Avalanche Gets Sloppy and Devils Get Even, 3-2

All was right in his world when goaltender Patrick Roy skated behind his net Saturday in the third period of Game 4 of the Stanley Cup finals.

In one spectacular swing and a miss, the future Hall of Famer lost control of the puck and the Colorado Avalanche lost its lead in the game and, soon enough, the series.

Final score: New Jersey Devils 3, Avalanche 2.

Doesn’t anybody want to win this thing? The best-of-seven series is tied at two victories apiece.

Roy’s misplay with the puck led to the tying goal by New Jersey’s Scott Gomez at the 8:09 mark of the third period.

Petr Sykora then made the Devils winners, ripping a centering pass from Patrik Elias past Roy for the go-ahead goal with 2:37 remaining. Bobby Holik had intercepted Colorado defenseman Rob Blake’s poor clearing pass, tipping the puck along the boards to Elias.

Sykora’s one-timer from the slot sent the sellout crowd of 19,040 into a frenzy. The fans had left Game 3 in a sour mood, having watched the Devils lose, 3-1, in listless fashion.

“In the last game, we were basically outplayed at our own game,” New Jersey Coach Larry Robinson said. “All we asked before this game was just make sure we don’t get outworked. I don’t think we got outworked.”

In Game 4, the Devils outplayed the Avalanche in every facet of the game. New Jersey’s ability to win the small battles along the boards and, particularly, behind the net, paid off in a victory.

Roy isn’t the best puckhandler in the business, but he loves to move it at every opportunity. No question, he was second-best with the puck in Game 4.

“There was a soft dump-in and I was going to throw it around the boards on my forehand,” Roy explained. “But nobody was there, so I pulled it back on my backhand and tried to go to Rob Blake. The pressure was right on me. It’s one of those plays I had to make. Of course I wish I made a better decision.”

New Jersey goaltender Martin Brodeur had no such troubles with the puck, although he faced only 12 shots and only token pressure for long stretches.

At game’s end, Brodeur offered no words of sympathy for Roy, who had the puck swiped from him by Jay Pandolfo. The Devil winger sent a quick pass out front that landed on Gomez’s stick. Gomez, who gained position on Colorado’s Chris Dingman, merely had to tap the puck into the open net.

“I’m really happy it happened,” Brodeur said without a trace of humor. “It’s one of those breaks we needed to get back in this series. It’s nice to see a break go our way.”

Down, 2-1, in Game 4 and in danger of falling behind, 3-1, in the series, the Devils capitalized on Roy’s blunder. They had limited the Avalanche to 11 shots on net and, moments earlier, watched as Brodeur made a superb glove save on Colorado captain Joe Sakic.

But New Jersey had nothing to show for its domination in all three zones of the ice until Roy lost the puck to Pandolfo and Gomez potted the tying goal.

“It’s been tough the last few days,” Gomez said after scoring his first goal in the last 13 playoff games. “I was feeling like a piece of . . . well, you know what I mean.”

Roy’s teammates raced to his defense.

“Without him, it would have been a blowout tonight,” defenseman Ray Bourque said after Roy made 32 saves.

Said defenseman Jon Klemm: “I don’t fault him at all. He stood on his head through the whole game. It could have been uglier than it was. He was there the whole game. It was just a bad bounce. He gave us a chance to win the game and we let him down. We didn’t play very well in front of him.”

Added Colorado Coach Bob Hartley: “We didn’t give ourselves a chance to win. When you generate only 12 shots, it’s tough to win a Stanley Cup finals game. Our [defensemen] and Patrick were outstanding.

“We all saw the play. It was unfortunate the puck popped out. Situations like this happen. Patrick was outstanding for us. I felt he was our best player.”

If so, then it was because the other Avalanche players were off their games from start to finish. Blake and Chris Drury sandwiched goals around Elias’ score 3:42 into the second period, but could not break the Devils’ backs with a third goal.

“We had a chance to put them away in the first period and didn’t,” Hartley said. “We have to put this game behind us. We still have home ice [advantage]. We can’t look at the negatives. We came here and got a split. Yeah, we lost tonight, but we played a strong Game 3.”

Game 5 is Monday at the Pepsi Center in Denver and each team could be without a key player.

New Jersey center Jason Arnott left Saturday’s game after playing only 3 minutes 41 seconds. He was taken to a nearby hospital to undergo X-rays of his head, which were negative.

Holik thumped Colorado winger Milan Hejduk with a clean, but tough hit with 4:06 remaining in the game. Holik caught Hejduk flush in the jaw with his shoulder. Hejduk appeared to be disoriented as he was helped to the team’s dressing room.