A Rivalry Intensifies?
it may not be an old rivalry. it only dates back to June of 1995, 13 years. and, for the most part, it’s been one sided. but, no matter how you see it, it is a rivalry. maybe the folks up the road on I95 don’t think so as much, but in philadelphia, the devils are a hated thorn in the side.
the devils and flyers have an intense recent history. after all, it was the devils who halted the feel good story of the flyers return to the playoffs & making a run deep into the playoffs way back in ’95. and it was the devils who crushed the flyers hopes (and eric lindros’ body) of a stanley cup finals birth, with an improbable comeback after falling behind 3 games to 1 in the 2000 eastern conference finals. some revenge was enacted in 2004 when the flyers vanquished the devils in five games in the first round of the playoffs. Â
 the rivalry is also intense during the regular season. with much of the same results. so, when the flyers headed north on the new jersey turnpike friday, not many people thought that they would return with their first win of the season. especially since they were winless at “the rock” last year. and winless in new jersey since march of ’04. but they won, and it was a good win. and twenty four hours later, the teams met again. this time in philly. there’s nothing like a little rivalry to get your season untracked.
 from the opening faceoff, it was obvious that this wasn’t just another game on the schedule. and i didn’t take long for emotions to boil over. fights, and snippy play dominted until the teams settled into a 2-2- tie headed to the third. the flyers won the game in overtime, on a jeff carter goal. and just like that, a season has been resurrected, and, a rivalry renewed.Â
there are four more games to be played bwtween these two teams. and, many would bet that playoff postioning will be at stake. but, now, this flyers team has something that previous flyers teams lacked. confidence against the devils (and wins). these two games could change the landscape of the rivalry. the conversation used to be, “how can the flyers adjust to beat the devils?” these early season games have shown that the flyers now have the ability to make the devils open up. so, the question may become “how do the devils adjust to beat the flyers?” and so… the rivalry has just intensified.
-mt
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