Thoughts on Stanley Cup Final: Game 1
They were right there.
That is what the Devils will take away from game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final. They played two nervous and tentative periods, started to find their game in the third, and then the single mistake in overtime. Not to say there weren’t any others, in fact it was turnover city for a while-a problem that came up sporadically in the regular season, but was kept in the closet for the first three rounds of the playoffs. The Devils also had 17 shots on goal in 68:13, a problem that begins with the approach of facing Jonathan Quick.
After all the analyzing, he seems to be in every Devil shooter’s head. The hesitancy was unbearable to watch for most of the game. The over-emphasis on beating him high left players aiming their shots, over passing, and just waiting far too long. It’s difficult to beat Quick low. It’s even more difficult to beat him with 17 shots. Anton Volchenkov scored the lone goal because he got the puck on net. Where were the one-timers? The drives from the point? Shooting from any angle, looking for rebounds? It doesn’t take anything fancy to beat Jonathon Quick, just the ability to take advantage of any and every opportunity, as they have been doing this entire postseason. And Kovalchuk has become far too self-conscious when carrying the puck into the zone. Or maybe it’s guilt. Either way, he has to take those shots, it’s driving everyone nuts.
The fact that the Devils played this game, their worst of the playoffs, and still had every opportunity to win, makes me more than confident going forward. I’ll chalk up the low shot total, turnovers, and overall decision making to nerves. Nerves that started to disappear late in the game and allowed the Devil’s forecheck to make an appearance. They also have this nasty habit of being so passive for the first 15 minutes of a period and then making a major push in the last five, carrying the momentum into the locker room, but then never bringing it back out with them. In any case, they were the better team in the third and seemed to be settling in. If 20 minutes of good hockey can get them to overtime, then what will a full 60 minute effort give them? It’s game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final. A game that came down to a broken play on defense. Saturday will be game 2, meaning this will no longer be new to them. They’ve played under this stage. They know what to expect and what is expected of them. They can go back to dictating their game and continue with what got them here.
