When you’re down three games to none in the Stanley Cup finals, lineup adjustments are to be expected. And as he has done all playoffs, Devils coach Pete DeBoer made the right moves Wednesday night as the Devils beat the Kings 3-1 in Game 4 to force Game 5 Saturday at the Prudential Center in Newark.
DeBoer took out defenseman Peter Harrold and inserted Henrik Tallinder, and, perhaps more importantly, scratched Jacob Josefson and inserted Petr Sykora.
“He [Sykora] is obviously a very experienced player,” Devils winger Dainius Zubrus said Thursday. “Me, him and Patty [Elias] played [on the same line] pretty much for most of the season. His experience. He knows where to be, how to score, and that way, we read off each other.”
Sykora did not score, but was on the ice for the first Devils goal, where Zubrus picked up an assist on Elias’ goal that gave the Devils a 1-0 lead. He had been a healthy scratch since Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals, a span of six games. Considering Sykora had played in 26 games in five Stanley Cup finals before his debut in No. 6 Wednesday night, it only made sense to insert him back into the lineup.
“I thought he seemed like he never missed a beat,” Zubrus said. “Having him in the lineup, I thought he had a very good game [Wednesday].”
Zubrus had made one Stanley Cup finals when he was a rookie in 1997. His Flyers were swept by the Red Wings in four straight games, so Wednesday was his first Stanley Cup win of his career.
“We talked about it a little bit on the plane. Me and Petr Sykora sit together and he mentioned something. Fifteen years, it’s the first finals win and it’s nice,” Zubrus said. “But it’s still just one win and we’re still in the hole right now, but we think just take it one game at a time, and hopefully win the next one.”
Sykora hadn’t played in six games, but Tallinder hadn’t played since Jan. 17, missing almost five months with a blood clot.
DeBoer said they both showed why they are veterans.
“They gave us a real shot of energy,” he said. “I thought whenever you’re out for an extended period, you worry about how they are going to get in, their timing and things. You can tell they are veteran guys. They had no hesitation about going in when told, and that is how they played.”
With one win down and three to go, the Devils still have a lot of work to do in order to win the franchises fourth Stanley Cup, but they already have come back to win each of their previous three series this postseason when trailing at one point.
“I think in general we are pretty confident that we can win games. I don’t think we aren’t looking way too far ahead. We’ve been in some tough situations already in the playoffs, being behind against some very good teams. We just took it one game at a time and were able to win series. We put all our efforts to win one game and hopefully that happens [tomorrow],” Zubrus said.