Three things we saw last night at the Wach …
? Flyers 4, Devils 1
? Flyers lead series, 3-1
? Next: Game 5, tomorrow, 7 p.m.
? How we saw Game 4:
1 Suddenly offensive — Daniel Carcillo seems to be doing everything to shake the thug moniker that he carried for much of his NHL career. His two playoff goals last night against the Devils and the energy that he brings to the Flyers lineup has people realizing what he brings to this team. Remember, the quintessential Broad Street Bully Dave Schultz scored 20 goals in a season back when such a threshold actually was impressive. Carcillo’s efforts have people wondering what he can do offensively with a full season under coach Peter Laviolette.
2 Spring thaw — His 99 career playoff wins are second-best overall to Patrick Roy (151), but there’s a more telling stat about Devils netminder Martin Brodeur. He’s 5-14 in his last 19 playoff starts. Like Ilya Kovalchuk, the soon-to-be 38 year-old netminder awoke in Game 4 and was methodical, acrobatic, and well, vintage. His glove save on a blast from Simon Gagne early in the second period was highlight-reel quality.
3 Lacking discipline — Nine more penalties by the Flyers has to Laviolette scratching his head. The Flyers are fortunate that the Devils’ inept power-play has bailed them out, but the Flyers can’t continue to give their opponents gift-wrapped opportunities to get back in games. Last season, Mike Richards was worn down from special teams play, so Laviolette must be careful and watch his ice time along with that of Chris Pronger.
