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Slow start dooms Flyers in loss to Devils

NEWARK, N.J. - When he replaced coach John Stevens with Peter Laviolette nine days ago, general manager Paul Holmgren said the Flyers needed a "new voice."

Philadelphia Flyers' Scott Hartnell, left, skates after the puck with
New Jersey Devils' Rob Niedermayer during the first period. (AP Photo/Bill
Kostroun)
Philadelphia Flyers' Scott Hartnell, left, skates after the puck with New Jersey Devils' Rob Niedermayer during the first period. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)Read more

NEWARK, N.J. - When he replaced coach John Stevens with Peter Laviolette nine days ago, general manager Paul Holmgren said the Flyers needed a "new voice."

Maybe he should have expanded the list to include a new power play.

And a new penalty kill.

And some new players, the kind who play with urgency for three periods.

The Flyers, who thought they had hit rock bottom last week, dropped even lower with last night's 4-1 loss to the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center.

They are 1-4 under Laviolette and 14-15-1 overall. Only Carolina has fewer points than the Flyers in the 30-team NHL.

Stop the season, the Flyers want to get off.

They are playing as if they didn't like the coaching change. Then again, before Stevens got the ax, they played as if they wanted a different coach.

The Flyers are 2-10 in their last 12 games, with both victories coming against the lowly New York Islanders. They have lost seven of their last eight - and have scored a total of six goals in those seven defeats.

Stop the season, the Flyers want to get off.

Afterward, Laviolette blasted his new team.

"From the drop of the puck, that team jumped us. They were on their toes. They skated harder. They won every puck battle. They executed better," he said. "Usually a team that does that wins the hockey game."

After a listless first period, the Flyers regrouped and played solidly the rest of the night.

But the first period was, in a word, disastrous.

The Devils badly outshot and outhustled the penalty-prone Flyers while taking a 3-0 first-period lead. Right winger Niclas Bergfors scored two power-play goals - he undressed defenseman Braydon Coburn with a gorgeous move on his first score - and Patrik Elias converted a Scott Hartnell turnover into the 300th goal of his career.

New Jersey, which avenged two losses earlier in the season to the Stevens-coached Flyers, had a 14-5 shots edge in the first period.

"It was another example that we were playing individually," winger Ian Laperriere said.

Asked if a sense of dread overcame the Flyers after they allowed the first goal, Laviolette said: "It's not about going out and giving up the first goal if you're playing the game the way you're supposed to play it. We didn't do that. . . . I'm concerned about the way we played the game, the way we played the first period. We were supposed to be rested - a day where we stayed off the ice [in practice Friday] for the purpose of having jump tonight - and we have none. Zero."

Perhaps the most compelling stat of the season is this: In 30 games, the Flyers have just four wins when they have faced a deficit.

In other words, when they fall behind, they stay behind. That's not the sign of a team with good leadership.

"There's a couple teams that have skated through us. That concerns me a little bit," Laviolette said. "Either we're on our heels or unconditioned. Even when we were ahead of a [board] battle, we came out on the wrong side of it. They wanted the puck more tonight."

Almost all of the Flyers are in scoring slumps at the same time.

The Flyers picked up the tempo in the second period and dominated the action, drawing to within 3-1 when goalie Martin Brodeur - he was trying to set an NHL record with his 104th career shutout - misplayed Claude Giroux's right-circle shot into a power-play goal.

But the Devils got the goal back as Elias, after taking a feed from Brian Rolston on a two-on-one, tapped the puck past Brian Boucher with 33 seconds left in the period. It was his second goal of the night, and it gave New Jersey a 4-1 lead.

After the game, the Flyers sent David Laliberte back to the Phantoms to make room for Dan Carcillo, whose suspension ended last night.

Still . . .

Stop the season, the Flyers want to get off.