At Home On The Road Flyers, Devils Can’t Explain The Home-Ice Disadvantage
An unlikely question has emerged in the Eastern Conference finals of these Stanley Cup playoffs: Why can’t the home club win?
“It’s the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen,” said Ron Hextall, the Philadelphia Flyers goaltender, who has twice been on the receiving end, and three times on the giving end, of what was being called Sunday, in the basement corridors of the Spectrum, the home-ice disadvantage.
The Eastern Conference finals began at the Spectrum, and the New Jersey Devils took two games from the Flyers.
Then the series headed up the turnpike 90 miles, to the Meadowlands Arena, and the Flyers won twice.
Sunday, the clubs returned to the Spectrum for the fifth game of this best-of-seven series, and the Flyers were again, as hosts, too hospitable, losing for the third time at home. The only solace for the Flyers, and their fans, is that the next game, tonight, is back at the Meadowlands.
The odd thing for the Flyers is that they played well at home this year, compiling a record of 16-7-1 at the Spectrum during the regular season, despite losing their last two home games. On the road, they were 12-9-3, including two victories at the Meadowlands.
But the regular season is one thing, and the playoffs are something else. “You put a lot of pressure on yourself, to make sure that your fans are satisfied,” said Flyers right winger Mikael Renberg.
Renberg’s too-much-pressure-at-home analysis was just one theory offered Sunday regarding the home ice jinx, and no two theories were the same. Several players, on both clubs, said they could think of no clear reason why the home team should have lost each of the five playoff games.
“We’re confident in New Jersey,” said Flyers defenseman Kevin Haller.
“I think we weren’t patient in New Jersey,” said Ken Daneyko of the Devils. There, “we were down and you could see it. (Tonight) we have to pretend we’re playing here. It seems that we’re more focused and play a little more patiently here. The last two games in New Jersey we were a little anxious.”
John MacLean, a Devils right winger, said his club’s victory Sunday was not a function of being on the road, but of being “mentally sharper.”
After winning two straight on the road, the Devils got a little too comfortable, MacLean said. Sunday’s game, he said, “we felt we had to win. Now we’re going to see if we can beat the Flyers at home.”
The two coaches came up with different theories about why the home club has been unsuccessful.
“I can’t figure it out,” said Terry Murray of the Flyers. “We wanted to play a road game here today. We wanted to make the intensity in the building to be a non-factor. Whether it was or not, I’m not sure.”
Jacques Lemaire said his Devils had fed off the intensity of Sunday’s sellout crowd.
“When the little girl starts to sing, everyone got high on this,” Lemaire said, referring to Erica Gagliardi’s rendition of the national anthem. “This is great to be able to play in so much intensity and excitement.”