What the Devils Must Do To Force Game 7

In NHL history, only 2 teams have ever rallied back from down 3 games to none to force a game 7. The Devils are trying to become to the third team to do this. After losing the first three games to the streaking Kings, the Devils have managed to put together two solid games and make this thing interesting. They've done this, in my opinion, by causing more traffic in front of Jonathan Quick, bumping him and whatnot, and keeping up their intensity, even while behind in the series. Martin Brodeur has also played huge in net for the Devils and people credit him with "stealing" games 4 and 5. Can they keep this up? If they believe, they might be able to. Here's why:

I wrote at full length after game 4, and suggest you look at it quickly, if you haven't yet, about the Devils' chances of coming back. You can read it here. 

For those that are too lazy to go back and read it, I'll copy and paste from that article I wrote:

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.

So after that post, the Devils made things way the hell more interesting with a solid game 5 victory. They looked very sloppy at times and Brodeur bailed them out throughout the contest but they find a way to pull out the 2-1 win. 

So what does that game 5 do on the series? It gives the Devils more confidence. Makes LA more edgy. It also draws more media attention, something needed in this series (as long as it's not the LA media who, as I've documented over and over again, has been terrible picking up on the Kings).

But all this work and speculation will be for not if the Devils do not pull through in tonight's pivotal game 6. The Cup will again be in the house in the Staples Center and one team will be trying to bring the series back to Jersey while the other trying desperately to win it all on home ice, and more importantly avoid another grueling plane ride back to Newark. 

Here's what the Devils need to do if they want to continue their comeback.

Score First

Listen to this intense stat. In the last 17 Stanley Cup Finals games, the team to score first has won. Clearly the first goal will be huge for either team. An early Devils goal will mean quieting the fans and putting even more pressure on the Kings to get things going. If the Devils give up the first goal, it won't be the end of the world. After all the Devils surrendered the first tally in all four wins against Philly in the second round. But if the Kings do score first, they'll regain some much needed confidence and put the pressure back on the Devils to try to figure out Jonathan Quick.

Perfect Goaltending

As a Devils fan, I can say that I haven't seen Brodeur play this well for a really long time, perhaps before the lockout. He has been aggressive when he needs to be, his rebounds have been well placed and well controlled, and ever since game 5 vs. Florida, he's made us feel confident. It may very well be his last run for the Cup and he's more determined than almost anyone else on the team. He's elevated his game even further this round and without him, this series would have been long over. The dude has played so well that people are considering giving him the Conn Smythe Trophy for playoff MVP even in a losing effort. It should be expected, but the Devils NEED two more vintage performances out of Marty if they want a chance at winning the Cup. 

Stay Positive

I'll give you some quotes from the locker room since their game 3 loss:

Zach Parise after game 3 loss: "We’re not going to quit until someone’s won a 4th game, so we start over. We've got to win 4 straight. That’s it."

Martin Brodeur after game 3 loss: "Everybody’s trying really hard. I’m really proud of these guys. We’re not quitting and we’re not going to quit."

Ilya Kovalchuk before game 4: "I’m pretty sure their mindset is to finish and celebrate, but we’re going to do everything possible to not let them do that."

Pete DeBoer before game 5: "Our backs are against the wall, and we've responded each time."

Pete DeBoer before game 5: "You’re not going to go 200 years without someone else doing it (coming back down 3-0 to win the Cup). It’s been long enough. It might as well be us."

Martin Brodeur after game 5 win: "We could have packed it in 2 games ago, but you see we have a bunch of resilient guys that want to try to make history and try to win the Stanley Cup"

stick tap to Tom Gulitti of the Bergen Record for the quotes

The reason I posted these quotes was to show that the Devils have believed since game 3 that they had a shot at winning the series. They've believed, and so have the fans. While mostly everybody else was counting them out, the Devils believed that they had the team to take it all the way. They've showed their resiliency through games 4 and 5. They have to keep up their determination and optimism if they want to win games 6 and 7.

Timely Scoring

The Devils have been blessed thus far with big performances from unlikely sources in key moments. Alexei Ponikarovsky has 8 points in these playoffs, not THAT overwhelming or impressive. But consider that of the 8 points, 5 of them have come on game winning goals, and he's done a whole lot for the team. Adam Henrique has been Mr. Clutch for the Devils, scoring two series-clinching OT goals plus scoring the game winning goal in game 4 that started this comeback. And then there's Bryce Salvador who, believe it or not, is tied for the lead in points among defenseman (14 points along with Drew Doughty). Salvador has NEVER been known for his offense (9 points, no goals in 82 games this season) but has done something with his game to get things going. He's done a great job finding shooting paths and that seems to have done the trick. But it's performances like these that the Devils have been striving on. They'll need to keep this up into game 6.

Remain Calm

Through the first 3 rounds, we saw a New Jersey team that was well disciplined and purely innocent. They would skate away from dirty hits and avoid getting mixed in fights and kept retaliations to a minimum. However, they started showing an undisciplined this round. Bryce Salvador took 2 horrible retaliatory penalties in game 4. They really can't afford taking bad penalties. The Kings powerplay has picked up and can put this series to rest if the Devils give them the opportunity. This was one area that they need to be down on.

Silence the Crowd

The LA crowd has been flat-out awesome in these finals. From their pre-game light, laser show, to their distraction behind Pete DeBoer (she'll be back for game 6, to DeBoer's pleasure). The Devils will benefit mightily from taking the fans out of it. They'll be more comfortable and more confident while the Kings lose their crutch at home ice. There are several ways of doing it. As I mentioned before, an early goal would be a huge help for them. Nothing hurts more to fans than seeing them down early on in a contest. In New Jersey, the Kings outplayed the Devils and made sure the Devils gave their fans nothing to cheer for. The fans were pretty quiet in game 5 and that wasn't very good for the Devils. So the Devils really have to focus on their puck control game deep and defensive stability back in their own zone. If they can dictate play and give the fans nothing to cheer for, they may be in luck.

Limit Turnovers

One area where the Devils need improvement, was there passing and puck handling. We were dominated in the neutral zone and it seemed that we just couldn't connect a pass. The turnovers were tough on us and gave the Kings a lot of opportunities to score. The Devils really can't afford bonehead plays with the puck tonight and if they do, it'll only be a matter of time before LA capitalizes. 

Take Advantage

There are few times when you have your opponent weak and vulnerable to be beat...or made fun of. Here's proof of why the Kings should never win the Stanley Cup. Ever.

Never before has there been such a pathetic display of hockey stars. This is really humiliating for them and the Devils should somehow take advantage of this in games 6 and, perhaps, 7.

These are the things that should be important in tonight's game. If the Devils can get a nice combination of these things, we might still be watching NHL playoffs on Wednesday night. There are other things, like special teams or faceoffs. But I just wanted to write out the ones the Devils NEED to get done. 

Like I said, the talk about history and huge comebacks have been fun. But none of it means anything if they don't finish the job and win the last 2 games.