After the Flyers beat the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round of the playoffs, many expected that they'd advance past the New Jersey Devils with ease.
But three straight losses put the Flyers on the brink of elimination and the tables had turned.
The first poor play that lead to the Game 5 loss happened two nights prior, when Claude Giroux delivered an illegal hit to the head of Dainius Zubrus and received a one-game suspension. This play put Philadelphia at an immediate disadvantage, as they'd have to pull through a win in game five without their team leader and top scorer.
While the Flyers got off to an energetic and admirable start to the game, it didn't take long for a series of undisciplined and careless plays to put them in a hole.
The first poor play of the game came just minutes after the Devils tied the game at the hands of veteran Kimmo Timonen, who instead of passing to his defensive partner or playing the puck up the boards, shoveled it back to Ilya Bryzgalov.
The next poor play came two seconds later, when Bryzgalov overestimated his abilities and tried to shoot the puck past a fore-c ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Riley Kufta
NHL Playoffs 2012: Philadelphia Flyers Eliminated After Embarrassing Showing
May 8th, 2012 by Riley Kufta Leave a reply »
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