The floundering Devils finally found a way to eke out a victory. New Jersey capped a 4-3 win over Edmonton at the Prudential Center in overtime. Ilya Kovalchuk netted a power play goal in the extra session as the Devils skated to their first home decision. The $100million forward for New Jersey also snapped a personal seven game goal drought. Kovalchuk netted the game-winner at 3:27 in overtime to break the Devils’ seven game slide in Newark. New Jersey is 5-10-2 while Edmonton dropped to 4-6-4.
The Oilers were 0-for-2 on power play opportunities and continued their dismal penalty-killing. Edmonton’s Colin Fraser scored a pair for first period goals in Martin Brodeur’s return to goal for the Devils. Fraser found the back of the net after Jordan Eberle’s pass went through the legs of defender, David Clarkson. Five minutes later, Fraser beat Brodeur by skating ahead of the Devils’ defenders and taking advantage of New Jersey mistakes in the defensive zone. He send a screened shot into the net for a 2-0 Edmonton edge. Rookie Alexander Vasyunov scored his first NHL and the only for the Devils in the opening period. Vasyunov took a pass from Patrik Elias to cut the Oilers’ lead in half.
Sam Gagner buried the Oilers’ third goal of the game during a second period line change lapse by New Jersey. Brodeur made 21 saves on the night and the defense tightened up as the game went on. Brian Rolston, in his first game back from a hernia, zipped the Devils’ second goal by Devan Dubnyk with a rebound from the crease. Rolson’s goal turned the game into a 3-2 contest late in the second period. Dubnyk made 35 saves for Edmonton, but couldn’t persevre the one-goal lead in the third period. Another Devils’ rookie, Mattias Tedenby secured a third period goal to tie the game at 3-3. It was Tedenby’s first career goal and the first power play goal by New Jersey on Friday night. The equalizer would hold through regulation as the teams went to an overtime period. Both rookie forwards played their best games so far in Friday’s win. The Devils’ penalty killing was perfect in stopping all four power-play chances.
The Devils snatched a victory in overtime on Kovalchuk’s rifle shot from the left circle. New Jersey earned two points for the win, pulling them out of a tie with Edmonton and the Islanders for fewest in points in the league. Elias had six shots on goal followed by Tedenby’s five and Travis Zajac’s four. New Jersey outshot Edmonton 39-24 and escaped the Rock with their first win this season. The Devils play at 8-4 Boston on Monday night.
Parting Points: Minnesota’s Kevin Love has arrived. Mr. 30-30 for the first time since before I was born (1982)
Boise State is 9-0 after pummeling Idaho 52-14.
OSU vs. PSU!
Song for Saturday- Dion and the Belmonts’ “I Wonder Why”
Showing posts with label New Jersey Devils. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New Jersey Devils. Show all posts
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Devil of a Deal
The New Jersey Devils succeeded in snagging the services of Ilya Kovalchuk. The NHL’s most prominent free agent of 2010 chose to resign with the Devils, inking a reported 17 year deal worth an estimated $102 million. New Jersey outbid the LA Kings and New York Islanders for the 27 year old Russian native.
In Kovalchuk, the Devils signed a great competitor with superior scoring and moderate defensive skills. They have a former number one draft pick and three-time All-Star. Locking up a professional athlete for the long-term is not without risk, however. What bothers me most about the signing is not the truckloads of cash the organization shelled out to Kovalchuk. It’s not even the team’s 17 year commitment to a player who is already in his prime. What the Devils essentially did Monday was slap the franchise tag on an athlete who has been part of the team for less than a year. How would you feel if you were Zach Parise or Travis Zajac? Zajac was selected in the fourth round in 2004 and has been with New Jersey since. Parise is already an established league player, an Olympic hero and the face of the franchise. He was an original Devils draft pick. In marches Kovalchuk with one playoff win under his belt (in eight tries) and the focus shifts to New Jersey building a team around him. It doesn’t seem fair.
From a purely financial standpoint, the Kovalchuk deal flops. The amount of money is not as lucrative as the longevity of the contract would dictate. The contract is front-loaded and expires when Kovalchuk is 44 years old. How many players are still scoring goals with relative frequency at 44? The organization is tying up money that could be utilized more appropriately down the road. Kovalchuk’s value is high, but unless he turns out to be the next Wayne Gretzky, or Scott Stevens for that matter, the Devils are the losers in the end. Time will dictate Kovalchuk’s legacy in New Jersey. Personally, I thought the Kings were the best fit for the Russian player. LA boasts a younger squad and is headed in a more positive direction than I feel the Devils are at this time. Would anyone in their right mind really choose Newark over Los Angeles? It should be a stimulating next decade and a half for the Devils. See you in 2026 for a follow-up assessment of this devil of a deal.
