New Jersey has now won two contests in a row, but their Game 5 victory wasn’t exactly pretty. They got off to a 3-0 lead, but coughed it up before adding two late goals for a 5-3 win. Devils coach Pete DeBoer put the best spin on it possible.
“I thought we found a way to weather the storm and we hung with it,” DeBoer said, “and we felt that if we could get back on the forecheck we could create some more offense. And the goal was a forecheck goal. Kovalchuk goes in, eliminates the defensemen. Gionta scoops up the puck and makes a play. And our depth guys were outstanding tonight.”
Surrendering a 3-0 lead, even in a game you eventually win, isn’t typically a big confidence booster, but in the playoffs, there’s no such thing as a bad victory. New Jersey now has a 3-2 series lead going into Game 6 in New Jersey.
“I think we’ll be good. We’re at home in front of our home crowd,” DeBoer said of Game 6. “I think we worked awful hard to have this opportunity. I’m confident we’re going to throw a good game out there.”
The Rangers have already played in three games where they’ve faced elimination in their 2012 playoff run. We’ll see if they have another win in them.