Stanley Cup Finals 2012: 5 New Jersey Devils Players to Watch in Game 3

Trailing a playoff series 2-0 for the first time this spring, the New Jersey Devils will venture into the Staples Center Monday night looking to put themselves in a slightly more familiar position.

A win in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final would amount to a 2-1 deficit, not unlike the pothole they faced in the first round versus Florida and the latest round against the New York Rangers.

Having dropped each of the first two matches in the only series of the 2012 playoffs where they started with home-ice advantage, this task is ostensibly all the more daunting.

Then again, the Devils have spilled both of those decisions in overtime by a score of 2-1. In turn, seizing Game 3 and slowing down the Los Angeles Kings’ momentum could require a little more than goaltender Martin Brodeur holding fort and the offense forcing counterpart Jonathan Quick to blink an extra time.

New Jersey can still theoretically re-run its first-period jump-starts from the latter half of the Rangers series, which amounted to three straight victories to put a stamp on a multi-goal lead at intermission. So far, L.A.’s two postseason losses have not so coincidentally been the only times Quick has conceded a multi-goal deficit.

Whether they have been sniffing out success to no avail for the last week or if they simply have yet to perk up, there are five prime candidates to set a stronger tone for the Devils in this pseudo must-win match. They are encapsulated as follows in alphabetical order.

Ryan Carter

One of those New Jersey players has been giving quite a bit but getting little reward in return. So far, Carter has drawn two of the opposing Kings’ six penalties and scored one of the Devils’ two goals in this series. He also had two takeaways in Game 1.

The fourth-liner does not need to do much than he already is with his morsels of ice time. His linemates and teammates just need to hope he does not let up and do their part to reap more rewards from what he gets them.

Patrik Elias

One of the key cogs on the Devils’ power play, Elias had a helper on Anton Volchenkov’s equalizer in Game 1 and tied Zach Parise for a team-high four shots on net in Game 2.

If he can simply add more quality to that quantity, especially on the man-advantage, the two-time cup winner and longest-tenured New Jersey skater could lend an invaluable morale booster to his bench.

Ilya Kovalchuk

Naturally, if anyone eclipses Elias as an integral part of the Devils’ man-up brigade, it is Kovalchuk. But lately, the team has been hampered by their elite scorer’s “slump.”

Actually, it’s only been two games since he last made a tangible contribution. But still, Kovalchuk has not been kept scoreless in three or more consecutive games since immediately before the All-Star break.

To avoid that rare drought at the most inopportune time of the season, he will have to regain his productive touch on Monday.

Zach Parise

So far, the captain has a team-leading seven shots on Quick as well as three hits in Game 1, an opposing penalty drawn late in regulation of Game 2 and a takeaway in each game.

But his efforts have yet to be rewarded, and the series has all but reached a point where Parise’s leadership is bound for its greatest test to date.

Bryce Salvador

The veteran blueliner’s results from the last three games, including the clincher in the Eastern Conference finals, are hardly what one should have come to expect after watching the better part of the last two rounds.

He is pointless since Game 6 of the conference finals and has accrued a minus-two rating in the Stanley Cup Final. But a fruitful turnaround for Salvador as an individual could go a long way towards giving the Devils new life as a group.