On Tuesday, May 1st, the Philadelphia Flyers hosted the New Jersey Devils at home for game 2 of the NHL playoffs Eastern Conference semifinals. Philadelphia came out with energy early in the first period and took a 1-0 lead at the 2:53 mark with a goal from rookie forward Matt Read. The two teams continued to trade chances in the first, but the period would end with no more scoring.
The second period had the Flyers on their heels protecting their lead. The Flyers did not get a shot on goal until the very end of the period. The Devils out-shot the Flyers in the second period12-2, but Philadelphia goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov did not let any goals behind him. The pressure was on.
At the 3:08 mark of the third period, the Devils finally were able to score a goal for their efforts. Rookie defenseman Adam Larsson tied the game, playing in his first NHL playoff game after being called up to fill in the lineup when it was announced that star left winger Ilya Kovalchuk would not play due to a lower body injury. New Jersey forward David Clarkson scored at the 11:17 mark to take their first lead in the game. Forward Travis Zajac added an insurance goal for New Jersey at the 14:01 mark of the third. While Devils forward and former Flyer Dainius Zubrus serving a 2 minute minor interference penalty, the Flyers pulled Bryzgalov from the net to allow six skaters on the ice for a power play offensive zone face off. Unfortunately for the Flyers and their fans, this led to a shorthanded empty net goal by Devils defenseman Bryce Salvador, his first goal since March of 2010.
The game ended with a final score of 4-1 in favor of New Jersey. In the end, the Devils had out-shot the Flyers 35 to 20, though Flyers goaltender Bryzgalov had kept his team in the game making 31 saves on 34 shots against him. The best of seven games series is now tied 1-1. The New Jersey Devils will host the Philadelphia Flyers in game 3 on Thursday, May 3rd at 7:30 PM Eastern Standard Time.
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