Devils Don't Let Up, Pushing Flyers to Edge of Elimination NEWARK - The Philadelphia Flyers" steely playoff resolve, held in check for the last three games by an unrelenting Devils" attack, finally melted with four seconds left in the second period Sunday, when Claude Giroux thrust his right shoulder into Dainius Zubrus's head. Two minutes earlier, Zubrus had scored the go-ahead goal in the Devils" 4-2 victory, and Giroux, the Flyers" skilled and intense forward, was incensed over a non-call at the other end of the ice. He decked Zubrus, who stayed down for a while. "Don't think we wouldn't like to do something," Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur said. But the Devils did not retaliate. Giroux picked up an illegal-check-to-the-head penalty, and the Flyers did not come close to scoring again. Zubrus added a second goal by firing the puck into an empty net, and the Devils took a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinal series. Although they were regarded as heavy underdogs, the Devils can eliminate the Flyers on Tuesday, when Game 5 is to be played in Philadelphia. The Devils have never squandered a 3-1 lead in a playoff series. Giroux's fate will be determined by the N.H.L. on Monday. Brodeur turned 40 on Sunday, but the Devils showed again that they do not need to lean on him to win. They outshot the Flyers, 43-22, overcoming a two-goal deficit in the first period by scoring twice in less than three minutes before the period ended. "I think our team is just sticking to what has worked for us in the series - and that's playing on our toes, making them play in their own end and defend, and putting a lot of pressure on their goaltender," Peter DeBoer, the Devils" first-year coach, said. The Devils outshot the Flyers in the second period, 16-5, with Zubrus breaking a 2-2 tie at 17 minutes 47 seconds when he took a pass from the rookie center Adam Henrique and beat Philadelphia goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov. The Devils fell behind in the first period when Flyers forward Scott Hartnell scored on the power play and Giroux added a shorthanded goal less than two minutes later. But the Devils tied the score by the end of the period on goals by Petr Sykora and Marek Zidlicky. "The best thing about us is that we don't change the way we play," Zach Parise, the Devils" first-year captain, said. The Devils realize what awaits them Tuesday. Brodeur remembers the Devils" Stanley Cup playoff run in 2000, when they overcame a 3-1 deficit to the Flyers in the conference finals. The Flyers overcame a 3-0 deficit to the Boston Bruins in the 2010 conference semifinals. "We're up, 3-1, but we're not blowing them out of the water by any means," Devils defenseman Bryce Salvador said. After Giroux scored his short-handed goal, the Devils" power play continued, and Sykora scored his second playoff goal at 15:14 by taking a pass from Zidlicky from the point and popping it past Bryzgalov. Sykora's goal revived the Devils. They tied the score less than three minutes later when defenseman Bryce Salvador wristed a pass from the left point to Zidlicky, who crashed the goal alone from the right point and tapped the puck past Bryzgalov for his first goal of the playoffs. Brodeur faced 10 shots in the third period - his busiest of the night. He turned them all aside for his 106th playoff victory, and his seventh this year. He has not won seven playoff games since 2003, when he and the Devils won the most recent of three Stanley Cups. He said again Sunday that he was enjoying this season more than many recent seasons. The Devils are deep and talented. He does not have to save them as often any more. And if they keep playing like they did last night, he can take them far. "It's a grind, but we're looking at this playoff series as, put our heads down and work, work, work," Brodeur said.