(Sports Network) - A pair of Atlantic Division rivals will face off in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals this afternoon, as the Philadelphia Flyers host the New Jersey Devils at the Wells Fargo Center. Cheap Jerseys China . The Flyers and Devils are the fifth and sixth seeds, respectively, in the East and the clubs finished just one point apart in the conference and division standings. Philadelphia had 103 points in the regular season compared to 102 for the Devils. Philadelphia entered this postseason as a considerable underdog to win its first-round series, but Peter Laviolettes club surprised many by ousting the Pittsburgh Penguins from the Eastern Conference quarterfinals in six games. The Flyers simply proved to be too much for Pittsburgh, a trendy pick to win the Stanley Cup heading into the playoffs, scoring 30 goals during a wild series that ended with Philadelphias 5-1 home victory in Game 6. With the win over Pittsburgh, the Flyers advanced to the second round for the third straight spring. Philadelphia last made it to the East finals in 2010. Philadelphias best player all season was Claude Giroux and he was undoubtedly the top skater in the conference quarterfinals against the Penguins. Giroux, who finished third in the NHL with 93 points during the regular season, led all scorers in the first round of the postseason, posting 14 points (6 goals, 8 assists) over the six games. The Flyers strength as a team is clearly its offense and the scoring does not begin and end with Giroux. Philadelphia had 11 players -- all forwards -- post 10 or more goals this season and four of them went over the 20-goal mark. The balanced scoring attack continued in the first round of the playoffs, as Philadelphia had eight skaters record two goals or more. After Girouxs six tallies, Danny Briere was next with five goals and Max Talbot and rookie Sean Couturier each hit the net three times. The 34-year-old Briere is proven producer in the playoffs, compiling 104 points (47G, 57A) in 103 career postseason contests. Giroux centers the top line and is usually flanked on the wings by Scott Hartnell and Jaromir Jagr. Hartnell posted a team-high and career-best 37 goals in the regular season and had two goals and three helpers in Round 1. Jagr, the 40-year-old future Hall of Famer, registered one goal and six assists against one of his former teams in the opening round. The Czech legend leads all active NHLers with 188 points (78G, 110A) in 172 career postseason games. However, while Philadelphia was very impressive at putting the puck into the net against the Penguins, the Flyers struggled mightily on the defensive end. Philadelphia surrendered 26 goals over the six games against Pittsburgh and goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov deserves some blame for that fact. Bryzgalov was signed away from Phoenix last summer, inking a nine-year, $51 million contract with the Flyers. The 31-year-old netminder had an up-and-down first regular season in Philadelphia and Bryzgalovs uneven play continued in the playoffs. The Russian backstop surrendered 21 goals on 163 shots in Round 1, posting an .871 save percentage and 3.89 goals-against average. The former Coyote and Anaheim Duck is 16-15 with a 2.77 GAA and .909 save percentage in 33 career playoff games. However, Bryzgalov was simply stellar against Jersey in four games (three starts) this season, going 3-0 with a 0.29 GAA and .987 save percentage. The Russian backstop recorded two of his six shutouts in 2011-12 against the Devils. On the injury front, Philadelphia hopes to have defenseman Nicklas Grossmann back for Game 1 of this series. Grossmann was forced to sit out the last two games of the opening round with a concussion, but has returned to practice and expects to play today. Injured defenseman Andrej Meszaros is also back skating with the team, but its unclear if hell be able to play in Round 2. Meszaros had back surgery last month and hasnt played since March 1. After missing out on the postseason in 2011, the Devils are back in the playoffs for the 14th time in 15 seasons this spring. New Jersey is coming off beating the Florida Panthers in seven games during the Eastern Conference quarterfinals, giving the Devils their first trip to the second round since 2007. New Jersey ousted Tampa Bay in the first round five years ago, but then lost to Ottawa in the second round. The Devils will now take aim at their first trip to the Eastern Conference finals since they won the last of the franchises three Stanley Cup titles in 2003. Although New Jersey is seeded sixth in the East, head coach Pete DeBoers club was favored