New Jersey center Joe Nieuwendyk’s availability for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals Tuesday night against Anaheim probably will be a game-time decision.
“We’ll see how it is [Tuesday] morning,” Nieuwendyk said Monday.
He sustained what he termed a “lower body injury” at the end of Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Ottawa Senators. Nieuwendyk skated just three shifts Friday in Game 7, playing a total of 1 minute 49 seconds of New Jersey’s 3-2 victory.
If Nieuwendyk can’t play or is limited in what he can do, it will be a blow to the Devils’ chances of claiming their third Stanley Cup. No Devil has played in more Stanley Cup finals games than Nieuwendyk’s 18.
This will be his fourth trip to the finals. He’s trying to become the sixth player in NHL history to win Cups with three different teams. He won a Cup in Calgary in 1989 and in Dallas in 1999.
“This is day-to-day with Joe,” New Jersey coach Pat Burns said. “He could wake up [Tuesday] and be fine.”
Anaheim coach Mike Babcock expects Nieuwendyk to be in the lineup. But he said even if Nieuwendyk isn’t, the Devils are a team to be reckoned with.
“When Joe Nieuwendyk went down, they had every excuse in Game 7, and it didn’t make one bit of difference,” Babcock said. “You’ve got to find a way. That’s what they do. That’s what we have to do.”
Snoozer series? Considering each team has allowed fewer than two goals a game through the playoffs, the expectation is for low-scoring, dull, defensive hockey.
“Even low-scoring games can be exciting, if you’ve seen some of the saves [Jean-Sebastien Giguere] has made in the playoffs,” Mighty Ducks captain Paul Kariya said. “I think there will be some offensive chances–a great save or a great goal is the same.”
Oops: Anaheim’s Keith Carney has been perhaps the best defenseman in the postseason. He’s averaging 28 minutes of ice time and is a plus-4 while matching up against the opposition’s top offensive players.
The Blackhawks are looking for a player like Carney. The Blackhawks traded Carney.
“Anytime you’re dealt, you’re surprised,” Carney said of the trade that sent him from Chicago to Phoenix in March 1998. “There wasn’t much warning. I was still young, and I thought I would play there for many years.”
