A lot was understandably made of Martin Brodeur's reaction after losing Game 4 to the Hurricanes on a last-nanosecond goal, but he looked a lot happier in his post-game on-ice interview with MSG TV on Thursday night. Shutting out the opposition to put them on the brink of elimination will do that for your demeanor.Brodeur followed up the loss and the subsequent criticisms of his play and attitude with a stellar performance in the Devils' 1-0 win over the Hurricanes. Don't be misled by the score, though -- this game had lots of offensive bite.
Devils 1, Hurricanes 0: Recap | Box Score | Thursday's Scores
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It's not often you see two teams combine for 86 shots and only one goal, yet that was the case Thursday as both Brodeur and counterpart Cam Ward played ridiculously good hockey, with only a David Clarkson deflection of an Andy Greene slapshot finding its way to the net. Brodeur has played a lot of great goalies in his many playoff battles, but this game against Ward ranks right up there with his epic 1994 showdown against Dominik Hasek and the Sabres as one of very best, another 1-0 decision (that one, though, went in Hasek's favor).
When asked after the game whether it was the toughest loss of his career given the high level his team played at, Paul Maurice allowed a telling silence before giving a vague answer, but make no mistake -- it has to be hurting everyone in the Hurricanes locker room that they played as well as they did and still couldn't come away with the win. Their goaltending and defense were stellar, and on top of the 44 shots that got through to Brodeur, another 22 were blocked by the Devils before reaching Brodeur.
Game 5 was another in what has been a series full of thrilling, competitive games, but the Hurricanes can't let any frustration seep into their minds now. This series can still change on a dime, and if Carolina needs any evidence as to what a steely resolve can do to a team with its back against the wall, they need look no further than the man who shattered his stick into splinters in a profanity-laced tirade only two days earlier -- if frustration had really set into Brodeur and the rest of these Devils, given the margin of error in Thursday's Game 5 and the series in general, it'd be the Devils currently staring down the barrel of elimination, not Carolina.
Now we await the Hurricanes' response.
