Flyers Blow a 2 Goal Lead, Lose to Devils

Brodeur outplayed Bryzgalov on his way to 5-3 win

The Philadelphia Flyers suffered a disappointing loss to the 1st place New Jersey Devils, 5-3 tonight.

Not only did the Flyers lose the game, but they also lost lead defenseman Kimmo Timonen. Timonen left the game in between the 2nd and 3rd period with what the Flyers are only calling a 'lower body injury.' More will be known later.

The Devils got off to an early lead in the 1st period, but the Flyers exploded for 3 goals in less than 3 minutes giving them a 3-1 lead.

However, the Flyers blew their lead in the 2nd period as the Devils tied the game up, then Philadelphia lost it in in the 3rd period on a failed clear.

The Flyers had every opportunity to win this game but instead it turned into a huge letdown game. Turnovers, failed clears, and poor goaltending led to a tough loss. Ilya Bryzgalov only made 14 saves on 18 shots faced.

Zajac scores 40 seconds into the game

The Devils got on the board quickly when they scored 40 seconds into the game on a goal from Travis Zajac.

The Flyers then tallied 3 goals in 2:36 minutes, the fastest 3 goals they've ever scored on Martin Brodeur. Their first goal came on a PowerPlay from Wayne Simmonds working his magic in front off a rebound. 1:48 minutes later, Mike Knuble gave the Flyers the lead on a long shot from the high slot after receiving a nice pass from Ruslan Fedotenko. The Flyers then increased their lead to 2, 48 seconds later, when Claude Giroux set up Matt Read for the one-timer and the Flyers led 3-1. Unfortunately, that would be the extent of the Flyers offense tonight.

The 2nd period began and New Jersey got off to an even faster start than they did in the 1st by scoring only 26 seconds in. Newly acquired forward Alexei Ponikarovski scored on a play started by the ageless Marty Brodeur. Brodeur made a long pass up the ice sending Ilya Kovalchuk on a 3 on 2 and Kovalchuk set up Ponikarovsky who beat Bryzgalov, quickly making it a 1 goal game.

Read gives Flyers a 2 goal lead

Brodeur's goaltending and puck handling kept his team alive. Following the Flyers 3-goal spurt, Brodeur registered an assist and stopped all 20 shots faced.

The Devils tied the game up on a rare turnover by Timonen, some think that was the play in which he got injured. Timonen turned the puck over to Kovalchuk who set up a wide open Patrick Elias from the top of the circle tying the game at 3.

It seemed as if every time the Flyers made a mistake it was in the back of their net. Despite the fact that most of the goals scored against were direct results of breakdowns or turnovers, Bryzgalov still failed to stopped the puck when it mattered the most.

Poor defense plus poor goaltending always equals a loss.

The Devils cashed in on their go ahead goal on another Flyers mistake. Matt Read failed to clear the puck out of the defensive zone and right to New Jersey defenseman Adam Larsson. Larsson quickly put the puck on net which deflected off David Clarkson and past Bryzgalov.

Devils get the go ahead goal in the 3rd

New Jersey finally had their lead back, and this time they wouldn't lose it.

Following the Devils goal at 10:43, the Flyers only registered 1 shot on goal. Steve Bernier added an empty net goal to add insult to injury.

Philadelphia had a 2-goal lead on the best team in the league with a chance to get back into the playoff hunt, instead the lead was squandered. However, they still went into the 3rd period tied with a chance to redeem themselves, yet instead they left disappointed, rejected, and without any points.

When asked about his team's performance, in particularly their 2 goals given up in the first minute of each of the first 2 periods, head coach Peter Laviolette simply said, "It's unacceptable."

The Flyers fall to 6-8-1 on the season.

Game Notes:

• Out of 6 periods that the Flyers have faced the Devils this season, 3 of them saw the Devils score a goal in the first minute.
• Claude Giroux had 2 assists yet was a -2 and lost 54% of his faceoffs in 20:17 minutes.
• Kimmo Timonen played 11:24 minutes before leaving the game with what is only being called a lower body injury.
• The line consisting of Giroux, Simmonds and Read were a combined -6.
• Both teams only had 1 PowerPlay in the game. The Flyers were 1-1 while the Devils were 0-1.

Highlights:
To view highlights of tonight's game: CLICK HERE

Drop the Puck:
The Flyers look to put their loss behind them as they go Montreal tomorrow to face the Canadians.