Parting Points: Andy Pettitte’s out for a few weeks. This does not bode well for New York, but I feel the team will be able to sufficiently fill his slot.
In Kovalchuk, the Devils signed a great competitor with superior scoring and moderate defensive skills. They have a former number one draft pick and three-time All-Star. Locking up a professional athlete for the long-term is not without risk, however. What bothers me most about the signing is not the truckloads of cash the organization shelled out to Kovalchuk. It’s not even the team’s 17 year commitment to a player who is already in his prime. What the Devils essentially did Monday was slap the franchise tag on an athlete who has been part of the team for less than a year. How would you feel if you were Zach Parise or Travis Zajac? Zajac was selected in the fourth round in 2004 and has been with New Jersey since. Parise is already an established league player, an Olympic hero and the face of the franchise. He was an original Devils draft pick. In marches Kovalchuk with one playoff win under his belt (in eight tries) and the focus shifts to New Jersey building a team around him. It doesn’t seem fair.
From a purely financial standpoint, the Kovalchuk deal flops. The amount of money is not as lucrative as the longevity of the contract would dictate. The contract is front-loaded and expires when Kovalchuk is 44 years old. How many players are still scoring goals with relative frequency at 44? The organization is tying up money that could be utilized more appropriately down the road. Kovalchuk’s value is high, but unless he turns out to be the next Wayne Gretzky, or Scott Stevens for that matter, the Devils are the losers in the end. Time will dictate Kovalchuk’s legacy in New Jersey. Personally, I thought the Kings were the best fit for the Russian player. LA boasts a younger squad and is headed in a more positive direction than I feel the Devils are at this time. Would anyone in their right mind really choose Newark over Los Angeles? It should be a stimulating next decade and a half for the Devils. See you in 2026 for a follow-up assessment of this devil of a deal.
Parting Points: Andy Pettitte’s out for a few weeks. This does not bode well for New York, but I feel the team will be able to sufficiently fill his slot.
Friday, April 23, 2010
Demolition Devils Disappointing Defeat
The Devils couldn’t avert another early playoff exit. New Jersey has the dreadful honor of being the first team eliminated in the post-season after falling at home Thursday night to the Flyers. Seventh-seeded Philadelphia shutout the second seeded Devils to advance to the NHL semifinal round. New Jersey has been unsavory in the first round in past three seasons. This year was supposed to be different for Atlantic Division winning Devils, who punched a playoff ticket for the 13th straight season. New Jersey squandered every opportunity and couldn’t beat the brilliant Brain Boucher in the series-clincher.
Boucher made 28 saves for his second career post-season shutout during the Devils’ demolition elimination at the Prudential Center. Martin Brodeur, the league’s all-time wins leader, stopped 18 in the loss. New Jersey was 0-for-8 on power play opportunities, while the Flyers capitalized on their first penalty of the game to go 2-for-6 on one-man advantages. Philadelphia’s special teams killed the Devils during this series. Danny Briere scored a short-handed goal at 3:16 in the first period on a backhanded pass by Mike Richards. The Philadelphia captain, Richards, recorded two assists on the red and black and finished with eight points in the series. His second assist came during a second period Claude Giroux goal. Giroux blew two by Brodeur during a two minute span as the Flyers skated to a 3-0 lead. The 22 year old Ontario native’s second tally came on a Flyers’ power play. Scott Hartnell corralled a Briere rebound and sent it across the crease to Giroux for the flip-on goal. Giroux really stepped up for Pete Laviolette’s club with stars Jeff Carter and Simon Gagne sidelined.
Boucher made the offense stand up and the Flyers fended off three penalties in the final 20 minutes to preserve the shutout. New Jersey provided very little offensive challenges to Boucher. Ilya Kovalchuck bounced a hard drive off the goalie’s pad in the first, Patrik Elias’s slap was batted down and Zach Parise unsuccessfully attempted the rebound goal. Boucher turned aside David Clarkson, stopped Paul Martin, robbed Brian Rolston and denied the dangerous Parise on a short-handed slap all in a night’s work. Even Philadelphia’s plentiful penalties weren’t enough to extend Jacques Lemaire’s dreary Devils’ post-season stint. The Devils’ sixth power play of the game was killed after Philadelphia’s Ian Laperriere blocked a shot early in the third period. Laperriere took a puck off the face on a Martin shot from the point as New Jersey was sent home early. The Devils were given 32 power play opportunities during the five games but were unable to score on all but four.
