The Fog of War

Vol III, No. 10

Sportswriters and bloggers normally write opinions either before a game, or explanations after a contest has been settled.  After all, it's impossible to capture the intensity of the moment in words which take time to write, read and interpret.

Tonight, the Battle of the Hudson is being fought.  The score is tied in the third period. The team from the east bank of the Hudson river has a big edge in shots on goal after 43 minutes of play. But the team from the west bank of the Passaic had the edge in goals until the third period. The score is now even. Why?  It's a tale of two netminders. An old man, versus "The King".

King (but not LA) Henrik Lundquist is having, shall we say, not the best of nights. He has faced 15 shots and three have gotten behind him. That's a GAA of 3.00 and a save% of 0.800.

In contrast, Martin Brodeur is facing a bigger onslaught - 24 shots on goal. He too has let three get by, including an early third period wrist shot by Marian Gaborik. It was one of those things, a weak goal that surprised even Gaborik.

Over the past five games, the Devils and Rangers have evenly split 14 periods in shots on goal. The Devils have outshot New York by a mere 4 shots over 15 periods of play. But that includes a lopsided game #3 with a 14 shot edge - a game which New Jersey lost to the Blueshirts in front of a home crowd.

It was enough to make Zach Parise so frustrated that he refused to speak to the press, the first time all season long that the captain could not collect himself for the obligatory post-game interviews.

This is even steven hockey at its best. Goalies are making the difference. Lundquist kept the Rangers in game #3 and Brodeur is keeping his team in the fight at tonight's game in New York. So what else is new?

No matter who wins tonight, the series returns to Newark on Friday.  The Prince of Wales Trophy will be in the building with a 50/50 chance of being awarded that evening to whoever wins tonight's contest. The hockey cognoscenti continue to favor top seed New York over the #6 seed Devils.

Meanwhile, #8 seed Western Conference champion Los Angeles, with a 12 - 2 record this playoff season, is patiently waiting for the first game of the Stanley Cup finals to begin next Wednesday - either on the east bank of the Hudson river, or the west bank of the Passaic River.

Hockey Rules!

P.S. Post game wrap-up. Devils came out on top. Ryan Carter scored number 4 late in the fourth period. Lundquist just could not keep the Devils out, with only 12 saves on the night. New Jersey capped it off with an empty net goal by Zach Parise at 19:40. 

The Devils now lead the series three games to two. It was a story of netminding. Brodeur produced a consistent performance, not perfect, but good enough. Not bad for an old guy who is supposed to be over the hill. Tonight, "Marty's Better".