The Matchup - Philadelphia Flyers at New Jersey Devils. Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. The Flyers lead the best-of-seven series 3-1.

The Last Game - The Devils actually looked good to start the game but when they took the ice for period 2, they obviously left something back in the locker room. Their 1-0 lead quickly disappeared and when the final horn sounded, the Flyers had beaten NJ pretty badly.

Tonight's Matchup - Tonight is a do or die game, it's that simple. We haven't seen how the 2010 version of the Devils play when their backs are against the wall but we will tonight. AJ wrote an excellent piece last night about the need for leadership to come forward in order for NJ to even dream of not exiting the playoffs in Round 1 for the 3rd year in a row.

The Devils also need to play a full 60 minutes. In fact, go through all the game previews and reviews from this season and you'll probably see a pattern where I constantly get on NJ for not playing a full 60 minutes. It's been a problem all season and it is something NJ hasn't been able to solve. Under Sutter, I thought NJ would back off too much when they got a lead but it seems this season, the Devils just don't play a solid 60 minutes whether or not they have the lead.

Give credit to the Flyers in this series. Their forecheck has been suffocating. When the Flyers get their forecheck going, the Devils have had real problems getting out of their own zone. To me, our defenseman just can't seem to handle the pressure and that's a problem I really didn't see coming into this series.

Lou is certainly not a happy man at the moment. In an article in the NJ Star-Ledger yesterday, it was reported that Lou had lost his temper in the locker room after Game 4. A furious Lou Lamoriello had let his coaching staff know exactly what was on his mind and ended his tirade by throwing a jar of jelly from a near by postgame spread against the wall. Clearly he's pissed and why shouldn't he be? In his mind, he's built a team to win now.

The Devils seem to have gotten a bit of a break (or two!!) going into tonight's game. Jeff Carter and Simon Gagne are out because both of them broke a foot the other night in Game 4. At first that news seems big but honestly, Carter hadn't done anything until Game 4 and Gagne hasn't done much either. If it were Pronger and Giroux missing Game 5, I'd be a little more upbeat about the news.

The Flyers aren't going to bring any surprises to the table tonight, that's the beauty of the playoffs. You know what is coming and really, the Flyers don't need to change anything, only the Devils do. We've done the improbably before and if this team can come together, there is no reason they can't do it again. So if you are heading to the Rock tonight, bring your energy because this team is going to need the fans behind them.

The Matchup: New Jersey Devils at the Philadelphia Flyers. Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Quaterfinals. The Flyers lead the best-of-7 matchup 2-1.

The Last Game: Marty kept the Devils in the game and eventually got them to overtime but the Devils offense didn't do much to help out Marty and eventually Carcillo, set up in front of the net because who would actually pay attention to this guy as a bonafied goal scorer, punched in a trickling puck giving the Flyers a 3-2 victory in OT.

Thoughts About Tonight:

Must Win?:  The Devils are in another "Must Win" situation in most peoples eyes. If the Devils walk away with a victory tonight, all of the sudden its a best-of-3 series with 2 games being played in NJ whereas if the Devils lose tonight, then we would have to repeat the 2000 Conference Finals, something I am sure Brian Boucher has never forgotten.

Devils Offense: Please show up!! The Devils top players were on the ice a lot on Sunday Night due to a high number of penalty calls. Parise played 20 mins, Zajac 21 mins and Kovalchuk 27 mins and combined the three of them accounted for 5 shots on net. Lemaire talked yesterday about how he wasn't thrilled with the top players performance on Sunday night. I actually think the top players, especially the line of Zajac/Langs/Kovy haven't been great all series, not just Sunday night. Which leads me right into my next dicussion about our captain Jamie Langenbrunner.

Langenbrunner: Once upon a time, I thought of this guy as Mr. Clutch. Watching the game on Sunday night, I found myself making comments directed at Jamie a few times. Comments like, "Captains play with emotion Jamie", "Way to give up on the puck Jamie", "Where's the $&#^@ leadership JAMIE??!!"

