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Bryzgalov with 1 of his 17 saves in 3-0 shut-out win over New Jersey.

   I'm sure we're all familiar with the phrase, "The universe has a way of correcting itself." What we never could have imagined was that a phrase as deep as space itself could draw such a parallel to the roller-coaster season of enigmatic Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov.

   On Tuesday night in Philadelphia vs. the New Jersey Devils, "Universe," a nickname Bryzgalov earned during his interview on HBO's documentary '24/7: Road to the NHL Winter Classic' after his musings on how "humangous big" the universe is and how we shouldn't sweat the small things in life, earned his 3rd consecutive shut-out and 4th in 5 starts. In the processs, he was named 1st star of the game for his 5th consecutive start. Get on the bandwagon while the gettin' is good.

   This is the goaltender Paul Holmgren went out and signed to a nine year, $51 million dollar contract this past offseason. This is the goaltender who posted a Save Percentage of at least .920 in 3 of the last 4 seasons in Phoenix and was nominated for a Vezina Trophy as leagues best goalie. You know, the man who was supposed to put an end to the 20 years the Flyers have gone without a stable, long-term #1 netminder. The goaltender who had a Save Percentage as low as .890 just a few months ago, well below an NHL netminders "mendoza line" of .900 and good for 63rd in the league at the time, is now a distant memory. He has climbed 30 spots already to 33rd in Save Percentage (.908) and his 6 shut-outs are 3rd most in the NHL and 6 more than the Flyers goaltending combined for all of last season.

   How, when, where and why this dramatic turn-around occured for the man nicknamed "Universe" may be a mystery on the scale of the actual universe. Did it start on a frigid night in Calgary where Bryz finally got the shoot-out monkey off his back, stopping 4 of 5 shots in a thrilling triumph? That's irrelevant. What is relevant is that if this superb play between the pipes continues, the Flyers look like a legitimate threat to come out of the Eastern Conference. For now, It appears as though Bryz has found that "peace in his soul to play in this city" he alluded to less than one month ago. Cue the cautious optimism Flyers faithful. 

How confident are you that Bryzgalov has officially turned it around? Leave your thoughts below and don't forget to Follow my blog by clicking the icon on the right!