The Devils fell 3-0 to the New York Rangers Monday night in the opening game of the Eastern Conference Finals. In professional hockey, a three goal differential can be considered a bit lopsided to some who only had the opportunity to view the final score. Though it may be common to consider a “close game” one that is decided by two goals or fewer, this game was significantly closer than a bottom-screen ticker or a highlight reel may imply.
For starters, neither team put a goal on the board until the third period. The match was clearly a battle of defenses until Rangers’ Defenseman, Dan Girardi, took the offensive lead with a one-timer past Martin Brodeur 53 seconds in. The Rangers didn’t exactly pour on the offense with the traditional 5-on-5 in the proceeding minutes, either. Their second and third goals took more than half a period to arrive, and aside a power play goal from Chris Kreider at12:00, Anton Anisimov’s empty-netter was the extent of the Rangers’ scoring. Nevertheless, the first and second periods displayed a plethora of hits, blocked shots, and saves evident on both sides of the ice.
It may be difficult to convince anyone supporting Game 1’s home team, but the first two periods saw mostly the Devils controlling the puck and the overall tempo of the game.
The only player the Devils could not stop throughout Game 1’s entirety happened to be the one making the stops against them. Henrik Lundqvist was quite immaculate stopping all 21 of the Devils shots throughout the game. In what might someday be looked at as “Henrique vs. Henrik,” it was Lundqvist denying Devils’ rookie Adam Henrique’s first period wrist shot with a pretty glove save. Though the Rangers’ goalie is largely credited for his role advancing the Rangers to this series, he is human enough to have given up three goals at least once during these 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Washington Capitals proved it possible by defeating Lundqvist on three goals in Game 4 of the preceding series.
The Devils know first-hand that Lundqvist is very human. Lest we forget, the Devils found the back of the net four times against Lundqvist on March 6th. In a scoring pattern similar to the Rangers on Monday night, three of those Devils’ goals March 6th also came in the third period.
Questions remain about where the Devils need to improve going in to Game 3. As stated, the team seemed like they had not missed a skate in the first few periods of Game 1. Speculation is that the Devils appeared worn down by the third period, and the fatigue might have led to their three goal demise. If this may have been the case, the Devils must assess various methods of distributing their energy levels to appropriate portions of Game 2. An even allocation of energy for each period might suffice, but conserving more octanes for a full-throttle, third period attack might be more suitable. Regardless, they must keep a high enough charge for the third period in case it is a lead they will be protecting.
Maybe energy management is not the right topic to discuss. Perhaps the real solution to drawing this series even could be to just go out and play solid, Devils hockey. It could be so, and keeping the Rangers from going up two games might require more instinct than thinking. It must require something to win four straight games following an opening game, Semi-Finals loss to the Philadelphia Flyers. The Devils will need to harness the composure utilized in Game 2 versus Philadelphia to help tie this series and head back to Newark.
Where there is a will, there is a way to break through Henrik Lundqvist. The Devils will not be far from home as they prep for Game 2 against the Rangers. The warmth and cheers of home will be right behind them with echoes of “LET’S GO DEVILS!” from across the Lincoln Tunnel. If those echoes repeat loud enough in the minds of the Devils’ players, they will overcome a Madison Square Garden crowd and come home to a split series. The match up continues from New York tomorrow at 8 PM, ET.
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