NEWARK, N. Seahawks #41 Jersey .J. -- The Philadelphia Flyers better start worrying about the New Jersey Devils, and soon -- real soon. Ilya Kovalchuk had a goal and two assists in his return to the lineup and set up Alexei Ponikarovskys tally with 2:39 left in overtime as the Devils defeated the Flyers, 4-3, Thursday night to take a 2-1 lead in this Eastern Conference semifinal series. "Winning this game in overtime is a big plus," said Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur, who made 25 saves. "We tried to keep serve, I guess. We play another big one, and we can really put the pressure on them in the next game if we play well. Its a good team on the other side, and we have to be cautious about the way were going to have to approach our game." New Jersey will look to take a 3-1 lead in the best-of-7 series here Sunday. The Devils have the series edge because theyve scored 11 goals in three games, and their penalty kill -- No. 1 in the NHL during the regular season -- has been outstanding. It erased two penalties in overtime and has limited the Flyers to two goals on 16 extra-man chances overall. Philadelphia was 12-for-23 against Pittsburgh in the opening round. "Were really confident with our penalty kill. Its been good all series," said Zach Parise, who also scored for New Jersey along with Patrik Elias. "Theyve got great players on the power play, but were finding a way to make it tough on them. We had to remind ourselves that we had the best penalty kill all year, and that was for a reason." The Devils short-handed unit was so good in overtime that the Flyers never threatened in those four minutes. Kovalchuk, who missed Game 2 with a lower back injury, then made a pass from his own end that sent Ponikarovsky into the Flyers zone on a 2-on-1. Ilya Bryzgalov stopped his initial shot but the forward snared his first goal of the post-season on a backhander that Bryzgalovs left side. "I didnt have time to celebrate because everyone jumped on me right away," Ponikarovsky said, "but I had a great time in the pile." But Kovalchuk, clearly, was the Devils top player in Game 3. "You feel pressure," Kovalchuk said. "The guys played so well, and you dont want to get back in the lineup just because you want to play." Danny Briere, Matt Carle and Brayden Schenn tallied for the Flyers. Bryzgalov had 27 saves. "Were down 2-1, the pressure is on us," Flyers forward Claude Giroux said. "There is no guy on this team that is going to quit. Its going to be a wake-up call. "We have a good series now." Schenn nearly won the game eight minutes into overtime with a deflection in front and then the Devils penalty kill did an outstanding job after a controversial boarding call against Dainius Zubrus with 11:37 left in the overtime and a delay-of-game penalty against Bryce Salvador. New Jersey had problems with its short-handed lines in Round 1 vs. Florida, but the unit has regained its form. "I think the power play won us a lot of games this year and tonight wasnt the case," Giroux said. "We have to do a better job." The Devils seemed on the verge of a 3-2 win early in the third when Parise rammed a puck into the net from in close after Elias won a loose puck behind the net and found the Devils captain all alone at the right goal post. Kovalchuk came within inches of making it a two-goal lead minutes later, when he had a shot hit off the crossbar as Bryzgalov looked behind him. "He had three points, a huge goal, and then a great play on the winner," Parise said of Kovalchuk. "He is a special player, and its good to get him back." Philadelphia tied the game on somewhat of a gift from Brodeur. The Devils 39-year-old goaltender could not control a weak shot from the outside of the left faceoff circle by New Jersey native James van Riemsdyk, and Briere chipped the rebound over his pads. He has scored goals in five of the Flyers nine playoff games. The first two periods were distinct with the Devils dominating the final 11 minutes of the opening session, and the Flyers having the upper hand for most of the second. Carle tied the game at 2-2 at 4:44 of the second with a blast from the top of the left circle that was set up by Jakub Voracek. The forward took a pass along the right boards, skated around the net and found an unguarded Carle coming in from the point for a shot that whizzed by Brodeur. The goal came minutes after Bryzgalov stopped Adam Henrique on a breakaway to prevent New Jersey from taking a 3-1 lead. After falling behind 1-0 early, the Devils outshot Philadelphia 10-3 and grabbed the lead when Elias and Kovalchuk tallied in a 20-second span, the fastest two post-season goals in franchise history. Kovalchuk, the Devils leading scorer in the regular season with 37 goals and 83 points, had his legs in the opening period and it paid off for New Jersey. With Braydon Coburn off for tripping, Elias tied the score with a shot from the right circle that went off Bryzgalovs glove. Kovalchuk recorded the secondary assist on the play, sending a pass from the left point to defenceman Marek Zidlicky, who slid it to Elias. Kovalchuks goal came on a quick counterattack in which he came late down the