New Jersey Devils win to Stay Alive!

The post-season has been all about the Los Angeles Kings but last night in the Staples Center, it was the New Jersey Devils that took center stage. Down by three in the Final and looking at not only elimination, but also having to watch the Stanley Cup handed over to their now-bitter rivals, the Devils were fighting for their lives, and they knew it. They played like it. And they won.

The Devils not only won the game, they also got their first goal of the Final — and it came with just over ten minutes left in the third period. In the Kings’ end, and after having played an entire exhausting shift, it was Patrik Elias that capitalized on a rebound off of Jonathan Quick to put it past him. It was the first goal for the Devils, and their first lead in the series. It’s unfortunate that it only lasted for one minute and two seconds.

It was then that forward David Clarkson threw a huge hit on Kings’ captain Dustin Brown, and went to the box for it. Drew Doughty took full advantage of the opportunity and put one past Devils’ goal-minder, Marty Brodeur. That tied the game at 1 and it remained so until there were just over four minutes left in regulation when Adam Henrique made a huge goal for his team to put the Devils up 2-1. Ilya Kovalchuk scored the last goal of the night for the Devils, on an empty net, nad with just seconds left in the game.

Now, it goes back to Jersey where Game 5 will play out on Saturday night. The Devils are still down by 2, and the Kings are still undefeated on the road. Should L.A. win on Saturday, they can add one more broken record to their tally sheets — the most road victories in Game 5 in the history of the NHL. They probably won’t be thinking about that as they’re handed the Cup though.

Categorized in: NHL