Brodeur gets his revenge
Apr 24, 2009
Tuesday after losing game four, Martin Brodeur got mad. Thursday night he got even. As he promised he would, Brodeur quickly put aside the New Jersey Devils’ bitter last second loss to the Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh. That night Brodeur was victimized by the latest game winning goal in NHL playoff history. But in game five, Brodeur made his own history, tying the league’s record for career playoff shutouts.
The Hurricanes made Brodeur earn every inch of his lofty standing in the hierarchy of NHL goaltenders. They fired 44 shots-one of which Brodeur literally stopped an inch (or less) before it crossed the line. The Canes shot pucks at Brodeur from point blank range. They mixed in some silent lethal wristers along with loud hard slap shots. They shot the puck while driving the net. They attacked from the corners. And a few times, the Canes were even able to put traffic in front of the Devils’ goalie. But Brodeur saw through the screens and corralled all the rebounds. Two or three times in game four the Hurricanes capitalized when Brodeur allowed pucks to remain in play. But in game five Brodeur was so dominant he stopped every first shot and prevented second shots by keeping the puck close to his body. His performance was the stuff of legends.
And Brodeur had to be great, because Cam Ward was nearly his equal. Ward saw 42 shots and stopped 41. He denied Jay Pandolfo on a breakaway. He repeatedly gloved shots from Brendan Shanahan and Patrick Elias. Zach Parise and Brian Gionta, who have been the Devils’ most prolific scorers in this series, could not scratch against Ward this time. Ward and the Hurricanes shut down all of the Devils’ big guns.
New Jersey will carry a 3-2 lead to Raleigh for game six because of the efforts of two role players. Andy Green, filling in for the injured Bryce Salvador, shot the puck on the game’s only goal. Green also made a huge block in the third period to help Brodeur keep the Hurricanes scoreless. The man at the other end of Green’s shot was David Clarkson. Clarkson scored the tying goal Tuesday night in game four, but his contribution became lost in the maelstrom of excitement over Jussi Jokinen’s game winner that barely beat the final horn. In game five, Clarkson beat Ward for the second straight game, deflecting Green’s shot on a line probably not even Brodeur could have stopped.
Great as Brodeur was, perhaps what truly separated New Jersey and Carolina in game five was the power play. The Devils got four chances and capitalized on one. The Hurricanes went 0-5. Through the years, I have seen some Canes teams that were just inept with the man advantage. That’s not the case here. Paul Maurice’s crew moved the puck and created chances. But they couldn’t solve the mysterious Martin Brodeur.
Although the Hurricanes played as well as a team can play and not win, they now find themselves in a big hole. They must not only win game six in Raleigh, they must follow that with a win in game seven at New Jersey as well. Whether Martin Brodeur is standing on his head, or sprawling on the ice, his ability to stop pucks will put pressure on the Hurricanes to take more chances on the offensive end, which gives the New Jersey counter attack more chances at the defensive end. And so for the Canes to win, Cam Ward must continue to play as well as Brodeur. Or even better.