middle, took a pass from Travis Zajac and wristed a shot past the Flyers goalie. The Russian, who had never been part of a winning team in an NHL series until this years first round vs. the Panthers, pumped his fists and celebrated his fourth goal. And there was more to celebrate after Parises go-ahead goal stood. Schenn had put the Flyers ahead with a power-play goal 6:08 after the opening faceoff. Briere set up Schenns third post-season goal with a pass from along the goal line that found Schenn low in the left circle. His shot beat Brodeur to the short side. The Devils have now won three of four overtime contests this post-season, including Games 6 and 7 vs. Florida, when facing elimination. Meanwhile, dating back to their first-round win over Pittsburgh, Philadelphia has now lost consecutive road games. NOTES: The Flyers didnt make any lineup changes. The Devils did. With Kovalchuk returning, New Jersey sat defenceman Peter Harrold, who had played in all nine previous playoff games. ... The old Devils record for two fastest playoff goals was 26 seconds by Petr Sykora and Bobby Holik on May 14, 2000 at Philadelphia in the Eastern Conference Finals. That Devils team won the Stanley Cup. ... Flyers C Sean Couturier sustained a lower-body injury in the first period and did not return. ... The crowd of 17,625 was a sellout. ... Devils rookie defenceman Adam Larsson, 19, who scored in his playoff debut in Game 2, remained in the lineup. ... Brodeur will turn 40 on Sunday, in time for Game 4. 12th Fan Seahawks Jersey . It was rescheduled for June 2 at 7:05 p.m., which had been an off day for both teams. For the Yankees, that date falls between home series against Minnesota and Oakland. Tony McDaniel Seahawks Jersey . Alex Gough, Sam Edney and the doubles tandem of Justin Snith and Tristan Walker combined in the new event but missed winning a medal by one-tenth of a second.KAPALUA, Hawaii -- Brandt Snedeker starts a new year in golf with hopes of avoiding an old problem -- staying healthy. The Tournament of Champions, which starts Friday, is his first event since a freak accident in Shanghai two months ago. Snedeker was on a Segway scooter during a corporate outing at Sheshan International when he took a tumble and injured his left knee. "I had been on one all day in this pro-am," Snedeker said Wednesday. "I was going down the last hole, seeing how fast I could get it going. I hit a sprinkler head, lost control a little bit and jumped off. I landed on my knee and my knee popped." He feared he had torn his anterior cruciate ligament. Just his luck, he only suffered a small tear, along with a cracked tibia and a deep bone bruise. It was enough to keep him out of the Australian PGA, World Challenge in California and the Franklin Templeton Shootout in Florida. Harris English replaced him as Matt Kuchars partner in the Shootout, and they went on to win. Snedeker said the knee feels good, though the real test starts Friday. He spent last week playing at Hideaway in the California desert, walking 18 holes a day and carrying his own bag. The good news at Kapalua is that he has his caddie. Not so good is that the Plantation Course was built on the side of a mountain, featuring some of the steepest climbs hell face all year. "Ive had a few aches and pains of playing again, but nothing that concerns me," Snedeker said. "The only thing Im worried about is walking 18 holes here. Palm Springs is dead flag. Walking this golf course is a little different." And the last time the six-time PGA Tour winner carrieed his own bag? "Its funny, I got into this routine of doing it after injuries," Snedeker said. Seahawks #58 Jersey. Not so funny is that it has become a routine. In his seven years on tour, Snedeker has had surgery on both hips to correct a degenerative problem. He missed the 2012 U.S. Open because of a rib injury. After one of the hottest stretches of last year -- second to Tiger Woods at Torrey Pines, second to Phil Mickelson in Phoenix and then a victory at Pebble Beach -- Snedeker had recurring problems with his ribs and missed the next month. Snedeker said his rookie season was his only injury-free year. "Its very concerning," he said. "I dont consider myself that, but the evidence bears out that I am injury-prone. Over the course of your career, youre going to have injuries. Im hoping all mine are in a five-year stretch." Hes been taking medication and paying close attention to his diet to stay on top of his fitness, but just like most people, Snedeker will stray on occasion. "You get healthy and you forget about it," he said. "You get injured and you start worrying. Im no different from anyone else." Now, he can hope thats all behind him. Snedeker believes the best part of his career is ahead of him, and hes excited about the major championship venues, with Pinehurst No. 2 among his favourite course in America. He was tied with Angel Cabrera going into the final round of the Masters last year, and he has come to love links golf at the British Open, with strong showings the last two years. His biggest goal for 2014? "Im looking forward to playing an injury-free year," he said with a grin. ' ' '
