NEWARK, N.J. -- If the New Jersey Devils are going to come all the way back from a three-game deficit in the Stanley Cup Final they're going to need a few things to go their way. A lot of them did on Saturday night during the 2-1 win over the Kings, pushing the series back to Los Angeles for a Game 6 on Monday night.It wasn't their best performance of the playoffs, but it was good enough.
"I thought we survived out there," said Devils goalie Martin Brodeur. "I don't think we played our greatest game, but we found a way to win."
If you were expecting the Devils to be the desperate team off the opening faceoff and come out with a fast start in the first period, well, you would have been mistaken. It was actually the Kings that came out flying early in the game and really took the play to New Jersey early on, establishing their presence in the offensive zone and constantly attacking. The Devils relied on Brodeur to bail them out, and as he's done so many times throughout his brilliant Hall of Fame career he was there when they needed him most.
"I thought they controlled the first period," said Devils coach Pete DeBoer. "They were the better team in the first period, which was a little surprising. I don't know whether it was nerves for us or what. But they controlled the period. Marty made some big saves for us. We capitalized on a mistake. But it's nice that we're finding some holes in them right now.
But for as sloppy as they were early on they still came out of the first period with a 1-0 lead (and the all important first goal, which has been scored by the winning team in every game this series) thanks to the mistake mentioned by DeBoer. It was a rare mistake from Kings goalie Jonathan Quick as he attempted to clear the puck around the boards. Instead of going around the wall and out of danger, it ended up finding the stick of Devils forward Zach Pariseas he was finally able to pot his first goal of the series.
| Game 5: Kings-Devils | ||
| Related links | ||
|
||
| More NHL coverage | ||
DeBoer has talked extensively throughout this series this his big guns offensively (Parise, Ilya Kovalchuk) have been getting chances and were on the verge of breaking out at any moment, and it was a perfect time for Parise to get on the board. Especially after he had been facing some criticism for his lack of production to this point in the series.
"I go into every game expecting Zach to do something big," said Deboer. "He's that type of player. I think you guys just pissed him off. That's all. Keep doing it."
But that wasn't the only play that went the Devils way on Saturday.
The game-winning goal, which was credited to the suddenly unstoppable offensive force that is Bryce Salvador(!) was just an innocent looking wrist shot from the point that found its way through traffic to beat Quick in the second period.
There were also a few near misses for the Kings, including a couple from their best player on the night, forward Justin Williams. He narrowly missed converting on a chance in the first period when he had an open net to aim for, but was just late getting back into the play because he had lost his stick and had to chase it down. Just before that he fired a rocket of a wrist shot off the post behind Brodeur following a brutal turnover in the neutral zone by New Jersey.
It was one of many turnovers on the night for New Jersey, and they all seemed to end one of two ways: the Kings failing to convert, or Martin Brodeur simply making a huge save.
"We played a real poor first period," said DeBoer. "I don't know why. Again, I'd like to chalk it up to maybe nerves or being at home. I'm not sure. I give L.A. some credit. I thought they had a fantastic first period. But we can't afford to play 20 minutes of hockey like that again or we're playing with fire."
Williams would eventually score the Kings only goal of the night firing a similar shot from just between the circles.
"I don't think I would have changed much about the way we played," said Kings defenseman Rob Scuderi. "We generated some good offense, except for maybe five or 10 minutes in the second period where I thought they had momentum, but for the most part I thought we executed our gameplan pretty well."
Now the series shifts back to Los Angeles. The Kings are still one win away from their first ever Stanley Cup, and the Devils still believe they not only have what it takes to win, but also that they never played as poorly as their three-game deficit would have indicated. And at times this series, they haven't.
"I've been singing the same tune since Game 1," said DeBoer. "I said even when we were down 3-0 that I didn't feel that the series was that lopsided. Our best players were our best players tonight -- Brodeur and Parise, Kovalchuk. That's the key this time of year."
As for the Kings? Still no panic on their end.
"It's a series," said Scuderi. "They got their second win. We have three. As disappointing as it is you have to put it behind you. I don't deny the fact we're disappointed but I don't think we're at the point of panic."
For more hockey news, rumors and analysis, follow @EyeOnHockey and @agretz on Twitter and like us on Facebook.
