For the most part, the media focus of the Devils/Lightning series has been squarely on the men behind the masks, goaltenders Martin Brodeur and Johan Holmqvist, two guys whose numbers and playoff experiences couldn't be much more disparate. The conventional wisdom was (and probably still is) that Brodeur would not need to be at his best for New Jersey to prevail, and that Holmqvist would have to play the best hockey of his career for Tampa to even have a chance.
Two games into the series, however, the two goalies' numbers are looking pretty similar -- both have one win, Brodeur has the better goals against average and Holmqvist has the better save percentage. With the series headed back to Florida knotted at one, as ridiculous as it may sound, the question bears asking: which goalie is under more pressure?
Brodeur, coming off a record-setting, Vezina-caliber regular season in which he almost single-handedly secured the Conference's second seed for his team, will be the first to tell you he has to be better than he's been through the first two games -- "I have to be the difference," he said. Sounds like pressure to me, though it's the kind of situation -- self-imposed or not -- in which the three-time Stanley Cup winner seems to thrive.
At the other end of the ice, no one outside of maybe the Tampa locker room even gave Holmqvist a chance at stealing this series from the Devils. He's really got nothing to lose and everything to gain. He should just go out there and have fun -- pick your cliche, it applies.
Game Two was a wake-up call for the Devils and a shot in the arm for the Lightning. The series is now a best-of-five, and the pressure is mounting ... but maybe not for whom you'd have expected.
