NEWARK, NJ – As the Stanley Cup Final advances to Game Five, an edge in physical play from the last game carries over to New Jersey’s favor and an effort to set the tone early is on both team’s agenda. After one-hundred games, the physical and psychological drain is starting to be felt, but both clubs know this is the price to pay in order to become a champion.
The Devils return to the Prudential Center with new life after drawing first blood in the third period of Wednesday’s game and holding on registering a 3-1 victory to get back into the series. New Jersey exposed a few weaknesses in the Los Angeles defense and look to continue on a path to advance the series.
In Game Three, the Kings had the edge in hits, but in Game Four, the Devils turned the tables on Los Angeles by a wide margin. Devils coach Peter DeBoer was asked if he felt there was a relationship between the increased hits by the Devils and the victory.
“ I think the discrepancy; you’re probably talking 10 hits a night. Both teams are playing physical. I don’t think that’s going to be the determining factor. Everyone’s playing hard out there. It’s a physical series. There’s a lot of puck battles. There’s a lot of fight for territory in the corners, in the front of the net. I don’t think there’s a correlation. I think tonight both teams will come out and be real physical.”
Knowing it will be important to get the upper hand early in the game and be helped by the electricity of the home crowd, DeBoer was asked how important the first ten minutes of the game was, to maybe score the game’s first goal.
“Yeah, it’s important. The first goal’s important. Again, I don’t think there’s any secret that we won the last game because for the first time in the series we found a way to get some momentum. It hasn’t been for lack of effort. I think we’ve pushed hard enough in first periods of games in this series to grab the lead at different points. But Quick either has made a big save or they made a good defensive play to keep us off the board. That momentum is important, for sure.”
In attempting to put a finger on what would be a determining factor in Game Five, DeBoer said, “I just think both teams are going to be physical. I think, you know, probably what’s going to decide this game, like all the games, is execution, who executes, who can finish a play, get a goal, who can score on the power play, who can execute the best all over the ice. It’s not one thing. You get to this point, you’ve got two good teams that play good in all three zones. It’s who executes the best.”
In racing out to a three games to none series lead, Los Angeles coach Daryl Sutter was asked if the Kings had played their best game yet. Sutter responded, “I think from a coaching standpoint, you’re always looking for your team’s best game. And I never question our team’s effort.”
Propelling the Kings to their success in the post-season has been their 10-0 record on the road, a winning streak that if extended tonight to break the NHL record will also clinch the Kings first ever Stanley Cup Championship. Sutter was asked if the perfect road record would come into his team’s mindset at all. Sutter responded, “ You know what, the only time I think about it is when you bring it up. Because, again, it’s game days, right? Doesn’t really matter. As I said, the players want to play. I don’t think it would matter where they were playing.”
In missing the opportunity to win the series in Game Four and all the pressure on the Kings to deliver in that game, Sutter was asked if he felt like some of the pressure has been relieved. He responded, “Y ou know, I don’t think there’s any pressure on our team at all. You’ve asked that 165 times. The only pressure that the players should feel, or that you try to convey to them, is the pressure they put on themselves to be as good as they can be. That’s not a team function. I mean, that’s why teams are still playing, because it’s not a pressure, it’s like a good place.”
Both teams are ready to decide Game Five and it should be a physical, tight-checking match.
Contact: dennis.morrell@prohockeynews.com
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