NEWARK, NJ – It took 10 years but Brian Boucher finally exorcised his personal demon when he and the Philadelphia Flyers shutout the New Jersey Devils 3-0 and advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs, with help from Claude Giroux’s two goals and one goal by Daniel Briere. Since the series was first announced, the media brought up 2000 when the Flyers and Boucher lost in seven games to the Devils after building a 3-1 series lead. Most players who seek redemption from a bad series might want to gloat after the game, but that wasn’t the case after Thursday night’s win. The sting of 10 years ago was still that for Boucher, but at least now he can rest knowing it was he and his teammates who beat the Devils in five games this time around. Boucher earned his second career playoff shutout and did not allow an even strength goal in the final 187:39 of the series. T he seventh-seeded Flyers handed the Devils their third consecutive first round exit. Speaking of exits, someone who might be leaving New Jersey for good could be Ilya Kovalchuk who guaranteed a win in last night’s game. For Chris Pronger, words were exactly that, “Talk is cheap. I guess you need to back it up. We were able to do that.” It was the first time the Flyers eliminated a playoff opponent via a shutout since April 16, 1987 when they beat the New York Rangers 5-0 in the Patrick Division semifinals. That year the Flyers went all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals. The Flyers were 9-2 against the Devils this season. If the Washington Capitals can wrap up their series tonight over Montreal the Flyers would face the Caps next week starting at the Verizon Center.
Contact the author at brian.jennings@ prohockeynews.com
Contact the photographer at Lewis.Bleiman@prohockeynews.com
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