Philadelphia Flyers, New Jersey Devils aim to take series lead in Game 3 -NHL Playoffs Preview
New Jersey Devils rallied back in the final minutes of Game 2 to level the series and send Philadelphia Flyers a message to level the series, now heading into Game 3 of the 2012 National Hockey League (NHL) Stanley Cup Eastern Conference Playoff Semi-Finals,
both will be looking to take the lead for sure.
Devils gained some much needed confidence and could be aiming to utilise on it while Philadelphia needs to rebuild themselves after giving up four straight goals in the final period of regulation alone.
Philadelphia managed to grab a one point lead over the Devils and edge them in Game 1 after the overtime decider but New Jersey’s dominating performance in the next just showed who was on top.
Even though New Jersey was playing without leading scorer, Ilya Kovalchuk, they managed to bring out the best in other players and proved their capabilities as a team.
"I think there is a pressure with being a favourite in a series," Devils coach, Peter DeBoer, said Wednesday. "We felt that in the Florida series, and I don't think there is any doubt that it is on Philadelphia. That is something that isn't easy to deal
with, when you are supposed to win and, not only win, but win convincingly.”
That is the great thing about the New Jersey club, they will not let a win like Game 2 get to their heads and will continue giving it everything they got.
Philadelphia on the other hand is focusing on going into the contest in a mode of desperation.
"It is all about the will and desperation," Flyers’ Danny Briere said. "We have to get that back. So far in this series, we have only had it for about three periods. There is no sense in me telling you how good we are. You guys have seen us all year.”
Kovalchuk might not be ready for Game 3 either despite recent news about the player being much better than before. Devils are planning to rest the player for future contests and if they manage to take the lead, bringing him back in Game 4 will make things
even more interesting.
Game 3 is scheduled to kick off on Thursday, May 3, 2012, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey at 7:30 PM ET.
Prediction:
New Jersey takes the match 3-2.
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