EASTERN FINALS
GAME DAY PREVIEWS
GAME 4:
#1 PHILADELPHIA FLYERS vs #4 NEW JERSEY DEVILS
Philadelphia leads 2-1
Game time: Saaturday May 20th, 2000 7pm at New Jersey
The Philadelphia Flyers hope to take a three games to one lead back home when they face the New Jersey Devils tonight in Game Four of the Eastern Conference finals.
Rookie Brian Boucher made 27 saves, and Rich Tocchet and Mark Recchi each collected a goal and an assist as Philadelphia regained home-ice advantage Thursday with a 4-2 triumph in Game Three. Keith Jones and rookie Simon Gagne also tallied for the Flyers.
Boucher has been nothing short of spectacular in the playoffs, with a 10-4 record and a .919 goals-against average. He has made 57 saves on 62 shots over the last two games for Philadelphia, which has won its last four road contests.
Tocchet has five points over his last two games for the Flyers, who have killed 22 of their last 23 shorthanded situations.
Philadelphia not only took the series lead but also gave itself confidence that it can play in the Meadowlands. The Flyers ended an eight-game road winless streak against the Devils, winning for only the fifth time in its last 29 trips to New Jersey (5-22-2).
Claude Lemieux and Scott Niedermayer each scored and Petr Sykora ran his points streak to five games for New Jersey, which has allowed Philadelphia to score in six straight periods.
The Devils have killed their last 29 shorthanded situations but surrendered as many as four goals in back-to-back games for the first time since losses of 5-2 at Florida on April 3 and 5-0 to Buffalo on April 6. They did not allow more than three goals in three straight games this season.
Game Five is Monday in Philadelphia.