Devils on Brink of Elimination After Game 4 Loss to Lightning

NEWARK, NJ – Kyle Palmieri put the New Jersey Devils on the scoreboard early in the first period, scoring on a one-timer on a two-man advantage, but the Tampa Bay Lightning defense proved to be too much in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference First Round at the Prudential Center on Wednesday evening in their 3-1 home loss.

Kucherov scored the go-ahead goal in the waning minutes of the first period just three and a half minutes after teammate J.T. Miller tied the game. With 1:08 left in the game, Kucherov sealed the game with an empty net goal.

Devils defenseman Sami Vatanen left the game late in the first period with an apparent head injury on an unpenalized high hit from Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov and did not return.

Vatanen’s absence was felt during team’s struggles on the power play, especially in the later stages of the game when the Lightning were successful at bottling up the Devils attack and blocking off shooting lanes.

In the post-game press conference, Devils coach John Hynes said that he didn’t have an update on the injury status of Vatanen and had no comment on the hit. It is yet to be determined if Kucherov will face any discipline from the league.

Cory Schneider had 34 saves on the night for the Devils and kept the team in the game. It was his second start of the series.

Meanwhile, the Devils defended against off all five penalty kills, which had been one of their glaring weaknesses throughout the series.

“We’ve been there every moment of this series,” Schneider suggested. “We’re not one for moral victories – right now that doesn’t do you any good, but we know that we’re a playoff team and we deserve to be here. Now we just have to go and extend the series.”

Facing elimination, the Devils will travel to Tampa Bay for Game 5 on Saturday.

“We’ve got to be ready to play a tough, hard fought game,” Devils defenseman and team captain Andy Greene said in the locker room after the game. “They’re going to come out flying with a chance to end the series on their home ice. We just have to start strong and build our game from there.”

Greene is just one of two players remaining on the Devils active roster from the 2012 Stanley Cup Finals team, and his leadership will play a key role as they attempt to overcome a 3-1 series deficit. If the Devils win on Saturday, the series will return to Newark on Monday evening.

Photo used in the lead of the story was taken by Sean Conklin