Devils Face Monumental Task Against Boston Bruins in Stanley Cup Playoffs

The New Jersey Devils will face another tough test in the Stanley Cup playoffs as they take on the Boston Bruins, who eliminated the Montreal Canadiens, last year's Stanley Cup winners, in the same time frame the Devils were facing the Buffalo Sabres. The Bruins will look to make the Devils their next victim, and the two teams will begin their four-of-seven-game Eastern Conference semifinal series today at Byrne Meadowlands Arena.

Key Takeaways:

• The Devils face a similar challenge against the Bruins as they did against the Buffalo Sabres, with both teams having a small rink and strong defensive and offensive players.
• Claude Lemieux, the Devils' right wing, believes that Boston's Jon Casey will be a strong challenge in goal, similar to Dominik Hasek of the Sabres.
• Martin Brodeur, the Devils' 21-year-old rookie goaltender, has played every minute in the playoffs and has been magnificent, with a 2.40 goals-against average in the regular season, second only to Hasek's 1.95.
• Bernie Nicholls returned for the deciding game against the Sabres after missing three games with a rib-cage injury, and is expected to be a key player against the Bruins, along with Bobby Carpenter.
• The Devils' four-line system was a key factor in their success against the Sabres, but it remains to be seen if they can capitalize in the same way against the Bruins.

Statistics:

• The Devils and Bruins split four games in the regular season, each winning one at home and one on the road.
• The Devils finished the regular season with a record of 47-25-12 and 106 points, while the Bruins were at 42-29-13 and 97 points.
• Each team scored 17 goals in their four regular-season meetings, and the Bruins outshot the Devils 138 to 89.
• Massachusetts forward Cam Neely's season ended on March 17 when he tore ligaments in his right knee in a game against the Devils.

Sources:

• "Devils Face Monster Task." [Unknown newspaper or publication], 1993