Rock Posted May 13, 2003 Share Posted May 13, 2003 Stan Fischler Two things for Tuesday's Game Two http://www.msgnetwork.com/content_news.jsp...vils&league=nhl May 13, 2003 As the Devils prepare for Game Two of the Conference Finals they must do two things to even the series on Tuesday night at the Corel Centre. 1. They must find Lady Luck and then sign her to a long-term contract at least through this playoff round. 2. They must find the Oleg Tverdovsky for whom they traded, not the unreasonable facsimile now wearing OT's name on his jersey. Let's face it, with a little luck New Jersey could have scratched out an overtime win last Saturday. But as luck would have it, for the second time in two series, a New Jersey defenseman named Scott -- as in Niedermayer -- got whacked in the head by a slapshot. First Scott Stevens versus the Lightning, now Niedermayer. The blow sent Nieder to the dressing room and resulted in the unfortunate Tverdovsky-Stevens pairing that led to the game-winner. For Game Two, Pat Burns is apt to replace OT with Ole Reliable, alias Tommy Albelin, who pinch-hit adequately in past playoff series. Unfortunately that will present the fleet Senators with an old, slow Devils' defense of Stevens, Albelin and Ken Daneyko; which would be a huge gamble. The good news is that Burns remains confident despite a horrendous 0-2 first period that revealed the rust of a long layoff. "We only lost one game," Burns tells me, "There's a lot of hockey to go." I specifically pressed him on the non-production of key gunners, Patrik Elias and Scott Gomez. "They played well," says Burns. "We had a lot of chances." Actually, New Jersey could have gained a huge advantage right off the opening face-off. Both Elias and Brian Gionta were catapulted free but each delivered shots wide of helpless Ottawa goalie Patrick Lalime. "No question," Stevens tells me, "We have to bury shots like those." As I said prior to the series, this is the series where Martin Brodeur must significantly out-goal Patrick Lalime. Brodeur produced several big saves with the score tied the score tied 2-2 but did not appear overwhelmingly sharp on the first two goals. He still could -- I hope -- play better. Against Ottawa only superb performances will suffice; right from the opening face-off. With one game gone, there are two ways of looking at the series through the Devils prism. Pessimist: Ottawa's speed is simply too much for New Jersey to handle and for Brodeur to deliver a "goalie-steal" game. This was evident when the Devs counterattacked to tie but couldn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJDF Posted May 13, 2003 Share Posted May 13, 2003 I'm an optimist!! GO DEVILS!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaDevsFan Posted May 13, 2003 Share Posted May 13, 2003 Me too, Devs win tonight and get the split they need!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sundstrom Posted May 13, 2003 Share Posted May 13, 2003 split puts the pressure on ottawa and they haven't seen pressure since game 2 vs. the isles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westcoastdevfan Posted May 13, 2003 Share Posted May 13, 2003 I'm an optomist,but not with Smehlik in the game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sen4Ever Posted May 13, 2003 Share Posted May 13, 2003 Word out of Ottawa is that tonight's game is going to be VERY physical in an attempt to wear out the older Devil's defense corps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westcoastdevfan Posted May 13, 2003 Share Posted May 13, 2003 Word out of Ottawa is that tonight's game is going to be VERY physical in an attempt to wear out the older Devil's defense corps. Why? Why did we have to play Ottawa? If the word is out already, they must be really focused on victory. I hope the Devils wear some extra body armor to protect against the PHYSICAL Sens. B) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHICO IS GOD Posted May 13, 2003 Share Posted May 13, 2003 The Sens are big and bad, time to start calling up all the big guys. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Risky Posted May 13, 2003 Share Posted May 13, 2003 The Canadian figure-skating team is coming out tough tonight. Look out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puck Posted May 14, 2003 Share Posted May 14, 2003 Stan is clueless as usual. T-Vo doesn't even get to play. He's really lost the plot. As for lady luck- You make your own luck with hard work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJayDevil Posted May 14, 2003 Share Posted May 14, 2003 I don't take Stan seriously. He's just lost all his hockey senses IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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