The New Jersey Devils were down 3-0 in the Stanley Cup finals.
Were.
Now that they’ve forced a Game 6 thanks to their 2-1 win in Game 5, their confidence is rising. The bounces are going their way and they’re catching the breaks any team needs to swing things in their favor. For New Jersey, believing in themselves the whole time has been huge for them and that’s bad news for a Los Angeles team now feeling the heat to finish off a series that once seemed inevitable.
“I think it’s just growing with every period and every goal we score we know that we can do it,” Devils defenseman Mark Fayne said about his team’s confidence following Game 6.
“We just keep pressing. We’ve shown we can play with them in the first two overtime games, it was just more lucky bounces in those games that could go our way. I think we’re working extra hard and it’s paying off.”
By forcing a Game 6, the Devils are rallying around themselves and they know they’re in a position to potentially pull of something huge. Devils rookie Adam Henrique says they’re not going to get caught looking ahead.
“We’ve still got a couple to go. There’s no doubt in our minds that this is something we can accomplish.”
The Kings will have to double their efforts to beat New Jersey. A team welling up with the kind of confidence the Devils have now is at its most dangerous.