Stanley Cup Playoffs : Bruins Have a Devil of a Time but Advance, 6-2

The Boston Bruins are on their way to the Stanley Cup finals after surviving what Coach Terry O’Reilly called “a death struggle” with the New Jersey Devils.

“When they got to within one early in the third period, I think I sweated off four or five pounds on the bench, but the goal by Craig Janney opened it up,” O’Reilly said Saturday night after the Bruins won the Wales Conference championship with a 6-2 victory over the Devils.

Janney, a rookie center, spoiled New Jersey’s comeback bid by scoring his second goal of the game with just under eight minutes remaining after the Devils cut a 3-0 deficit to 3-2 and had several chances to tie the game.

By winning the seventh and deciding game of a surprisingly tough series with the Devils, the Bruins advanced to a showdown with the Oilers, the defending Stanley Cup champions, beginning Wednesday in Edmonton.

But it wasn’t easy. The Devils had several good chances in the first few minutes, only to be stymied by Boston goaltender Rejean Lemelin.

“We got off to a shaky start, but Reggie made some great saves and we came up big after the first five minutes,” O’Reilly said.

After that, it looked easy for the Bruins when first-period goals by Janney and Moe Lemay three minutes apart and Rick Middleton’s tally early in the second period gave them a 3-0 lead.

But John MacLean scored late in the second period and Kirk Muller’s goal early in the third cut the lead to one.

“We weren’t struggling, we were just pressing too hard,” Janney said. “We were thinking of the score, but we worked hard and got a break. I got the goal, but it could have been anyone.”

“We went so far and we accomplished so much we couldn’t let it end on a sour note,” Lemelin said.

Janney’s second goal deflated the Devils, and Cam Neely’s goal less than two minutes later gave the Bruins some breathing room.

But the Devils, making their first playoff appearance since moving to New Jersey in 1982 and only the second in the franchise’s 14-year history, had nothing to be ashamed of.

“I don’t think (Coach) Jim Schoenfeld can be any prouder of the way they performed,” O’Reilly said. “They never quit.”

“I certainly couldn’t ask any more from my players,” Schoenfeld said. “We’ve accomplished a lot, we’re a good team, but we came up a little short.

“I congratulated Terry and told him not to stop here. If we had to get beaten, I’m glad it was by a guy like him.”