late penalty, when he stole the puck at the point and broke in on Brodeur.  The net-minder made an impressive standing save when Nodl tried to hit the top corner.

The Flyers offense got busy in the early third period, when Scott Hartnell forced a neutral-zone turnover and dished a pass to Read in the high slot, who beat Brodeur under the arm for his first NHL goal. 

Just over two minutes later, Simmonds put an Andrej Meszaros rebound into the net to put the Flyers up 3-0.  The goal came shortly after a power play expired.

The Devils were short-handed five times in the third and the Flyers only once, and as a result Philadelphia allowed only three shots on goal the entire period.  The lopsided offensive production allowed Bryzgalov to notch the team’s first shutout since May of 2010, and it only took him two career games in Philadelphia to do it.

Backup Sergei Bobrovsky, despite 28 career regular season wins, did not record a shutout during the 2010-11 season. 

Zac Rinaldo made his presence felt by delivering a solid hit on New Jersey’s David Clarkson behind the Flyers’ net, and in the process drew a holding penalty on Clarkson.  Clarkson would receive three minors, a major and a misconduct before the night was over.

His night hit a low point when he challenged Simmonds to a fight and immediately took a hard right to the face, only to have Simmonds pull him off the ice and continue to throw punches before Clarkson eventually fell.

The win makes the Flyers 2-0 in the young season.

Sean Watch

Sean Couturier continued to impress on the penalty kill, positioning himself well and forcing a turnover that sent him in on a short-handed breakaway in the second period.  Brodeur would make a save on Couturier’s big slap shot.

Lil Bryzy

Bryzgalov continues to justify his contract, having given up only one goal this year and zero in the last five periods of play.  Backup Sergei Bobrovsky looked stellar in preseason, but don’t expect him to take Bryz’s spot in the crease anytime soon.

Keeping Your Head Up

The Flyers’ next game will be their home opener on Wednesday, October 12 against the defending Western Conference champions, the Vancouver Canucks.  The Canucks are 0-0-1 after a shootout loss to Pittsburgh and have a game Monday against Columbus before traveling to Philadelphia.

The Four-Check

• Flyers broadcasting team Jim Jackson and Bill Clement, while one of the most respected tandems in the NHL, have yet to learn that by NHL rules, when an offensive player puts the puck off the crossbar and out of play, the face-off remains in the offensive zone.  The rule has been in effect since 2009, but J.J. has yet to be told.
• Andreas Nodl, a player considered expendable by most, may have found himself an ideal role as a fourth-liner and penalty-killer.  He only played 7:18, but 3:10 of it was on the penalty kill, and the young Austrian showed a real knack for the role.
• Matt Read can be proud that he scored his first career goal against one of the greatest goaltenders in history, but he can also give some credit to one of the top forwards in the league, Ilya Kovalchuk.  Read found himself open in the slot thanks to some lax defense from Kovalchuk, who has never been heralded for his back-checking. 
• Wayne Simmonds won the Flyers’ first fight of the year, perhaps mistaking David Clarkson for Sean Avery.  Avery and Simmonds infamously shared words in the preseason—and let’s be honest, Clarkson looks a hell of a lot like Avery.