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Mr. Clean Sheet: Bryzgalov shuts door again, Flyers beat Devils

Mar 14, 2012 - 2:58 AM Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - Ilya Bryzgalov stopped 17 shots and Danny Briere snapped an epic goal drought as Philadelphia downed New Jersey, 3-0.

Bryzgalov notched his sixth whitewash of the season and his third in as many starts. His shutout streak was extended to 196 minutes, 13 seconds and helped the orange and black reach the 40-win plateau for the fifth straight campaign.

"I think a lot of times, success and personal success also creates happiness, you feel good, you feel confident coming to the rink," said Flyers head coach Peter Laviolette of his goaltender suddenly regaining form. "Personally, Bryz, he was smiling coming to the rink at the beginning of the year as well. He was the same then."

Sean Couturier and Jakub Voracek also tallied for the Flyers, who have won six of their last seven and avenged a Sunday night loss in Newark in the opener of the home-and-home set.

Martin Brodeur made 26 saves for the Devils, whose four-game win streak was halted.

Voracek's backhanded poke at a loose puck in the crease with 2:14 played in the third period gave Bryzgalov an insurance tally and put the hosts up 2-0.

New Jersey was given a four-minute power play through the middle portion of the final stanza, but only put two quality chances on net.

Minutes later, during a 4-on-4, Brodeur was pulled and Briere hit the empty net off a dish from Voracek with 4:49 to play, erasing a 23-game sojourn without a score.

"We had nothing going and we were down by two," said Devils head coach Peter DeBoer on the decision to pull his goaltender. "There was an opportunity to create a power play and I like our chances scoring five on four better than I do with six on five with two minutes left to go. It is not a unique decision."

The Flyers killed off two penalties in a scoreless first period, during which Bryzgalov stopped eight shots.

Normally used for his hitting ability, Zac Rinaldo showed some offensive flair early in the second period, but his wraparound chance from the right post somehow stayed out. Brodeur maintained his composure on several successive chances.

But the veteran failed to cover up a Brayden Coburn shot which ricocheted off the boards and into the crease, and Couturier shoveled home the loose puck from the right side at 11:07.

Game Notes

John Vanbiesbrouck is the only other Philadelphia goaltender to record three straight shutouts, from October 20-24, 1999...Vanbiesbrouck also holds the top two shutout streaks in Flyers history, at 227:40 (October 17-26, 1999) and 218:42 (January 3-16, 1999)...Briere hadn't scored since registering a hat trick against Ottawa on January 7...Bryzgalov has four shutouts in his last five starts and 29 for his career...Flyers defenseman Kimmo Timonen returned to the lineup for the first time since March 1...Voracek was back in action for the first time since March 6...Brodeur's last Philly start came on March 28, 2010 where he was pulled after two periods of a 5-1 loss...Prior to the game, the Flyers assigned defenseman Brandon Manning to Adirondack of the AHL.