New Jersey 3 Edmonton 1
Devils On Four Game Win Streak
The New Jersey Devils, jetlagged from all of the coast to coast travel, rolled into Edmonton to face the second place Oilers who were looking to avenge a loss in the openning of this home and home series.
Although Scott Gomez's passport is still missing in transit, which could be in the back of his mind and lead to distraction, he was available to dress on the roster. Despite the travel, it was the Devils who carried the early play and could have openned up a huge lead had it not been for the stellar play of Dwayne "Wayne" Roloson and a friendly goalpost. Sergei Brylin found himself alone in front staring at an empty net, only to hear the glorious sound of a "clang." Later in the period John Madden would crack the scoreboard and open a 1-0 lead on a pretty pass play.
The second period began, and it was more of the same. A shot from Jamie Langenbrunner was able to trickle by Roloson, openning a two goal cushion. Edmonton could have packed it in right then and there, but it woke a sleeping giant as they were able to sustain some pressure on Brodeur, however he would not allow them back in the game.
During the second intermission, it was confirmed that Gomez's passport was delivered in Vancouver and the Devils will make a slight detour to recover the missing documents before returning home.
The third period was do or die time for Edmonton, and they brought their "A" game with them. Ryan Smyth took a shot at 1:46 that needed to be sent to the replay booth. After further deliberation, it was ruled that once the puck hit Brodeur and was trickling in towards the net, Brian Rafalski reached with his stick in an attempt to swipe the puck away from the goaline, however he was milliseconds too slow and the entire puck broke the plane. The rest of the period, the Devils took a page out of their old playbook, playing the trap to perfection. As soon as Edmonton gained the blue line, they would be punished. This resulted in a retaliatory tripping penalty on the Oilers late in the game, which Langenbrunner was able to recreate a "Bobby Orr" moment by slipping the puck in the net while getting tripped up by the goalie pads and putting his arms out in celebration mid-flight.
After the game when asked why he didn't just hold onto Gomez's passport and hand it to him in Edmonton, General Manager Lou Lamoriello responded "I don't look ahead. I approach the schedule on a game by game basis. I had no idea we were travelling back to Edmonton for our next stop. Of course that would have been the logical thing to do, but I had faith in our carrier pigeon to find his way safely to British Columbia."
Good series Tiger. Hopefully one of these days we'll get to have a conversation while playing when your kid gets older. :)
1 2 3 Total
Devils 1 1 1 3
Oilers 0 0 1 1
Shots on Goal: EDM: 18, NJ: 28
Scoring
First Period
NJ, John Madden (Zajac, Fahey) 17:16
Second Period
NJ, Jamie Langenbrunner (Brylin, Lukowich)), 4:05
Third Period
EDM, Ryan Smith (Horcoff), 1:46
NJ, Jamie Langenbrunner (Parise, Martin), 19:30 (PP)
Three Stars
1. NJ, Langenbrunner, 2 G
2. EDM, Smyth, 1 G
3. EDM, Horcoff, 1 A
The New Jersey Devils, jetlagged from all of the coast to coast travel, rolled into Edmonton to face the second place Oilers who were looking to avenge a loss in the openning of this home and home series.
Although Scott Gomez's passport is still missing in transit, which could be in the back of his mind and lead to distraction, he was available to dress on the roster. Despite the travel, it was the Devils who carried the early play and could have openned up a huge lead had it not been for the stellar play of Dwayne "Wayne" Roloson and a friendly goalpost. Sergei Brylin found himself alone in front staring at an empty net, only to hear the glorious sound of a "clang." Later in the period John Madden would crack the scoreboard and open a 1-0 lead on a pretty pass play.
The second period began, and it was more of the same. A shot from Jamie Langenbrunner was able to trickle by Roloson, openning a two goal cushion. Edmonton could have packed it in right then and there, but it woke a sleeping giant as they were able to sustain some pressure on Brodeur, however he would not allow them back in the game.
During the second intermission, it was confirmed that Gomez's passport was delivered in Vancouver and the Devils will make a slight detour to recover the missing documents before returning home.
The third period was do or die time for Edmonton, and they brought their "A" game with them. Ryan Smyth took a shot at 1:46 that needed to be sent to the replay booth. After further deliberation, it was ruled that once the puck hit Brodeur and was trickling in towards the net, Brian Rafalski reached with his stick in an attempt to swipe the puck away from the goaline, however he was milliseconds too slow and the entire puck broke the plane. The rest of the period, the Devils took a page out of their old playbook, playing the trap to perfection. As soon as Edmonton gained the blue line, they would be punished. This resulted in a retaliatory tripping penalty on the Oilers late in the game, which Langenbrunner was able to recreate a "Bobby Orr" moment by slipping the puck in the net while getting tripped up by the goalie pads and putting his arms out in celebration mid-flight.
After the game when asked why he didn't just hold onto Gomez's passport and hand it to him in Edmonton, General Manager Lou Lamoriello responded "I don't look ahead. I approach the schedule on a game by game basis. I had no idea we were travelling back to Edmonton for our next stop. Of course that would have been the logical thing to do, but I had faith in our carrier pigeon to find his way safely to British Columbia."
Good series Tiger. Hopefully one of these days we'll get to have a conversation while playing when your kid gets older. :)
1 2 3 Total
Devils 1 1 1 3
Oilers 0 0 1 1
Shots on Goal: EDM: 18, NJ: 28
Scoring
First Period
NJ, John Madden (Zajac, Fahey) 17:16
Second Period
NJ, Jamie Langenbrunner (Brylin, Lukowich)), 4:05
Third Period
EDM, Ryan Smith (Horcoff), 1:46
NJ, Jamie Langenbrunner (Parise, Martin), 19:30 (PP)
Three Stars
1. NJ, Langenbrunner, 2 G
2. EDM, Smyth, 1 G
3. EDM, Horcoff, 1 A
posted by OldTimeHockey at 8:29 AM
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