NEWARK, NJ – With no room for error in order to remain alive in the Stanley Cup Final, the New Jersey Devils took advantage of several newly discovered weaknesses in the Los Angeles Kings defense to win 2-1 in Game Five to send the series back to the West Coast. The Devils brought much more traffic in front of Los Angeles goaltender Jonathan Quick and applied a relentless pressure that seemed to unnerve the usually controlled Kings star.
Led by veteran goaltenders Martin Brodeur who stopped 25 of 26 shots and Zack Parise who scored the game’s first goal, the Devils continued their march to become the first team since the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs to overcome a 3-0 deficit to win the Stanley Cup. The continued high-level of play from Devils defenseman Bryce Salvador on both the defensive and offensive sides of the puck was critical to the New Jersey victory as well. Salvador scored the game-winning goal.
With a packed house which had been generating pent up energy leading up to game time, the game began with a fierce pace right from the start with speed and force displayed from end to end by both teams. Despite the roaring sounds of 17,625 at the Prudential Center, the sound of colliding players being pounded along the glass could be heard.
The Kings came within a whisker of making their mark first. Just two minutes into the game, Los Angeles forward Justin Williams streaked down the left side and sent a wrist shot past Brodeur that clanged off the right post bouncing out of danger. It was a sign of things to come as the Kings were bringing their best effort early and nearly.
A little more than five minutes in, Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur made a clearing attempt that sailed high into the Kings zone toward Kings defenseman Dustin Brown, but he collided with another Kings player during the follow-through. The fallen Brodeur had to quickly recover to stop Brown’s attempt to score while he was down on the ice.
At the seven-minute mark during a race to waive off icing, Kings forward Jeff Carter nearly gave Los Angeles the early lead when he found the puck behind the net near the right post. As Brodeur hugged the left post, Carter attempted to jam it into the open side, but was denied when Brodeur slid across the goal line with his right pad for the save.
One of the better chances for the Devils came at the eight-minute mark when Petr Sykora fed Danius Zubrus up ice. Zubrus sent a pass to a streaking Patrick Elias who was tied up on the play and was slammed hard into the end boards. The inured Elias took several minutes to recover to his feet after the whistle. No penalty was called on the play.
With pressure mounting from the Los Angeles attack, Brodeur had to be at his finest midway through the period. That’s when Jordan Nolan fired two shots from in close. Both were turned aside by Brodeur. Less than a minute later, Brodeur stopped Colin Fraser from close range. The frustration of delivering so much firepower led to frustration by the Kings and the first penalty of the game, a two-minute minor to Willie Mitchell for interference.
The Devils loaded up their power play and put pressure on the Kings defense, but it wasn’t a worthy attack that ended up delivering the game’s first goal. With the puck sliding near the end line, Quick came out to play it. His attempt at firing the puck behind the goal was met with doom when the clearing attempt when off the heel of his stick.
A speeding Zack Parise pursued the errant puck, put it on his stick blade and jammed it into the open side before Quick could slide his left pad across the goalmouth. The Devils had the first goal and an early lead. It was Parise’s first of the series and eighth of the playoffs. The Devils captain was having an impact throughout the period and his persistence paid off.
The Kings buzzed Brodeur the remainder of the period looking to tie the game. A clever drive from Jarret Stoll was one of the most dangerous efforts, but Brodeur turned him aside. A minute later, a key defensive play from Danius Zubrus to disrupt a centering pass ensured the Devils would enter the first intermission with a 1-0 lead.
The Kings outshot New Jersey 7-4 in the period, but New Jersey held the edge in hits 13-10, a testament to the increased physical play that proved helpful in Game Four and seems to be a key to the Devils turnaround in the series.
Los Angeles, having outplayed the Devils in the first period, but having nothing to show for it, finally gained something for their efforts just over three minutes into the second period.
With a quick transition play up ice, Justin Williams crossed center ice and headed across the Devils line while Los Angeles captain Dustin Brown went straight to the goal. Brown waited for the right time to provide a momentary screen in front of Brodeur as Willliams sent a wrister through a mass of bodies and into the net to tie the game. It was Williams fourth goal of the playoffs and brought Los Angeles back into the game.
Less than a minute later, Devils defenseman Anton Volchenkov stepped up on a play leaving Kings left wing Dustin Penner to accept a pass behind the New Jersey defense. It almost proved costly to the Devils. Penner skated in on Brodeur firing a wrist shot the Devils goaltender barely got a piece of before it caromed into the corner.
The Kings continued to press when Jarret Stoll accepted a long pass to enter the Devils zone on a breakaway. New Jersey winger Stephen Gionta tried desperately to interrupt the effort, before Brodeur stood his ground and smothered the rebound.
