Ilya Kovalchuk

The New Jersey Devils refused to hang their heads despite being down one game and one star as they entered Game 2 of Tuesday's Eastern Conference semifinal against the Flyers at the Wells Fargo Center. Left winger Ilya Kovalchuk, who had been laboring for a number of games, was finally unable to go because of a lower-body injury. The Devils bonded without their star, even got a goal from his replacement on the roster and defeated the Flyers, 4-1, to even the Eastern Conference semifinal series at one game apiece.

Here is staff writer Sam Carchidi's key to the game: The Flyers need to be physical on ailing Devils winger Ilya Kovalchuk and make him irrelevant, like he was in Game 1.

Two days after Ilya Kovalchuk, the league's top goal scorer, had four points in an overtime win at Carolina, the visiting Hurricanes held him without a goal as they beat the Atlanta Thrashers, 4-3. Cory Stillman, Eric Staal, Ray Whitney and Casey Borer scored for Carolina, which ended a three-game losing streak. Former Flyer Mike Leighton had 23 saves in his first start for Carolina. In other games: At Anaheim, Corey Perry scored 16 seconds into the game and the Ducks beat Chicago, 2-1. At Buffalo, Dany Heatley and Daniel Alfredsson scored late in the third period as the Ottawa Senators beat the Sabres, 5-3. Noteworthy The NHL has ruled that the pads Islanders goalie Rick DiPietro wore in the first period of Thursday night's game against Florida were legal.

Patrik Elias had a goal and an assist, Martin Brodeur made 29 saves, and Ilya Kovalchuk scored in his return from a groin injury in the New Jersey Devils' 5-3 win over the host Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday night. Playing in his fourth game since a shoulder injury forced him to miss six, Brodeur made his best save with six minutes remaining in the second period when he snagged Jason Pominville's shot from point-blank range with his glove. Kovalchuk, who missed five games with his injury, scored his third of the season just five minutes into the game.

Brad Marchand had his first career hat trick and a career-high five points to help the Boston Bruins overwhelm the visiting Florida Panthers , 8-0, Friday night. Marchand scored a shorthanded goal to start things off, then added two more and a pair of assists to lead Boston to its 20th win in 23 games. After his third goal, fans showered the ice with all kinds of headwear, including a fair number of Santa hats.   Devils get by Caps in OT Ilya Kovalchuk and Patrik Elias scored in the shootout, and Martin Brodeur made an outstanding glove save on Alex Ovechkin as the New Jersey Devils , after blowing a three-goal lead in the third period, beat the visiting Washington Capitals , 4-3. The win was the Devils' fifth in six games.

Sidney Crosby's return after three months of inactivity didn't hurt the chemistry of the Pittsburgh Penguins one bit as they surged closer to the Eastern Conference-leading New York Rangers. Crosby played for the first time since another bout with concussion symptoms forced him to the sidelines Dec. 5. He got on the score sheet Thursday night with an assist as the Penguins beat the Rangers, 5-2, in New York.   Devils 1, Avalanche 0 Ilya Kovalchuk and Zach Parise scored in the shootout to give New Jersey a win over the Avalanche in Newark N.J.   Leafs 3, Lightning 1 James Reimer made 34 saves, taking a shutout into the final minute, and Toronto snapped a five-game skid with a win at Tampa Bay.   Panthers 6, Bruins 2 Jose Theodore stopped 24 shots and Florida scored three second-period goals to beat Boston in Sunrise, Fla.   Hurricanes 2, Blues 0 Chad LaRose and Jeff Skinner scored, Cam Ward recorded his 200th NHL victory, and Carolina beat St. Louis in Raleigh, N.C.   Kings sign Brian O'Neill Los Angeles signed Yardley's Brian O'Neill to a one-year entry-level contract.

Sidney Crosby left briefly in the second period after being bloodied when he was struck in the face with the puck, but his return wasn't enough for the suddenly slumping Pittsburgh Penguins, who were beaten again by the New York Islanders, 5-3, on Thursday night in Uniondale, N.Y. The Islanders, who began the night in 13th place in the 15-team Eastern Conference, dealt Pittsburgh another big blow as the Penguins try to catch the New York Rangers...

Travis Zajac scored at 5 minutes, 39 seconds of overtime and the New Jersey Devils avoided elimination and sent yet another Eastern Conference first-round series to a seventh game with a 3-2 victory over the Florida Panthers on Tuesday night in Newark. Steve Bernier and Ilya Kovalchuk also scored and Martin Brodeur made 14 saves for New Jersey, which squandered a two-goal lead and had fans dreading another first-round playoff exit until Zajac scored from the right hand circle. The shot beat Scott Clemmensen to the lower corner and set off a mob scene on the ice. Clemmensen was outstanding, stopping 39 shots in an emergency start for the injured Jose Theodore.

