Devils Make Most of Breaks in Clipping Red Wings Again

What he didn’t hear told Detroit Red Wing defenseman Paul Coffey all the bad news he needed to know Tuesday.

Dazed by pain after absorbing a shot on the back of his leg, Coffey didn’t realize play had continued and that New Jersey Devil center Jim Dowd had converted a rebound with 1:24 to play. When it dawned on him that referee Terry Gregson hadn’t blown the whistle--and when the sellout crowd of 19,875 at Joe Louis Arena became hushed--Coffey didn’t bother lifting his head. Instead, he bowed his eyes toward the ice, overcome by the frustration of being unable to prevent the game-winning goal in the Devils’ 4-2 victory over the Red Wings.

“I didn’t know what was going on,” Coffey said. “I didn’t know where the puck was. At the end, I was [ticked] off when the puck went in. If it weren’t for bad breaks, we wouldn’t be getting any breaks at all.”

The Red Wings have gotten no breaks, but Coffey acknowledged the Devils have earned the 2-0 series lead they will take back to New Jersey for Game 3 Thursday at the Meadowlands Arena. Only three teams that faced similar deficits in the finals have rallied to win the Cup.

“They’re getting breaks, but you make your breaks,” he said. “They’re playing hard and things are happening for them.”

Neither Coffey nor Detroit Coach Scotty Bowman disputed Gregson’s decision to allow play to continue, a decision Gregson based on NHL Rule 32(f). That decrees that if a player is injured, play should not be stopped until the injured player’s team has possession of the puck. If the injured player’s team has possession, play should be stopped immediately unless his team is in scoring position. The referee and/or linesmen may stop play if a player has obviously sustained a serious injury.

The rule gained attention in the first round of the playoffs, when referee Andy Van Hellemond disallowed a goal by Joe Sakic of the Quebec Nordiques after allowing play to continue following an injury to New York Ranger forward Alexei Kovalev. Van Hellemond was fined by the NHL for improperly waving off the goal.

Bryan Lewis, the NHL’s director of officiating, said Gregson “didn’t deem it to be serious [and] felt that New Jersey had two, maybe three scoring opportunities and had not lost control of the puck. Therefore, according to the rules, he allowed play to continue.”

Said Bowman: “I think it would be very unwise to criticize the referee in that position. . . . That shouldn’t be the focal point of the game.”

The focal point was the Devils’ ability to again play a solid defensive game--the Red Wings managed 18 shots, one more than they produced in Saturday’s series opener--and their continued resilience.

The Devils overcame 1-0 and 2-1 Detroit leads, pulling even for the final time on a splendid solo rush by defenseman Scott Niedermayer at 9:47 of the third period. The decisive backhander by Dowd, a New Jersey native who wasn’t in the lineup for the Devils’ 2-1 series-opening victory, was set up after a shot by Bill Guerin hit Coffey and bounced to Tommy Albelin, who passed it to Shawn Chambers. Dowd was lurking around the net and swooped on the rebound.

“It was an unbelievable feeling really,” Dowd said. “I never even dreamed about doing anything like this.”

Stephane Richer’s empty-net goal with 21 seconds left ensured the Devils would add to their playoff record with their 10th consecutive road victory and set a record with 16 road playoff triumphs over two seasons.

“I thought we played a super game,” said Devil Coach Jacques Lemaire, who inserted Dowd in place of Sergei Brylin Tuesday because he felt Dowd might have fresher legs. “We know Detroit has a lot of talent offensively and they’re a quick team, but we showed we can skate with them and play smart.”

Stanley Cup Notes

Coach Scotty Bowman decided not to use forward Keith Primeau after Primeau told him his pulled oblique muscle hadn’t completely healed. Primeau is questionable for Game 3. . . . The NHL’s Board of Governors will meet today in New York. On the agenda is an updates on the Kings’ interim financing, the status of plans that kept the Jets in Winnipeg and a discussion of possible rule changes.

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Series at a Glance

New Jersey Devils vs. Detroit Red Wings

Game 1: New Jersey 2, Detroit 1

Game 2: New Jersey 4, Detroit 2

Game 3: Thursday at New Jersey, 5 p.m.

Game 4: Saturday at New Jersey, 5 p.m.

*Game 5: Monday at Detroit, 5 p.m.

*Game 6: June 28 at New Jersey, 4:30.

*Game 7: June 30 at Detroit, 5 p.m.

* TV: Fox will televise Games 4 and 7 and ESPN will show Games 3, 5 and 6.

*--If necessary

All times Pacific