Understate of mind

Workmanlike Devils stick to script, even if it costs them

Have you seen those tiresome TV ads for the Tom Emanski baseball instruction videos? If Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello ever decides to augment New Jersey's modest revenue stream by opening his hockey academy to the masses, he could sell tapes of the Devils' Thursday night 1-0 win over Ottawa by the truckload. Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals may have been the zenith -- or, if you prefer your hockey fast-paced and exciting, the nadir -- of the suffocating style that has been the team's trademark over the last decade.

Coach Pat Burns, who usually makes Dick Cheney seem effusive, pronounced his team's defensive performance in Game 3 its best of the playoffs. Martin Brodeur was once again flawless. (With the hockey world rightfully obsessed with the possibility that Jean-Sebastien Giguere may never allow another goal, it's easy to overlook the fact that Brodeur has four shutouts this postseason and hasn't lost at home.) And the Devils squeezed out just enough offense from unexpected sources, in this case Sergei Brylin, who scored his first goal of the playoffs on a first-period deflection.

The Devils actually scored a second time, but another of their trademarks -- a knack for understatement -- robbed them of that goal. Late in the first period, Jay Pandolfo slipped one behind Ottawa goaltender Patrick Lalime but, because the puck so quickly bounced out of the net, no one on the ice realized it was a goal. By the time replays showed the puck had crossed the goal line, play had resumed and it was too late for the officials to make the correct call.

During a mid-game damage-control session, league vice president Colin Campbell explained that one of the reasons play wasn't stopped for a thorough review was the Devils' lack of celebration. If Pandolfo or any of his mates had argued for a goal they probably would have gotten it. "So it's our fault?" center John Madden, clearly miffed, asked after the game. "Then I'm going to throw my arms up after every shot we take."

(As an aside, the NHL brass now has Topic A for its rules committee meetings this summer. As soon as there was enough evidence to see that Pandolfo had scored, the game should have been stopped, the goal credited and any elapsed time put back on the clock. "How long do you wait? A period? Until the next day?" Campbell wondered. How about less than a minute. There was a 36-second stoppage in play after Lalime covered the puck, and Campbell said replay officials caught the error a few seconds after play had resumed. The technology for a quick -- and correct -- reversal is there. Especially in the playoffs, that technology should be used.)

How fitting, though, that the Devils should lose a goal through sheer lack of showboating. Regardless of who's on the roster or behind the bench, Lamoriello demands complete allegiance to the Devils' defensive system -- and a concurrent submission of all ego and individuality. Most teams would have stopped to celebrate the second the puck may have crossed the goal line. Pandolfo, Madden and Jamie Langenbrunner -- all three forwards were around the crease on the disputed play -- put their heads down presumably to think about their next defensive stand.

Coming into this series I thought New Jersey was in trouble. Ottawa is sound in its own end and, I believed, had too much firepower to be held down even by the league's best defensive team. I'm not so sure anymore. Except for a few stretches of the third period, Marian Hossa, Martin Havlat, Daniel Alfredsson and the rest of the Senators' highly skilled forwards had no room to operate. (They were also slowed by the slushy ice at Continental Airlines Arena, which Madden concedes isn't conducive to crisp passing and fluid skating.)

The Devils have outplayed Ottawa consistently since the first period of Game 1 and could easily lead the series 3-0 instead of 2-1. If they continue to play as they did in Game 3, they'll have plenty of opportunity to celebrate when the series ends.

Sports Illustrated staff writer Stephen Cannella covers the NHL for the magazine and will contribute frequently to SI.com throughout the Stanley Cup playoffs.

 

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