Devils vs. Flyers: Backyard Brawl - II

From the desk of:  THE BRICK CITY STYX

TODAY

DEVILS

vs.

FLYERS

FROM

Arena of Brotherly Thugs

New Jersey Devils: Newark Out To Prove Speculation Of Their Demise Has Been Greatly Exaggerated.

As K-Squared goes, so go the Devils?

I have a saying: Once is an event; twice is a coincidence; three times is a trend.

Keith Kincaid will make his third straight start Saturday afternoon against the Flyers at Philadelphia.  

The Devils have been taking good care of their valued back-up while Cory Schneider recovers from illness.  On Jan. 16, Newark limited the surging Islanders to 26 shots on goal.  Kincaid rewarded his mates with 25 saves en route to a 4-1 victory.  That snapped a six game losing streak which at the time had some pondering whether the young Devils were trending towards their true level.

They said ... not so fast.

Two days later, Newark limited the first place Washington Capitals to just 19 shots on goal.  Despite allowing three goals, Kincaid prevailed long enough for Taylor Hall to net the winning goal in overtime.

No doubt a very significant victory as regular season games go.  Moreover, the Devils left Washington with two points.  I've mentioned several times how their eight OT loses to date are tied for second most in the league.

Back-to-back victories have now elevated the Devils into second place of the Metropolitan Division, and into fourth place of the conference standings.

The Flyers took the first meeting in this series.  Undisciplined as ever, they afforded the Devils seven power play opportunities.  The Devils, however, blew two different leads en route to a 5-3 loss at the Rock.

Now the Devils seek a measure of revenge at Philly.