This is playoffs and its all about results and our captain doesn't have many results. In the years that Scott Stevens was this teams captain, results came in the way of defensive manuevers becuase he was a defenseman. I never expected Stevens to rush the ice with the puck and pop home a goal but I expected him to lead his team emotionally, which he always did. Sunday night I wonder about Jamie's locker room leadership because this team came out flat in the third period. A good leader gets their team up and ready to battle when you are on the road and playing in a tie game after 2 periods. He gets a pass for the OT because the Clarkson penalty did so much damage and it happened so early on is was hard to tell what emotional state the Devils were in.

Jamie's game and attitude have been on my radar since the issues that came up after he was a healthy scratch in Carolina so maybe I am being a little hard on him but the bottom line is that I expect certain things out of my captain and right now, in this series, #15 has been noticably absent from the picture.

Penalty Killing:  Penalties are going to happen and in the case of Game 3, they may be called for the most minor of things and really alter the game but the Devils have to do a better job at killing off their penalties. In the 3 games played, they have been shorthanded 15 times and watched the Flyers score 4 times while up a man, including Carcillo's game winner in OT. Of the 16 teams currently playing, the Devils rank 12th overall in PK percentage...AWFUL!!

Marty Brodeur: Can you really ask him to do more? Honestly, I was getting frustrated with him letting in so many goals on what seemed like so few shots but I am really just being too hard on him. The guy has stepped up for these playoffs and he can't do it all by himself. He needs his offense to give him a few more goals and he needs his defense to stop letting the Flyers get so many pucks to the net. Did you watch Period 3 on Sunday? That game shouldn't have even gotten to OT because the Flyers were just coming and coming but thanks to amazing save after amazing save, the game did go beyond 60 minutes and it was all Marty Brodeurs doing, not his teammates.

Final Thoughts: Tonight, like Friday night is another huge game for the Devils. I have yet to see the Devils play what I feel is a great game and I know they are capable of it, I just hope wherever THAT team is at the moment, makes their way to the Wachovia Center tonight.

If you need a little inspiration to get pumped up for tonight's game, check out the video below..

The Matchup: Philadelphia Flyers at the New Jersey Devils. The Flyers lead the best-of-7 series 1-0.

The Last Game: The Flyers scored first while on the power play (Chris Pronger strikes again) and then Mike Richards followed with a rocket of a slapshot that kicked off Marty's toe. The Devils got a very late goal but couldn't find the equalizer as the Flyers held on for a 2-1 win. Boucher outplayed Marty which is something very few thought he was capable of.

Tonight's Game: It's all about 2 things tonight...Momemntum and Patience. Scoring the first goal is always a stat that is heavily focused in on during this time of year but so far this season, of the 7 games played in the playoffs, the team scoring first has gone on to win 4 of those 7 games. See, it is important but not crucial to the outcome in most games. However, in the case of the Devils, scoring first tonight is crucial. Boucher had an excellant game the other night and as the shots piled on and Boucher kept coming up with the saves, his confidence grew and the momentum stayed with the Flyers, especially after the Richards bomb. The Flyers were in control of the game for most of it the other night and the Devils can't allow for that to happen tonight.

The Devils also need to be patient with the puck. There were a number of times where the Devils entered the zone and dropped the puck back to no one or to a player not quite in the zone and therefore getting called for being offsides. I thought the Devils forced some plays with the puck. Look at the Richards goal, Skoula tried to get it deep along the boards, something the Flyers protected very well the other night and ended up giving the puck to Philly. Had Skoula been a little more patient he might have seen two Devils on the blue line that would have been a better option for him.

Another example of the Devils forcing plays the other night would be the answer to the following question. How many times did they actually miss the net on a shot? It certainly seemed like a lot of the shots the Devils took were sailing wide of the goal a sure sign that they are rushing.

