Flyers vs. Devils: Ilya Bryzgalov officially Master of Universe after third straight shutout

[Complete Coverage] - [New Jersey Reaction] - [Discussion Thread]
[Event Summary] - [PBP Log] - [TOI Log] - [Faceoff Report]
[Shift Charts] - [Head-to-Head TOI] - [Shot Differential] - [5-on-5 Faceoffs]

Ilya Bryzgalov hasn't allowed a goal in 196 minutes, 13 seconds. That's about three hours, 16 minutes. Here's a list of things you can do in three hours, 16 minutes:

• You could drive to Milford, Conn.
• You could watch the movie Titanic with a little over two minutes to spare.
• If you name is Patrick Makau, you could run an entire marathon ... and then just sit around for an hour or so.
• You could roast a 6 to 8 pound turkey.
• You could listen to this week's edition of BSH Radio about four and a half times.
• Lots of other things. (List some in the comments, perhaps.)

Point is: Three hours, 16 minutes is a long time. And that's just playing time. There's a lot of standing around time between whistles, during intermissions and between games. It's been a long time since Ilya Bryzgalov has allowed a goal.

It's hard to pinpoint exactly what he's changed in his game over the last few weeks, but whatever it is, he's been unbelievable, and the Flyers are reaping the benefits. It's not like they've been a phenomenal scoring team over this stretch, either. They were shutout might as well have been shutout on Sunday vs. New Jersey (without Bryz in goal), they scored just a shootout goal on Saturday vs. Toronto ... and well, there's no trend for Thursday vs. Florida.

But even tonight against the Devils -- it was a 3-0 win if you missed it, by the way -- the Flyers were held off the score sheet for most of the game.

Sean Couturier broke open the scoring a little more than midway through the second period before Jakub Voracek scored in his first game back during the third period to make it 2-0. Danny Briere scored his first goal in 66 days on an empty-netter with five minutes left in the game (?) and seemed really, really relieved after doing so.

Overall, tonight's win was the polar opposite of the loss to the Devils on Sunday night. The team came out flying (haha) in the first period despite failing to get on the score sheet, controlled possession throughout the game and generally just outplayed New Jersey. Pretty fun being a Flyers fan right now, and with the weather getting nice and the playoffs beginning to appear over the horizon, that's pretty encouraging.

Questions with Answers

1. Can Ilya Bryzgalov be really good again? DONT SAY THE S WORD. Shutout.
2. Peter Laviolette told the media that it's Danny Briere's night tonight. Is he correct? Yep!
3. How does Kimmo Timonen look tonight? All around, I thought the defense was extremely sound tonight. Gotta imagine having Kimmo back in there contributes to that.
4. And Jakub Voracek? Goals!
5. Have a hunch that Brodeur gets pulled tonight. Not a question, just a statement. Guess I never clarified which kind of pull ... Seriously, yanking your goalie with five minutes left in a two-goal game is silly, Pete DeBoer.

Comment of the Night

He only faced 17 shots. Give the defense some love too.

>> goldomatic