Stanley Cup Playoffs : Devils Beat Bruins, 6-3, and Even Series

When the New Jersey Devils have needed a big goal in the closing weeks of the regular season and in the playoffs, John MacLean has been there for them.

Goaltender Rejean Lemelin has done much the same thing for the Boston Bruins in the playoffs, coming up with the big save at the key moment.

Thursday night, MacLean came through again. Lemelin did not.

MacLean breathed life into New Jersey’s season for a third time by scoring the tiebreaking goal late in the second period, leading the Devils to a 6-3 victory over the Bruins and forcing a seventh game in the Wales Conference final.

The deciding game will be played Saturday night at the Boston Garden, where the Bruins have lost only once in eight playoff games this season--an overtime defeat by the Devils in Game 2.

The winner will meet the defending champion Oilers in the Stanley Cup finals, starting Wednesday night at Edmonton.

MacLean, who scored the overtime goal that put the Devils into the playoffs on the final night of the regular season and the game-winner in Game 7 of the Patrick Division finals against Washington, prolonged the Devils’ season again when he snapped a 3-3 tie with 2:48 left in the second period.

MacLean scored his first goal of the series and sixth of the playoffs when he got the puck from Patrik Sundstrom behind the goal line 15 feet to the left of Lemelin and banked a slapshot off the goaltender’s leg and into the net.

“I was just trying to put it on net and it hit Lemelin and went in,” MacLean said. “We got some by him tonight. We just have to continue putting the puck on net.”

Lemelin, who had allowed the Devils only 11 goals during the first five games, looked shaky all night, especially on MacLean’s game-winner.

“It hit the back of my knee,” Lemelin said. “I had my knee bent a little bit and there was a little space there. It never hit the pad. Once you let in a goal like that, you start thinking it’s not your night.”