Rock Posted April 21, 2003 Share Posted April 21, 2003 Devils tackle Tampa http://www.bergenrecord.com/page.php?qstr=...2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk2 Monday, April 21, 2003 By TOM GULITTI STAFF WRITER The Devils needed to wait three overtimes Sunday, but their next obstacle finally has been identified and it's quite imposing. To reach the Stanley Cup Finals for the third time in four years, the Devils will first have to go over, around, or through the Bulin Wall - the nickname of stingy Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin. The Lightning advanced to the second round of the playoffs for the first time in their 11-year history Sunday with a 2-1 triple-overtime victory over Washington in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals. The Devils and Lightning, who split their regular-season series 1-1-2-0, will begin their best-of-seven conference semifinal series on Wednesday or Thursday at Continental Arena. There is more to the Lightning than Khabibulin. They have right wing Martin St. Louis, the 5-foot-9 dynamo who scored his third consecutive game-winner and fifth goal of the series 4:03 into the third OT Sunday, 23-year-old center Vincent Lecavalier, and ageless wonder Dave Andreychuk, the former Devil. Still, if the Devils are going to beat the Lightning, finding a way to solve Khabibulin will be priority No. 1. He made 60 saves Sunday. "That's the key to any team and he's very important to that team because of the key saves he makes," Devils' defenseman Oleg Tverdovsky said. "When your goalie is doing that, it's a totally different game for you. He's a key guy for sure." Tverdovsky knows Khabibulin well. They were teammates in Winnipeg/Phoenix for three and a half seasons. They also played together on Russia's bronze medal-winning Olympic team last year. "I played with him and he's a really good goalie," Tverdovsky said. "We're going to have to do a tremendous job to beat him. He's one of the top goalies in the league and he's a key part of their success right now. It's going to be a challenge." At 6-foot-1, 196 pounds, Khabibulin, 30, has decent size for a goaltender, but he relies heavily on his quick reflexes. He went 30-22-11 during the regular season with a 2.47 goals-against average, a .911 save percentage, and four shutouts. Although his numbers pale in comparison to some of the league's best - the Devils' Martin Brodeur won 41 games and had a 2.20 GAA in the regular season - they are still pretty good and he is a significant step up from Boston's Steve Shields and Jeff Hackett. Neither Hackett nor Shields were the reason the Bruins fell to the Devils in five games, but neither stole a game in the series the way Khabibulin can. Khabibulin was unbeaten in his three appearances against the Devils this season (1-0-2) with a 2.08 GAA and a .935 save percentage. The Devils' only victory against Tampa Bay this season came against Kevin Hodson, who is now retired. The Bulin Wall was far from impenetrable in losing the first two games to Washington, allowing nine goals. But, he gave up just six in winning the last four, including only one in each of the last three. Khabibulin never made it out of the first round in four tries with Winnipeg/Phoenix, so, like Tverdovsky, this is the farthest he has advanced. "This is a big step for him, too, to win a series," Tverdovsky said. "He's going to be very excited about it. He's going to have a lot of jump. So, it's going to be very challenging to go against him." The Lightning present other challenges as well. The line of Vaclav Prospal (team-high 79 points during the regular season), Lecavalier (78 points), and St. Louis (33 goals) accounted for nine of the Lightning's 10 goals in the last four games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SC Devs Fan Posted April 21, 2003 Share Posted April 21, 2003 Bulin will have to play out of his mind for them to beat us. I don't see it happening. We are much more talented then the Caps (and them). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHICO IS GOD Posted April 21, 2003 Share Posted April 21, 2003 Madden will most likely fulfill the task of shuttinh down Vinny and Co. but a lot will matter on the play of Richards and Modin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zamode Posted April 21, 2003 Share Posted April 21, 2003 Khabi is not to be taken lightly at all but this clip makes him out to be a bit more than need worry about I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teresa25 Posted April 21, 2003 Share Posted April 21, 2003 Khabi is a really good net minder, but he is no Marty Madden will handle Vinny, St. Louis and co, just fine.......I love Mad Dog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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