Early on in the first period, Dan Carcillo embellished on a phantom high stick, a play that was so blatantly obvious that it immediately embarrassed all of us. By the end of the night, however, he more than made up for the mistake.
Carbomb scored the game winner in overtime, smartly filling in the open side of Martin Brodeur‘s net while Mike Richards banged away at a loose puck on the opposite post. It squeaked across the crease to a wide-open Carcillo, who scored likely the easiest and biggest goal of his entire life. 3-2 Flyers win in the game, 2-1 Flyers lead in the series.
And boy, did they ever deserve this one. The Philadelphia Flyers out hustled and out worked the New Jersey Devils all night long, but especially in the third period, where they outshot NJ 12-3. Martin Brodeur was just too damn good in that frame, however, proving that yes, he is still a factor and yes, he can rob a game.
But the Flyers kept plugging away. They carried over the momentum from the third right into overtime, controlling the play from the outset in the extra session and ultimately forcing a David Clarkson interference penalty just a minute and 30 seconds in. Carcillo’s goal wasn’t a PP tally, but it was the possession on the power play and a late face off win in the offensive zone that led to it.
Maybe the interference call in OT was weak, and maybe the officiating on the whole were terrible. No, you know what? We can say with certainty that the officiating on the whole was terrible. On both sides. From the outset, the officials seemed to be calling the game tight, giving New Jersey four power plays in the first 10 minutes of the game. Then, suddenly, the roles were reversed, and the stripes seemed to be letting the teams play.
Nobody could get a feel for what the referees were doing — and it showed, as the flow of the game was seriously disrupted throughout. It was really an absolute joke. Most of the Flyers penalties were warranted, though, and they were the result of just flat out lazy hockey. That needs to be corrected.
But if you’re a Devils fan tonight, you have no reason to complain. Despite three extra power plays, New Jersey was out shot 34-18 in the game. The only reason the Devils weren’t blown out of the water by the Flyers was the man between the pipes, Martin Brodeur.
The Flyers penalty killers all deserve a big blue ribbon tonight, as does the entire team. They had a giant wall to break down in Martin Brodeur, and with a ton of perseverance — dare I say, relentlessness? — they got the job done. Hard not to smile this evening, on our side.
After the jump, questions answered, video of Carcillo’s OT winner and the comment of the night.
Questions with Answers
- Can the Flyers effectively get Kovalchuk off of his game… again? Zero shots in 27 minutes of ice time. You be the judge.
Will Brian Boucher be excellent, as he has been all series? Boosh was solid, as expected, yet again.
Can the Flyers force the Devils to take penalties again, and if so, can they score on the PP? Um, tough to answer this one tonight. They were 1 for 5 on the PP, but uh, everybody took penalties.
Does Peter Laviolette get the defensive matchups he would like against the Devils big guns? Yes, the Flyers were very successful against Parise, Kovalchuk and Elias all night long.
Martin Brodeur was much better in Game 2. Can the Flyers regain the edge against him? Despite the Flyers win, Brodeur was incredible. Would’ve been a lopsided score without him.
Comment of the Night
I love Carcillo’s surprised look!
“DID I JUST SCORE!”
>> flysrfrk05