If the Devils would be a little more patient on the puck during their powerplay, maybe the results would be a little better. Parise complained of the puck boucing a lot the other night during the powerplays which suggests the Devils rushing passes and not getting them off cleanly. The Flyers are going to give the Devils chances on the powerplay, it's just the type of team that they are. We'll just have to wait and see if being patient is something they can do and something that changes the score. The bottom line, at least in my opinion is that NJ has never really been great on the PP. i used to joke teams would gladly take a penalty because it would take NJ out of the game for 2 mins. In my eyes, if I am relying on the Devils PP to win the game then we've got serious problems.

Bottom line is that I find this a must win game for the Devils tonight. Only once in their history have the Devils crawled out of a 2-0 hole (in the 1994 conference semifinals against Boston).

I am not going to guess at the lines this time because Lemaire switches them up during the game anyway. Instead, we'll just wait to see what we start with, which is something AJ always covers during his live blog. Be sure to check back with us tonight during the game and if you aren't following us on Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/rwtdblog) please do...

The Matchup: (7) Philadelphia Flyers at the (2) New Jersey Devils. The puck is set to drop at 7:30pm. Watch it on MSG+

The Season Recap: This is one season series the Devils and their fans would like to forget. The Flyers finished 5-1-0 against the Atlantic Division Champions this season. This is the first time that the Flyers won five games against the Devils since the 1988-89 season. Forward Claude Giroux and defenseman Chris Pronger tied for the team-lead against New Jersey with 7 points apiece. Devils forward Patrik Elias led the Devils in scoring against Philadelphia with 2 goals and 5 points, but Brodeur was 1-4-1 with a 3.34 goals-against average.

The Big Story: This will be the fourth time the Devils and Flyers have met in the postseason. The Devils beat the Flyers in 1995 (a look back here) and 2000 (a look back here) Eastern Conference Finals en route to capturing the Stanley Cup both times and lost to the Flyers in 2004 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals.

Tonight's Objective: Play hard, stay out of the box and play to win. It really is that simple.

Play Hard: I know I brought it up many times throughout the season and I am sure AJ has too but the Devils need to play a full 60 minutes tonight. Don't take a shift or two off because the Flyers have the firepower to make you pay for that. Chris Pronger certainly made his presence known on the ice this season against the Devils. As I mentioned above, he was tied for the team-lead in points against NJ this season. On top of that, he avaraged almost 26 minutes of ice time and while he is known for being cheap at times, he's also an incredible defenseman. If NJ wants to get to Boucher, they will certainly have to go through Pronger to do so.

Stay Out of the Box: This one is simple, the Flyers had the 3rd best Powerplay percentage in the league. Keeping their power play units off the ice is a must.

Play To Win: The 2009 series against the Carolina Hurricanes is a distant memory. I know a lot of people bring it up, (hey I just did!!) but the Devils know what they did wrong in that series and they shouldn't be looking back at it. This is a very different team, with different players and coaches. Jaques Lemaire is a great coach who manages to get the absolute most out of all his players. Each player on the ice has to know what their job is tonight and execute the plan exactly as Lemaire has laid it out for them.

I am trying not to pay too much attention to the hype behind Kovalchuk and the playoffs. He's never won a game in the postseason but he's only played 4 games total. This Devils team is a much more talented team than the 2007 Thrashers were so that whole storyline isn't a big deal to me. I do want Kovalchuk to succeed and I am hoping for all those who don't understand why we brought him to NJ will see what exactly the big deal is in this series.

Did you know that the Boucher v Brodeur matchup in net is a rematch of the 2000 Conference Finals? I bet no one dreamed up this matchup back in October when Ray Emery was playing lights out hockey!

Lines: The Flyers love the physical stuff and the Devils will have to put a little beef into their lineup tonight. For me, that beef comes in the form of PLx3.

Zach Parise - Travis Zajac - Dainius Zubrus
Ilya Kovalchuk - Patrik Elias - Jamie Langenbrunner
Brian Rolston - Rob Niedermayer - David Clarkson
Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond - Dean McAmmond - Rod Pelley

Paul Martin - Martin Skoula
Colin White - Mike Mottau
Andy Greene - Bryce Salvador

Martin Brodeur

So here we go... The journey to capture the 2010 Stanley Cup has officially begun!! Check back tonight during the game or if you can't get to the site, find us on twitter at http://www.twitter.com/rwtdblog

The Matchup: The Buffalo Sabres (45-26-10) face off against the New Jersey Devils (47-27-7). This is the fourth and final meeting between the two teams. The Sabres lead the series, 2-1-0.