Players to watch FLYERS: Scott Hartnell The Flyers' leading scorer through the regular season with 37 goals has just two tallies in seven playoff games this spring. Hartnell's tireless work in the helped produce Claude Giroux's 15-point run, but it's time for Hartnell to get back on the score sheet. DEVILS: Ilya Kovalchuk He was held without a shot in Game 1 for the first time since Nov. 23, 2011. Kovalchuk was not available to meet the media on Monday.

In his latest playoff gem, Henrik Lundqvist had little time to do more than stop every breakaway or two-on-one New Jersey shot his way. When he took a moment to breathe, Lundqvist had all the confidence his New York Rangers would bail him out with a goal or two. "You know sooner or later it's going to turn," he said. "It's going to turn in our favor. " Unlike those dozens of Devils shots, his feeling was right on the mark. Lundqvist had 36 saves, and Dan Girardi, Chris Kreider, and Ryan Callahan scored third-period goals to lead the New York Rangers to a 3-0 win over the New Jersey Devils in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals on Saturday in Newark, N.J..

Not many of us saw this coming. Not after the Flyers showed in the regular season that they were one of the NHL's most explosive teams. Not after the way the Flyers scored almost at will against thought-to-be-mighty Pittsburgh in the opening round of the playoffs. Not after the rookies demonstrated poise beyond their years and blended perfectly with the veterans for the first 89 games. Yet in their last four games, all losses, the rookies played like, well, rookies, and some of the usually dependable forwards were invisible.

Score: Devils 3, Flyers 1 What happened: The Devils' winning goal - off the stick of Ilya Bryzgalov onto the grateful stick of David Clarkson - was one of the worst goals allowed in Stanley Cup history. Bryz, who isn't exactly Ron Hextall with the stick, was shaky handling the puck all series, so what happened was entirely a shock. The correct and simple play was to push the puck behind the net, not try to maneuver it past a charging Devils forward. What it means: The Flyers' season is over.

For the last three games, the Flyers have had no sustained forecheck, no emotion, no answers in their Eastern Conference semifinal series against the surging New Jersey Devils. And, now, as they try to stave off elimination in Game 5 on Tuesday, they have no Claude Giroux, the star center who leads the NHL with 17 points in this year's playoffs. Does that mean they have no chance? Well, no. In a twisted way, not having their superstar center - suspended by the NHL on Monday for a head hit on the Devils' Dainius Zubrus on Sunday - may unify the Flyers and give them a rallying cry. That's their hope, anyway.

In their Eastern Conference semifinal victory over the Flyers, the New Jersey Devils prided themselves on having strength in numbers. Despite the presence of proven scorers such as Ilya Kovalchuk, Patrik Elias, and Zach Parise, the Devils' strength has been the involvement of virtually everybody at the offensive end. In their first seven playoff wins, seven Devils scored the winning goals. Now that's balance. The Devils ended the Flyers' season with Tuesday's 3-1 win at the Wells Fargo Center, winning the series four games to one. "The fact that we had four lines, six defensemen, game-winning goals from seven or eight people, our team game is what has made us successful," Devils coach Peter DeBoer said.

NEWARK, N.J. - The New Jersey Devils benefited from the return of two players on Thursday night, one from injury, the other from a scoring slump. Ilya Kovalchuk was back on the ice after missing the previous game with a still undisclosed lower-body injury. Patrik Elias made his first appearance in the goal-scoring column this series. Both were instrumental in the 4-3 overtime win that gave New Jersey a 2-1 lead over the Flyers in their Eastern Conference semifinal.

During the regular season, the Flyers were kings of the road. No NHL team had more road victories, and the Flyers will need to resort to that winning, focus-for-60-minutes formula as the Turnpike Series with the New Jersey Devils shifts to Newark for Game 3 on Thursday night. "No easy games in the playoffs," said goalie Ilya Bryzgalov after Wednesday's practice in Voorhees. "The farther you go, the harder it gets. " The Devils dominated Game 2, registering a 4-1 win and evening the best-of-seven series at one game each.

NEWARK, NJ - New Jersey Devils coach Peter DeBoer says the key to Thursday's Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinal with the visiting Flyers is consistency. The Devils are coming off Tuesday's 4-1 win at the Wells Fargo Center that tied this best-of-seven series at one game apiece. The Flyers led, 1-0, after two periods, mainly due to the outstanding goaltending of Ilya Bryzgalov, but the Devils persisted and punched in four third-period goals, one an empty-netter. So DeBoer stressed after Thursday morning's skate at the Prudential Center the need to follow up Tuesday's performance with a similar effort.

Maybe Peter Laviolette had a premonition. After the morning skate, after he learned that New Jersey star winger Ilya Kovalchuk would not play Tuesday night because of an apparent back injury, the Flyers coach issued a warning of sorts. "I don't think we should fall into a trap," he said, "and think it's going to be easy. " Yet it appeared that's just what the Flyers did as they sleepwalked to a well-deserved 4-1 loss to the Devils at the stunned Wells Fargo Center.