Parting Points: NFL news updates- Big Ben suspended six games, Sam Bradford goes number one to St. Louis and Drew Brees is the new Madden cover boy
Boucher made 28 saves for his second career post-season shutout during the Devils’ demolition elimination at the Prudential Center. Martin Brodeur, the league’s all-time wins leader, stopped 18 in the loss. New Jersey was 0-for-8 on power play opportunities, while the Flyers capitalized on their first penalty of the game to go 2-for-6 on one-man advantages. Philadelphia’s special teams killed the Devils during this series. Danny Briere scored a short-handed goal at 3:16 in the first period on a backhanded pass by Mike Richards. The Philadelphia captain, Richards, recorded two assists on the red and black and finished with eight points in the series. His second assist came during a second period Claude Giroux goal. Giroux blew two by Brodeur during a two minute span as the Flyers skated to a 3-0 lead. The 22 year old Ontario native’s second tally came on a Flyers’ power play. Scott Hartnell corralled a Briere rebound and sent it across the crease to Giroux for the flip-on goal. Giroux really stepped up for Pete Laviolette’s club with stars Jeff Carter and Simon Gagne sidelined.
Boucher made the offense stand up and the Flyers fended off three penalties in the final 20 minutes to preserve the shutout. New Jersey provided very little offensive challenges to Boucher. Ilya Kovalchuck bounced a hard drive off the goalie’s pad in the first, Patrik Elias’s slap was batted down and Zach Parise unsuccessfully attempted the rebound goal. Boucher turned aside David Clarkson, stopped Paul Martin, robbed Brian Rolston and denied the dangerous Parise on a short-handed slap all in a night’s work. Even Philadelphia’s plentiful penalties weren’t enough to extend Jacques Lemaire’s dreary Devils’ post-season stint. The Devils’ sixth power play of the game was killed after Philadelphia’s Ian Laperriere blocked a shot early in the third period. Laperriere took a puck off the face on a Martin shot from the point as New Jersey was sent home early. The Devils were given 32 power play opportunities during the five games but were unable to score on all but four.
Parting Points: NFL news updates- Big Ben suspended six games, Sam Bradford goes number one to St. Louis and Drew Brees is the new Madden cover boy
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Split Series
New Jersey put away the Philadelphia Flyers 5-3 at the Prudential Center Friday to even the first round series at one all. Danius Zubrus powered home the fourth goal with four minutes left to play to give the Devils a one score cushion in game two of the Eastern conference playoff series. Ilya Kovalchuk deposited the final goal for the decisive Devils’ victory. New Jersey held the seventh seeded Flyers to a pair of power play goals as the Flyers failed to capitalize on the one-man advantage most of the night. The Devils were a man down seven times but Philadelphia couldn’t solve their solid defense in this best-of-seven series. New Jersey has topped the Flyers just twice in eight tries this season.
Brian Boucher stopped 28 in goal for Philadelphia, while New Jersey netminder, Martin Brodeur, made 26 saves. Brodeur was stingy, snuffing and stopping break-in shots by Daniel Carcillo and Ian Laperriere with eight minutes in regulation to keep the score knotted at 3-3. The Devils jumped out to a 1-0 lead on Zach Parise’s backhanded goal at 2:45 in the first period. Patrik Elias picked up a loose puck and fed it to Parise for one of Elias’ three assists. New Jersey gave up their first lead in the series before the first period horn sounded. The Flyers scored two goals on their first five shots. Arron Asham and Claude Giroux tallied goals for the visiting Flyers to give Philadelphia a 2-1 edge. Asham tipped the puck off the post for the first goal and Giroux muscled in front of Brodeur for the follow-up flick. New Jersey put it together in front of a sold-out Newark crowd to erase the Flyers’ lead. The Devils took a 3-2 advantage on a pair of goals by their defensemen. Colin White evened the score at 2-2 early in the second period. It was White’s first playoff goal in nine years. Andy Greene netted the third New Jersey goal on a power play midway through the period. Greene re-directed an Elias pass past Boucher for the Devils’ second lead of the game. It wasn’t always pretty for the Devils’ defensemen. White and Greene combined for four penalties. Chris Pronger chipped in a goal to tie the game at three apiece on a Flyers’ power play. Despite the Pronger goal, the Devils’ defense was excellent on penalty kills and took the momentum of their second period comeback into the final period. Brodeur was even more brilliant as the shining star.