against the third-seeded Panthers in the opening round. However, the Devils needed to win Games 6 and 7, in overtime and double-overtime, respectively, to make it into the conference semis. All told, the Devils outscored Florida by an 18-17 margin in the series, but the series couldve been lopsided if New Jersey was able to kill penalties the way it did in the regular season. DeBoers club was first in the NHL in penalty killing this season, stopping the opposition from scoring on 89.6 percent of its power plays. However, the Devils surrendered a whopping nine goals on 27 shorthanded situations in the seven games against Florida. Like the Flyers, New Jersey boasts considerable scoring depth and the Devils were the only team in the NHL to have three 30-goal scorers this season. Ilya Kovalchuk led the way with 37 tallies, while Zach Parise and David Clarkson had 31 and 30 goals, respectively. Patrik Elias and Petr Sykora also potted 20-plus goals with Elias scoring 26 times and Sykora notching 21 markers. The Devils also continued the balanced scoring in the first round, as seven players scored two or more goals against the Panthers. Travis Zajac and Kovalchuk each had three goals, while Parise, Elias, Steve Bernier, Stephen Gionta and Adam Henrique each had two tallies. The Devils still have Martin Brodeur as their No. 1 goaltender and the future Hall of Famer is coming off an up-and-down series that saw him finish with solid overall numbers. Brodeur had a 2.05 GAA and .922 save percentage in the series, but was pulled from Game 3. Brodeur, who will turn 40 years of age on May 6, is 103-84 with a 2.01 GAA and 24 shutouts in 188 career playoff tilts. He was 1-3 in four games against the Flyers this season, but he had a solid 2.26 GAA and .905 save percentage in those outings. The Flyers and Devils have met four times previously in the Stanley Cup playoffs and each team has claimed two series. New Jersey beat Philadelphia in the 1995 and 2000 conference finals, but the Flyers have won the last two series, having ousted the Devils in five games in the opening rounds of the 2004 and 2010 postseasons. Philadelphia barely won the 2011-12 season series against the Devils, posting a 3-2-1 record. The Flyers outscored New Jersey by a combined 18-15 margin over the six battles between the Atlantic Division rivals. Giroux was excellent against the Devils this season, posting four goals and three assists over the six meetings. Kovalchuk was also spectacular against the Flyers, torching Philadelphia for two goals and six assists in six games. Philadelphia was 22-13-6 as the host this season and was 2-1 against the Penguins at the Wells Fargo Center in Round 1. The Devils were 24-15-2 as the guest in 2011-12 and was 2-2 at Florida in the conference quarterfinals. Game 2 of this series is scheduled for Tuesday in Philly. Jerseys Cheap . Leverkusen came from behind to beat Werder Bremen 2-1 and secure fourth place immediately above Wolfsburg, which beat sixth-placed Borussia Moenchengladbach 3-1. "We knew we had to win," Leverkusen striker Eren Derdiyok said. http://www.cheapauthenticjerseys.us.com/ . LUCIE, Fla.PHILADELPHIA - Hunter Pence clutched a bottle of champagne and jumped around like an excited child opening Christmas presents. The Philadelphia Phillies won another division crown, and Pence is along for his first post-season ride. Roy Oswalt threw seven dominant innings, Raul Ibanez hit a grand slam and the Phillies clinched their fifth straight NL East title with a 9-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday night. "Ive waited for this moment a long time," said Pence, the all-star outfielder who joined Philadelphia in a trade from last-place Houston on July 29. "Its incredible, and Im enjoying the moment. Weve got a lot of work to do still. The expectation is to win the World Series, but this is one of the steps you gotta make, and to me its my first time, so this is great." In a season where nothing less than a World Series championship would be considered a success, there wasnt much of a party on the field. The Phillies had a been-there, done-that attitude toward winning the division last year, and this time was no different. Players ran onto the diamond a bit faster than usual, but they simply exchanged handshakes, hugs and high-fives as if this was an ordinary game in April. They did at least put on shirts and hats proclaiming themselves division champs. The fans didnt even scream all that loud, even when the Phillie Phanatic ran on the field with a big flag that said 2011. Once they reached the clubhouse, however, the Phillies popped open the bubbly and celebrated their