Unflappable Brodeur
Devils’ goalie begins quest for 4th NHL championship tonight, 1,
The Los Angeles Kings and New Jersey Devils enter the Stanley Cup Final healthy and rested. That is significant at this point of the playoffs.
New Jersey will enjoy home-ice advantage, an oxymoron considering they are playing a team that has yet to lose on the road in the playoffs. The Devils have opened their previous three series on the road, so they should be fully aware of the mind-set the Kings have employed to win their eight road games.
So what gives in the Final? There is much focus on the individual players from both teams and what they must do to be successful. Goaltending, special teams and every stat imaginable will be examined in an attempt to decipher the code to winning the Stanley Cup. The Stanley Cup Final is the quintessential tug of war of equally determined teams, each trying to find a way to gain ground without ceding it. I look at this series from the outset with a macro point of view and what the teams must do to gain advantages.
You can’t get a team uncomfortable until you push them into situations where they are forced to play outside of their comfort zone. Playing from behind is one of those uncomfortable areas. Teams don’t like to chase the game, because ultimately it’s a losing proposition; the fact that the team that scores first wins two out of every three NHL games is evidence enough.
When you push a team into that uncomfortable area, you can then test them and probe for more vulnerability and ultimately impose your strengths upon them.
Simply, the Kings haven’t been put into a vulnerable position during these playoffs. In their 12 victories, they have trailed for a total of 59 minutes, 56 seconds, of which 29 of those minutes were in one game during the first round vs. the Vancouver Canucks. That is an impressive feat and a big reason the Kings imposed their strengths on their previous three opponents.
The Devils are going to have to find a way to do two things in the Final: get the lead and hold on to it. The Kings have not trailed often, and when they have it’s not been for long, so there has been no sense of discomfort for them. If a team can’t get the lead, then it can’t expand on the lead, and thus opponents will never feel threatened if they are not behind. As well, when you are playing from behind, there is more energy expended.
The New York Rangers fell behind the Devils in Games 5 and 6, and while they were able to get on even footing, the effort expended made them vulnerable in other areas. They were forced to play their key players more, and they increased their playing risk from one that was more managed and calculating to a 50-50 proposition. Ultimately, it was a downfall for them.
Playing from behind is a losing strategy that leads to opponents being able to take advantage in so many areas.
It leads to more odd-man rushes against, penalties, shortening of the bench, stress on the coach, frustration for the players and an overall uneasi- ness that control is slipping.
The Kings have been the masters of their own domain in these playoffs, and if the Devils don’t find a way to gain a lead and keep it, this series will end for them like it has for the Canucks, St. Louis Blues and Phoenix Coyotes before them. Button, a former Calgary Flames general manager who won a Stanley Cup in 1999 as Dallas Stars director of player personnel, is writing a guest column for USA TODAY Sports during the Final.