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Closer Look Devils defense befuddles Flyers in Game 6
Posted: Thursday May 25, 2000 12:57 AM
By Ken Klavon, CNNSI.com EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Brian Rafalski said it was like solving a riddle. The Flyers, on the other hand, were stumped. Eric Lindros returned and gave an earnest effort to help the Flyers offense. But despite accounting for Philadelphia's only goal and a team-high three shots, he wasn't enough. With the Devils back on track defensively, the Flyers were held to just 13 shots in a 2-1 defeat and now must play a winner-take-all Game 7 on Friday. After suffering through mind-numbing losses in Games 2, 3 and 4, the Devils finally have rediscovered what got them to the conference finals: team defense. "We found the recipe for how we should play them," Rafalski said. What made the Devils so imposing Wednesday was their ability to methodically clog up the neutral zone and clamp down on every Flyers rush. "They took away our speed," forward John LeClair said. "We couldn't establish our forecheck." Which was precisely what New Jersey wanted to happen. "We didn't give them a whole lot of space," said Scott Stevens, the Devils' defensive anchor. In the aftermath of previous losses, coach Larry Robinson was incensed at the number of odd-man rushes his team had given up. He knew they had to improve defensively or the series was over. But surely he couldn't predict what took place in the second period, when his team defined textbook defense. The Devils were so stifling in the center-ice area that the Flyers managed their first shot of the period nearly 18 minutes in. Philadelphia recorded just one more before the break. "At the 10-minute mark of the second period we started doing some uncharacteristic things," said Keith Primeau. Like what? "We missed the net on some quality chances," Primeau said. As the Flyers tried to dump and chase, the Devils put on the counter-attack. The puck rarely stayed in the New Jersey zone long. It was reminiscent of Game 6 against Toronto, when the Devils held the Maple Leafs to just six shots. "Hey, all we try to do is break down their chances and keep the puck in their end," said Rafalski. "By doing that, we're creating offense and pressure on them. Sometimes our best offense is our team defense."
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