Devils In-Depth - Rd 1 Gm 6 Recap

Jamie Langenbrunner was rusty and the rest of the Devils played uninspired in a 4-0 loss to the Hurricanes, forcing a Game 7 Tuesday night in Newark.

Even if the Devils had showed up with some fire, intensity, and a desire to end the series while they have Carolina on the ropes, it’s hard to match the intensity of a team with their backs against the wall. That’s not an excuse, however, because the Devils came out looking as if they would much rather win the series on home ice. They got off to a fine start, but Dainius Zubrus taking a bad penalty set the tone for the rest of the game. Two of Carolina’s goals came on the powerplay, and the Devils never really mounted any serious pressure on Cam Ward after that first penalty.

This blog will be short because it does not take a novel to describe their efforts tonight. The Devils were lazy, bored, rusty…call it what you will. They are flat out lucky Marty Brodeur came to play. With the kind of help he was getting, he cannot be blamed for any of the Hurricanes’ goals. The point is that the Devils had better come out with an otherworldly effort on Tuesday. They had their foot on Carolina’s throat and let them get up, and now Carolina has the opportunity to do the same. Only they actually have the guts to step down hard.

I am flat out disgusted with the Devils’ “effort” in Game 6, and I hope they decide that on Tuesday that playing hockey is more important than playing golf. Clearly, they’re more interested in summer vacation right now.

Three Stars
1st: Ray Whitney
2nd: Eric Staal
3rd: Tim Gleason

Series Tied, 3-3