Game 3: One At A Time
Streaks begin and end with small things. One shot turns into a goal. One goal turns into a lead, and a lead wins a game. One win turns into a streak. On the other side, one defensive play prevents a goal. One good backcheck starts things the other way. One good play at the point continues possession in the zone. One thing builds on another. This is how streaks, teams, and fan bases are built.
Colin White skated today (that’s from the Newark Star Ledger, not because I spotted his truck in the South Mountain parking lot on a morning coffee run). Lukowich and Klee are better than they’ve played, and need to prove it before this season ends and their contracts look like cap room for Elias and Gomez. The scoring lines need to do just that, and the whole team will build on the little things.
Wednesday night in the Meadowlands. Time to turn this series around. Time to get back to even, one game at a time. Time to see what Big Lou is made of as a coach as well as a GM. I think we might wear our Euro-Elias jerseys, one from the Czech Olympic team and one from Metallurg (the Russian team on which Elias played last year). Have to have the lucky t-shirt underneath, so I’m leaning toward the basic grey Devils model. T-shirt, jersey, maybe even the little Czech flags we waved for Elias in the 2003 playoffs. One thing at a time, even for the fans.