Flyers 4, Devils 3 (OT)
FLYERS 4, DEVILS 3 (OT): Danny Briere's goal 4:36 into overtime led host Philadelphia past New Jersey in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series.
Philadelphia thought it had won the game in the early moments of the extra session, but Briere was ruled to have directed the puck past Devils goalie Martin Brodeur with his skate. The speedy forward made no mistake on his next scoring chance, blasting a shot through a screen and past Brodeur for his second goal of the day and seventh of the postseason.
Game 2 in the best-of-seven is set for Tuesday night in Philadelphia.
With the score tied 2-2 after 40 minutes, Claude Giroux continued his hot streak with the go-ahead goal 4:19 into the third. The leading playoff scorer one-timed a Kimmo Timonen pass from the the left circle past Brodeur for his seventh goal in seven playoff games.
Petr Sykora drew the Devils even at 11:22, taking advantage of a Philadelphia turnover to break in alone and fire a shot that beat Flyers goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov between the pads.
Bryzgalov stopped 20 shots to earn the victory. Brodeur finished with 28 saves in defeat.
The Devils dominated the early moments of the game and were rewarded with the opening goal at 3:16. Patrik Elias capitalized on a Matt Read turnover behind the Philadelphia net and fed the puck to the left circle, where Zach Parise beat Bryzgalov.
Brodeur preserved the lead early in the second period - plucking a Max Talbot shot out of the air from in close - but the Flyers kept the pressure on and eventually tied the game on a Briere breakaway at 8:07. James Van Riemsdyk put Philadelphia in front 37 seconds later, converting a rebound of an Erik Gustafsson shot that pulled Brodeur out of position.
The Devils responded on a power play at 13:53, as Zajac found some empty space in front of the goal and tapped a Parise feed past Bryzgalov.
GAME NOTEBOOK: It took the Flyers 10 minutes to register their first shot on goal. By that time, the Devils had already registered 11. ... Elias left after blocking a shot in the third period but returned after a short absence. ... Briere's two goals Sunday give him 26 in his last 41 playoff games. He scored just 16 times in 70 regular-season outings in 2011-12.