PHILADELPHIA -- Danny Briere had two chances to celebrate his overtime winner. Kellen Winslow Chargers Jersey . The first time, his goal didnt count. The second time, Briere left no doubt and put away Game 1, once and for all. Briere continued to stamp his name alongside Philadelphias post-season greats, scoring the winning goal 4:36 into overtime, leading the Flyers to a 4-3 win over the New Jersey Devils on Sunday to open this Eastern Conference semifinal series. "He has his ups and downs, but he just picks it up in the playoffs. And thats what matters," Flyers coach Peter Laviolette said. "Hes a guy who consistently gets it done." Indeed, no Flyer is as clutch in the post-season as Briere. His second attempt at the winner counted minutes after his earlier goal was overturned on review because he kicked the puck into the net. But he wasted no time making up for it, firing a slapper past Martin Brodeur for his seventh goal of the playoffs. Brodeur was screened in front by Philadelphia forward James van Riemsdyk. "When you look at the replay, its kind of obvious," Briere said of the reversal. "But I needed to stop pouting and get back my focus in overtime. I ended up getting a break." In doing so, Briere, who also scored in the second period, now has 106 points in 104 career post-season games. "Is it pressure? I think its fun," he said of playoff hockey. "When I have the opportunity, like Ive had the past few years here, I try to take advantage of the opportunities." Game 2 is Tuesday. The Flyers took the series lead in their first game in a week after eliminating Pittsburgh in Game 6 last Sunday. The weary Devils, meanwhile, played their third consecutive overtime game after defeating Florida in Games 6 and 7 to win their first-round series. "I thought we played real well in the first," New Jersey coach Peter DeBoer said. "We just couldnt keep it up." The Flyers put a slow start well behind them in the third and completely set the pace. They used a tremendous forecheck to stave off the Devils and played with more life in their skates than a worn-down Devils team that had only a three-day break. And then, theres Flyers forward Claude Giroux. The post-seasons leading scorer got himself into the series, as well, in the third period. Giroux, in fact, wound from the circle and fired the puck high over Brodeurs right shoulder for a power-play goal and a 3-2 lead. It was Girouxs seventh goal of the post-season, perhaps living up to Laviolettes bold claim as, "the best in the world." Veteran forward Petr Sykora wiped out the lead, though, when he raced past two defenders off a turnover and slipped the puck through Ilya Bryzgalovs pads for a soft goal to make it 3-3. It was his first playoff goal since 2008. But Briere was the difference in overtime. "I think," Laviolette said, "everyone expects it from him now." After finishing fifth in the East, the Flyers stormed to a 3-0 lead against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round and held on to eliminate their state rival in six games. That series was viewed as one more worthy of a conference final because of the talent and the 100-plus point totals for each club. The Devils, the No. 6 seed, topped 100 points, as well, and were out to prove themselves worthy of Round 2. And in the first period, they did so. Of course, the Flyers helped, as they carried over their trend of falling behind from the opening a round and showed again they are at their best when playing with a deficit. "Nobody liked the first period. The players didnt like it. I didnt like it. No one liked it," Laviolette said. "So, it was good to get through the first period, only down 1-0. And then for me, it started in the second period. We had the fire it took to be successful." Jakub Voracek made a nice pass from along the boards to Briere and he busted free alone on the open ice for the breakaway goal in the second. Van Riemsdyk knocked in a rebound and gave the Flyers a 2-1 edge only 37 seconds later. Van Riemsdyk stamped himself as a franchise cornerstone last post-season when he scored seven goals in only 11 post-season games and earned a $25.5 million, six-year contract extension. But he scored only 11 goals in 43 games in a season derailed by a broken left foot and a concussion. But van Riemsdyk came to play in Game 1, perhaps spurred on by playing his homestate team. He is, after all, a Middletown, N.J., native. And he was key on the winner as well, as he stood tall directly in front of a prone Brodeur as the winner trickled by. "Van Riemsdyk definitely pushed my stick over when he came across," Brodeur said. "He didnt do it on purpose. He was just going in front of the net. I got my position there, but it prevented me from making the save." There was no way that goal was getting a second look by the officials. "They wouldnt do that twice in Philly," Brodeur said. "Thats for sure." Flyers fans who have suffered through decades of goaltending woes took great delight in chanting "Mar-ty! Mar-ty!" at the three-time Stanley Cup champion. Brodeur has faced the Flyers four other times in the post-season, winning two. Travis Zajac, who scored an overtime winner vs. Florida in Game 6, as well, poked one past Bryzgalov for a power-play goal late in the second to tie the game. This all came from a Devils team that won a 3-2 double-overtime Game 7 thriller against Southeast Division-champion Florida on Thursday. But the Flyers started the way they did the previous two series vs. New Jersey: By winning Game 1. They eventually won those series in 2004 and 