A minute later, the physical play started getting the better of the Kings. Kings captain Dustin Brown was pounded first by Ilya Kovalchuk along the boards and seconds later by David Clarkson. The weary Brown skated to his bench dazed and certainly aware the Devils were outhitting the Kings at this point and turning the momentum of the game.
That momentum was helped by Devils defenseman Bryce Salvador who continued his stepped-up play. Salvador first fired a shot from the left point toward the Los Angeles net that Quick smartly turned aside. The puck was corralled by Ponikarovsky who slid it over to the right point to a waiting Travis Zajac to avert danger. Zajac continued the cycle and sent the puck Salvador who sent a drive that found its way through several players before finding the back of the Kings goal.
The Devils had regained the lead 2-1. For Salvador, it was his fourth goal of the playoffs and fourteenth point. Salvador is second on the Devils in plus minus at +10.
The lead almost didn’t last, though. Just thirty seconds after Salvavdor’s go-ahead goal, Mark Fayne attempted to clear the puck out of the New Jersey zone and did so by sending it over the glass drawing a two-minute delay of game penalty. Los Angeles gained their first power play of the night.
The Kings nearly tied it when Justin Williams fired a shot on net which Brodeur confidently handled. The rebound popped up into the air where Kings center Jeff Carter swung and struck the puck in mid-air firing into the Devils goal. Officials ruled no goal almost immediately as it was hit with the high stick, but checked to validate their decision and eventually sent the face-off outside the zone with the Devils lead still intact.
The Devils continued to press for a two-goal lead, but Quick saved his best save of the period for Devils forward Ryan Carter. With the puck behind the Kings goal, Devils winger Stephen Gionta battled for the loose puck and then found Ryan Carter all alone in the slot. Gionta sent a crisp pass to Carter who one-timed a blast toward Quick. The Kings netminder kicked out his left pad and punted the puck into the corner. The save kept the game from getting out of hand as New Jersey was starting to control play.
Toward the end of the second period, the momentum New Jersey was starting to gain was slowed when Bryce Salvador took a high-sticking penalty behind the Devils net. On the ensuing man-advantage, Jeff Carter had the Kings best chance when he tried to jam a rebound past Brodeur who kicked out the right pad to deny the Los Angeles sniper.
The Kings continued their assault to end the period and finished leading in shots 17-16. New Jersey continued their lead in the hits department 25-17 and with a 2-1 lead heading into the 2nd intermission.
Los Angeles knew they would have to come out strong to take back control of the game. At the start of the third period, the Kings dominated the first four minutes with six quality shots. Perhaps the best chance was a Jarret Stoll drive from inside the right circle that ringed off the left post. Brodeur was beaten, but the effort didn’t find the net.
Los Angeles continued to press as the period wound to a close. With coincidental roughing minors to Los Angeles’ Dustin Penner and New Jersey’s Alex Poninkarovsky, the extra ice provided the Kings with more room to maneuver. Still, Martin Brodeur stopped everything sent his way including a solid stop to the right of the net with seven seconds remaining.
Devils coach Peter DeBoer was asked w hat was the difference in the last two games and he responded, “ I mean, not a lot of difference. You know, I’ve been singing the same tune since Game 1. 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.”
In that Zach Parise seemed to have a breakout game with good energy and a key goal, DeBoer was asked if he sensed something big was to come from his captain, “Yeah, I mean, I go into every game expecting Zach to do something big. He’s that type of player.”
In a post season where having the type of play out of Bryce Salvador has been a pleasant surprise and the patience he showed on the second goal, DeBoer remarked, “Yeah, that’s something that he’s really kind of mastered here over the last month of the playoffs. He’s had great composure back there for us, getting shots through. We wouldn’t be here without him.”
The Kings head back to Los Angeles where many expected them to close out the series in a four game sweep Wednesday night. Kings coach Daryl Sutter was asked about any extra pressure now to win at home Monday night. “No. I still think we’ll digest tonight and travel. Expect it to be another game like tonight.”
When asked about how close it is between the two teams with no real margin for error, Sutter commented, “ That’s pretty much it. I think if there’s anything, you got to finish your opportunities. You got to work to get ’em, you pretty much have to not give up more than one.”
After having numerous opportunities to take the lead and put the game out of reach, Sutter commented on what really seems to matter in determining the outcome of the games in this series. “The only way to really look at it in the series is the first goal. Whoever scores the first goal, that’s the way it’s been. We scored the first goal in the first three. That tells you just really how close it is.”
The Kings head back to Los Angeles at least a little deflated after failing on two attempts to close out the Final and win their first Stanley Cup. The Devils seem invigorated and ready to get back to play. Winning Game Six on Monday night is first on their agenda before bringing the Final back to New Jersey for a decisive Game Seven.
Contact: dennis.morrell@prohockeynews.com
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