Devils look to rebound from crushing loss
Associated Press
DALLAS -- With a flick of his stick and a tip of the puck,
Mike Modano delivered what could be a devastating blow to the New
Jersey Devils.
Modano's goal at 6:21 of the third overtime not only kept alive
the Dallas Stars' chances of repeating as Stanley Cup champions,
but also could have a long-term effect on the Devils.
|  | | Larry Robinson needs to get his players to put the Game 5 loss behind them. |
For most of Game 5 on Thursday night, New Jersey was one goal
away from winning its second title since 1995 and giving owner John
McMullen one great going-away gift.
The Devils didn't just have one shot or two shots, but dozens of
chances to sip champagne from Lord Stanley's Cup. Bobby Holik alone
had eight very good shots on goal and a couple of others that
missed yawning nets behind Stars goaltender Ed Belfour.
"He could have had six goals," Devils coach Larry Robinson
said.
Instead, Modano converted at 1:13 a.m. EDT, sucking the wind
right out the Devils.
Goaltender Martin Brodeur put his hands on his knees and stared
down at the ice as the puck lay in the net. Players on the bench
slumped and the sellout crowd at the Continental Airlines Arena
turned silent -- expect for a few Stars fans.
The moment resembled Scott Stevens' knockout of Eric Lindros
with a check early in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals
against Philadelphia. It took almost the rest of the period for the
Flyers to get back in the game.
"We had so many glorious opportunities," defenseman Ken
Daneyko said. "We had a bunch of breakaways, two-on-ones, open
shots and we couldn't score. We'll get by this. We have to. There's
simply no choice in the matter."
The Devils still lead the best-of-seven series 3-2 heading into
Game 6 at Reunion Arena on Saturday night. But they failed to
finish the job on home ice and there might be some doubt building.
After all, the Devils got to the finals by overcoming a 3-1
deficit against Philadelphia in the conference semifinals. But in
that series, the Flyers basically didn't show up for Games 5 and 6,
and then lost the deciding game 2-1 on a somewhat flukey goal by
Patrik Elias.
The Devils showed up for Game 5 and the only reason they didn't
win the Cup was that Ed Belfour wouldn't let them. He was
phenomenal in stopping 48 shots and recording his fourth shutout of
this year's playoffs.
Brodeur was just as good -- almost.
Robinson, who has pulled all the right strings since taking over
for Robbie Ftorek with eight games left in the regular season,
knows he'll be looking for the right words to get the team ready
for Game 6.
"It's natural to be down after a loss," Robinson said. "So I
won't expect them to be jumping up and down and all smiles."
While disappointment was what most of the players talked about
in the wee hours after the game, there was also a sense of anger at
letting the Cup slip through their hands.
"This team has character," Holik said. "If we didn't have
character then we wouldn't be here tonight. We'll bounce back from
this. This won't put us down." |
Who has the edge? ESPN's Al Morganti reports on the day after Game 5.