The Last Sabres Game: The Sabres defeated the Ottawa Senators, 5-2, last night. After sitting out the past six games, Thomas Vanek returned to the lineup and scored four goals to pace the Sabres. Goalie Ryan Miller finished with 28 saves for his 41st win of the season.

The Last Devils Game: The Devils defeated the Islanders, 7-1, last night. Patrik Elias tallied two goals, and five other Devils scored in the rout. Martin Brodeur stopped 18 shots for his league-leading 44th victory.

The Last Sabres – Devils Game: The Sabres defeated the Devils, 2-1, in a shootout on January 27. Jochen Hecht and Jason Pominville scored in the shootout, and Miller blanked Zach Parise and Jamie Langenbrunner.

Tonight’s Matchup: It all comes down to the final game of the season for these two teams. The Devils only need a point from tonight’s matchup to clinch the second seed in the Eastern Conference. To do it, they’ll have to face a tough Sabres team. And why not have an exciting game to end the season.

The Devils aren’t taking their collective foot off the pedal. Brodeur will get the start in net, even though The Sabres will turn to Patrick Lalime for tonight’s contest. Lemaire believes there’s no reason to rest Brodeur, because the Devils won’t have their playoff opener until Wednesday at the earliest. Brodeur should get the start. Not only has he played well lately, he’s also 5-1-2 in his last eight games, and he’s allowed six goals in his past six games. He’s found his stride, and there’s no reason for Brodeur to sit for four or five days.

The Devils have played well the past few games, and they have to do more of the same in tonight’s contest. Keep firing pucks on net and pressuring the Sabres. While the Sabres have Vanek back, they’re also missing a few players and will be weaker in goal. If the Devils can bring the same intensity and passion we saw last night, they should be able to jump ahead and get to the Sabres early.

Just a few final notes: If the Devils give up five goals or less, they will win the Jennings Tropy (fewest goals against). If they give up six goals, they’ll share the trophy with the Boston Bruins. Travis Zajac will also be the only Devil to play in all 82 games, extending his consecutive games streak to 319. Paul Martin will play in his 400th N.H.L. game.

Gametime is 5 p.m., and you can catch all the action on MSG Plus and WFAN.

Here are tonight's line combinations:

Zach Parise - Travis Zajac - Jamie Langenbrunner

Ilya Kovalchuk - Patrik Elias - Dainius Zubrus

Brian Rolston - Rob Niedermayer - David Clarkson

Jay Pandolfo - Dean McAmmond - Rod Pelley

Bryce Salvador - Andy Greene

Mark Fraser - Mike Mottau

Martin Skoula - Paul Martin

Martin Brodeur

The Matchup: The New Jersey Devils (46-27-7) face off against the New York Islanders (34-36-10). This is the final game of the regular season between both teams. The Devils currently lead the season series, 3-2-0.

The Last Islanders Game: The Islanders lost to Pittsburgh Penguins, 7-3, Thursday night. In the final game at the Igloo, Sidney Crosby collected four points to become the third youngest player to ever reach the 500 point mark. Martin Biron was pulled after allowing four goals on 14 shots in the first period. Dwayne Roloson allowed three goals on 25 shots in relief.

The Last Devils Game: The Florida Panthers defeated the Devils, 3-2, Thursday night. Patrik Elias opened the scoring 59 seconds into the second period. Florida scored the next three, including the game-winning goal from Nathan Horton in the third period. Ex-Devil Scott Clemmensen stopped 44 shots in the victory.

The Last Islanders – Devils Game: The Islanders defeated the Devils, 4-2, March 13th on Long Island. Jon Sim broke a 1-1 tie in the second period, and Sean Bergenheim added the dagger with a shorthanded goal in the third period. Devils goalie Yann Danis stopped 29 shots in the loss.

