June 1, 2012, Los Angeles Kings-New Jersey Devils Stanley Cup Final off day notebook for Metro Newspaper in NYC
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BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES
Travis Zajac.
The theme of the day from the Devils’ and Kings’ camps Thursday —
one night after Los Angeles took a 1-0 series lead — was improvement.
The Devils want to improve their overall game following their third Game
1 loss in four playoff series this spring, while the Kings want to fine
tune the details of their game.
“We didn’t play at our best. We were a little nervous in the first
period, a little tentative. We weren’t making plays. We were throwing
the puck away a little too much. We weren’t moving our feet and getting
on the forecheck like we usually do,” Travis Zajac said about the
Devils’ 2-1 overtime loss.
The Devils generated only eight shots in the first 40 minutes, and did
not record a shot on goal in the second period until 14:30 had expired.
Yet the Devils were a Mark Fayne shank away from possibly winning the
series opener.
“We felt that we missed an opportunity because we were able to hang
around against this team, you know, not playing our best game. Still
having a chance to win, that makes us feel pretty good that we can play
better, be a little bit more successful,” Zajac said. “We were watching a
little bit.”
The Kings weren’t exactly reveling in their ninth road win in nine road
playoff games. Instead, they were focused on improving minute aspects.
“I think execution of little plays [need fixing]. We made a couple
turnovers in our ‘D’ zone. That can’t happen if we want to continue to
win. It’s just really cleaning up little plays coming out of our zone,”
Kings captain Dustin Brown said. “This time of year, everything is
detail-oriented. It’s not about making the big play; it’s about making
all the little ones.”
Lidstrom retires
The news of Detroit Red Wings defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom’s retirement reverberated around the hockey world yesterday.
The Prudential Center was no exception.
“It’s a sad day for hockey,” Johan Hedberg said. He is one of three
Swedish players on the Devils, along with defensemen Henrik Tallinder
and Adam Larsson. “[Lidstrom is] probably one of the, if not the best,
Swedish player to ever play the game.”
All three Devils said they idolized the future Hall of Famer. Drafted in
the third round of the 1989 by the Red Wings, Lidstrom played 20
seasons in Detroit. During his career, he won seven Norris trophies as
the league’s best defenseman and was an 11-time All-Star. Lidstrom was a
key member of Detroit’s Cup-winning teams in 1997, 1998, 2002 and 2008,
including being named the Conn Smythe Award winner in 2002.
“He’s been an icon in Sweden for so long,” Tallinder said. “Two decades
is a long time playing in the best league in the world. The things he
has accomplished are remarkable. In my eyes, he’s the best Swedish
player we’ve had over here. No offense to [Peter] Forsberg and [Mats]
Sundin. Four Stanley Cups [and] seven Norris trophies, that says it
all.”
Follow NHL writer Denis Gorman on Twitter @DenisGorman throughout the Stanley Cup final.
Follow NHL writer Denis Gorman on Twitter @DenisGorman throughout the Stanley Cup final.
http://www.metro.us/newyork/sports/article/1144520--stanley-cup-notebook-kings-devils-talk-improvements
posted by Denis P. Gorman at 2:01 PM
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