Devils won't be a pushover to Flyers in Round 2

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) - After Philadelphia rolled over Pittsburgh in the opening round of the playoffs, there was a perception that the Flyers would be the team to beat in the Eastern Conference.

Getting by New Jersey in the second round seemingly was a given after the No. 6 seed Devils needed seven games - and two overtimes in the last contest - to knock off Florida.

Well, it's time to revise that perception. Because, with Game 3 on tap Thursday at the Prudential Center, this series is tied, 1-1.

The Devils not only showed they could play with the Flyers in splitting the first two games in Philadelphia; they could easily be leading 2-0 in the best-of-7 series. They lost Game 1 in overtime, 4-3, and dominated Game 2, 4-1, on Tuesday despite playing without leading scorer Ilya Kovalchuk.