Stanley Cup Finals Schedule 2012: Players Who Must Step Up for Devils in Game 2

The New Jersey Devils are already in a tough spot after losing Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals on Wednesday night. It makes a Game 2 victory crucial if the Devils want to give themselves a realistic chance of winning the championship.

Let's take a look at three players who didn't contribute enough in the opener that must step up moving forward. For a complete look at the remaining series schedule with dates and times for each game, click here.

Zach Parise

A key piece of New Jersey's offense, Parise was forced to spend too much time defending in Game 1, and it resulted in him finishing with a minus-two rating. The game's lack of flow really seemed to stop him from building up any momentum.

After falling behind on home ice, the Devils will have no choice but to start opening things up to allow Parise to have more time on the attack. Otherwise he's going to find it extremely difficult to make any type of impact on the series.

Kings goalie Jonathan Quick has found a nice comfort zone, so the onus is on Parise to start testing him from every possible angle to make sure he's constantly under pressure. Another subpar performance won't cut it.

Ilya Kovalchuk

Few players in the NHL have more offensive talent than Kovalchuk, but you wouldn't have known that from Game 1 because he was basically invisible for most of the night. He registered just one shot and no points.

A quick glance at his regular-season numbers—83 points in 77 games—shows he capable of dominating a game, and that's what the Devils need from him to level the series. He must be the aggressor; sitting back and hoping the play comes to him won't win a Cup.

As always, the most important thing for Kovalchuk is his energy level. Sometimes he doesn't seem fully engaged in the game, which was the case on Wednesday. Head coach Peter DeBoer needs to light a fire under him before the next contest.

Dainius Zubrus

Zubrus brings a veteran presence to the Devils and is usually one of the team's most consistent all-around players. He struggled in Game 1, however, posting a minus-two rating and making no offensive impact at all.

He got far too involved in the physical part of the game with eight hits. While that type of play is necessary to win the series, it's a fine line between the right amount and too much. Zubrus got caught up trying to shake up the Kings and didn't provide enough on the attack.

The 33-year-old forward has been around long enough to figure out that his strategy in the opener didn't work, so look for him to change his approach in the upcoming games. If he can provide some scoring depth, the Devils will get right back on track.