East Rutherford, NJ (My Sportsbook) - The New Jersey Devils, ahead three games to one, try to advance to the Eastern Conference finals tonight when they host the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 5 of their semifinal set at the Meadowlands.

With a victory, the Devils can move past the second round for the third time in four years. In 2000 and '01 they made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals, winning the first year.

The Devils have held a 3-1 advantage in a playoff set seven previous times and gone on to win all of them -- five times in Game 5.

"Hopefully with our experience, we'll know what's at stake and come out and get the job done," Devils captain Scott Stevens said. "We don't want them to climb back in."

New Jersey swept the first two games on home ice and, after dropping Game 3 in Tampa, put a firm grasp on the series with Wednesday's 3-1 triumph in the fourth contest. Stevens, Scott Gomez and Patrik Elias provided the New Jersey goals, while Martin Brodeur turned aside 25 shots.

Stevens delivered a performance worthy of a true captain that has been through his share of Stanley Cup playoff wars. The future Hall of Famer, whose status was in doubt after getting hit in the head by an errant shot in the previous game, was nothing short of a horse in the win. Stevens registered a team-high 27:35 of ice time, got involved physically right off the bat and topped off the evening with an insurance goal in the third period.

"That guy's sick," said Gomez. "That guy is an animal. Nothing hurts that guy. It just shows what a leader he is."

Stevens was hit by a Pavel Kubina shot early in Game 3, went down to the ice in a heap and did not return. He needed 20 stitches to close a gash on his left ear and had precautionary X-rays taken to check for skull damage. While most believed throughout Wednesday that Stevens would suit up -- team officials included -- he said he did not make a final decision until the pre- game warm up.

Stevens and the Devils continued to suffocate the Lightning defensively. They have especially minimized the effect of Tampa's top two offensive weapons, Martin St. Louis and Vincent Lecavalier, who carried the team back from an 0-2 hole versus Washington in the first round. St. Louis was limited to one shot Wednesday, while Lecavalier managed a pair.

"They were tough to play against [in Game 4]," said St. Louis, "They don't give you much, so when you do get a chance, you better make the most of it. That's a good team, a very good team. When they get the puck, they don't give it back. Puck possession is probably the best defense you can play."

St. Louis has two goals in this series, while Lecavalier, who has faced sustained harassment by Stevens and Selke finalist John Madden, has a mere one assist.

The Lightning have some recent history to draw from as they try to come back from a 3-1 series deficit. Two teams -- the Minnesota Wild and Vancouver Canucks -- accomplished the feat in the first round.

"We can't worry about winning three games or thinking about trying to get to a Game 7," Tampa Bay center Brad Richards said. "We have to worry about winning one game and win one game in their building and go from there."

If the Lightning can pull out a win tonight, Game 6 would be played Sunday afternoon at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa.