NHL PLAYOFFS : New Jersey Takes 2-0 Lead, Bedeviling Flyers

New Jersey’s formula for success worked the way it was supposed to Monday night. The Devils won at Philadelphia, 5-2, and left the Flyers irritated with themselves.

New Jersey went home with a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference finals on goals by Neal Broten, Bobby Holik and John MacLean.

The Devils’ defense smothered Philadelphia, generating stops that quickly turned on the offense and accomplished what Devil Coach Jacques Lemaire wanted: It frustrated the Flyers.

“Who doesn’t get frustrated when you’re working hard and the other team is leading?” Lemaire said. “Everybody does. It’s normal.”

Broten and Holik scored 1 minute 8 seconds apart in the second period as the Devils scored four goals in a row.

The game-winner came early in the second period on Broten’s power-play goal, snapping a 2-2 tie seconds after Devil defenseman Bruce Driver had foiled a Philadelphia two-on-one break with a deft stick check.

Driver started the play back the other way, and it developed into a three-on-two with Broten scoring on a short shot that deflected in off the skate of Dmitri Yushkevich at 3:51.

“That’s something we’ve been trying to do all season, all playoffs,” Driver said. “We rely on the other team making some mistakes. That two-on-one quite easily could have been in our net.”

Broten’s goal seemed to distract the Flyers, who surrendered Holik’s goal a little more than a minute later.

“Once we got that fourth goal and got up by two, we really buckled down and played really strong defensively,” Driver said.

And Philadelphia folded.

Broten said MacLean’s goal that tied the score, 2-2, with 12 seconds left in the first period, was just as important as his.

“It was a big lift for us,” Broten said. “We continued on in the second period and got a big goal on the power play. Those two goals are key.”

The Flyers also said the MacLean goal deflated them because they played a solid first period.

“I was happy with the way we played until the end [of the period],” Flyer Coach Terry Murray said. “We got rattled and we didn’t handle it with much poise.”

Philadelphia wants to turn the tables.

“We have to get off to a lead and keep it,” Flyer center Rod Brind’Amour said. “If we do that, they have to come out of their [defensive] shell. Suddenly, they have to get going and do stuff.”