Well, nobody saw this coming.
The New Jersey Devils pummeled the Philadelphia Flyers in five games to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Even in the Wells Fargo Center needing a win, the Flyers couldn't generate any offense against the relentless pressure of the Devils. Philadelphia head coach Peter Laviolette talked after the game, courtesy of ESPN.com.
"I think you've got to give New Jersey credit for the way they played defense and the way they forechecked," said Laviolette.
"It kept it from being the game that we wanted and we could never seem to get down that road."
For their part, New Jersey coach Peter DeBoer couldn't have been more satisfied.
"Really proud of our group," DeBoer said. "Proud of how we stuck to the game plan. Proud of how we turned the other cheek. Proud of how hard we competed against a very hardworking and competitive team. It gets tougher from there."
Even after beating the Flyers in such convincing fashion, the Devils will probably be underdogs when they face either the New York Rangers or Washington Capitals. However, they don't mind the label.
"You know, nobody give us a lot of credit, but we want to be the underdogs, it’s nice," said Ilya Kovalchuk.
Only one more series stands in the way of New Jersey, Martin Brodeur and the Stanley Cup Finals.
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