The Flyers fans let it be known last night what they thought about the Devils chances of coming back from a 3-1 series deficit again. As the final seconds ticked away last night, the 19,709 and fans in the building started to chant “It’s All Over” and honestly, why shouldn’t they?
I’m a Devils fan, its the reason I write this blog but even I am full of doubt when it comes to this team. The product I’ve been shown so far in the post-season is not one I can be happy with. They haven’t played well at all this series and the way the Flyers have dominated them at even stregth is what really bothers me.
Yes, the Devils have come back from 3-1 before, in fact it was done against the Flyers and more specifically it was done against the current Flyers goaltender. Believe it or not, it has been done 21 times out of 234 oppurtunities and most recently it was done last season as the Capitals came back to win their first round series against the New York Rangers. The problem is, the Devils aren’t playing very good hockey at the moment and really haven’t matched up well against the Flyers all season.
So can they do it? As I mentioned, it was Boucher who allowed it to happen to Philly in 2000 and Jaques Lemaire is the only coach to rally his team from a 3-1 series deficit twice in the same playoff year (2003 Minnesota Wild) so Lemaire knows what it takes. So to answer my question, yes it is doable it just remains to be seen if this Devils team can overcome the problems they are having to do it.
The Flyers announced this morning that Simon Gagne and Jeff Carter will not be making the trip to NJ for Philadelphia tomorrow night. Gagne has a broken toe and Carter has a broken foot. Both players are day-to-day, which I believe in Gagne’s case but not Carter’s.
The bottom line is this, as fans we need to go out and support the Devils tomorrow night because if we believe in this team, maybe, just maybe they will start to believe in themselves. Who’s with me??
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fowd29dOyh0&w=560&h=340]
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