New Jersey Devils down Flyers to reach NHL finals

Martin Brodeur made 27 saves and Ilya Kovalchuk had a goal and an assist as the New Jersey Devils beat Philadelphia 3-1 to reach the Eastern Conference finals for the first time in nine years. Bryce Salvador and David Clarkson also scored for the Devils who lost the first game in overtime then won four straight to take the best-of-seven series in five games. The last time the sixth-seeded Devils made it to the third round of the playoffs was their last Stanley Cup championship in 2003. Maxime Talbot scored the only goal for the short-manned Flyers who were hurting Tuesday without top scorer Claude Giroux because of a suspension. Giroux was slapped with the one-game ban for an illegal hit to the head of Devils forward Dainius Zubrus in game four. Not only did the Devils take advantage of Giroux's absence but they capitalized on some bad defensive mistakes by the Flyers. New Jersey forward Clarkson scored in the second period from just outside the Flyers' crease after netminder Ilya Bryzgalov failed to clear the puck and instead bounced it off Clarkson and into the back of the Philadelphia net. At the other end of the ice though, Brodeur was brilliant all series long. The Canadian Olympic star celebrated his 40th birthday on Sunday with a win and followed that up in game five by allowing just one goal.