Devils Hold Off Rangers, Head Home With Series Even 1-1

Patience Pays Off For Devils And Clarkson As Winger Flourishes

Signed by New Jersey as an undrafted free agent in 2005, David Clarkson took the long road to the NHL. Nearly seven years later, the rugged power forward is a big key to the club's chances to qualify for the Cup Final.

'Kill Sean Avery': Mingling With Rangers And Devils Fans

John Tortorella Knows Exactly What He's Doing

John Tortorella has been here before. He knows what he's doing every time he steps up to the microphone for a press conference, and he doesn't care what the media thinks about it.

Devils Vs. Rangers Game 2: Where In The World Was Marian Gaborik?

Despite trailing 3-2 in the dying minutes of game 2, the New York Rangers left one of their best offensive weapons on the bench. Why was Marian Gaborik kept off the ice, and is this a sign that John Tortorella was sending a message to his players?

VIDEO: John Tortorella With Another Surly Press Conference

Rangers Vs. Devils, 2012 NHL Playoffs Game 2: New Jersey Ties Series With 3-2 Victory

The New Jersey Devils have stolen home-ice advantage in the Eastern Conference finals, with a dramatic 3-2 victory over the New York Rangers in Game 2 of their series.

David Clarkson's crafty deflection goal three minutes into the final period gave the Devils the lead and served as the game winner. Clarkson's third game-winner of the playoffs tied the series at one game apiece as the two teams travel across the Hudson River for Games 3 and 4.

The Rangers have now lost Game 2 in all three rounds in the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs.

After taking a 1-0 lead in the first period off an Ilya Kovalchuk power-play goal, the Rangers clawed their way back during the second period, taking a 2-1 lead on goals from Marc Staal and Chris Kreider. But the Devils responded with the period coming to a close, as Ryan Carter tied it with a goal of his own.

The Devils' Martin Brodeur and the Rangers' Henrik Lundvqist had 23 and 24 saves, respectively.

Game 3 will take place at 1 p.m. Saturday afternoon in Newark.

For more on this series, check in with SB Nation's Devils blog In Lou We Trust. For the New York perspective, visit Rangers blog Blueshirt Banter.

Henrik Lundqvist Flattened By Alexei Ponikarovsky

That would have been … interesting. Alexei Ponikarovsky slammed into Henrik Lundqvist, the goalie flew back into his net, and play kept going. Ponikarovsky definitely appeared to slow up, and maybe Lundqvist took a bit of a dive? Tough to say.

Even worse for the New York Rangers was the shot that found its way on net while Lundqvist was still down. If that puck went in the net, it easily could have sparked some sort of angry mob in Midtown Manhattan.

Marian Gaborik Sighting!

No worries, New York. Marian Gaborik is here.

The Rangers star finally found his way onto the ice at the 11:02 mark of the third period. As of a New Jersey Devils timeout with five minutes remaining in the game, Gaborik has played two shifts in the third. Either way, though, with his team down a goal, John Tortorella is going to have to answer questions about keeping Gaborik off the ice after the game -- win or lose. That should be fun.

Marian Gaborik Benched By Rangers In Third Period

Marian Gaborik played 12:14 through the first two periods of play. We’re just about six minutes through the third period, and Marian Gaborik has yet to step onto the ice. The Rangers had a power play, but nope — no Gabby.

Benched? Certainly seems that way.

David Clarkson's Redirection Goal Gives New Jersey Devils 3-2 Lead

In Game 1, it was the New York Rangers that took an early third-period lead on a Dan Girardi goal. From that point, New York took over the game and waltzed to victory. Could it be reversed in Game 2? David Clarkson's redirection goal on an Adam Henrique point shot gave the Devils the 3-2 lead just 2:31 into the period.

It's not the same story following the goal, though. The Rangers turned up the gas after falling behind for the second time in the hockey game, and they've even begun to dictate the pace of the game a little bit, picking up at least three scoring chances and a power play opportunity after an ill-advised interference penalty against Steve Bernier.

A clean hit from Bernier, no doubt, but he delivered it a bit too soon in anticipation of Marc Staal getting to a loose puck. You have to actually let him get to that puck before you can hit him, man. The Devils killed the penalty but New York doesn't seem to be going down easily.

