Devils Hold Off Rangers, Head Home With Series Even 1-1

“Good things come to those who wait.” It’s an age-old saying that attempts to prove the virtue of being patient and how patience can pay off in a big way somewhere down the road.

The 28-year-old winger’s road to the NHL was not of the fast-track variety taken by many top prospects, but rather one of patience and endurance for a hard-working, blue collar player.

So that raises the question: Is John Tortorella being an ass?

Yes, absolutely.

Though commentator Mike Milbury questioned the Slovakian winger’s lack of shot blocking and physical play compared to his teammates, it’s worth considering that the 40-goal scorer isn’t being paid $7.5 million this season for his defensive play.

Perhaps Tortorella was not pleased with Gaborik’s play on the Madison Square Garden ice, but it’s worth pointing out that the Rangers continued to battle with their “slowness” in the words of their head coach. Though it may also be worth pointing out that what the Rangers front office claims to be a speed issue may be more accurately described as fatigue. Two consecutive seven-game series appear to be taking a toll on New York. Each club made its share of mistakes during game two, but the home team’s difficulties adjusting began to compound, unlike their dominant late-game performance in the opening game of the series.

From the time he sat down to the time he stormed off, John Tortorella spent 1:04 seconds in front of the media. This wasn’t a classic Tortorella rant-filled press conference, though. It was short, surly and straight cold-blooded. It was another Tortorella classic.

There’s video after the jump. We also took a quick tally.

The Rangers have now lost Game 2 in all three rounds in the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs.

Game 3 will take place at 1 p.m. Saturday afternoon in Newark.

Benched? Certainly seems that way.

Through two periods, the teams have each gone through spurts of extremely solid play in the game, but neither has really been able to take control. The Rangers can take a big series lead with a solid third period, and the Devils really need the win to avoid going into a deep hole heading into Game 3. Just as was the case in Game 1, whoever wins the third period will have a big edge heading into Saturday’s game.

It was a tough penalty to take in the first place, an interference call while the Devils were pinned down in their own end. But after the call, Zajac had to stand and ponder the penalty as the Madison Square Garden maintenance crew tried for several minutes to open the penalty box door. Then, while resting in the box, Kreider gave his team the lead, capitalizing on Zajac’s mistake.

Taking your best jokes in the comments.

Hear those “Maaaaarty! Maaaaarty!” chants at Madison Square Garden? Yep, they’re warranted.

Maybe it’s just an unlucky bounce, but Brodeur is certainly to blame a little bit for this one. He was simply way too far out of the goal to begin with, and when the puck took its funny hop, he couldn’t get himself in the proper position to make the save.

Both teams have logged four penalty minutes.

The Rangers haven’t been able to generate offensive zone time at all, and as we prepare for the fifth period of this Eastern Conference final, they have some serious questions to ask themselves about their ability to compete at the same speed as these Devils despite their 1-0 series lead. But if New Jersey continues to fail to capitalize on its dominant forecheck and superior ability at winning board battles, the Devils will allow the Rangers to hang around. You don’t want to leave the Rangers hanging around.

The Devils have taken over the first period of Game 2, much like they did in the first 40 minutes of Game 1, but the big difference is that the Devils, you know, have a goal to show for it this time around. If they keep up this forecheck and this type of dominance in the offensive end of the ice, it’s going to be tough for the Rangers to generate any offensive pressure of their own.

I’m not sure how shot-blocking is boring in any way. Yeah, it leads to fewer goals; I guess we should just get rid of goalies, too. Or maybe teams should just figure out how to beat it, because the Rangers could very well win the Eastern Conference doing this.

Anyway, New Jersey’s power play = not exactly successful, producing just one shot in the full two minutes. They’ve been able to get some solid zone time and some solid chances through the game so far, though, despite the poor power play attempt. They’ve definitely working the corners well ... hmm, sort of like they did in the first two periods in Game 1.

For more on this series, check in with SB Nation’s Devils blog In Lou We Trust and for the New York perspective, Blueshirt Banter.

New York came out with a different attitude and tenacity to start the third period and took the lead just 53 seconds in. That changed the game’s momentum completely and the Rangers were in control for the rest of the game, scoring twice more in their 3-0 victory.

Momentum shifts like Girardi’s goal are likely to define Game 2 and the rest of the series. Both teams have experienced goalies in net and both teams are fantastic at blocking shots. Goals will be hard to come by and both teams are excellent at defending leads, so the Devils might have to score first to produce a better result in Game 2 and take a split across the Hudson River.