As everybody knows, LA has been a very good hockey team in these Stanley Cup playoffs. There was this unanimous feeling that they would just win game 4 and make things easier for all of us. But to the surprise of everyone (excluding loyal Devils fans), the Devils played a strong game after a weak game 3 outcome. The Devils are now perfect in game 4's this postseason. It's not a significant stat but I just wanted to point it out.
This game was pretty much dissected into three parts, one for each period. Let's go through each one.
First period: This period was pretty back and forth but the Kings had quite a bit of trouble for the most of it. They were held shotless for just about 15 minutes in the middle and the Devils took advantage getting a lot of solid chances on net. Each team had their fair share of powerplays in the first but neither team was really able to capitalize. Both penalty kills did an acceptable job protecting the middle of the ice and was good getting the puck out.
Devils superstar, Ilya Kovalchuk, looked stiff as a board out on the ice. He wasn't skating well, couldn't get anything behind his shots, wasn't getting the puck on his stick, and just wasn't playing with intensity, something we expect out of him at this point. The man is for sure playing through something tricky. But not only is the injury effecting him, but there's word that the pain medication that he's taking could be negatively impacting his play as well. This was evident in the first, and it was a sign for Devils fans that it'd be a long night for their 100 million dollar man.
A good sign for the Devils early on was the fact that for the first time in the series, they were starting to get some bounces go their way. The first three games, we saw pucks bouncing over New Jersey sticks along with posts and crossbars galore (including chances to win games 1 and 2 by the end of regulation). In the first period Wednesday night, however, it was the Kings who got the tough breaks. Slava Voynov and Anze Kopidor Kopitar both hit the post in the first and it seemed things might start going in the Devils' favour.
Second Period: This period was more of the Kings domination. They outshot the Devils 7-3 in the middle frame and the Devils had just one shot on goal (coming with just over a minute left in the second) since 6 minutes in. But at the beginning of the period, the Devils did play solid hockey including one of those oh-my-goodness-how-the-hell-did-Ilya-Kovalchuk-miss-that-tap-in-from-one-inch-away-with-the-net-wide-open plays. I truly believe that the Kings could have won that game in the second period if it weren't for Martin Brodeur playing like it's his last chance for the Cup. The dude last night was unbelievable and pretty much stole the game for Jersey, specifically in the second period.
Third Period: This period was more back-and-forth, evenly matched play.
One story going into game 4 was whether or not the Devils will score a legitimate goal this series. In game 1, their only goal was scored off of Slava Voynov's shoulder and their only goal in game 2 was a freak deflection from about 9 feet away from the net. After getting shut out in game 3, people were wondering if we'd see a clean goal for New Jersey.
Patrik Elias gave us our answer.
It was a wonderful shift by New Jersey's second line (more on that later) that pinned LA in their own zone. I mentioned in my series preview that Dainius Zubrus really had to use his size in this series in order to help NJ and he did so on this goal. His play behind the net, (staying strong on his feet, staying with the puck) was nothing short of clutch and exactly what the Devils were looking for, somebody to make a play. And then Elias was in perfect position to clean up the rebound giving the Devils their first lead of the series.
However, what happened next made me pretty upset.
Rarely do we see a call that EVERYBODY agrees upon. The Devils fans, the impartial fans, the analysts, and Barry Melrose.
54 seconds after the Devils goal, David Clarkson was called for boarding (no, King bandwagoners. Boarding is NOT when someone rides a skateboard through the neutral zone).
The video will be shown in a moment, but just to explain, David Clarkson literally brushes up along side Dustin Brown, gives him a bump, and the ref's arm shoots up to make the call.
As I said, people were outraged by that call. Ex-Devil, current analyst Ken Danueko wrote on Twitter moments later: "Ref should be ashamed, in a Stanley Cup Final you call that, ridiculous!" The respected SI writer, Peter King, also voiced his opinion after the hit, "The ref's name should go on the Cup when the Kings win it. He's the King's MVP so far tonight." This call would be atrocious even in a regular season game, rather than a Stanley Cup Final game, where the whistle is understandably swallowed.
And almost as if the hockey gods weren't watching the game (they weren't), the Kings scored just SECONDS after the powerplay started.
Brad Doty (WHY DO I KEEP DOING THAT?!?!) Drew Doughty picked up his 14th point of the playoffs on this hard shot through traffic. And yes, in case you're wondering, I DID flip the table in my TV room after this happened.
This was what impressed me most about the Devils though, last night. True, there play overall yesterday was pretty good especially considering that mostly everybody figured they'd crumple. But remaining your cool after a brutally awful call leads to a game-tying goal is tough. But the Devils did just that. They played great puck-control hockey after the Kings' gift goal and it paid off about 7 minutes after the Doughty tally.