Ryan Carter Goal Ties Score, Gives Devils Boost Heading Into Third Period

What a huge, huge goal for the New Jersey Devils. It had seemed like the game was slipping away in the same way that Game 1 had slipped out of their grasp, but with less than two minutes to go in the second period of Game 2, their fourth line came up huge and tied the score at two goals apiece.

Ryan Carter did a great job to get his stick on the Bryce Salvador point shot, redirecting it back toward the Rangers goal and on Henrik Lundqvist. The New York goaltender got a piece of it, but it's possible that Travis Zajac may have disrupted his vision a bit, and after the puck hit him, it snuck its way into the back of the net.

Through two periods, the teams have each gone through spurts of extremely solid play in the game, but neither has really been able to take control. The Rangers can take a big series lead with a solid third period, and the Devils really need the win to avoid going into a deep hole heading into Game 3. Just as was the case in Game 1, whoever wins the third period will have a big edge heading into Saturday's game.

Chris Kreider's Power-Play Goal Gives Rangers 2-1 Lead

And just that quickly, the New York Rangers have the lead. Chris Kreider's power-play goal has the home team up 2-1 in a game that seemed early like it would be taken over by the New Jersey Devils. The goal was originally credited to Anton Stralman, but upon review was correctly changed to give the rookie his fourth goal of these playoffs.

In all, this may have been the worst penalty Travis Zajac has ever taken. (Maybe not, but it was certainly insulting.)

It was a tough penalty to take in the first place, an interference call while the Devils were pinned down in their own end. But after the call, Zajac had to stand and ponder the penalty as the Madison Square Garden maintenance crew tried for several minutes to open the penalty box door. Then, while resting in the box, Kreider gave his team the lead, capitalizing on Zajac's mistake.

Devils Penalty Box Door Won't Open At Madison Square Garden

The door to the New Jersey Devils' penalty box at Madison Square Garden is stuck open. Travis Zajac has been waiting to take his seat in that box for several minutes after taking a pretty bad interference penalty.

The door won't open, and Zajac originally took his seat in the Rangers' penalty box. But after a pretty long delay, they got the door open and Zajac took his proper seat.

Taking your best jokes in the comments.

Marc Staal's Shot Takes Funny Hop Off Glass, Beats Martin Brodeur To Tie Score, 1-1

Hear those "Maaaaarty! Maaaaarty!" chants at Madison Square Garden? Yep, they're warranted.

The Devils goaltender took himself out of position, and when a Marc Staal shot went high and off the glass behind Brodeur's goal, the bounce somehow found its way off the goaltender's pad and into the back of the net.

Maybe it's just an unlucky bounce, but Brodeur is certainly to blame a little bit for this one. He was simply way too far out of the goal to begin with, and when the puck took its funny hop, he couldn't get himself in the proper position to make the save.

Just as in Game 1, when the Rangers scored a goal with a shot from the point in the third period, they've started to get some energy going following their tally. Can the Devils survive the surge, or will New York carry it to a lead in the hockey game?

Rangers Vs. Devils, 2012 NHL Playoffs Game 2: New Jersey Holds 1-0 Lead After First Period

After one period of play, the New Jersey Devils lead the New York Rangers 1-0 in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals.

Ilya Kovalchuk got the scoring going with a power-play goal at the 13:39 mark of the first, one of eight shots the Devils put on net at Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist. Kovalchuk's goal was assisted by Marek Zidlicky and Zach Parise.

The Rangers are leading in many of the major team statistical categories, with three giveaways, two takeaways and nine faceoffs won. But they've been unable to get any legitimate scoring opportunities aimed at Devils goalie Martin Brodeur due to limited time spent in the offensive zone.

Both teams have logged four penalty minutes.

For more on this series, check in with SB Nation's Devils blog In Lou We Trust and for the New York perspective, Blueshirt Banter.

New Jersey Devils Dominant After Period 1, But New York Rangers Hanging Around

The Devils are dominating yet again early in Game 1, but while they’re directing the puck at the Rangers' net and have a 1-0 lead thanks to an Ilya Kovalchuk power-play goal, they’re still not capitalizing on their superior puck possession time.

