Nothing can stop the Devils right now. They continued their torrid play by systematically taking apart the Flyers 5-1 at Continental Airlines Arena on Easter Sunday. Their 10th straight win was an NHL season best. Potential first round opponents. Beware.
Had they not prevailed, the Devils would have been locked into the sixth seed and forced to start the postseason on the road. Instead, they tied the Flyers with 99 points but leapfrogged past them to fifth due to one more win. Both teams trail the Rangers by one point with each team having one game left. It will all be decided Tuesday night.
The Devils even have a chance to come all the way back from 13 points down to the Rangers before this streak started to take their sixth Atlantic Division title in nine seasons. In order for that to happen, they'll need help from Ottawa against the Rangers while earning at least a point at Montreal while the Flyers lose to the Islanders. The easier route would be to extend this streak to 11 and get to 101 points, which would assure them of finishing ahead of the Flyers no matter what. But it's all contingent on what the Rangers do. If they win, they take the division and earn home ice. If not, anything is possible.
"It was far-fetched to think about the title," Martin Brodeur told the AP. "We just went about our business. It took us all these games in a row to put us in this position."
On Fan Appreciation Day, they treated the near sellout CAA crowd to another clinic in how to outplay an archrival, sweeping the final two regular season home games against a wounded opponent. Without Peter Forsberg (groin) who returned a day earlier in a 4-1 win over the Rangers, the Flyers were no match for the Devils.
It didn't take long for the Devils to draw first blood. Emerging MVP candidate Brian Gionta made a bit of history when he put home his own rebound 5:56 into the first to match Pat Verbeek's Devils '87-88 record with his 46th goal. He nearly had the record a period later but hit the crossbar. He'll have one game to try to eclipse it.
"We focused in and wanted to finish strong in the last 10, 11 games," Gionta said. "We'll see what happens. Things still have to happen for us to get the title. We just need to take care of what we need to take care of."
Though the Flyers didn't play poorly, they couldn't beat Brodeur and soon found themselves in a two-goal hole heading back to the locker room when Patrik Elias finished off a dominant shift by snapping home his 14th of the season past Robert Esche with 46 seconds left. It was his 500th career point in Game No. 595. Up a goal, Elias replaced Zach Parise on the top line for the final shift of the period. After nine consecutive passes, Elias took Brad Lukowich's feed and fired the puck inside the far post for the milestone.
Scott Gomez increased the margin to three just 2:24 into the second when he fired his 33rd thru a Gionta screen to conclude Esche's day, forcing Flyers Coach Ken Hitchcock to call timeout. Esche stopped nine of 12 shots. Replacement Antero Niittymaki would fare no better later permitting two goals on only eight shots.
The Flyers got one back on the next shift when Simon Gagne surprised Brodeur with a no look wrister from the right wing inside the crossbar to cut it to 3-1 30 seconds later.
Gaining momentum, they started to attack the Devils more and control play with an aggressive forecheck. But Brodeur wouldn't allow them to get any closer, including a tough stop on a tricky Petr Nedved floater. During this streak, the two-time Vezina winner has put himself back in the running by allowing more than two goals only twice while being his usually reliable self. He finished with 25 saves for his 42nd victory of the season.
On their heels most of the period, the Devils once again saved their best for the final minute. This time, the beneficiary was Jamie Langenbrunner, who rebounded a Lukowich shot for his 18th with 38 seconds remaining to put them back up three. During another dominant shift, they kept the Flyers D pinned in for nearly a minute before retaking command. When Elias fed Lukowich for a one-timer, an isolated Langenbrunner backhanded the rebound into the net.
Elias put the icing on the cake with his second of the game when he snapped home his 15th at 11:01. Off another effective cycle, he took a Langenbrunner backhand pass and rifled a shot from inside the blueline past Niittymaki. It was Elias' third point of the day.
When it was over, they left to a well deserved standing ovation. A fitting end to a perfect day.
"Everyone is doing their job right now," Elias said. "We're doing the things we have to do and we're playing good hockey. We're feeling good about ourselves."
Notes: Devils finished 27-11-3 at home this season. ... With a goal and assist, Gionta extended his point streak to 14 straight. During that stretch, he has 10 goals and 12 assists. ... Gomez finished with a goal and assist to extend his point streak to five games (5-6-11). ... Langenbrunner had a goal and assist. ... Lukowich finished with three assists and was a plus-four to go plus-six in the home sweep of the Flyers. ... Sergei Brylin played in his 600th career game. ... During the 10-game win streak, Brodeur is perfect with a 1.88 GAA and .941 save percentage. ... Devils won the final three games from the Flyers outscoring them 13-3 to take the season series 5-3. ... Defenseman Colin White left after the second period with a groin injury. ... Devils (45-27-9, 99 pts) conclude the season at Montreal (42-30-9, 93 pts) Tuesday. The Canadiens can clinch a playoff berth with either an Atlanta loss or one point against the Devils.
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