Rinaldo delivered a stiff knee to Zubrus in the second. Wayne Simmonds creamed Zidlicky in the corner that left the defenseman sprawled on the ice.

The hits meant nothing more than a brief roar from the crowd, though. Late in the third, the Flyers fans made an early exit - much like their team. The Flyers haven't won the Stanley Cup since snaring consecutive championships in 1974 and 1975.

"It's hard right now," Flyers coach Peter Laviolette said. "I can tell you that the group that is in that room right now is a terrific group of men. They play hard and they have a bright future."

The Devils have won six of seven and believe they have another title run in them. This is the third time in franchise history New Jersey has defeated Philadelphia in the postseason. The previous two times (1995 and 2000), the Devils went on to win the Stanley Cup.

Brodeur has gone from answering questions about retirement to ones about another chase for the Cup. He has been in net for all three of New Jersey's titles, including 2003, the franchise's last one.

With two different coaches behind the bench last season - Jacques Lemaire came out of retirement to replace John MacLean - the Devils went 38-39-5, and finished in fourth place in the Atlantic Division with just 81 points. Taking out the lockout-shortened 1995 season, that was the franchise's lowest point total since 1990-91 (79).

Brodeur came on board the next season.

"I don't think he was ever a guy that was going to retire," Clarkson said. "He's won us some games in the playoffs. He's held us in. He's exciting to watch."

Notes: The Devils are 22-16 in Game 5s. ... Flyers D Andrej Meszaros (back) played for the first time since March 1. ... DeBoer is now 2-0 in playoff series this season after never having won a postseason round before as a coach. ... The Flyers, swept by Boston in Round 2 last season, are now 1-8 in their last nine Eastern Conference semifinals games. ... Even with the loss, Flyers F Jaromir Jagr loved his first season in Philadelphia. "I loved everybody on this team. This was probably the most enjoyable year I ever had."

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Paul Sancya / AP

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