Bylsma’s Ill-Timed Shot Makes for a Bad Start

Before the New Jersey Devils kept the Ducks out of their net, they welcomed them into their dressing room.

In bold letters. Taped to a white grease board. The quote of the day. The catch of the day.

”...Playing New Jersey would be great, too, because I’d really like to shake Scott Stevens’ hand when he’s congratulating me on winning the Stanley Cup.”

The words were spoken by Duck reserve Dan Bylsma on a late-night radio show last week.

They were read by the entire Devils’ team on Tuesday morning.

They were repeated back to the Ducks on Tuesday night, with every resounding hit, every brazen steal, with every last, chilly scrape of a 3-0 victory in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals at Continental Airlines Arena.

By the time the stunned Ducks had trudged back to their dressing room, their walls adorned only with their own sweat, the lesson was clear.

“You’re playing for the actual Stanley Cup now,” said defenseman Keith Carney with a hint of exasperation. “You need to raise your intensity. You need to raise your will.”

And, um, you need to watch your mouth.

While Bylsma’s words probably had little effect on a veteran Devils’ team that requires no motivation beyond its scars, they spoke volumes about the Ducks.

They arrived at these finals in a giant sweatered embrace, the cuties of the hockey world, magic occupying one locker, destiny occupying another, how could anybody not understand their mission?

They walked out Tuesday night knowing better.

They were pounded so hard against the boards, the game sounded like a series of fender benders. They were victimized by so many outnumbered rushes, the screeching crowd of 19,040 sounded like a car alarm.

In the Devils’ dressing room afterward, while the pads and bandages and emotion came off, Bylsma’s words remained on the board.

“I’d be upset if one of our teammates made a comment like that,” said Devil center John Madden, who went “Boom!” and “Bang!” while helping kill two penalties.

He continued, “You just don’t want anything like that ever hanging in another team’s dressing room. I mean, this is the Stanley Cup finals. I don’t know how their dressing room feels about that, I don’t know if it’s offensive to their team. But I don’t care.”

Publicly anyway, the Ducks didn’t seem to mind. When word of Bylsma’s comments reached them during Tuesday’s morning skate, they chuckled.

“I’m sure the Devils are just rolling their eyes at it,” Adam Oates said. “If you need a quote to fire you up, you’ve got a problem.”

And, after all, Bylsma is considered one of the classiest guys in the game. The seven-year veteran, who has found a home with the Ducks after bouncing up and down with the Kings, has written books with his father about turning good athletes into good people.

Heck, he even started a program for amateur hockey associations whose title is an acronym for “I Teach Positive Attitudes In Youth Sports.”

So, why on earth ...

“Certainly, I said it,” admitted Bylsma, who was bewildered by the fuss. “But it was only me talking about a dream.”

Which now must seem like, hmmm, a nightmare?

“If you know me, you know there’s no animosity, no taunting, no guarantee,” Bylsma said. “You never want to put anything on their board. But they know we want to win this series. This was only about wanting to shake hands with a legend.”

About that legend, “[Bylsma] was probably unsure if Scott would be ready so he wanted to make sure,” Duck Coach Mike Babcock said.

Indeed, Stevens played a game-high 27:47 on Tuesday, leading a defensive charge that helped the Devils earn a 30-16 shot advantage.

As for Bylsma, despite having scored only one goal this season, he actually had the puck on his stick in a one-on-one situation late in the second period with a chance to tie the score.

But Martin Brodeur quickly cut off his angle and made the save, which figured.

What didn’t figure is that, with one shot, Bylsma had as many as Paul Kariya and one more than Steve Rucchin.

“We’ve got to use our speed better, and then we’ve got to shoot the puck more,” said goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere, who ended the game on the bench while the Devils were sticking a final shot into an empty net.

They’ve got to do everything better, and quick.

In Stanley Cup finals history, only three of 40 teams that have fallen behind two-games-to-none have ever recovered to win the Cup.

And the Ducks haven’t defeated the Devils here in their last seven games dating back seven years.

And, oh yeah, this is the first time the Ducks have trailed in a playoff series this year.

“They’re a little bit different team,” acknowledged Kariya. “They have a lot of speed. Obviously, they play very well defensively.”

And, worst of all, on this night of punctured bravado, they can also read.

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Bill Plaschke can be reached at bill.plaschke@latimes.com.