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Tired? Rested Devils waiting to pounce on Leafs
Posted: Thursday April 27, 2000 01:22 AM
By Bruce Garrioch, SLAM! Sports For 60 minutes Monday night, the New Jersey Devils were cheering for the Senators to beat the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Devils, who will face the Leafs Thursday in Toronto, wanted their opponent to be as spent as humanly possible when Game 1 of their series gets under way. "They'll be fresh on us early, but later on in this series it will be a benefit to us," said Devils rookie sensation Scott Gomez yesterday. SIX DAYS OF REST By the time Round 2 opens, the Devils will have had a full six days of rest since they eliminated the Florida Panthers in four straight games and that should benefit New Jersey if the club gets into a long series. "The ramifications are twofold," Leafs goaltender Curtis Joseph said. "Sometimes getting a lot of time off helps heal your team's bumps and bruises. "On the other hand, it can make you come out stale when you do finally play, which dents your confidence a bit." The Leafs might be a tougher opponent for the Devils than the Senators, who had an 0-3-1 record against New Jersey this season. Toronto had a 3-0-1 record, which means New Jersey could have a tough time shutting the Leafs down. "We'll have to be more aware of our defensive responsibilities if we're going to have success," said Devils coach Larry Robinson. Two years ago, the eighth-place Senators knocked first-place New Jersey out of the playoffs by winning the series in six games. Goaltender Martin Brodeur didn't play well in the Ottawa series in 1998, but New Jersey writers noted yesterday he was a key factor in the Florida series. The Devils will have to shut down the Leafs' big combination of Mats Sundin and Steve Thomas, who once again shone last night. They must also figure out a way to solve Joseph, who kept the Senators off the scoreboard after Ottawa jumped into a 2-0 lead in last night's 4-2 loss to the Leafs. Game 2 of the series is Saturday.
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