They are not suffering and they certainly have been devoid of misfortune. Has there been hardship? Definitely. The playoffs are always about the various hardships teams and individuals must confront and deal with in an effective manner. Winning a championship isn’t designed to be easy and it’s no different for the Kings or the New Jersey Devils.
In the Stanley Cup Final, there has been a significant change that has benefited the Devils and helped them move ahead of the hardship of falling behind by three games. This change has pushed the Kings to deal with a hardship that looked avoidable after winning the first three games.
MORE: Game 6 preview
The insertion of Henrik Tallinder into the Devils‘ lineup before Game 4 has had a significant influence on the complexion of this series authentic sports jerseys. Beyond the obvious of adding a player who has significant experience and is a good player, it has allowed the Devils to have better and more favorable matchups versus some of the big and physical forwards in the Kings‘ lineup. Without Tallinder, the Devils‘ defense pairings were:
Andy Greene-Mark Fayne
Bryce Salvador-Marek Zidlicky
About Craig Button
Craig Button started in the NHL with the Minnesota North Stars and Dallas Stars and became director of player personnel, helping lead them to a Stanley Cup in 1999. He also served as vice president and GM of the Calgary Flames cheap authentic NHL jerseys,authentic NHL hockey jerseys for sale. He currently is an analyst with the NHL Network and TSN.
Anton Volchenkov-Peter Harrold
It looks like a straight exchange of Tallinder for Harrold but it has had a greater effect. With Zidlicky and Harrold on the right side of the Devils‘ defense, the Kings were able to take advantage of their size on the left wing by always knowing that at least one and at times two of Dustin Brown, Dustin Penner and Dwight King would have a decided physical advantage. It forced Zidlicky into situations where he had to do a little more heavy lifting and didn’t allow him to utilize his strengths to the fullest. Now with Tallinder in the lineup, the Devils‘ defense pairings are:
Andy Greene-Mark Fayne
Henrik Tallinder-Marek Zidlicky
Bryce Salvador-Anton Volchenkov
Adding Tallinder allowed the Devils to move Volchenkov to the right side and it has changed the look significantly for the three Kings forwards. Brown, Penner and King are now facing two big defenders in Volchenkov and Fayne and it allows Zidlicky to be in situations more suitable to his skill set.
During Game 5, Volchenkov neutralized Brown and made it very difficult for him to move around with any ease. That is the hardship Brown is now dealing with. It’s a hardship that Penner and King are dealing with as well. On the two Devils‘ goals in Game 4, by Patrik Elias and Adam Henrique, they were direct results of Salvador, Volchenkov and Fayne neutralizing the Kings‘ wingers and gaining an advantage. On the winning goal in Game 5, Volchenkov neutralized Brown.
A healthy Tallinder has helped the Devils gain an advantage by adding more weight and size on the blue line. It now is forcing the Kings to deal with a situation they didn’t have in the first three games.
Saying the Kings are dealing with adversity because of the two losses is fine. The reality is that the Kings must deal with the challenge of the Devils‘ improved defense. If they don’t find a successful way to overcome it in Game 6, the adversity becomes far greater.
