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HEAD COACH
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Rob Ftorek
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ROSTER
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C - Bobby Holik, Bob Carpenter, Denis Pederson, Petr
Sykora, Jason Arnott, Sergei Brylin, Brendan Morrison, Sergei
Nemchinov. LW - Dave Andreychuk, Brian Rolston, Scott Daniels,
Jay Pandolfo, Sasha Lakovic. RW - Patrik Elias, Randy McKay,
Vadim Sharifijanov, Krzysztof Oliwa. D - Scott Stevens, Scott
Niedermayer, Ken Daneyko, Lyle Odelein, Kevin Dean, Sheldon
Souray, Brad Bombardir. G - Martin Brodeur, Chris Terreri.
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INJURIES
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None.
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TRANSACTIONS
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None.
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GAME RESULTS
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First Round vs Pittsburgh: Penguins lead 2-1
04/22 Pittsburgh W 3-1
04/24 Pittsburgh L 4-1
04/25 at Pittsburgh L 4-2
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STANDINGS
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Atlantic Division GP W L T PTS GF GA
z-New Jersey 82 47 24 11 105 248 196
x-Philadelphia 82 37 26 19 93 231 196
x-Pittsburgh 82 38 30 14 90 242 225
NY Rangers 82 33 38 11 77 217 227
NY Islanders 82 24 48 10 58 194 244
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TEAM NEWS
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by Carmen Crincoli, New Jersey Correspondent
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Talk means nothing. New Jersey is on its way to another
disappointing playoffs this year, after showing the Penguins that
they can in fact win without Jaromir Jagr.
After squeaking their way to 3-1 win in the series opener, the
Devils have let the Penguins take the next two games. What's
more disturbing is that they've let the Penguins control play for
the better part of all three games, and have yet again produced
no scoring to help out the beleaguered Martin Brodeur.
The sad truth of the matter is that the offense always seems to
disappear in front of Brodeur when the playoffs roll around. New
Jersey has not won a playoff game where Brodeur has surrendered
more than two goals in 12 consecutive games now. That is a
pretty sad statistic, because it means that Martin cannot have an
off game and hope to win. New Jersey has to take the next two
games or they could easily be looking at early elimination for
the third consecutive season.
Martin Straka and Alexei Kovalev have been the Devil killers in
Jagr's absence. Without Jagr in the lineup, the team seems to be
playing better as a unit, using a trap to shut down any offense
New Jersey might generate, and counter-attacking with great
effectiveness.
Don't mistake this for doomsday, however. Momentum and
confidence can swing as quickly the other way. What the Devils
need right now, is a good old fashioned barn burner. If they can
blow away Pittsburgh in Game 4, the self-confident Devils team
that ended the season should return. The team still has all the
tools, it just needs the mentality to be a winner.
Don't be shocked or even mildly surprised to see New Jersey
emerge from this series, and head into the next round ready to
roll.
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