Tonight’s Matchup: The Devils had a solid effort against the Florida Panthers Thursday night, but the offense came out on the short end of the stick. Clemmensen had a big hand in that, stonewalling the Devils and thwarting their best efforts tie the game. With the Islanders inability to even look competitive against the Penguins, the Devils fell back into a tie for second seed in the conference and first in the Atlantic Division.

The Devils effort in the past three games hasn’t been terrible. As a matter of fact, I’d say they’re playing some great hockey. Thursday night was a letdown, but the team still played hard. They come into tonight’s game playing the Islanders, a team that always plays the Devils tough. The Devils can’t take this team lightly. They’re always a thorn in the Devils’ side, and they have some young guys licking their lips and ready to play the spoiler. To prevent a loss, the Devils just need to continue to play solid hockey. Pittsburgh provided a solid blueprint for defeating the Islanders. Drive to the net and put shots on their goalies. Biron (who I’m sure Philadelphia wants back now) and Roloson aren’t superstars by any stretch of the imagination. If the Devils can continue their aggressive style, they should be able to win this game.

Update (5:17 p.m.): None of the regular players will be getting any rest tonight. Coach Jacques Lemaire wanted to rest defenseman Colin White, but relented when White begged him to play. If the Devils win tonight and the Penguins lose, they can clinch their ninth Atlantic Division. If the Devils win and both the Penguins and Buffalo lose, the Devils win the division and clinch the second seed in the Eastern Conference. So, let’s go Thrashers and Senators!

Gametime is 7 p.m., and you can catch all the action on MSGPlus or WFAN.

Use this as tonight's open game thread. Comment, banter, and please talk only about the NHL action going on between the Devils and Islanders or some other games of importance. Also, make sure you keep it clean and respectful.

The Matchup: The New Jersey Devils (45-26-7) at the Atlanta Thrashers (34-32-13)

The Last Devils Game: The Devils beat a pretty lifeless Carolina Hurricanes teams. Jamie Langenbrunner and Paul Martin got the night off. The offense that was struggling going into the Canes matchup walked away with 4 goals and the win and a shutout.

The Last Thrashers Game: The Thrashers went into Pitt really needing 2 points to help them sneak into the playoffs but only walked away with 1 point. Pitt tied the game late in the 3rd and won it in OT on a Leopold goal. Thrashers did play a very good game but they need all the wins they can get now.

The Last Thrashers/Devils Game: Last time they met, no one dreamed Kovalchuk would be on our side when this one came around!! Devils won 3-2 on goals from Parise (2) and Colin White.

Tonight's Matchup: Thrashers are in a Game 7, back against the walls, must win kind of mode right now. They trail the Flyers by 3 points for the 8th spot and only have 3 games remaining. Here comes Ilya Kovalchuk to try and slam the door shut on his former team. I don't think the Thrashers wrote out this scenario when they traded him to NJ on Feb 4th. I would imagine that Atlanta is going to come out pumped for this one because the players and fans what to show the world they can suceed without Kovalchuk and maybe do so over Kovalchuk.

The Devils are in the playoffs, that much is guarenteed. What spot they own once they start next week is up in the air. Every night it seems different so the Devils mentality has to be to just keeping doing. I would much rather play a limping Boston Bruins squad than the Ottawa Senators right now.

How the Devils played the other night vs Carolina is exactly how they have to approach tonight's game. Lemiare has said, even though we are in a fight for #2 overall, he may rest more of his regulars tonight. No, Marty will not be one of those getting rest tonight.

I think this game is going to be a little on the intense side because of Kovalchuk returning and the Thrashers playoff hopes. The Devils can't afford to look at this game as an easy game otherwise they won't come away with the W. The Devils have struggled lately against teams fighting for playoff spots but lets hope tonight is a different story and that they can in fact shut the door on Atlanta.

Tonight's Matchup: The New Jersey Devils (44-26-7) face off against the Carolina Hurricanes (33-35-10). This is the fourth and final game of the series. The Devils lead, 2-1-0.

