Devils In-Depth: Rd 1 Gm 1 Recap

The New Jersey Devils and Carolina Hurricanes opened their playoff series last night to a packed house and rowdy crowd, myself included among them. Entering the game, all of the talk around the NHL was that Carolina was going to romp the Devils with their speed and skill, so much so that it would no longer be considered an upset if this #6 seed defeated the 3rd seeded Devils. Once the game began, however, the Devils made it clear that they were ready to play.

Despite not scoring until late in the first period, the Devils swarmed Cam Ward for most of the first period after a brief patch where the puck seemed glued to Carolina’s sticks. New Jersey, however, weathered the storm—yes, pun intended—and at 16:03 of the first period, Mike Mottau capitalized on a Hurricanes turnover by flinging the puck at the net and catching Ward off guard. The Devils took a 1-0 lead into the first intermission.

Historically this season, the Devils had followed up terrific first periods with utterly mediocre second periods, but tonight they took the ice with the same fervor they had started with. Again, save for the inability to clear the zone for minutes at a time, the Devils controlled the play for most of the second. Some outstanding work on the cycle paid off, as Travis Zajac fed Zach Parise who threw one on net that beat Ward far side. Now playing with a two goal lead, the Devils smelled blood in the water and continued to throw everything at the net. Shortly after Zajac blasted a headhunter that actually made Cam Ward duck for cover, a quick line change set up Brian Gionta feeding Patrik Elias, who proceeded to launch an absolute laser right over Ward, and the Devils hit the locker room up 3-0.

Surely, you would think, the Devils would sit back and attempt to protect their three goal lead, but this was not the case. Finally, Brent Sutter’s constant calling for not sitting back paid off, as the team continued to press throughout the third. Carolina finally got on the board when the puck took an awkward bounce of Martin Brodeur and landed on the tape of Ray Whitney, who was perfectly positioned to pounce on his chance with little contention. But just when you thought the Devils’ spirits were broken, captain Jamie Langenbrunner charged up the ice and thirty seconds later, snapped one in behind Ward to restore the three goal lead. From that point forward until the final buzzer, the Devils remarkably did not let up. They continued to apply pressure, including a last-second shot from Johnny Oduya.

A 4-1 victory, a 1-0 series lead, and a game in which the “new” Devils executed their style to perfection; solid defensively, yes, but plenty of forechecking to boot, and rarely if at all sitting back and waiting. As the old saying goes, your best players have to be your best players, and with Parise, Elias, and Langenbrunner all tallying goals, this was certainly the case tonight. The Devils were 32-4-1 during the regular season when Elias and Parise each recorded at least a point, and as such their playoff success hinges tremendously on the team’s top two forwards producing at a consistent rate.

Just one win out of the required four, but the Devils have every reason to be happy with their effort. Carolina will surely come out angrier in Game 2, and the Devils need to be prepared for that. It will be challenging, but if the Devils can continue to put out similar efforts, it will be hard to beat them.

Game 1 Three Stars:
1st: Jamie Langenbrunner
2nd: Zach Parise
3rd: Mike Mottau

Devils Lead Series, 1-0