The Mighty Duck Man
R-E-L-A-X
Despite a blowout loss in game 5 for their boys, the fans were as loud as ever for the start of game 6, hoping that their boys could overcome this defeceit and force a game 7 in New Jersey. However, just as they had done at the end of game 4, the Devils completely silenced the crowd to begin game 6. Off the opening face-off Frank Boucher, instead of traditionally winning the draw back, would push the puck towards Bill Cook, who would take the puck into the offense zone, split the defense and snap a shot past Ed Belfour stick side to give the Devils a 1-0 lead just six seconds into the game. From then on, the Blazers seemed to lose confidence, and the Devils would go on the offensive attack. However, just as Glenn Hall would continue to deny and deny the Blazers offensive attack in the past five games, Ed Belfour would do so here, keeping his team's hopes and dreams alive. The Devils would fire twenty shots at the Eagle following Cook's goal, and he would stop them all to end the frame.
As the second period started, you could see the frustrations of the Blazers were finally getting the better of them. The pace was not a one-sided domination, but rather a back-and-forth all-out offensive attack. However, the Blazers just could not capitalize. They threw everything they could at Hall, and he threw it right back, refusing the Blazers the chance to knot the game up. The Devils attack was just as relentless, and Belfour was just as magnificient in the other end. The Devils would finally crack Belfour, though, as Harry Cameron would blast a Mickey Mackay pass top shelf, giving the Devils a 2-0 lead. However, Mike Bossy refused to see his team go down like this. He began simply to dominate on the ice, and would fire off 7 shots in just two shifts. Hall would get the better of him on the first six, but Bossy would refuse to be denied on the seventh, just squeaking the puck stick-side and making it a one goal game. This seemed to spark the Blazers, and they would continue to fire at will on Hall, but before they knew it the buzzer sounded and the second period was over.
With every Philadelphia fan on their feet and cheering as loudly as ever, the third period began. The Blazers kept up their momentum from the second period, again dominating the play early on, as they had done before. But the Devils refused to give the Blazers all the opportunity to tie the game, and began to flex their offensive muscles. While the offensive personnel from both teams were dynamic, the goaltenders for both teams were even better. Hall continued to shut the door, just as he had done all series long, while Belfour equalled him in every instance, keeping his team in the game to the best of his abilities. As the clock winded down, the Devils began to become more passive, trying their damndest to protect their one-goal lead in what could be the deciding game. The Blazers tried just as hard to tie the game up and keep their playoff hopes alive. With two minutes to go, Belfour was pulled in favor of Rick Tocchet, who would serve as the team's extra attacker. In those final two minutes, the Blazers would pressure as they never have before, but whatever they could do, Glenn Hall could do better as even when it looked like the game was tied, Hall would come out of nowhere and make the save. In the dying seconds, a Mike Bossy rocket would take a odd rebound right onto the stick of Frank Mahovlich, who had a wide open net and needed just to slide the puck in. However, whether it was the nerves or just pure frustration, the Big M would fire the puck wide of the net! The velocity on the shot was so great that it would rocket out of the zone as the final seconds ticked down, giving the Devils a 2-1 victory and 4-2 series win. The Blazers, who previously had tried to mix it up in defeat, were classy this time, shaking the hands of every Devil, giving congratulations and wishing them luck in the next round against Montreal.
Scoring Summary
0:06 1st - Bill Book (Boucher)
12:51 2nd - Cameron (Mackay, Walker)
17:11 2nd - Bossy (Satsny, Mahovlich)
Hall-32 saves
Belfour-31 saves
New Jersey Devils win series 4-2
Three Stars
1.Glenn Hall
2.Ted Kennedy
3.Mike Bossy
As the second period started, you could see the frustrations of the Blazers were finally getting the better of them. The pace was not a one-sided domination, but rather a back-and-forth all-out offensive attack. However, the Blazers just could not capitalize. They threw everything they could at Hall, and he threw it right back, refusing the Blazers the chance to knot the game up. The Devils attack was just as relentless, and Belfour was just as magnificient in the other end. The Devils would finally crack Belfour, though, as Harry Cameron would blast a Mickey Mackay pass top shelf, giving the Devils a 2-0 lead. However, Mike Bossy refused to see his team go down like this. He began simply to dominate on the ice, and would fire off 7 shots in just two shifts. Hall would get the better of him on the first six, but Bossy would refuse to be denied on the seventh, just squeaking the puck stick-side and making it a one goal game. This seemed to spark the Blazers, and they would continue to fire at will on Hall, but before they knew it the buzzer sounded and the second period was over.
With every Philadelphia fan on their feet and cheering as loudly as ever, the third period began. The Blazers kept up their momentum from the second period, again dominating the play early on, as they had done before. But the Devils refused to give the Blazers all the opportunity to tie the game, and began to flex their offensive muscles. While the offensive personnel from both teams were dynamic, the goaltenders for both teams were even better. Hall continued to shut the door, just as he had done all series long, while Belfour equalled him in every instance, keeping his team in the game to the best of his abilities. As the clock winded down, the Devils began to become more passive, trying their damndest to protect their one-goal lead in what could be the deciding game. The Blazers tried just as hard to tie the game up and keep their playoff hopes alive. With two minutes to go, Belfour was pulled in favor of Rick Tocchet, who would serve as the team's extra attacker. In those final two minutes, the Blazers would pressure as they never have before, but whatever they could do, Glenn Hall could do better as even when it looked like the game was tied, Hall would come out of nowhere and make the save. In the dying seconds, a Mike Bossy rocket would take a odd rebound right onto the stick of Frank Mahovlich, who had a wide open net and needed just to slide the puck in. However, whether it was the nerves or just pure frustration, the Big M would fire the puck wide of the net! The velocity on the shot was so great that it would rocket out of the zone as the final seconds ticked down, giving the Devils a 2-1 victory and 4-2 series win. The Blazers, who previously had tried to mix it up in defeat, were classy this time, shaking the hands of every Devil, giving congratulations and wishing them luck in the next round against Montreal.
Scoring Summary
0:06 1st - Bill Book (Boucher)
12:51 2nd - Cameron (Mackay, Walker)
17:11 2nd - Bossy (Satsny, Mahovlich)
Hall-32 saves
Belfour-31 saves
New Jersey Devils win series 4-2
Three Stars
1.Glenn Hall
2.Ted Kennedy
3.Mike Bossy
