Heading into Sunday night’s Eastern Conference quarterfinal with the Carolina Hurricanes, the Devils have had an anemic 0–5 record against the ‘Canes in overtime games, including their loss on Friday night.
Just as they did in Game 2, both teams played through the third period in a tie and headed into overtime on Sunday night. For Devils fans, this was time to reach for the pacemaker.
On this night though, the sixth time would be a charm as Devils winger Travis Zajac put a rebound past ‘Canes netminder Cam Ward sealing the Devils’ 3–2 overtime victory, and quieting the home crowd at the RBC Center in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Early in the first period, the Devils got on the scoreboard first as Zach Parise beat Carolina netminder Cam Ward with a deft deflection of a point shot.
Twenty-one seconds later, the ‘Canes fourth line would tie the game when winger Ryan Bayda beat Devils defenseman Niclas Havelid to the puck and shot it past Martin Brodeur with a crowd in front of the net.
The Devils would strike back with under nine seconds left in the first period as Devils winger Brian Gionta made one of the most heads up plays of the game, stealing the puck away from defenseman Joe Corvo in front of the Carolina net, making a great move and then putting it past Ward.
The Devils got a lot of good pressure from their fourth line for most of the game and received support from their defensemen, notably Bryce Salvador who returned in the second period after being struck in the face with a puck late in the first.
New Jersey’s resolve was tested with about five minutes remaining in the second period as Carolina gained a 5-on-3 man advantage off a penalty from defenseman Paul Martin.
The Devils did well in killing the power-play and withstood a barrage of shots. But just as it ended, the ‘Canes’ Chad LaRose beat Brodeur with a quick shot in front of traffic and evened the game at 2–2.
New Jersey came into this game knowing they had to play smart hockey and keep themselves out of the penalty box, especially since this was their first road game of the series. They slacked off a bit in the second period and seemed to self-destruct due to consecutive penalties to Danius Zubrus, who received two minutes for roughing, and Bobby Holik who got caught for high-sticking. Holik’s penalty contributed to LaRose’s score.
Heading into the third period tied 2–2 and with the crowd in a frenzy, both teams played physical hockey, with the Devils playing most of it in their own end. But they were helped out immensely by Marty Brodeur who made several great saves.
The Devils played this game with plenty of grit and feistiness, some of which was missing in their 2–1 overtime loss in New Jersey, Friday night. The Devils came out on fire in overtime in this game and put pressure on Carolina’s defense before Travis Zajac scored the game winner.
The New York Rangers return to Madison Square Garden Monday night in a very good position up 2–0 over the Washington Capitals in their opening-round series.
Goaltending seems to be the deciding factor in this matchup as Rangers’ netminder Henrik Lundqvist has been playing excellent hockey, stopping 35 shots on Saturday in their 1–0 win in Game 2 and an amazing 67 of 70 shots in the series.
Keep in mind, Lundqvist is doing this against some of the best offensive players in the NHL including the league’s leading goal scorer Alex Ovechkin and Mike Green, the top defenseman in goals and points in the regular season.
The Rangers have also done an excellent job in helping out Lundqvist, blocking 50 shots in the series.
Playing solid defensive hockey, the seventh-seeded Rangers have been doing a fine job in shutting down the firepower of the second-seeded Capitals and that has been the story of this matchup thus far.
Just as they did in Game 2, both teams played through the third period in a tie and headed into overtime on Sunday night. For Devils fans, this was time to reach for the pacemaker.
On this night though, the sixth time would be a charm as Devils winger Travis Zajac put a rebound past ‘Canes netminder Cam Ward sealing the Devils’ 3–2 overtime victory, and quieting the home crowd at the RBC Center in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Early in the first period, the Devils got on the scoreboard first as Zach Parise beat Carolina netminder Cam Ward with a deft deflection of a point shot.
Twenty-one seconds later, the ‘Canes fourth line would tie the game when winger Ryan Bayda beat Devils defenseman Niclas Havelid to the puck and shot it past Martin Brodeur with a crowd in front of the net.
The Devils would strike back with under nine seconds left in the first period as Devils winger Brian Gionta made one of the most heads up plays of the game, stealing the puck away from defenseman Joe Corvo in front of the Carolina net, making a great move and then putting it past Ward.
The Devils got a lot of good pressure from their fourth line for most of the game and received support from their defensemen, notably Bryce Salvador who returned in the second period after being struck in the face with a puck late in the first.
New Jersey’s resolve was tested with about five minutes remaining in the second period as Carolina gained a 5-on-3 man advantage off a penalty from defenseman Paul Martin.
The Devils did well in killing the power-play and withstood a barrage of shots. But just as it ended, the ‘Canes’ Chad LaRose beat Brodeur with a quick shot in front of traffic and evened the game at 2–2.
New Jersey came into this game knowing they had to play smart hockey and keep themselves out of the penalty box, especially since this was their first road game of the series. They slacked off a bit in the second period and seemed to self-destruct due to consecutive penalties to Danius Zubrus, who received two minutes for roughing, and Bobby Holik who got caught for high-sticking. Holik’s penalty contributed to LaRose’s score.
Heading into the third period tied 2–2 and with the crowd in a frenzy, both teams played physical hockey, with the Devils playing most of it in their own end. But they were helped out immensely by Marty Brodeur who made several great saves.
The Devils played this game with plenty of grit and feistiness, some of which was missing in their 2–1 overtime loss in New Jersey, Friday night. The Devils came out on fire in overtime in this game and put pressure on Carolina’s defense before Travis Zajac scored the game winner.
Flyers Win One In Philly
In the other Eastern Conference game played on Sunday, the Philadelphia Flyers pulled their series to 2–1 as they defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 6–3 in front of a raucous home crowd.
Star centers Jeff Carter and Mike Richards both scored early in the game and set the tone as Philly put constant pressure on the Pens and played with a chip on their shoulder for all three periods.
Pittsburgh’s Evgeni Malkin scored two goals for the Pens. Thus far, he has a total of four goals in the opening-round series against Philadelphia.
The Penguins lead the series 2–1 with Game 4 in Philadelphia on Tuesday night.
Rangers Coming Home Up 2–0
The New York Rangers return to Madison Square Garden Monday night in a very good position up 2–0 over the Washington Capitals in their opening-round series.
Goaltending seems to be the deciding factor in this matchup as Rangers’ netminder Henrik Lundqvist has been playing excellent hockey, stopping 35 shots on Saturday in their 1–0 win in Game 2 and an amazing 67 of 70 shots in the series.
Keep in mind, Lundqvist is doing this against some of the best offensive players in the NHL including the league’s leading goal scorer Alex Ovechkin and Mike Green, the top defenseman in goals and points in the regular season.
The Rangers have also done an excellent job in helping out Lundqvist, blocking 50 shots in the series.
Playing solid defensive hockey, the seventh-seeded Rangers have been doing a fine job in shutting down the firepower of the second-seeded Capitals and that has been the story of this matchup thus far.
