A first period goal by Ilya Kovalchuk #17 of the New Jersey Devils gets past Henrik Lundqvist #30 of the New York Rangers in Game Two of the Eastern Conference Final during the 2012 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Madison Square Garden on May 16, 2012 in New York City.
(May 15, 2012 – Source: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images North America)
(PhatzRadio / USA Today) — NEW YORK – Given New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist’s elite performance level in the postseason, the New Jersey Devils understood that beating him requires a chain reaction rather than a single shot.
The Devils were able to create those events Wednesday, scoring their final two goals on deflections, including David Clarkson’s third period game-winner, to defeat the Rangers 3-2 and tie their best-of-seven Eastern Conference final 1-1 heading into Saturday’s Game 3 in Newark.
“In the playoffs, you aren’t going to see any tic-tac-toe plays,” said New Jersey defenseman Bryce Salvador. “Most of the goals you are seeing are rebounds, or crash-the-net goals, or (pucks) going off the leg.”
On the game-winner, Clarkson batted Adam Henrique’s shot out of the air and into the net at 2:31 of the third period.
“That (Rangers) team blocks so many shots it’s unbelievable,” Clarkson said. “We found a way to shoot it and get sticks on it.”
Clarkson seemed to touch the puck close to crossbar height, which is the border between a legal goal and an illegal goal waved off because of a high stick.
“I knew it didn’t get it too, too high,” said Clarkson, a 30-goal scorer in the regular season. “But who knows — sometimes the camera shows something different. So I was pretty happy when they finally said it was a goal.”
Clarkson has a reputation of being able to battle in front of the net to get himself in the right position to do the most offensive damage. “The way I play, I’m not going to score the far-out pretty goals,” he said. “I’m going to score the in-tight ones.”
In consideration of New York’s 26 blocked shots in Game 1, the Devils were faking more shots and firing quicker in Game 2. The Rangers were able to block only 16 shots in Game 2, and they weren’t able to flag down Henrique’s shot.
“I knew going into this game that I had to be better than I was last game at getting in front of guys and creating things down low,” Clarkson said.
Clarkson said he realized Lundqvist was moving out toward the top of his crease. “I just figured if I get in front of him and somehow get a stick on it, then who knows?” Clarkson said.
After being shut out in Game 1, the Devils clearly decided that aggressiveness, traffic in front of the net and deflections were the keys to beating Lundqvist, who owns a 1.66 postseason goals-against average.
“We need to get traffic in front of him because if he sees it, he’s going to save it,” Salvador said. “There is a reason he’s a Vezina Trophy candidate.”
Salvador drew the second assist on the game-winner and the first assist on the tying goal that came with 1:51 left in the second period when Ryan Carter deflected his shot from the point.
“When everyone is contributing, good things happen,” Salvador said.
The Rangers have now lost Game 2 in all three of their playoff series this season. The tightness of this series is not a surprise; the teams split six regular-season games.
“In the corners and along the wall, (the Devils) were pinching and cycling us pretty good,” Rangers defenseman Marc Staal said. “In the first period, they were winning more battles than us in the corners and that enabled them to get more pressure on us.”
The Rangers had forged a 2-1 lead on second-period power play goals by Staal (2:23) and Chris Kreider (12:19).
Staal’s shot ricocheted off the back boards, struck Devils goalie Martin Brodeur and caromed into the net for a power play tally against a New Jersey team known for quality penalty killing.
Kreider’s goal was the rookie’s second in as many games, and it came on a tip of Anton Stralman’s shot from the point. The goal was originally awarded to Stralman, but replays showed Kreider’s redirection.
The Devils had claimed a 1-0 lead, also on the power play, in the first period when Ilya Kovalchuk scored at 13:39.
“We have to get more shots,” Rangers captain Ryan Callahan said. “We definitely didn’t get enough shots on net and we didn’t have enough time in their end.”
