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One team’s distraction is another’s motivation; Devils fired up by Game 4 party atmosphere

Stanley Cup Finals Devils Kings Hockey

New Jersey Devils coach Peter DeBoer answers questions from the media during a news conference at the NHL hockey Stanley Cup finals, Tuesday, June 5, 2012, in Los Angeles. The Devils trail the Los Angeles Kings 3-0 in the best-of-seven games series. Game 4 is scheduled for Wednesday. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

AP

Yesterday we heard from Drew Doughty about how the scene surrounding Game 4 in Los Angeles with the Kings on the brink of winning the Stanley Cup on home ice proved to be a big distraction. The other side of that coin, however, is that such a scene can be motivation for the team going into such an atmosphere.

Devils coach Peter DeBoer addressed what Doughty had to say in yesterday’s media availability and said spoiling the Kings’ party plans only gave them something else to shoot for.

“Sure, that’s motivation,” DeBoer said. “When your bus has to pull by the 10 limos parked on the road for the after party, that’s definitely a motivation.”

The celebrities, the glitz, the glam, the bottles of champagne on ice in said limos... Yeah, I would be fired up to make sure everyone’s plans got ruined too. Will the scene be any different tonight for Game 6 though? Not likely. The Kings are still a win away from winning it all and Doughty says they learned their lesson in getting too far ahead of themselves. Maybe this time they can park the limousines somewhere the Devils (and Kings) won’t see them.