Devils to the Stanley Cup

I will admit. I am a Rangers fan more than a Devils fan by far. So, to say that the Devils are going to the Stanley Cup stings a little. But, considering the game ended maybe an hour or two before the time of writing, it's a surprisingly tame sting.

Had the game gone as it did in the first period, I don't think I would have felt as peaceful with this outcome. The Devils were positively flogging the Rangers -- 2 goals in one period, the players were nowhere, missing the puck or neglecting to hustle. In a word, the Rangers were sloppy in the first period, and it was embarrassing, especially thinking that we could go down in such a pathetic manner.

The second period made up for this, though. In a matter of minutes, the Rangers came alive and blasted two goals to tie the game back up. The tying goal was astonishing -- a long shot by Callahan that ricocheted off skates and between players, Ranger and Devil alike, to get into the goal. It passed at least five players, including a hit on Girardi's skate.

For the rest of the game, it was a pretty admirable back-and-forth. The Rangers indeed fought hard, but it is as hard to get past Brodeur as it is Lundqvist, and through unlucky placement and missed shots and a thousand other little quirks, none of the scoring chances made in the third period bore any fruit. The same could be said for the Devils, though, which brought the game into overtime.

The winning goal was a tiny putt behind Lundqvist after he defended a barrage of shots. The puck slipped through on one, went behind him, and one calm tap finished the game 3-2 Devils, ending the series.

Rangers vs Islanders and Flyers

1) Rangers and Islanders - Islanders did surprisingly well, their defense was intense. Rangers managed to keep the lead, though.
2) Rangers and Flyers - Lundqvist did amazingly with his saves. Considering the amount of shots made on goal...the fact that only two got in? Pretty darn good.

Rangers @ Bruins

An intense last period, with Lundqvist blocking a barrage of shots by the Bruins, who I'm sure were desperate to tie it up. Alas, their efforts went unrewarded - the Rangers won the day, score 1-0. Lundqvist has a personal season high of 11 shutouts now, I believe the statistic was. (Got that from ESPN I think...not totally sure.)

Devils @ Rangers

I caught only the last minute or two of this game, and wow, what a heartbreaking ending to catch. The Rangers, in something like the last fifteen seconds of the game, made not one but two rather good shots at the goal. With five seconds left, I remember, something got past the goalie but was juuuuuust wide enough to bounce off the goalpost the wrong way. They were THAT CLOSE to forcing overtime, but it didn't happen, and the Devils won the game, 3-2.

Islanders @ Rangers

Rangers win 7-2. Big surprise there, lol.

Actually, the Islanders scored two goals over the Rangers in the first period. For a few minutes there, they hada a 2-1 lead. But the Rangers tied it up by the end of said first period, and just took that puck and ran with it.

Well played, Rangers. Well played.