Henrik Lundqvist stood in front of the net during a brief intermission. The Swede shrugged his shoulders as he sighed, trying to calm his nerves. The Statue of Liberty painted on the side of his helmet bounced the light from the Prudential Center onto the ice. There were still two and a half minutes left, and Lundqvist knew the game of hockey too well to assume the victory already belonged to the Rangers.
And then his captain buried an empty-net goal to salt away the victory. 3-0 Rangers, with a 2-1 series lead.
http://video.nhl.com/videocenter/console?hlg=20112012,3,313
It's hard to think of a playoff series that has had this combination of goaltending skill, defensive sacrifice, and offensive chances from both teams every single night. New York's Henrik Lundqvist has been incredible--two shutouts in three playoff games. After Game 3, he is averaging only 1 goal against per game (and all three of the Devil's goals came in Game 2). Martin Brodeur has been just as fun to watch; as the legendary Mike Emerick said, "We've seen two lobsters and a scorpion" in reference to Brodeur's sprawling saves throughout the series.
Unfortunately for Brodeur, all his saves mean nothing if New Jersey can't score.
His coach knows that. Coach Peter DeBoer answered a reporter's question shortly and succinctly in his post-game press conference, when asked what he'd like to see different from the past game.
"Score a goal," said DeBoer, without waiting for the reporter to finish the question.
As DeBoer went on to point out, the Devils have had plenty of opportunities to score. And just look at the names on this team: Parise, Zubrus, Kovalchuck...and the list could go on. But there is still one name that has made the difference in the scoring.
Unfortunately for the Devils, that name is "Henrik Lundqvist." And unless the Devils can find a way to solve the Swedish goaltender, New York will be heading back to Madison Square Garden with a 3-1 series lead.
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