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Devils defeat Panthers in overtime to set up Game 7
The Dream lives again for the Devils. In Game 7 Thursday in Florida, they can triumph over the flops and fumbles of their stuttering bid to end four years of playoff failure.
More than that, becaus of Travis Zajac’s series-squaring overtime winner Tuesday night, they have earned yet another chance to create the magic that separates contenders from the average, magic their offensive wealth should already have bought.
“This is just the first step,” Ilya Kovalchuk said after setting up Zajac’s overtime winner 5:39 into overtime for the Devils’ 3-2 victory over the Panthers. “We didn’t do anything, we didn’t accomplish anything yet.”
Paul J. Bereswill
HOT SHOT: Travis Zajac scores the game-winning goal on Panthers goalie Scott Clemmensen, giving the Devils a 3-2 overtime victory last night in Newark in Game 6 of their playoff series.
But they’re still alive, this team with the massive possibilities. They could have expired last night, just as their prior editions did the previous five times they faced elimination.
“All you have do is look around the league to really appreciate how tough the playoffs are,” coach Pete DeBoer said. “Look at the quality of some of the teams that are sitting on the sidelines right now.
“Absolutely, we will take one game [do-or-die]. I know we are going to play a good one.”
Kovalchuk, seeking his first playoff victory, said overcoming adversity is part of winning.
“All the teams who are successful in the playoffs have gone through these situations,” he said. “Boston last year when they won [the Cup], they lost their first two games at home, got to a 3-3 tie and scored in overtime in Game 7.
“You have to go through those moments. You build character. You have to stick with it, never give up, like we did all year long.”
Zajac can talk about sticking with it, all year long, after missing 65 games from Achilles tendon surgery.
“This makes going through the rehab all worthwhile,” said Zajac, who beat Scott Clemmensen on a rush to the left circle off Kovalchuk’s pass for his second career playoff OT goal.
Thanks to that narrow margin, the Devils tomorrow can win their first series since 2007, and first since they moved to Newark, and snap their streak of losing four straight series.
The Devils haven’t led this series since winning the opener, but now can complete the third comeback from a 3-2 deficit in franchise history. The Devils blew a three-goal lead to lose Game 3 against the Panthers, and squandered a two-goal lead to require overtime last night.
“Every time we win, we think we erase the [missteps]. It doesn’t work like that,” Martin Brodeur said.
They were less than convincing again, but fought off elimination for the first time since 2006, when they avoided being swept by Carolina. They died in their next five do-or-dies, including Game 6 against those Hurricanes.
This was the first overtime of this series, surprising since the Devils went beyond regulation 22 times this season, the Panthers a league-high 25.
Overtime was required after the Devils failed to hold the lead given by Steve Bernier and Kovalchuk.
The Panthers were forced into another goalie change when series starter Jose Theodore, who blanked the Devils in Game 5, sat out with what is speculated to be a knee injury. Clemmensen, who won Game 3 in relief of Theodore but lost Game 4 to Brodeur’s comeback shutout, stopped the first 11 Devils shots, but not the 12th.
Ryan Carter redirected Peter Harrold’s point shot, and Clemmensen struggled with his stick save, leaving the rebound in the left circle. Bernier was first there and turned and shot, and Clemmensen couldn’t keep the puck from going between his legs, a bad goal at 16:37 of the first.
Kovalchuk made it 2-0 4:21 into the second with his third, a power play back-door feed from Zajac at the right end.
The lead didn’t survive the period, the Devils outscored 9-2 by the Panthers in the second periods of this series.
Kris Versteeg put Florida on the board with his third at 7:05, left uncovered skating across the slot to put away Stephen Weiss’ pass from the left corner. Sean Bergenheim tied the game with his third at 12:49, jamming Tyson Strachan’s rebound around the right post.
From then on, it was nail-biting time, particularly for the Devils, for whom one mistake would ruin everything.
It still could, but now, they have the chance to do what they’re supposed to — advance.
***
The Devils stand 6-7 in Game 7s, 3-5 on the road, winning in Ottawa in 2003, Philadelphia in 2000 and Washington in 1988. The Panthers, who are making their first playoff appearance since being swept by the Devils in 2000, the longest absence in NHL history, have not won a series since beating the Penguins in 1996. That was their only Game 7.
mark.everson@nypost.com
Travis Zajac, the Devils, the Devils, Scott Clemmensen, Scott Clemmensen, Panthers, Panthers, Ilya Kovalchuk, overtime winner, Devils