2010, reaching the Stanley Cup finals in the latter. In fact, in three of the previous series between these two rivals -- separated by just 87 miles -- the winner reached the finals, with the Devils winning the Cup in 1995 and 2000. Opposing Brodeur was Bryzgalov, who had two shutouts and won all three starts vs. the Devils in the regular season. He allowed one goal on 76 shots. So much for the regular season. The Devils never stopped shooting on the rattled veteran in the first period. They took the first 11 shots before the Flyers finally lobbed the puck from the blue line toward Brodeur. The Devils are now 2-3 on the road in the post-season and this was their first loss in overtime. "If we came in and lost 6-0, maybe wed talk about adjustments," said Devils captain Zach Parise, who opened the scoring at 3:11 of the first off a feed from Patrik Elias. "We were right there. We had just as good a chance to win the game as they did." Notes: Brodeur will celebrate his 40th birthday next Sunday when the teams play Game 4 of their series in New Jersey. ... Philadelphia is now 4-1 at home this post-season. ... Zajac leads the Devils with four post-season goals. Eddie Royal Chargers Jersey . -- Floridas seniors, those four guys who fell just short of the Final Four the last three years, talked about cutting down the nets after clinching the Southeastern Conferences regular-season championship. Cheap Philip Rivers Jersey . Bautista led off the 10th inning with his second homer of the game, lifting the Toronto Blue Jays to a 5-4 win over the Cleveland Indians on Saturday night.Following the fairytale story of Canadas Womens Olympic team winning bronze at London 2012, the next wave of female Canadian players took to the international stage at the FIFA U20 Womens World Cup in Japan. After opening the tournament with a comprehensive 6-0 victory over Argentina, Canada lost consecutive 2-1 games to Norway and North Korea, sending the Canadians home from the tournament after finishing third in their group. While most supporters are prone to knee jerk reactions following tournaments - carried away with success or despondent over unfulfilled expectations - it is important to take an objective look at both the positives and the negatives. Positives Gone are the days of hit and hope football. There was a time when Canadas approach in the womens game was very much about playing the percentages. Get the ball forward as quickly as possible, force the opponent to make an error in their own half of the field, and then use our superior athletic ability and physicality to score goals. It wasnt pretty, but during the time when the womens game was in its infancy, it was reasonably effective. The womens game has evolved considerably in recent years, and we have had to evolve with it. Technical proficiency and tactical awareness are now the standards for the worlds best, and while we are still a long way behind some countries, at least we are trying to play the game the right way. Canadas players, by and large, are better technically than their counterparts were a decade ago. Many of the players who finished runners-up to the United States at the 2002 FIFA Womens U19 World Cup, went on to win a bronze medal at the Olympics just a few weeks ago. If we can stay on track, focusing on developing the technical proficiency of our players along with their tactical understanding of the game, our never-say-die Canadian spirit will take us far in the womens game. There were some decent individual performances from this group of players, and a number of them look capable of making the step up to the full team - if not now, then certainly in a few years time. Cheap Brandon Flowers Jersey. Sabrina DAngelo in goal, and Rachel Melhado and Shelina Zadorsky at the back, all performed admirably. Although both Melhado and Zadorsky were guilty of defensive errors that resulted in goals, they both showed they have the potential to move up to the senior team. Danica Wu, Adriana Leon and Jenna Richardson showed that they, too, have the potential to progress to the senior level. Their movement, athleticism and technical ability is very good, and will stand them in good stead as they look to advance to the next level. The key word, though, is potential. What those players do now, and how they develop in the years ahead, will dictate whether or not they will successfully make that step up. Negatives Whenever a Canadian team is eliminated from a tournament, critics tend to limit their analysis to the micro level. Did Player A perform the role that was expected of her? Did Player B make a mistake that led to a goal that eliminated the team? Did the coach make the right player selections, set up the team correctly, and utilize the correct tactical approach? While this type of analysis is important and essential in the short-term, it isnt going to help Canada improve its long-term fortunes at the international level. In order to do that, we need analysis at the macro level. Why do we continue to produce such a shallow pool of talent? Do our players who reach the international level do so because of our system of player development, or in spite of it? If our system of player development is not working (for the record, it isnt), how do we fix it so that we can be more competitive at the international level? These are big-picture questions that require in-depth analysis. In future blogs, I will be covering each of these topics separately, so that we can openly discuss the changes that need to be made for the betterment of Canadian soccer. ' ' '
