Devils coach unhappy with way team lost
Associated Press
WEST ORANGE, N.J. -- Losing Game 4 to the Toronto Maple
Leafs didn't bug Larry Robinson as much as the way the New Jersey
Devils lost it.
All the little things that make up Hockey 101 somehow were
forgotten by Robinson's team at the most inappropriate times
Wednesday night.
The cost was a 3-2 loss as the Maple Leafs tied the
best-of-7 Eastern Conference semifinal at two games apiece.
|  | | Robinson thinks his team can play better, especially at the end of games. |
Robinson didn't go through the mistakes one by one, but they are
the kind of errors the Devils can't make if they want to win what
is now a best-of-three series, starting on Saturday night in
Toronto.
"As you get older, the easy things turn into the big things,"
Robinson said Thursday after giving the Devils a day off. "When
you try to do too much, that's when you make mistakes. You try to
cover for somebody else and the next thing your man is open.
"This is a very simple game. I have said that right from the
start," Robinson added. "Five and 6-year-old kids play this game,
so it can't be that difficult."
But the loss Wednesday night was tough because the Devils made
mistakes you'd expect from those young kids.
On Tomas Kaberle's winning goal with 1:35 to play, the Devils
got caught chasing the puck and were out of position for the
defenseman's shot from above the left circle.
New Jersey lost a battle along the boards in its end and two
defensemen were caught on the same side of the ice on Darcy
Tucker's goal that gave Toronto a 2-1 lead late in the first
period. That forced New Jersey to play catchup the rest of the
game.
The Leafs' first goal was another mistake, with Jonas Hoglund
splitting the defense to tie the game 1-1 midway through the first
period.
"Playing in the playoffs is a mindset," Robinson said. "As
(Devils forward) Randy (McKay) said, you have to believe in what
you are doing, and believe what you are doing is the right thing.
That's what the playoffs is all about, having a mindset and a focus
to do the right things and what it takes to win hockey games."
For the most part, the Devils have done the right things, only
to be stymied by Curtis Joseph in goal. He's had 66 saves combined
in the Maple Leafs' two wins.
"If you have a goaltender who is playing well, he can carry you
all the way," Devils defenseman Ken Daneyko said. "That was
pretty evident last year with Buffalo. You're not going to tell me
the Buffalo Sabres should have been in the Stanley Cup finals, but Dominik Hasek put them there."
With the exception of Monday night's 5-1 win, `Cujo' has been
just as dominating this series.
However, Robinson and Daneyko seemed more concerned about the
Devils than either Joseph or the Leafs' home-ice advantage in the
series heading into Game 5.
"We could be playing in Siberia, it doesn't really matter,"
Daneyko said. "We just have to play our game and worry about what
we do and the end result will take care of itself."
And the Devils' game is taking care of the little things. Hockey
101.
"This series easily could be over," Daneyko said. "The Leafs
are an opportunistic team that can be outplayed and they'll win 2-1
and 3-2 type games. We have to be sharp early, because one goal can
be the difference the way Joseph has been playing."
Beating New Jersey on Wednesday also was a major confidence
boost for a Maple Leafs team that had been written off in many
circles after losing badly Monday night.
"Whoever said it was over is crazy," Tucker said. "We've got
a team in this room that's come back from adversity all year long.
We've gained a lot of respect for each other, as teammates and
individuals. Our hockey club has its own identity and we have a lot
to accomplish. The guys are ready to take that task in hand." |
