One thing never changes about the NHL playoffs. Teams that dwell on missed opportunities following a loss only hinder their chances of rebounding in the next game.
So when New Jersey takes the ice Monday night for Game 3 of its first-round Eastern Conference series against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Devils goalie Martin Brodeur says he and his teammates need to have short memories.
“You have to,” Brodeur said Sunday, reflecting on a 3-2 defeat Saturday that kept the Devils from taking a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven matchup.
“These first two games, we won one. So it’s a best out of five now. It’s not a bad situation to be in,” the three-time Stanley Cup champion added. “We’ve got to go out and battle … minimize our mistakes, try to keep it as simple as possible. It’s a brand new series now.”
The Lightning rallied for Saturday’s win, with goalie Johan Holmqvist recovering from a poor performance in Game 1 to make 34 saves and stars Martin St. Louis and Vincent Lecavalier delivering goals after coach John Tortorella split the high-scoring tandem onto different lines.
Reunited on a line with center Brad Richards, St. Louis erased a 2-1 deficit in the final minute of the second period. Lecavalier, the NHL’s leading goal scorer this season, snapped the tie early in the third.
