NHL Playoffs 2012: First 2 Periods Are Key for the New Jersey Devils

The New Jersey Devils are 5-0 in the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs when leading at the end of the second period. The New York Rangers are 0-3 when trailing at that point.

In each of the Devils’ last two losses, both to the Rangers in the ongoing Eastern Conference finals, the contesting clubs have been in a scoreless deadlock at the 40-minute mark. Afterwards, Dan Girardi and Chris Kreider have successively bested New Jersey goaltender Martin Brodeur before the Rangers stuffed an empty net for a 3-0 final.

In all three games to date, there has been a tie at the second intermission. The two critical differences in Game 2, a 3-2 New Jersey victory, were that the Devils scored the series’ only first-period goal that night and drew a 2-2 knot after briefly spilling their lead.

If you throw in the last two games of their second-round bout with Washington, the Rangers have won each of their last three when holding the opposition scoreless through the first two periods. In the same time frame, they have lost when conceding a goal within the first 20 minutes.

In each of New York’s last five losses, dating back to Game 5 of the Ottawa series, the opposition has led by a single goal at the first intermission. In these playoffs as a whole, the Rangers are 6-0 when the game is scoreless after one period and 3-0 when there are no strikes through 40 minutes.

The Devils have already been victimized twice in both situations. In turn, they ought to know as well as anybody the perilous consequences of instilling confidence in Blueshirts backstop Henrik Lundqvist and letting his skating mates hang around too long.

On the flip side, the Rangers are a subpar 3-4 when the third period begins with a non-scoreless tie. New Jersey is 3-1 in the same situation.

The Devils, who will try to pull even in this series Monday night in Game 4 at the Prudential Center, need not worry so much about having the upper hand when they enter the closing stanza.

So long as they are not trailing, they at least need to place one or two goals on Lundqvist’s tab, preferably a timely one a la Ryan Carter’s equalizer with 1:51 left until the second intermission of Game 2.

As they have already learned and relearned in bitter fashion within the last week, anything less invited a two-handed shove of self doubt on their bench and a sense of command in the crease for Lundqvist.

Conversely, by breaking the ice and being sure to at least have a knot at hand, New Jersey will force the Rangers to evoke extra incentive to cram and shore up the situation for their Vezina finalist and Conn Smythe candidate.

Although he will never admit it, an intensified third period with the prospect of a shutout obliterated is the last thing New York head coach John Tortorella wants. Having seen his pupils play the maximum seven games in each of the first two rounds, plus the equivalent of an additional game brought on by overtimes, he should know that fatigue can catch up to them at any time.

For their sake, it is on the Devils to create that Hudson River quagmire for their adversaries by way of an energized, productive start. They need to certifiably debunk the notion that Lundqvist is going to bail out his overworked teammates and keep them afloat until they tune the back of Brodeur’s net.

The sooner they circumvent the shot-blocking fortress and singe the Swedish stopper, the better their odds of turning the tables in the series.