Eastern Conference Finals Game 6 Preview: Devils Ready to Make Their Own History

Stanley Cup Playoffs: Round 3
New York Rangers at New Jersey Devils
8:00 P.M. ET
TV: NBCSN
Radio: Bloomberg 1130 AM

If you told me last year that the New Jersey Devils would be one win away from advancing to the Stanley Cup Finals, I would have told you that you were crazy.  Fast forward one year and here we are, one win away from the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 2003.  To say this isn’t a big deal is an understatement. This is HUGE for this franchise!

If you remember correctly, the last two games I’ve called out Zach Parise and Patrik Elias and they both decided to show up. Parise has five points in his last two games and Elias scored a goal on Wednesday so while we’ll be looking for those two players to continue to step it up, it’s now time for Ilya Kovalchuk to come through.

Kovalchuk hasn’t been terrible and if it wasn’t for him pinning the Rangers defenseman in the corner on Ryan Carter’s game winning goal, who knows how Game 5 would have ended.  However, this Devils team needs Kovalchuk to have one of his best games tonight. We need goals and lots of them and we all know Kovalchuk can provide those to us.  Tonight is his chance to shine in front of the home crowd.

Now, if you follow me on twitter (@cj225devs), you’ll notice at the end of Game 5 I tweeted “They’re double shifting Gionta…something is wrong with that!!”  After that, Stephen Gionta made me eat a little crow as he had the primary assist on Ryan Carter’s game winning goal.  This guy is an absolute beast and he’s no longer Brian’s little brother. He’s had his coming out party during the playoffs and deserves to be recognized for his accomplishments.  I’m expecting another big game for this guy. He may be small, but he has a huge heart.

While Martin Brodeur didn’t have his best game of the series on Wednesday, he still made some spectacular saves, especially for a 40 year old. Tonight we need him to put everything on the line and play his heart out. We all know Marty’s capable of doing it and he’s just one more on a list of players that has to step up and have a big game. He made some bad plays on Wednesday, but that can all be erased tonight with a stellar performance.

Alright, I didn’t want to do this, but I’m going to bring up 1994.  Yes, it is 18 years ago to the day since Mark Messier made his guarantee and yes we all know what happened after that, but this is 2012.  It’s time for the Devils to make today part of their history!

ONE SHIFT AT A TIME, ONE PERIOD AT TIME, and ONE GAME AT TIME… LET’S DO THIS DEVILS!!

Devils’ projected lineup:

Parise – Zajac – Zubrus

Elias –  Henrique – Kovalchuk

Ponikarovsky – Josefson – Clarkson

Carter – Gionta – Bernier

Greene – Fayne

Salvador – Zidlicky

Volchenkov – Harrold

Brodeur

Hedberg

Rangers’ projected lineup:

Hagelin – Richards – Gaborik

Kreider – Stepan – Callahan

Anisimov – Boyle – Fedotenko

Rupp – Mitchell – Prust

McDonagh – Girardi

Del Zotto – Eminger

Staal – Stralman

Lundqvist

Biron