achievement. "Im excited for a guy like Hunter who has never been here before," Chase Utley said. "Its a long season and you never know whats going to happen." With the Four Aces leading the way, the Phillies are seeking their third NL pennant in four years and second World Series title. Theyve taken care of the first step. Now theyll use the 12 remaining games to get ready for the post-season. Its still uncertain who the Phillies will face in the best-of-five first round when the NL playoffs begin Oct. 1. "This is the first step," slugger Ryan Howard told the crowd that remained after the game. "Were gonna try to go all the way and well need you guys." The major league-leading Phillies (98-52) are four wins away from setting a single-season club record. None of those accomplishments will matter if they dont finish the season with a championship parade on Broad Street. "Its an extraordinary effort," team president David Montgomery said. "Clearly, its a team that has its priorities in order." Oswalt (8-9) allowed no runs and five hits, striking out seven. Brad Lidge got one out in the eighth after Michael Stutes ran into trouble, and Ryan Madson finished with a seven-run cushion. St. Louis fell 4 1/2 games behind Atlanta in the wild-card race. They had won eight of nine to narrow the gap from 8 1/2 back on Sept. 6. "We played with a lot of urgency," Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa said. Cardinals starter Jake Westbrook (12-9) allowed one earned run and five hits in 3 1-3 innings. Hes given up two earneed runs or less in 11 of his 16 road starts this season, but fell to 8-4 away from home. Cheap Jerseys Authentic. Oswalt, Philadelphias best pitcher down the stretch last year after coming over from Houston in a trade on July 29, left spring training as the No. 3 starter behind Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee. But he struggled after starting 3-0, and a back injury forced him to the disabled list twice. The three-time all-star was vintage Oswalt against the Cardinals. His fastball reached 94 m.p.h. a few times, and he had a nasty curveball. Oswalt struck out Skip Schumaker on a 76 m.p.h. curve to leave two runners on in the seventh. All of his Ks came on swings. "Im not really going to be satisfied until we win that last game," Oswalt said. "Ive done enough personal stuff that it really doesnt matter. All I want now is to win that last game. Thats all any of us really want." Stutes nearly blew a 3-0 lead in the eighth after getting the first two outs. Four straight singles by John Jay, Albert Pujols, Lance Berkman and David Freese got the Cardinals within 3-2. But Lidge came in and retired Allen Craig on a grounder to second on his first pitch to end the inning. The Phillies then blew it open with six unearned runs in the eighth. Carlos Ruiz reached second when his grounder skipped past third baseman Daniel Descalso for an error. Ruiz went to third on Jimmy Rollins one-out single and scored on Shane Victorinos single up the middle. After Utley was hit by a pitch, Howard struck out. Octavio Dotel entered and Pence hustled out an infield single to shortstop Rafael Furcal to drive in another run. Ibanez then hit his slam to right to put it away. Pence gave the Phillies a 1-0 lead on an RBI double in the first. An error by Furcal helped the Phillies add a run in the fourth. Placido Polanco led off with a walk. Oswalt sacrificed with one out and Furcal dropped the throw to second. Rollins followed with a single to load the bases. Victorino walked to force in Polanco to make it 2-0. That ended Westbrooks night. Arthur Rhodes came in and retired Utley on a shallow fly and Howard on a grounder. Victorino hit a solo homer off Kyle McClellan in the sixth. Hes been slumping lately, batting just .163 (14 for 86) in his previous 21 games. Oswalt likely will be the fourth starter in the post-season after Halladay, Lee and Cole Hamels. Rookie Vance Worley would go to the bullpen, despite an 11-2 record. NOTES: A crowd of 45,470 was the 211th straight sellout at Citizens Bank Park, including playoffs. ... This was the fastest the Phillies ever clinched a division title. The previous was Game No. 156 in 1976. ... The Phillies had all their regulars in the starting lineup for the first time since Aug. 6. ... Rollins was 4 for 5. He was 3 for 20 coming in. ... The Phillies had scored just 22 runs in the last nine games before getting six in the eighth. ... The Cardinals are 6-28 when scoring fewer than three runs. ... St. Louis used seven pitchers. ... Hamels (14-8) faces Chris Carpenter (9-9) when the teams meet Sunday night. wholesale jerseyscheap jerseys ' ' '