This play was picture-perfect for the Devils.
It all started with Mark Fayne's genius play at the red line. As the puck comes to Dwight Kings stick, Fayne steps up and rubs him off the puck. This was a great play by him because he knew how much support he had behind him and knew there was no harm in doing so. This, by and large, made up for the missed empty net Fayne had in game 1. Way to go, hockey gods!
Next, Alexei Ponikarovsky (more on him later) made the genius play of recognizing that Fayne needed support and dropped back to regather the puck and wasted no time in no-looking a backhand pass to a wide open David Clarkson sitting at the blue line.
Next Clarkson made the great pass over to Henrique, a big point for Clarkson after getting nailed for an undeserved penalty that led to the tying goal (hockey gods, again). As Martin Brodeur said, it was about time somebody made a play and made a nice pass entering the zone as opposed to just dumping it in as the Devils had been doing until then.
And then it was Calder finalist Adam Henrique (more on him later) who somehow kicked the not-so-perfect pass over to his stick before rifling it off of the post and in.
Every part of the play was perfect for the Devils and I feel the hockey gods turned on the TV just in time to make this happen. (yes, but then they shut it off after that as evident to the least deserving Devil on the ice, Ilya Kovalchuk, getting credited for the empty-netter)
So do the Devils actually have a chance of pulling this thing off?
We've seen the Devils build off of strong wins in the past couple of rounds. After a game 2 demolishing of the Philadelphia Flyers in the second round, the Devils didn't lose another game, winning 4 straight. And in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Rangers, the Devils won 3 straight games to close it out after a big game 4 win. So the question is, do the Devils have what it takes to make another run to close out a series after a big win?
Well to start, let's look at the dynamic of this series.
As Bob McKenzie pointed out last night, game 4 could have been between the Devils and Kings with the Devils up 2-1. Games 1 and 2 were so unbelievably close that the 3-0 series lead didn't exactly portray the story of the series. So all the Devils really have to do is continue playing the way they have been and they'll at least have a chance to win.
Now let's look at players who have some kind of experience in 3 games to none comebacks.
It's only been done 3 times in NHL history, once in the Stanley Cup Finals (Toronto in '42 (in the Finals), Islanders in '75, and Flyers in '10). Zach Parise's father, J.P. Parise, was on that New York Islanders squad who came back in 1975 against Pittsburgh. Zach talked to his Dad before game 4 about that series and got the vintage cliche', take it one game at a time. Zach said that it was helpful as his Dad pointed out that it was indeed possible and that he and Devils' Colour Commentator Chico Resch are walking proofs.
Two Los Angeles Kings players were on the 2010 Philadelphia team that came back just 2 short years ago. Mike Richards and Jeff Carter know what it took to make the comeback and have a chance of being on the other side of it if they don't change things.
And last, but certainly not least, Devils' rookie sensation and Mr. Clutch, Adam Henrique, did it back in 2009. The Windsor Spitfire of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) found themselves down 3 games to none to the hand of the Kitchener Rangers. Adam said that the team played by the "1 game at a time" rule and never really lost hope. Henrique was a big part of that Windsor team and even had a goal in the game 7 victory to advance.
This Devils team has done a great job all postseason in winning big games. They've had a short memory of losses and that has been huge for them up until now. This team plays with a lot of heart (thanks to captain Zach Parise who never gives anything less than 100% and leads by example) and will undoubtedly give it their all until one team has 4 wins.
Mostly everyone on the team has been saying the whole "1 game at a time" thing in press conferences and interviews but it feels that the players think they can really pull this off. When you look at their performance in game 4, you didn't see a desperate team or a hopeless team. You saw a team that was trying to win a hockey game. And that's what did it.
So don't count the Devils out yet. They still have a mountain to climb and I'm sure LA will come back stronger back in New Jersey and will do their best not to let the Devils back into the series. But this should be, and hopefully it will, for hockey's sake, an interesting battle from here on out.
Notes:
-The Kings now have a chance of breaking the all time road wins record in a playoff campaign. The record is shared at 10 road wins by Calgary in 2004 and New Jersey in 1995, and 2000. The Kings 10th road win came in game 2 in New Jersey and now have a chance to break the record.
-In the New Jersey Devils' 30 year history, they've been involved in 43 playoff series. Shockingly, they have never been swept in a single one, something that continued after their game 4 win last night.
-Everybody knows Ilya Kovalchuk is injured yet still playing, thus ruining the flow of their powerplay AND their top line. In last night things almost got worse when Zach Parise's foot got banged up pretty badly along the boards. He appeared to be better later on but this blow wouldn't be too good for the Devils who need healthy players.
