"Hope springs eternal"...and as of right now, perhaps the greatest example of that is what this Devils team appears to be cooking up in New Jersey. The Devils held on Wednesday night to defeat the Carolina Hurricanes, a team that feels very confident when trailing late, by a final score of 3-2. The Devils extended their winning streak to 5 games, and are now an astonishing 13-1-2 in their last 16.
The Devils jumped out to a 1-0 lead off a beautiful goal by Ilya Kovalchuk at 5:41 of the 2nd period. Kovalchuk absolutely turned Joe Corvo inside out with two dekes, and then ripped a shot from the left circle, under Cam Ward's glove and into the net. Kovalchuk's celebration, in such contrast with his celebration's earlier in the season, would depict the way he and the rest of the team are feeling right now. The 2nd period ended with the Devils up 1-0.
With the 3rd period starting 4 on 4, Rolston back-handed a loose puck in the hash-marks past a recovering Cam Ward in the crease, to give the Devils a 2-0 lead. That goal was followed up by Patrik Elias dangling one-on-one around Carolina defender Jamie McBain, to sneak a back-hand shot past Ward's right pad, and give the Devils a 3-0 lead at 1:59 of the 3rd period. Carolina would respond with a goal by Sergei Samsonov at 8:17 of the 3rd. The Devils hung on to their 3-1 lead till Tuomo Ruutu scored for Carolina with 4 seconds left to make it a 3-2 final score.
The Devils played with great work ethic, energy, and belief in their system for most of the night. They now sit 12 points out of a playoff spot, with one more game against the currently 8th seeded Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday night, in what is certain to be an intense showdown.
Steve Cangelosi interviewed Patrik Elias after the game and wished Elias luck against the Rangers, whom the Devils play at home Friday night. Patrik responded, "Thank you". And with a smile said, "...We'll get them." Clear proof of a confident player, representing a very confident team right now. Some may deem Patrik's words as "over-confidence" or "arrogance". But as of right now, who can really disagree with Patrik's forecast?
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