NEWARK, N.J. — How long did it take the Devils to get that stunning Game 4 finish out of their system?
"We walked out of the rink and it was over," Devils coach Brent Sutter said today.
To which Canes coach Paul Maurice added, "We did, too."
That's what the coaches say. Tonight, when the puck is dropped in Game 5, will come the real proof of which team has best put that game behind them and moved on.
Jussi Jokinen's winning goal, with two-tenths of a second remaining, was among the most dramatic in Stanley Cup playoff history. It came after the Devils had rallied from a 3-0 deficit to tie the score, giving them a chance to steal the game and perhaps the series.
"Each team that has lost a game has come back with a determination and the fight to play very well," Maurice said. "We hopefully enjoyed that for a few hours and left it there."
Sutter said the Devils were a "focused" group by the time the team bus pulled away from the RBC Center.
"That's the way it has to be in the playoffs," he said. "It has been a very good series. It's been an interesting series, a lot of strange things have happened.
"Both teams have had their moments where they've played extremely well and both teams have had their moments where they haven't played as well as you would like to play."
The Canes' Chad LaRose said that as exciting as it was to win Game 4, it's gone. To win the series, the Canes must find a way to win another game at the Prudential Center.
"It's over with," he said. "It's a new series now, best of three, and that's it.
"That game is way in the past. Don't even think about it. Just get ready for tonight."
Both teams came out of Game 4 with something to cling to: the Canes won it 4-3 and the Devils played well to get back in it.
"Every game is different," LaRose said. "I'm sure everything is out of their system and everything is out of our system. It's just about tonight."
Maurice said there could be some lineup "adjustments at game time" without being specific. He would not commit to staying with the defensive pairs he used in Game 4 — Joe Corvo and Tim Gleason, Joni Pitkanen and Dennis Seidenberg, Niclas Wallin and Anton Babchuk.
A Raleigh native, Chip has worked at the N&O since 1979 and is the Canes beat writer. He can be reached at 
