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BOX SCORE
DALLAS (AP) -- The kids from New Jersey are one victory away from
giving the old man the going-away gift he wanted: the Stanley Cup.
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Mon, June 5
I was so impressed with the Devils in Game 4. So impressed. They
came out in the third period down 1-0, and yes, Dallas made some
mistakes, but New Jersey just added another gear when
they fell behind -- and they weren't going to be denied.
Brodeur was very good; this was one of his best
games, especially early because Dallas had some jump.
What is so frustrating now for Dallas -- and what really doesn't look good for them in
Game 5 -- is that they got the matchups they wanted for two periods. They got the
Carbonneau line against the Arnott line, and held them off the scoresheet. They got the
Modano line against the Gomez line, but still, Modano could not get it going.
Then, in the third period, two rookies and Sergei Brylin get it done. The Devils' speed was evident,
and the Stars couldn't handle it in the third. I'm convinced
the Devils are going to wrap it up in five.
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New Jersey's kiddie corps got goals from rookies John Madden and Brian Rafalski during a momentum-swinging flurry in the third period and the Devils beat the Dallas Stars 3-1 Monday night for a
3-1 lead in the Cup finals.
The Devils can claim the Cup for the second time in five years --
and for outgoing owner John McMullen -- by winning Game 5 Thursday
night in the Meadowlands.
"Fifteen wins doesn't get you a Stanley Cup; 16 does,"
Rafalski said. "But we don't want this series to drag on any
longer."
Neither does McMullen. Hours after deciding to sell the team to
the YankeesNets conglomerate in mid-March, he made an unusual and
very personal locker room plea to his players: Please win the Cup.
One more victory, and they will.
"We're not businessmen, we're players," goaltender Martin
Brodeur said. "We're sorry Dr. McMullen has to sell the team. We
want to win it for him, all of us do, but we can't get distracted
from what we have to do."
Just as coach Larry Robinson predicted they could, the Devils
stole into ever-confident Dallas to win both games against a
veteran team that rarely loses at home and was coming off a road
victory in Game 2.
The Stars have dug themselves a hole nearly as big as the Lone
Star State. Only one team in 58 years, the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs
against Detroit, have rallied from a 3-1 deficit to win the Stanley
Cup finals.
"But we know the last one is the hardest one to win," Robinson
said.
Such a comeback can happen, of course; only two weeks ago, New
Jersey rallied from just such a deficit to win the Eastern
Conference finals against Philadelphia. The Devils are 6-1 since
starting that comeback, with four victories on the road.
"Having come through a series ourselves when we were down and
seemingly out of it, we know it can happen," Robinson said.
Dallas had won 11 of its last 12 home playoff games before
losing 2-1 in Game 3 Saturday, then lost a lead -- and, possibly,
the Cup -- in its biggest game of the season Monday.
|  | | The Devils had plenty to cheer about on Monday, and if they can win Game 5 at home on Thursday, they can celebrate with the Stanley Cup in tow. |
New Jersey's comeback from a 1-0 deficit -- Dallas was 11-0 when
leading after two periods -- was remarkably swift and stunning and
caused some of the Stars' towel-waving faithful to turn on their
own team. Unless the Stars win Thursday, it was their last home
game of the season, a predicament their fans clearly did not
expect.
"I think we're all disappointed, but we've never done anything
easy," Stars goaltender Ed Belfour said.
"We went from quite a high to quite a low in a short period of
time," Stars coach Ken Hitchcock said. "To give it away that
quickly ... the thing that's dominated is their ability to defend
is better than ours right now, and they're turning them into
offensive opportunities. All three goals were made off terrific
plays."
Sergei Brylin made sure the Stars couldn't protect the 1-0 lead
generated by Joe Nieuwendyk's power-play goal late in the second
period, scoring on a 4-on-2 break 2:27 into the third period.
Vladimir Malakhov dropped the puck into the slot for Alexander
Mogilny, whose shot rebounded directly to Brylin for his second
goal of the series and third of the playoffs.
The goal clearly deflated the Stars -- they had begun to dominate
play after going without a shot for 12 minutes of the second period
-- and re-energized the Devils, who are 9-2 in playoff road games.
Even an interference penalty on Colin White didn't disrupt the
Devils.
Madden, stopped on a nearly identical play not long before,
raced down the right side and sailed a shot by Belfour, who had
shut out the Devils for the first 42:27 of play. Madden had a
league-high six shorthanded goals during the season after scoring
23 shorthanded goals in college at Michigan.
"They don't play like rookies, they play like veterans,"
Devils defenseman Scott Stevens said.
Less than two minutes later, Rafalski, yet another rookie
upstaging the Stars' cast of highly paid and long-productive
veterans, sealed it. He skated to the puck in the neutral zone and
got loose on a breakaway to beat Belfour at 6:08.
"I saw some space behind (defenseman) Sergei Zubov and just
took off," said Rafalski, who played in Europe the last four
seasons and made it to the Finnish finals last spring.
In Game 2, Rafalski made a couple of defensive mistakes that led
to goals by Brett Hull and a 2-1 Stars victory but, he said,
"You've got to put it behind you. They only won one game."
The Stars were fined $10,000 Monday by the NHL for not showing
up for media interviews. Hitchcock must be wondering if fines
aren't warranted for not showing up for the biggest game of the
season.
"I thought we could have bought us some time with the two days
off, but they've got the momentum now," Hitchcock said. "You go
from such a level of confidence to `Boom!"'
New Jersey had been almost impenetrable on the power play for
the entire playoffs -- allowing four goals in 59 chances and killing
off three earlier in the game -- until Nieuwendyk came out of his
scoring slump.
Nieuwendyk, scoreless for five games since linemate Jamie
Langenbrunner got hurt, got free in the crease to put a backhander
by Martin Brodeur off Darryl Sydor's slap shot from the left circle
at 18:02 of the third.
But while Nieuwendyk came out of his slump, the Stars' other big
names, including Hull and Mike Modano, again were shut out by
Brodeur, who had an eventful night in goal despite facing only 17
shots.
Just as the NHL worried, TV ratings for the finals are low --
about one-third those for Sunday's Blazers-Lakers NBA game -- and
the scoring is even lower in this series for two teams that have
perfected the neutral zone trap.
Still, the last two games, while featuring only seven goals,
have been surprisingly up-and-down, with lots of flurries -- the
biggest of all by New Jersey.
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ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
New Jersey Clubhouse
Dallas Clubhouse
Frozen Moment: Devils' quick shots stun Stars
X Factor: No more aura of invincibility in Dallas
Three Stars and Game 5 at a glance
RECAPS
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Rookie John Madden scores a shorthanded goal to take the lead.
avi: 801 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Joe Nieuwendyk knocks in the Darryl Sydor slap shot.
avi: 808 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Sergei Brylin puts in the rebound to tie the game.
avi: 959 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Brian Rafalski seals it, beating Ed Belfour on a breakaway.
avi: 824 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
 Brian Rafalski says scoring the first goal was important for New Jersey.
wav: 267 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
John Madden says the Devils still have one more game to win.
wav: 195 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Coach Ken Hitchcock is looking for some goals from the Stars.
wav: 104 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Brian Rafalski and the Devils are focusing in on Game 5.
wav: 101 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Alexander Mogilny has the strategy for Game 5.
wav: 72 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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