-Simon Gagne, Trevor Lewis, and Dustin Penner, twice, all had breakaways last night for LA. Brodeur made a nice kick save on Gagne, forced Trevor Lewis to backhand it just wide of the net, stopped Penner the first time around and forced Penner to shoot wide the second time around. All failed opportunities that LA has GOT TO capitalize on.
-Going into game 4, most people expected LA to finish the job against New Jersey. The consensus was, however, that if Martin Brodeur stood on his head, New Jersey could win it. Brodeur did all that and almost better for them in, perhaps, his strongest game of the playoffs. Marty made HUGE, timely saves and gave the Devils the chance to win. Although he might return next season, this is most likely the legend's last run for the Cup and he's been enjoying it. Also, with this win, he's most likely the leading candidate for the Devils to win the Conn Smythe.
-Like I said earlier, the most important thing about the Devils last night was their composure in an elimination game. The King fans were loud the whole night but the Devils were not rattled by the pressure. They impressed me even more when they still played strong hockey after the awful penalty and powerplay goal and for that effort alone, deserved to win this game.
-The Devils made 2 lineup changes for last night. The first was that Petr Sykora, the leading, active Stanley Cup Finals goal scorer, was getting in the lineup after being replaced after game 3 in the series against New York. I felt the move was 1) a move to inspire the team and 2) to build a line up. It inspired the team because Petr Sykora was a tryout in training camp this season and impressed the squad enough to earn him a spot. The old vet had a solid season and now was placed in the lineup in a SCF game, something important to him. And now the point I want to get to, Sykora's line last night with Patrik Elias and Dainius Zubrus was just about the best line out there last night. They are a puck-control line who cycle the puck better than most other lines in the league and did their job last night and got a huge goal for them. Expect to see it again in game 5.
-The other lineup change was another emotional one for the Devils as Henrik Tallinder played his first game in many months after suffering a blood clot in his leg mid-season. Tallinder is a solid defenseman and is very strong defensively. I think it wasn't for a better fit in the lineup due to the fact that the man Tallinder replaced, rookie Peter Harrold, was doing a fine job on defense anyway. But the fact that Tallinder made an unexpected return was probably to spark a big game from the team. And as expected, Tallinder did a fine job (and thank god we didn't see this from him, as we did earlier in the season)
-It just seems that whenever the Devils need a big goal, they turn to Adam Henrique. Henrique has 4 goals this postseason, 3 of them being GWG's. Two goals were in game 7 in round one against Florida, one of them being in double OT. Then he scored one of the biggest goals in Devils' history, the OT clinching goal against the Rangers. And now he gets another big one, a game winning goal in the Stanley Cup Finals for the Devils. Henrique now has the most points in Devils history for a rookie in the playoffs (12). POWER OF THE STACHE!
-Alexei Ponikarovsky has continued his clutch play for the Devils last night. He has 7 points in these playoffs and has quietly been really clutch for the Devils. Out of those 7 points, 4 of them have been involved in a game winning goal (1 goal, 3 assists)
-The Kings powerplay, which was at 8.1% going into this series, has heated up recently. After going oh-for in the first two games, they netted 2 powerplay goals in game 3 and had a HUGE powerplay goal to tie up the game last night. They've started seeing some good chances and are now up to 10.8% and could be a good tool to use later on in the series.
-The hockey gods must have been surfing the channels last night as they were there at times and not there for the others. The hockey gods were nowhere to be found when LA capitalized on their undeserved powerplay. Next was Bryce Salvador getting 2 points on a night where he was almost the downfall for the Devils (refer to the next point). Then Ilya Kovalchuk, who looked like a cardboard cutout most of the night, scored the empty netter, something he didn't at all earn or deserve. But the hockey gods did some good when Mark Fayne made a big play, atoning for his empty net miss in game 1 and giving Clarkson an assist after he got nailed for that weak penalty call that led to the Kings' first goal. But most importantly, the hockey gave the Devils the W and sent the series back to Jersey.
-Last, but not least, Bryce Salvador's interesting playoff campaign has continued. Salvador had 2 ridiculously stupid, undisciplined penalties in a time when the Devils couldn't afford it. He was the one guy on the Devils who I was disappointed with, in that respect. Defensively, he had another solid game, now lining with Anton Volchenkov. But what's been the story with him, is the offense he's supplied. He tacked on another two assists last night. After having 9 points in 82 regular season games this year, he has 13 points in 22 games played in the playoffs. And guess what. Salvad'Orr is just 1 point behind Drew Doughty for the lead in defenseman scoring. (Salvador's a free agent this summer. Look for him to cash in, big time)
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