NEWARK, N.J. _ A couple of speedy teams brought out the boxing gloves in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals. All the chatter about physical play proved to be more than just chatter, as the Devils and Tampa Bay Lightning slugged it out for three periods.
Kyle Palmieri scored a 5-on-3 goal and Cory Schneider made 34 saves for the Devils, who generated more offense than they have all series in the fourth game of the Stanley Cup Playoff series. But as good as they were, Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy was even better.
The Devils couldn't crack him and fell, 3-1, on Wednesday night at Prudential Center.
One goal made all the difference, and Nikita Kucherov, the NHL's 100-point wonder, provided it for Tampa Bay. Kucherov scored twice, with the second one an empty-netter to push the game out of reach with 1:08 left in regulation.
The Devils are now in a 3-1 hole and face elimination as the series moves back to Tampa for Game 5 on Saturday afternoon at Amalie Arena.
The home team was hyped. The barn was sold out and the crowd roared as Patrick Warburton, of Seinfeld fame, reprised his role as David Puddy. With his face painted and his shirt... Well, somewhere close by I'm sure, Warburton reenacted the infamous scene in which he screeched "We're the Devils!" to an unsuspecting priest.
It looked as though the Devils wouldn't need spiritual or religious help in the first period when they cashed in on an early 5-on-3 power play. Alex Killorn sat for hooking and Cedric Paquette then tripped Taylor Hall less than a minute later to give the Devils a two-man advantage.
Palmieri one-timed a pass from Will Butcher to put the Devils on the board, 1-0 at 8:23.
But Tampa Bay wasn't going to go down easy. The visitors came out aggressive and eager and they came out swinging. Hard.
The first period was marked by bone-crunching hits, a couple of which NHL Player Safety may end up reviewing. A seven-game series breeds animosity and in the fourth game of this best-of-seven tilt, the animosity reached a boiling point.
Kucherov crunched Sami Vatanen along the boards late in the first period. Vatanen laid out on the ice in a heap for a minute before the officials stopped play to let him off the ice and back to the dressing room. The defenseman skated off under his own power and the Devils said he was "evaluated" during the game, but Vatanen didn't return and fans booed as no penalty was called.
A few minutes later, Killorn took Ben Lovejoy's legs right out from underneath him and slammed him into the glass. This time, the Devils got a whistle as Killorn sat for boarding. It characterized an intense first period where all the damage was done.
The Devils hammered Vasilevskiy early on, throwing everything they had at him. But in an instant, the tide turned and former Ranger J.T. Miller had the game tied at 1-1. Miller's goal at 11:30 in the first swung the momentum to Tampa Bay and Cory Conacher made it 2-1 shortly thereafter.
However, the Devils momentarily had a lucky break after Cory Conacher's goal was taken off the board. The puck was offside before Conacher's tally and the Devils' challenge was successful and the score remained knotted at 1-all.
But with just under five minutes left in the period, Kucherov found a tight window and threaded the needle to make it 2-1.
This time, it stayed on the board.
Two scoreless periods ensued with good action on both ends. There was strong goaltending and even stronger penalty killing. With 12:34 left, the Devils had a crucial power play. Palmieri had a great chance but it went off the side of the net. A few too many passes later, it was killed off and the Devils had nothing to show for it.
