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.

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 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.

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.

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.

JAMES VAN RIEMSDYK scored two goals to lead the Toronto Maple Leafs past the visiting Buffalo Sabres, 3-1, on Thursday, spoiling the NHL head coaching debut of Ron Rolston. Rolston, who until Wednesday was the head coach of the AHL's Rochester Americans, was hired as the Sabres' interim coach following the club's decision to fire Lindy Ruff. Van Riemsdyk's power-play goal at 14:28 of the third - his team-leading 11th - gave Toronto breathing room.   In other games *  At Raleigh, N.C., Blake Wheeler scored his second goal of the game with 4:54 remaining to lift the Winnipeg Jets to a 4-3 win over the Carolina Hurricanes.

JT. MILLER SCORED his first two NHL goals and then cautioned everyone not to get used to it. The teenage rookie found the net twice in his second career game to lift the New York Rangers to a 4-1 victory over the visiting New York Islanders on Thursday night. Miller, however, said setting up others is really more of his game. As long as pucks go in, the goal-starved Rangers will gladly take offense from anyone. "I am more of a playmaker," said Miller, who won't turn 20 until March.

SCOTT GOMEZ' season was over before the Montreal Canadiens held their first practice. The Canadiens sent their underperforming center home for the rest of the season before they opened training camp on Sunday, ensuring their ability to buy out the his contract next summer to remove his team-high $7.3 million salary cap hit from the books. Under the collective bargaining agreement signed Saturday, the cap is to plunge by about $10 million next season, but teams will be allowed two "amnesty" buyouts to help reach the cap. However, if a player is injured, he cannot be bought out. General manager Marc Bergevin said it was safest for the team that Gomez not play this season.

NEWARK, N.J. - The Los Angeles Kings, a team with numerous former Flyers on the ice and in management, took a stranglehold on the Stanley Cup Finals with a 2-1 overtime win over the New Jersey Devils on Saturday night at the Prudential Center. Former Flyer Jeff Carter scored the winner to give the Kings a two-games-to-none lead in the series, which resumes Monday. Carter scored from the high slot, sending a shot to the short side and past Martin Brodeur after 13 minutes, 42 seconds of overtime.

NEWARK, N.J. - The Los Angeles Kings, also known as Flyers West, are three wins away from hoisting the Stanley Cup. The Kings, who have numerous former Flyers players, coaches, and front-office personnel, opened the Stanley Cup Finals with a dramatic 2-1 overtime win over the New Jersey Devils before an animated crowd at the Prudential Center on Wednesday night. Anze Kopitar scored the game-winner on a breakaway 8 minutes, 13 seconds into overtime, moving the Kings closer to their first Cup since the franchise started in 1967-68.

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.