New Jersey has fired 23 shots toward Henrik Lundqvist, but only eight of those shots have actually reached the goal, including the one that beat the Rangers goaltender. Six shots have been blocked -- obviously, New York’s shot-blocking has been a storyline heading into this Game 2 -- but nine shots off New Jersey sticks completely missed the net.

The Rangers haven’t been able to generate offensive zone time at all, and as we prepare for the fifth period of this Eastern Conference final, they have some serious questions to ask themselves about their ability to compete at the same speed as these Devils despite their 1-0 series lead. But if New Jersey continues to fail to capitalize on its dominant forecheck and superior ability at winning board battles, the Devils will allow the Rangers to hang around. You don’t want to leave the Rangers hanging around.

Ilya Kovalchuk Scores Devils' First Goal Of Series; NJ Leads, 1-0

And with that, the Devils are on the board. New Jersey's aggressive forecheck drew all five Rangers defenders toward one side of the ice, but they all forgot about Ilya Kovalchuk, the most dangerous player in red, black and white.

Whoops. It left an easy out for the Devils: Get the puck up top to No. 2, Marek Zidlicky, and then feed it across to Kovalchuk, who cut down low unhindered and blasted it up over the shoulder of Henrik Lundqvist for the Devils' first goal of the series.

The Devils have taken over the first period of Game 2, much like they did in the first 40 minutes of Game 1, but the big difference is that the Devils, you know, have a goal to show for it this time around. If they keep up this forecheck and this type of dominance in the offensive end of the ice, it's going to be tough for the Rangers to generate any offensive pressure of their own.

Rangers' Shot-Blocking Getting In Devils' Heads?

So Bruce Arthur of the National Post made a solid point regarding the Rangers crazy shot-blocking ability. People have complained incessantly in the 36 or so hours leading up to Game 2 about New York's shot-blocking strategy, saying it's making the game boring and uneventful. But there's no doubt that it works, and it might even be getting in the heads of the Devils a little bit.

If you didn't think the Rangers' shot-blocking can get in someone's head, Ilya Kovalchuk just jab-stepped and pump-faked like Kobe Bryant.

— Bruce Arthur (@bruce_arthur) May 17, 2012

I'm not sure how shot-blocking is boring in any way. Yeah, it leads to fewer goals; I guess we should just get rid of goalies, too. Or maybe teams should just figure out how to beat it, because the Rangers could very well win the Eastern Conference doing this.

Carl Hagelin Penalty Sends New Jersey To Power Play

On the NBC Sports Network broadcast, Eddie Olczyk called this Carl Hagelin penalty "just winning a physical battle." I mean, yeah, but aren't all physical penalties the result of a player "just winning a physical battle?"

Anyway, New Jersey's power play = not exactly successful, producing just one shot in the full two minutes. They've been able to get some solid zone time and some solid chances through the game so far, though, despite the poor power play attempt. They've definitely working the corners well ... hmm, sort of like they did in the first two periods in Game 1.

Devils Vs. Rangers Lineup: New Jersey Makes Line Changes, Adam Larsson May Sit Game 2

After losing Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals 3-0, the New Jersey Devils made a few lineup changes in preparation for Game 2.

New Jersey coach Peter DeBoer tweaked the line combinations for Game 2, according to a report from NorthJersey.com. The Devils will go back to using the same combinations they used in the first round against Florida. That means, Zach Parise, Travis Zajac and Ilya Kovalchuk will be on the top line. The second line will consist of Patrik Elias, Petr Sykora and Dainius Zubrus while Adam Henrique will group with Alexei Ponikarovsky and David Clarkson on the third line.

There will also be some changes to the New Jersey defense. Peter Harrold, who hasn't played since Game 2 of the Devils' second-round series, will be back in the lineup against the Rangers. Harrold will replace rookie Adam Larsson and will be used on the Devils second power play unit. Larsson will shift to the extra defenseman and may not play in Game 2.

For more on this series, check in with SB Nation's Devils blog In Lou We Trust and for the New York perspective, Blueshirt Banter.

NHL Playoffs 2012, Rangers Vs. Devils Game 2: Game Time, TV Coverage And More

The New Jersey Devils might need something spectacular to beat Henrik Lundqvist and stop the New York Rangers from taking a 2-0 series lead.