EL SEGUNDO, Calif. – You have to wonder why the Devils waited so long.



Struggling to score goals against the Los Angeles Kings, Petr Sykora will return to the lineup Wednesday night in Game 4. It will be the fifth Stanley Cup finals for the 35-year-old winger, who has a history of scoring big goals.



"Of course I'm excited. Hopefully I can bring some spark to the team," Sykora said. "I'm just going to go out there and try to play my best game."



Coach Pete DeBoer wouldn't acknowledged that Sykora will play, although in practice he had Patrik Elias back at center between Sykora and Dainius Zubrus.



"He's an option for us," DeBoer said. "We're going to consider him. We haven't scored. He's a guy that doesn't need a lot of looks to stick one in the net. That's what he does best. So he's definitely an option."



Sykora last played in Game 3 of the conference finals against the Rangers on May 19. Jacob Josefson will come out.

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Kings center Mike Richards admitted there will be some nervousness in trying to close out the Devils in Game 4.



"It's a position that you dream about since you're young," Richsrds said. "It's a situation where I think you have to try to enjoy. You're probably going to be a little bit nervous at the same time. You just have to enjoy the process.



"We know how tough of a game it's going to be, what's ahead of us. At the same time we have to be ready for it and not make mistakes just because we're nervous."



So what will that mean for the Devils?



"In the back of our minds, no one wants this to end," captain Zach Parise said. "But we have nothing to lose. We can go and play as hard as we can and hope for the best. There's nothing really right now to save it for.



"Try to get this thing taken back to New Jersey. That's all we can do right now. We believe we can do it. Of course we do. We're in a tough spot. It will be very hard but we'll try our best. You can't look at the big picture right now."

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Fourth line winger Ryan Carter and defenseman Anton Volchenkov have the Devils' only two goals in the finals. Parise, Ilya Kovalchuk and Patrik Elias are all without a goal.



Parise acknowledged the team's top guns need to put the puck in the net.



"We need to. There's no secret there," Parise said. "I know how this goes. When the offense struggles you look at certain individuals. I get it. Yeah, we have to do a better job of scoring some goals. They're playing a real good defensive game in not giving us a lot of room and a lot of chances. But the chances are there. You have to make them count and so far we haven't been able to do that."

MORE COVERAGE OF DEVILS HOCKEY

• Devils' Martin Brodeur will cherish playoff run no matter what happens

• Devils' mood is good; Anton Volchenkov says comeback is possible

• Politi: For Devils, no shame in losing, unless it's like Game 3 defeat

• Devils need to get goals from top forwards to have any hope

• Devils photos

• Devils videos



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Defenseman Henrik Tallinder, who hasn't played a game since Jan. 17 because of blood clots in his leg, said he will definitely not be in the lineup Wednesday night.



"No, I'm not playing," Tallinder said.



DeBoer did not appreciate a question asking if Kovalchuk is battling a significant injury, perhaps the herniated disc in his back that sidelined him for a game against the Flyers.



"You get this deep in the playoffs, everybody's playing hurt," DeBoer said. "You guys want somebody to blame for the situation we're in.

It's not like that, you know. We're working hard. We're doing a lot of good things. It hasn't gone our way yet. We've got to keep going."

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Martin Brodeur spoke of the Kings' first goal during Game 3 in which he felt the play should have been blown dead buit wasn't.



"It's an unfortunate call that I think really affected us in that game," he said. "At the time you're always a little mad about it and you don't understand. Those guys (the referees) have a hard job and they react on the play. Sometimes they make the decision and sometimes they make bad decisions, regardless of what he feels.



"It's up to him (Dan O'Halloran) to live with that call. It really affected us in that game, but we have to move on."



Did he get an explanation for no whistle?



"Nope," Brodeur said. "It's kind of hard. Especially with some of the words I told him. I don't think I was going to get an answer back. All in French."

DeBoer said he did not get an explanation for the goal.

"I didn't get one. I didn't ask for one," the coach said. "I mean, I guess you have an opportunity on the ice, right, for the referee to come over and explain to you the thought process. That was the opportunity I did not get. I didn't pursue one after the game.

"I think it's pretty evident to me after re-looking at it that it shouldn't have counted. It was a critical time in the game. So it's unfortunate."

Rich Chere: rchere@starledger.com; twitter.com/Ledger_NJDevils