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Things you should know about the Flyers-Devils series

VILLAIN WATCH

Game 1 between the Flyers and Devils starts at 3 p.m. on Sunday at the Wells Fargo Center. (Yong Kim/Staff file photo)
Game 1 between the Flyers and Devils starts at 3 p.m. on Sunday at the Wells Fargo Center. (Yong Kim/Staff file photo)Read more

VILLAIN WATCH

Three Devils you won't like this time next week:

* David Clarkson:

Former fourth-liner scored 30 goals for the first time in his career and still led the Devils in penalty minutes.

Bryce Salvador: Part of the Devils' top defense pairing (along with Marek Zidlicky), who should be seeing a lot of Claude Giroux's line.

Martin Brodeur: The Flyers have won the last two postseason series against Brodeur, including a quick five-game dismissal in 2010.

SEASON SERIES

The Flyers and Devils split their six-game season series this season, with one of Jersey's wins coming in a shootout. Here's a look:

Oct. 8, at New Jersey, Flyers, 3-0: Recap: Ilya Bryzgalov made 20 saves as the Flyers, who recorded zero shutouts in 2010-11, blanked the Devils in the second game of the season.

Quotable: "There's definitely a lot of new faces in this locker room, and I'm one of them," said rookie Matt Read, who notched the first goal of his career.

--

Nov. 3, at Wells Fargo Center, Devils, 4-3 (shootout): Recap: The Flyers squandered a 2-0 lead and went on to lose when Patrik Elias and Zach Parise beat Sergei Bobrovsky in the shootout.

Quotable: "A lot of times in this league you get what you deserve, and we deserved two points tonight," said Devils coach Peter DeBoer.

--

Jan. 21, at New Jersey, Flyers, 4-1: Recap: This is the game Alexei Ponikarovsky became the answer to the most intriguing trivia question of their postseason series. Who is the only Devil to score a goal on Ilya Bryzgalov this season?

Quotable: "If we got the win, I'd be in a better mood," said Ponikarovsky, who was acquired the day before from Carolina.

--

Feb. 4, at Wells Fargo Center, Devils, 6-4: Recap: The Devils scored the first six goals of the game and held off a late charge by the Flyers. Sergei Bobrovsky gave up all six on 23 shots.

Quotable: "First two periods, I was embarrassed to be a Philadelphia Flyer. We came out with no energy, no intensity," Scott Hartnell said.

--

March 11, at New Jersey, Devils, 4-1: Recap: Bobrovsky started for the first time in 11 games and picked up the loss, as the Devils scored three times in the third period.

Quotable: "We've really tightened up defensively. It's a great sign," Devils goalie Martin Brodeur said.

--

March 13, at Wells Fargo Center, Flyers, 3-0: Recap: Bryzgalov recorded his third consecutive shutout and Danny Briere ended a 23-game scoreless drought with an empty-netter.

Quotable: "We were outcompeted in a lot of the small areas of the game that we're usually pretty good at, and it showed. They were better than us," DeBoer said.

10 THINGS YOU OUGHTA KNOW ABOUT JERSEY

(Besides that the northern part smells funny)

* This could be the swan song for Brodeur, who is a free agent at season's end and turns 40 the same day as Game 4 (Sunday, May 6).

* Backup goalie Johan Hedberg was a ninth-round draft pick of the Flyers in 1994.

* Pesky center Travis Zajac missed most of the season after having Achilles' surgery in August. In what hopefully is a good sign for Ryan Howard, Zajac scored the overtime goal in Game 6 of the first round to save the Devils' season.

* The Flyers have plenty of strong first-year players, but the Devils' Adam Henrique is the only Rookie of the Year finalist playing in this series. Henrique scored the overtime winner in Game 7 against the Panthers.

* The Devils were the best penalty-killing team in the NHL, allowing a league-low 27 power-play goals. New Jersey's 89.6 kill percent was a modern-day league record.

* Former Flyer Dainius Zubrus had three shorthanded goals this season. He had two in the first 14 years of his career. Zubrus was a rookie when the Flyers went to the Cup Finals in 1997.

* Coach Peter DeBoer never played in the NHL and is in his first year with the Devils after three mediocre seasons with Florida.

* Under DeBoer, the Devils improved from 81 points last season to 102 in 2011-12.

* Leading scorer Ilya Kovalchuk toiled in anonymity for seven-plus seasons in Atlanta before coming to Jersey at the 2010 trade deadline. The win over the Panthers is the first time he's won a playoff series.

* Patrik Elias, 36, is still playing at a high level. He had 78 points this season, and is best known around here for scoring the game-winning goal when Scott Stevens knocked out Eric Lindros in Game 7 of the 2000 conference finals.

THE BIG NUMBER

.987: Ilya Bryzgalov's save percentage in four games against the Devils this season. He stopped 75 of 76 shots.