New York. They celebrated the 20th anniversary of their last Stanley Cup win in New Jersey last night – and the players of the day were so inspired by the presence of their legendary predecessors that they went out and thrashed Philadelphia 7-0 shortly thereafter.
– something to be proud of, says trainer Lindy Ruff.
After all, in 2003 the New Jersey Devils won the last of their three Stanley Cup titles and tonight, 20 years later, the old icons showed up at The Rock in Newark to celebrate again.
Martin Brodeur, Scott Stevens, Scott Niedermayer, Brian Rafalski, Swede Tommy Alblin…they were all there and cheered again.
And as I said: their successors in today’s lineup clearly got a kick out of their sight, because the Devils played a game of the season and kicked seven goals on poor Samuel Ersson – while their goal ice quickly called up Akira Schmid, a clean sheet.
– It was really fun to be able to help him stay solid, says Jesper Pratt, who himself was responsible for his 24th goal of the season.
– At the same time, it is gratifying that so many can leave their mark on the protocol. Strengthens self-confidence.
Trainer Lindy Ruff is also pleased.
—that after the party with the old champions, we go out and do such a match… That’s something to be proud of, he says.
The Pittsburgh Penguins are back in one of the two Wild Card spots in the Eastern standings.
Because, with some effort, they managed to defeat the Blues in St. Louis 3-2 during the night.
The tight match seemed decided when Swedish defender Marcus Peterson made it 2-1 to the visitors at 14.32 in the third period, but Justin Volk had time to equalize before the final whistle, so only in extra time could Brian Rust decide.
“I loved our will to win tonight,” says Coach Mike Sullivan.
Pettersson is also mentioned for help.
On the other hand, the Detroit Red Wings are no longer on the right side of the playoff line.
They had a chance to go the distance to chase away rivals at home against Tampa last night, but were beaten 3-0.
– I think we deserved a better fate, but Andrei Vasilievskij was great in their box, notes Wings coach Derek Lalonde.
For the Calgary Flames, the situation has become a bit urgent. They lost 4-1 to the Avalanche in Denver last night and are now four points ahead on the line in the West – with more games played than many of their competitors in the same race.
Rasmus Anderson assisted in the consolation goal.
In the early “Finals West” between the Vegas Golden Knights, first in the Pacific Division, and the Dallas Stars, first in Central Dayton, in Sin City, the home team had a last-minute lead. But with 38 seconds left, Rob Hintze equalized – and then the Stars won on penalties.
Earlier on Saturday, Washington snapped a six-game losing streak with a convincing 6-3 win over the suddenly out-of-form New York Rangers.
Erik Gustafsson has two assists for the captaincy and Mika Zibanejad two for the Rangers.
Meanwhile, Columbus roared in a wild game against Edmonton. They were down 4-0 in the second half, but eventually came back and won 6-5.
Adam Bukvist even played one of the goals.
In Montreal, the Ottawa Senators defeated the Canadiens, 5-2.