Gatekeeper: New Jersey goalie Martin Brodeur defends against New York's Brandon Prust in the third period of Game 2 on Wednesday night. The Devils edged the Rangers 3-2 to even the series 1-1. APNEW YORK — The New Jersey Devils quickly changed the game plan: instead of letting the New York Rangers block their shots, they decided to deflect some themselves.It worked twice, and the Eastern Conference finals are all even, as a result.David Clarkson scored a tip-in goal off Adam Henrique's shot 2:31 into the third period to break a tie and lift the Devils to a 3-2 victory over the Rangers that squared the series at one game apiece on Wednesday night."It's a very hard building to play in, and 1-1 sounds much better than down 2-0," Devils captain Zach Parise said. "We're happy. We would have liked to have snuck out of here with two wins, but it didn't happen."We'll take 1-1."For the third straight series, the Rangers are wondering what went wrong in Game 2 after they took the opener. They stressed how important it would be to grab a 2-0 lead, which would have been their first two-game edge in this postseason, but didn't provide the necessary effort to get it done.New York was riding high after its 3-0 series-opening win on Monday night, but now has relinquished home-ice advantage again."You need to improve as a hockey team every game," said succinct and disappointed coach John Tortorella, who declined to say what areas were deficient.Game 3 will be Saturday in New Jersey.Clarkson built off the momentum created by Ryan Carter's deflected goal late in the second that tied the game, 2-2.Ilya Kovalchuk had given the Devils a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal in the first. Defenseman Bryce Salvador added two assists, and Martin Brodeur stopped 23 saves for his 108th playoff win.Clarkson has three goals in this postseason, and every one has been a winner, including the clincher against Philadelphia in Game 5 of the second round."Mr. Clutch? I don't know about that," Clarkson said. "I'm going to skate up and down and finish the checks and just bounce off people. It's just a great feeling to be able to contribute. To get a tip on that felt pretty good."New Jersey had 26 attempted shots blocked in Game 1, five more than they got through to goalie Henrik Lundqvist. The Devils cut the blocks to 16 on Wednesday and managed to get 27 on goal — two more than New York."That team blocks so many shots," Clarkson said. "It's unbelievable how many. I think we found a way to shoot it and get sticks on it, and definitely that was big for us."Marc Staal and Chris Kreider scored power-play goals in the second for the top-seeded Rangers, who received 24 saves by Lundqvist.New Jersey got even at 2-2 when Salvador wound up for a shot at the blue line and fired a drive that Carter — with his back to the net — brilliantly deflected past Lundqvist with 1:51 left in the second. Marian Gaborik stood up straight in front of Salvador, but didn't drop down as many of his teammates have to try to block the shot. For that, he was pinned to the bench by Tortorella, even through New York's power play in the third.Gaborik returned to the ice with 8:40 remaining as the Rangers pressed to tie.The Devils kept the pressure on New York at the start of the third and wiped out the good work the Rangers displayed in the second.
Friday, May 18, 2012
Deflections help Devils rally to even series with Rangers
Gatekeeper: New Jersey goalie Martin Brodeur defends against New York's Brandon Prust in the third period of Game 2 on Wednesday night. The Devils edged the Rangers 3-2 to even the series 1-1. APNEW YORK — The New Jersey Devils quickly changed the game plan: instead of letting the New York Rangers block their shots, they decided to deflect some themselves.It worked twice, and the Eastern Conference finals are all even, as a result.David Clarkson scored a tip-in goal off Adam Henrique's shot 2:31 into the third period to break a tie and lift the Devils to a 3-2 victory over the Rangers that squared the series at one game apiece on Wednesday night."It's a very hard building to play in, and 1-1 sounds much better than down 2-0," Devils captain Zach Parise said. "We're happy. We would have liked to have snuck out of here with two wins, but it didn't happen."We'll take 1-1."For the third straight series, the Rangers are wondering what went wrong in Game 2 after they took the opener. They stressed how important it would be to grab a 2-0 lead, which would have been their first two-game edge in this postseason, but didn't provide the necessary effort to get it done.New York was riding high after its 3-0 series-opening win on Monday night, but now has relinquished home-ice advantage again."You need to improve as a hockey team every game," said succinct and disappointed coach John Tortorella, who declined to say what areas were deficient.Game 3 will be Saturday in New Jersey.Clarkson built off the momentum created by Ryan Carter's deflected goal late in the second that tied the game, 2-2.Ilya Kovalchuk had given the Devils a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal in the first. Defenseman Bryce Salvador added two assists, and Martin Brodeur stopped 23 saves for his 108th playoff win.Clarkson has three goals in this postseason, and every one has been a winner, including the clincher against Philadelphia in Game 5 of the second round."Mr. Clutch? I don't know about that," Clarkson said. "I'm going to skate up and down and finish the checks and just bounce off people. It's just a great feeling to be able to contribute. To get a tip on that felt pretty good."New Jersey had 26 attempted shots blocked in Game 1, five more than they got through to goalie Henrik Lundqvist. The Devils cut the blocks to 16 on Wednesday and managed to get 27 on goal — two more than New York."That team blocks so many shots," Clarkson said. "It's unbelievable how many. I think we found a way to shoot it and get sticks on it, and definitely that was big for us."Marc Staal and Chris Kreider scored power-play goals in the second for the top-seeded Rangers, who received 24 saves by Lundqvist.New Jersey got even at 2-2 when Salvador wound up for a shot at the blue line and fired a drive that Carter — with his back to the net — brilliantly deflected past Lundqvist with 1:51 left in the second. Marian Gaborik stood up straight in front of Salvador, but didn't drop down as many of his teammates have to try to block the shot. For that, he was pinned to the bench by Tortorella, even through New York's power play in the third.Gaborik returned to the ice with 8:40 remaining as the Rangers pressed to tie.The Devils kept the pressure on New York at the start of the third and wiped out the good work the Rangers displayed in the second.
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