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Tip of the hat Flyers have a Tocchet in their pocket for Game 2
Posted: Monday June 26, 2000 10:55 PM By Chris Stevenson, SLAM! Sports PHILADELPHIA -- It's hard to tell exactly when this Philadelphia Flyers-New Jersey Devils matchup became a playoff series.
Maybe it was when Flyers defenceman Eric Desjardins darted in from the point with 39 seconds left in the second period to score a goal to cut the Devils lead in Game 2 Tuesday night to 3-2. Maybe it was when Flyers battle-scarred warrier Rick Tocchet scored his second goal of the game just 1:06 into the third to tie it, followed by speedy Daymond Langkow scoring what turned out to be the winner just 52 seconds after that. Take your pick. Somewhere in those three goals in 2:37, the Flyers exorcised some demons. Their 4-3 win at the First Union Center was just their third win against the Devils in 17 games over the last three years and it tied their Eastern Conference final 1-1. Game 3 is Thursday night in New Jersey. "I don't think we'll be out partying and talking about how great we are," said Tocchet, whose hard-nosed play summed up what the Flyers were all about. "But this win settles everybody down. Rookies, veterans. It shows us we can win against them. If we lose this game, you know what sports is like. You lose to a team long enough and you start thinking you're never going to beat them. I don't think our guys are thinking about past history anymore." Game 2 was a bloody, passionate, reckless 60 minutes, qualities that suit the Flyers. The hitting was ferocious. The Flyers' Dan McGillis leveled New Jersey's big Bobby Holik in the first and left forward Sergei Brylin needing medical attention for a cut over his right eye in the third after driving him into the boards. Langkow had to leave the game after scoring his goal when Devils defenceman Scott Stevens put another pelt on his mantlepiece, catching Langkow with a shoulder in the third and leaving him bloodied and dazed. The crack in the Liberty Bell might have gotten bigger when the ground shook after that one. Devils forward John Madden was forced to leave the game after taking a hit from Philly's Keith Primeau, a force all night as he dropped his gloves and Devils. Madden suffered a left knee injury which left him seriously hobbling after the game. The extent of all the players injuries will not be fully realized until tommorow. The scoring was almost as plentiful as the big hits, which also suits the Flyers. The true knockout blows came off the sticks of Desjardins, Tocchet and Langkow as they blitzed the Devils in a manner they had not seen this playoff year. "We just had a five-minute segment where we lost our composure," said Devils head coach Larry Robinson. "We played Flyers hockey. There was pushing, shoving and gloves in the face. They feed off that stuff. We like to play the game, hit hard and get out. "We lost our composure and started running around. You get tired of getting elbowed in the head and punched in the face, but it's easy for me to sit back and say don't lose your composure. We have to stay disciplined." The Flyers got the start they wanted when Tocchet got his first of the night just 98 seconds into the game, making a good play in front of the Devils net as he fought off a check and still managed to corral a rebound with his left toe and kick it up to his stick. His goal ignited the sold-out First Union Center crowd and the first 10 minutes went just the way the Flyers wanted. They got that goal and big hits like the one McGillis put Holik. McGillis had been guilty of chasing hits in Game 1, leading to a couple of New Jersey goals, but he looked like he had learned his lesson Tuesday night. Despite the Flyers' strong start, the Devils were unflappable. They never wavered from their game plan. They stayed patient and waited for mistakes and the mistakes came. A couple of breakdowns with the Flyers' fourth line on the ice allowed the Devils to take the lead as Devils rookie Scott Gomez deflected a shot by Flyers goaltender Brian Boucher at 13:23 of the first to tie it. Early in the second, Devils forward Jason Arnott jumped on a turnover at the Philly blueline and blew a shot by Boucher. After Patrik Elias_ made it 3-1 at 14:50 of the second, capping a lightning quick transition keyed by a pass by Gomez, it would be have acceptable to believe the Flyers were dead in the water. That is when this series could have ended. Instead, it wound up being when it really started. Desjardins darted in from the point to bury Tocchet's pass with 39 seconds left in the second to cut the Devils lead to 3-2 and spark an offensive flurry the Devils hadn't seen in this playoff year. Tocchet got his second at 1:06 of the third when he buried Keith Primeau's centring pass and it was Tocchet going hard to the net when Langkow shot from the wing that resulted in the winner. Brodeur stopped Langkow's shot but the rebound bounced off of White, who was duelling with Tocchet in front. It was a war the rest of the way. "It's what playoff hockey is all about," said Devils defenceman Ken Daneyko. "The fans had to love it."
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