AP Photo/Bill Kostroun

The Devils have failed to advance past the second round of the playoffs since winning it all in 2003.

Five Things We Learned Friday Night

By Scott Burnside

1. You have to wonder when simply making the playoffs isn't going to be enough for the New Jersey Devils. Since winning the Stanley Cup in 2003, the Devils have failed to advance past the second round in four playoff appearances. If we can agree Martin Brodeur might have hit the wall when it comes to single-handedly winning playoff games (he gave up 16 goals in five games and didn't look sharp at various points during the one-sided series versus the New York Rangers), the Devils might have to start looking at how things get done. We're not suggesting blowing up the team, but adding some dynamite to the lineup might help, especially given the firepower drain the team has experienced in recent years, losing Scott Niedermayer, Scott Stevens, Brian Rafalski and Scott Gomez without filling those voids. In this first-round series, Brian Gionta scored just once and added no assists, and Travis Zajac and Dainius Zubrus each had one assist. Neither the Devils nor the Rangers were particularly offensive during regular-season play, but the Rangers' best players elevated their games. The Devils didn't and, frankly, haven't for a number of playoff years.

2. He might not be the dominating force he once was, but Jaromir Jagr showed he still is the offensive heart of the Rangers in New York's five-game series victory over New Jersey. Following up his strong play down the stretch, Jagr had eight points in five games to lead the Rangers. They won this series by winning three times in New Jersey (no previous team had done that in a playoff series), and Jagr once again set the tone in Friday's series-clinching win. Just 18 seconds after Gionta had given the Devils an early 1-0 lead, Jagr set up Michal Rozsival with the tying goal. He then scored the go-ahead goal less than two minutes later. Jagr, on the ice to help seal the deal after the Devils had closed in to make it 4-3, added another assist on an empty-netter that helped propel the Rangers to the second round for the second straight season. And, of course, no discussion of this series would be complete without a word on Sean Avery, who noted Brodeur failed to shake his hand after the game. "Fatso there forgot to shake my hand," Avery told local broadcasters on camera. A class act right to the bitter end.

3. If you're a glass-half-full kind of person and you're a Detroit Red Wings fan, you will point to the 54 shots they poured at the Nashville Predators' net Friday night. The fact that they won to stop a two-game playoff slide against the hard-scrabble Preds and take a 3-2 series lead also is good news. If you're in a glass-half-empty kind of mood, you have to wonder about the team's killer instinct, after it failed to score between the 4:20 mark of the first period, when Valtteri Filppula made his first goal of the playoffs, and 1:48 of the first overtime, when Johan Franzen ended the game. And you have to wonder about the team's inability to keep the Preds from tying the game with 12 seconds left in regulation, even though they were playing without offensive mainstays David Legwand and captain Jason Arnott. If the Red Wings can close out the Preds on Sunday in Nashville, maybe none of this will matter. But with Dominik Hasek on the bench in favor of Chris Osgood after a miserable stretch in Games 3 and 4, there definitely is something less than awe-inspiring about the Wings' play thus far.

4. Looks like the Dallas Stars will get a chance to prove their mettle on home ice, a place that hasn't been exactly welcoming in recent postseason games. The Anaheim Ducks finally got a premier performance out of Jean-Sebastien Giguere, who allowed just two goals on 42 shots as they whipped Dallas 5-2 on Friday in Anaheim and left the Stars' series lead at 3-2. The Stars split Games 3 and 4 at home, but the one win was the first in eight home playoff games for Dallas, which hasn't advanced beyond the first round since 2003. The Stars' power play was woeful Friday (0-of-7) after being dynamite early in the series. That, and Dallas' mojo at home, will have to improve if the Stars want to avoid a Game 7 on Tuesday, a game that certainly will favor the Ducks.

5. If the Montreal Canadiens are so sure rookie netminder Carey Price will rebound from his Game 5 gaffe in Saturday's Game 6 at the Boston Bruins, why did the team keep him from the media Friday? Only in the NHL can one of the bright young stars of the game be shielded from the cruel pokings and proddings of the media the day before a big game. We're not talking just morning skate here -- we're talking a full day and a half before the actual contest. But no, the precious (and now presumably fragile) Price was kept under wraps. Don't want him to be unduly reminded of his poor play (his mishandling of the puck led to Boston's winning goal, which allowed the Bruins to stay alive and pull to 3-2 in the series). Wonder why the NHL has an image problem and why people don't have a sense of who the stars (especially the rising stars) are? If Price is as strong as he appears and as strong as everyone suggests, why wasn't he available like his teammates, each of whom is feeling pressure to finish up this series? And where is the NHL on this? If the hockey gods were watching, there will be a seventh game back in Montreal and we'll really find out what Price is made of.

Scott Burnside is the NHL writer for ESPN.com.