'One Hell of a Third Period' | SUNDAYS WITH STAN

I know Gary Thorne well.
Along with ex-Devil Peter McNab, I worked New Jersey television broadcasts for a few fabulous years.
Thorne is the pro's pro, and proved along the Thruway of World Series, Pro Football and assorted other sports.
Pressed, he'll tell you that hockey is his favorite. That helps explain that when Thorne - along with ex-Philadelphia Flyer, Bill Clement - was assigned the 1994 Devils-Rangers series, it was cause for high glee.
"There were so many good story lines," Thorne asserted. "It wasn't just the interstate conflict or the David and Goliath angle or Keenan vs. Lemaire. It had sidebars galore.
"And by the time we reached the start of the third period of Game 6, we had the kind of tension that the great Hollywood director, Alfred Hitchcock, never could match."

sundays with stan
DEVILS-RANGERS, 1994 EASTERN FINAL
Part 7: Happy Half of Game 6
Part 6: Prelude to Game 6 Melodrama
Part 5: The Devils' Offensive
Part 4: Ultra Suspenseful Game 3
Part 3: Can the Devils Do It Again!?
Part 2: Devils Upset Rangers in Game 1
Part 1: Prelude to the Historic Series
That explains what Thorne told his viewers as the Garden Staters and Big Apple skaters glided on to the ice:
"We are going to have one hell of a third period!"
Leading 2-1, the Devils either were sitting in the Catbird Seat or barely holding on to a one-goal lead.
To remain in the Catbird seat, New Jersey required Brodeur to - as the saying goes - "steal the game."
Everyone knew that the Rangers would run on all cylinders to remain alive in the tourney. Brodeur, still a rookie, understood that he could party all night with a series triumph on his resume.
Rick Carpiniello, who now writes for The Athletic, was covering the series for the Journal-Newsof New Jersey at the time. He viewed the Kovalev goal from the Rangers motivational aspect.
Carpiniello spelled out his concepts in Unforgettable Rangers: Games and Moments From the Press Box, authored by Matthew Blittner.
"The thing was," reported Carpiniello "the Rangers finally did something that resembled the way they played pretty much all year and that was aggressive, attacking, using their speed.
"The hockey player saying is, when you're one shot away, and once you make it a one-goal game, you're one shot away. Down a goal, the Rangers felt they were just one shot away."
Likewise, author Tim Sullivan captured the Devils feelings via fleet forward Tom Chorske.
"The goal gave them momentum," said Chorske, "and that gave them a lot of energy. We knew we'd be in for a battle. It was just two teams with a will going head-to-head."
New Jersey still had an opportunity to reverse the pendulum swing back to their side. A late second period power play carried over into the third period. It was like a bonus for the home club.
Still in shock over Kovalev's goal - or simply outfoxed by the Rangers penalty-killers - the Devils produced no threat at all.
Conversely, Messier & Company smelled blood. The Rangers captain spearheaded a charge that culminated with the Devils net being dislodged. A whistle halted play.
Also halted in good time was New Jersey's power play. It was pancake flat worth a mere seven seconds of attack time. Still, it was 2-1 Devils and it could stay that way if Lemaire's blueprint still had value.
Carpiniello: "It was classic because - as they say in boxing - styles make great fights; opposing styles. And that's exactly what this series was. The Devils were the team that was defense first.
"They were trapping and smothering against a team that just wanted to go, go, go and pressure the pocket; play with speed and play with skill. It was one of the most brutal, vicious series I've ever seen."
To break the impasse, Keenan had created a new line with Adam Graves and Kovalev flanking Messier.
"They were able to say, 'Okay, everything we've done before now has been pretty awful,'" Carpiniello recalled, "'but it doesn't matter. Now we're only one shot away; now we can play the way we played all year.'"
No question, the Devils could feel the momentum change. The trap wasn't trapping as effectively and young Brodeur had been around long enough to sense a storm coming.
It was preceded by a head-man pass launched by defenseman Brian Leetch to Kovalev stationed at center ice. Meanwhile, Messier turned on his jets and the New Jersey defense tightened.
Daneyko, who in the offseason hung out in Edmonton with Messier, was on one side and Bruce Driver on the other. The duo had been together long enough to strategize against New York's galvanic captain.
But before either Dano or Driver could make an effective move, Mark went to his backhand. "That kind of backhand shot can be very deceptive," said Chico Resch. "The backhand was what made Rocket Richard a star."
Messier's missile orbited to Brodeur's stick side and somehow deceived the goalie. The puck flew past Marty's left arm, over the red goal line and just as quickly rebounded out.
Tim Sullivan: "Brodeur, hoping it had never made it to the net, caught the puck with his glove and held on, looking back as if he'd had it all along."
The red goal light signaled otherwise.
At 2:48 of the third period, the Rangers had completely reversed the tide. The question now centered on Devils push-back and how much remained in the New Jersey tank.
It was enough to hold the foe in check while regaining the equilibrium for Lemaire, Ltd., but that was slow to develop. The Rangers sensed it, as well as every writer and broadcaster in the press row.
Mike Richter: "We had been able to stare death in the eye and not blink and come back."
Still, it was a 2-2 anybody's game through the twelve-minute mark. At this point a seemingly minor Devils move turned into a major mistake.
What made the stickhandling sin even more egregious was that Bobby Carpenter, New Jersey's top defensive center, rarely erred on such a play.
More than halfway through the period, teams were skating four per side - Scott Niedermayer and Esa Tikkanen had taken roughing penalties - when Carpenter nursed the puck at center ice.
The next 10 seconds betrayed the eerie look of Bill Guerin's late second period half-clear-of-the-puck effort that backfired into a New York counterattack that led to the Rangers goal.
Carpenter's intended clear had little oomph behind it and instead of safely making it to the end boards, the biscuit inconveniently was cushioned by Kovalev.
The slick Ranger swifty passed ahead to Leetch who already was devising a play at center ice. Brian then moved ahead, returning the puck to Kovie who now was at the left Devils faceoff circle.
Alexei enjoyed enough room to direct a slapshot at Brodeur. It was saveable and Marty made the block but his follow-up was faulty. He left a rebound and the absolutely wrong Ranger found the gift on his stick.
Just a dozen seconds into the dozen-minute mark, the third Rangers puck crossed the goal line. In less than twenty minutes of playing time, the Devils had constructed a hat trick of errors.
The result, 3-2, Rangers.
No, the Devils didn't quit. They pushed back and forced Glenn Anderson to foul Bernie Nicholls. The slash - with two minutes and forty-nine seconds remaining in the third period - cost Andy a minor penalty.
Referee Kerry Fraser sent Anderson off for two minutes while Lemaire yanked Brodeur and dispatched another skater. New Jersey's final, full-ice press was on, big-time.
With six Devils skaters against four Rangers and the faceoff deep in the Visitors' zone, the stage was set for a grand attempt at a tying goal. It was Nicholls vs.Messier for the draw.
The Ranger captain won the faceoff and the rubber went from Blueshirt to Blueshirt with Messier finally depositing it into the yawning net. For the home club, it was a disturbing but not fatal anti-climax.
The pure and simple fact was that nobody owned the series yet. It was tied at three and former Devil player and then broadcaster Peter McNab turned momentary historian in his depiction of things to come.
"Game 7 (at Madison Square Garden) will be the biggest game in these two franchises history."
Then, a pause: "Buckle up!"