The Last Devils Game: Kris Versteeg scored a late goal, and Jonathan Toews tallied the only shootout goal to defeat the Devils, 2-1. Versteeg scored a 6-on-5 goal with 26 second left in the third period to tie the game. Martin Brodeur finished with 26 saves.

The Last Hurricanes Game: The Canes lost to the Senators, 4-3, in a shootout Thursday. Erik Karlsson scored with 7.7 seconds remaining to force overtime. Alex Kovalev scored the only shootout goal for Ottawa.

The Last Devils - Hurricanes Game: The Hurricanes defeated the Devils, 5-2, on February 13. Jussi Jokinen and Ray Whitney scored two goals each in the win. For a more detailed recap, you can check out the recap from the game here.

Tonight's Matchup: The Devils really missed a golden opportunity last night. If they held on for the win, they could have an outright lead in the division. Instead, they're now tied with Pittsburgh, and both teams have five games remaining. The Devils have the tougher schedule, and every point counts. Not only that, but the Devils are making mistakes and allowing teams to score late, which can swing a playoff series toward the other team. Here's what Brodeur said about last night's loss.

"It is a concern because I think we're going to play some tight games in the playoffs and losing games like that can change the momentum of a series," Brodeur said. "We have to bear down in those situations. With a minute left, we have to be desperate. The puck needs to get out; we need to get it out by kicking it, batting it … anything. It's got to get out."

Tonight provides one of those opportunities. Carolina has been hot, but the Devils have the opportunity to gain two big points. These are the games the Devils need to win. They'll be without Jamie Langenbrunner, who's getting a rest in tonight's game.

Gametime is 7 p.m., and you can watch the action on MSG Plus or listen to the game on WFAN.

The Matchup: Chicago Blackhawks (47-22-7) at the New Jersey Devils (44-26-6). This is the second and final meeting of the regular season.

The Last Devils Game: Kind of disappointing because the Devils once again had the chance to push the door closer to being closed on the hopes of making the playoffs for yet another bubble team but like the Rangers and the Flyers before them, the Bruins escaped the meeting with a W. Marty did his job and ended up letting in the only goal of the game with 18 seconds to go.

The Last Blackhawks Game: After losing to St.Louis and looking shakey in recent play, people were starting to wonder if Brian Campbells injury was affecting them more than anyone thought but then the Blackhawks went into Minnesota and kicked them around, scored 4 goals, kept the Wild off the board and kicked them some more.

The Last Blackhawks/Devils Game: We last saw the Hawks on New Year's Eve and I remember thinking that standing in Time Square, waiting for that 10 seconds of action where the ball comes down would have been a better use of my time. The Devils stunk and it was so bad that Andrew Peters wasn't the worst one out there. Chicago handed it to the Devils 5-1.

Tonight's Game: The Devils need to play better. The one thing they have going for them is that they aren't playing a team that's in desperation mode, the Hawks are already in the Playoffs. This is a great game to a) tune-up for the playoffs and b) find out where we stand with one of the leagues best. I certainly wouldn't mind if this was a Stanley Cup Finals Preview.

The bottom line is that New Jersey has to find some consistency in their game. Passing hasn't been great, the power play has struggled (although was clicking for one game recently) and with 6 games left to do it, it needs to start happening now.

Lemaire has already said he plans on not giving Marty any time off. Lemaire doesn't feel like Marty is tired and needs time off and Brodeur seemed to agree. “I feel good,” he said. “It’s weird. I just don’t feel like I’ve played a lot of hockey right now compared to other years for whatever reason. The way the schedule has been, it hasn’t been that hard on me at all.” Brodeur has played in a league-high 71 games, but said he feels fresh

It's hard to know what the lines will be, especially coming off a 1-0 loss. Lemaire can't go with what he had the other night as the offense was stifled. The one thing I do want to see is Kocalchuk and Rolston together because I really think there is something there. I thought Lemaire didn't stick with it enought last game.

The one good thing going into this matchup with Chicago is that the Devils are a deeper, more-balanced team than they were earlier in the season.