Schedule: Flyers to Face Devils in Round 2

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After the Rangers closed out the Senators in a dramatic game 7 finish, the Flyers' second round fate awaited the winner of the Panthers-Devils matchup. Jersey got out to a 2-0 lead, but Florida would tie it to force overtime, and even that wasn't enough. It took a few minutes into a second OT, but the Devils outlasted the Panthers, winning on a goal by Adam Henrique. 
The Flyers-Devils series will start Sunday at 3PM with Philadelphia hosting. The Rangers and Caps will play on Saturday. So how are we feeling about the matchup? We'll get further into it this weekend, but let's a quick look below, plus the rest of the schedule. 
First off, these aren't the Devils that curdle the postseason blood of Flyers fans… The goalie may be the same, but he's not the same goalie.  
The two teams split the season series, the Flyers going 3-2-1. Each Philly win came with Ilya Bryzgalov in net, each loss with Sergei Bobrovsky. Two of the wins (the first and the last) were shutouts by Bryz. The Devils scored on him just once in three games. 
Claude Giroux had four goals and three assists in the six games against the Devils. 
In the regular season, New Jersey scored at nearly the same clip as they allowed goals. They posted the best overall PK and eighth overall goals against, while their scoring both overall and on the power play was about average. However, their PK was very leaky in against the Panthers, and the Flyers' PP was unbelievably good against Pittsburgh. 
The Devils should be riding high after closing out a hard-fought series though. The rivalry has taken a backseat lately, but it should perk up starting on Sunday. Don't count this series as over just because the Devils don't appear to be as dangerous as some of the others in the East. They won six straight to close out the season, then three of the first four games in the opening round before losing a pair and finally winning game 7. 
Long DivisionShould they keep winning, the Flyers' path to a Stanley Cup may be on an all-Atlantic trajectory. To get to the promised land, they'll have to beat the Penguins, Devils, then the winner of the Rangers-Capitals series. That's not to say either remaining Eastern Conference series is a foregone conclusion. 
From the start, the night appeared to be a win-win for the Flyers. If the Senators won, the Rangers would be out. I'd like nothing more than to see the Flyers get through the Rangers in the ECF en route to a Cup, but we know they couldn't win so much as a game against New York this season, so we wouldn't have been too upset to see them out. When and if the time comes, we'll be pumped to see the Flyers turn it around against the Rags though. 
With a Rangers win, the Flyers would face the winner of what was considered to be one of the weaker matchups in the playoffs. The NHL's weighted system saw the Panthers hold the three seed with just 94 points, which was only sixth best in the conference. New Jersey meanwhile had just two fewer points than the fifth seeded Flyers—though one more regulation win. 
ScheduleSunday 4/29  3PM Devils at FlyersTuesday 5/1  7:30PM Devils at FlyersThursday 5/3  7:30PM Flyers at DevilsSunday 5/6  7:30PM Flyers at DevilsTuesday 5/8 TBD Devils at Flyers*Thursday 5/10 TBD Flyers at Devils*Saturday 5/12 TBD Devils at Flyers*
*everyone knows what this asterisk means
Early predictions?
Much more to come. We're gonna call it a night now that the first round of the NFL draft is in the bag and we know who the Flyers will face… 

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