Zubrus’ goal came off a rebound to key the Atlantic Division champion Devils’ late push. The Flyers were slow in clearing the zone and unable to stop the speedy skaters from New Jersey in the third period. Zubrus and Parise took whacks at the puck, but it was Zubrus who was credited with the game-winner at 15:56. Philadelphia was awarded the contest’s first power play on Kovalchuk’s elbow to the aggressive Carcillo, but it was the New Jersey newcomer who finished off the evening’s scoring with an empty net goal at 19:27. The former Atlanta Thrasher logged 21 minutes of ice time and was charged with three penalties in Friday’s feisty exchange. New Jersey captain, Jamie Langenbrunner, attempted five shots and finished with an assist on the final goal as the Devils dodged the Flyers. Philadelphia’s captain, Mike Richards, managed two assists in the losing effort. Game three is scheduled for Sunday at the Wachovia Center.
Parting Points: The Penguins and Red Wings both bounced back to even their first round series.
The NBA second season starts today. Did your team make it?
Brian Boucher stopped 28 in goal for Philadelphia, while New Jersey netminder, Martin Brodeur, made 26 saves. Brodeur was stingy, snuffing and stopping break-in shots by Daniel Carcillo and Ian Laperriere with eight minutes in regulation to keep the score knotted at 3-3. The Devils jumped out to a 1-0 lead on Zach Parise’s backhanded goal at 2:45 in the first period. Patrik Elias picked up a loose puck and fed it to Parise for one of Elias’ three assists. New Jersey gave up their first lead in the series before the first period horn sounded. The Flyers scored two goals on their first five shots. Arron Asham and Claude Giroux tallied goals for the visiting Flyers to give Philadelphia a 2-1 edge. Asham tipped the puck off the post for the first goal and Giroux muscled in front of Brodeur for the follow-up flick. New Jersey put it together in front of a sold-out Newark crowd to erase the Flyers’ lead. The Devils took a 3-2 advantage on a pair of goals by their defensemen. Colin White evened the score at 2-2 early in the second period. It was White’s first playoff goal in nine years. Andy Greene netted the third New Jersey goal on a power play midway through the period. Greene re-directed an Elias pass past Boucher for the Devils’ second lead of the game. It wasn’t always pretty for the Devils’ defensemen. White and Greene combined for four penalties. Chris Pronger chipped in a goal to tie the game at three apiece on a Flyers’ power play. Despite the Pronger goal, the Devils’ defense was excellent on penalty kills and took the momentum of their second period comeback into the final period. Brodeur was even more brilliant as the shining star.
Zubrus’ goal came off a rebound to key the Atlantic Division champion Devils’ late push. The Flyers were slow in clearing the zone and unable to stop the speedy skaters from New Jersey in the third period. Zubrus and Parise took whacks at the puck, but it was Zubrus who was credited with the game-winner at 15:56. Philadelphia was awarded the contest’s first power play on Kovalchuk’s elbow to the aggressive Carcillo, but it was the New Jersey newcomer who finished off the evening’s scoring with an empty net goal at 19:27. The former Atlanta Thrasher logged 21 minutes of ice time and was charged with three penalties in Friday’s feisty exchange. New Jersey captain, Jamie Langenbrunner, attempted five shots and finished with an assist on the final goal as the Devils dodged the Flyers. Philadelphia’s captain, Mike Richards, managed two assists in the losing effort. Game three is scheduled for Sunday at the Wachovia Center.
Parting Points: The Penguins and Red Wings both bounced back to even their first round series.
The NBA second season starts today. Did your team make it?
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Thursday Take-Twos (NHL playoff edition)
Derek Morris buried the game-winning goal with less than three minutes into the third period to lift the lively Coyotes over the raucous Red Wings in a first round NHL matchup in Glendale. Fourth seeded Phoenix scored goals in each of the three periods to put away fifth seeded Detroit 3-2. Morris, traded to the Coyotes from Boston at the deadline, broke a 2-2 tie and assisted on two other power play goals. Ilya Bryzgalov was superb in net after allowing two Detroit goals in the first period. Bryzgalov made 38 saves as the Coyotes won their first playoff game since 2002. Red Wings’ 13 year veteran, Tomas Holmstrom, scored the first goal of the Western Conference series Wednesday. Nicklas Lidstrom followed Holmstrom with a power play goal as Detroit took an early advantage in their 19th straight playoff appearance. Lidstrom needed five stitches after taking a stick to the face in the third period. Phoenix was outshot 30-15 through the first two periods, but managed to find the net twice off the sticks of Ketih Yandle and Wojtek Wolski. Detroit goalie, Jimmy Howard, staved off 32 shots but his team fumbled 1-of-6 power play opportunities. The Coyotes split four regular season games with the Wings and were the stronger team last night. The Wings have the upper hand in previous playoff meetings with the Coytes. They certainly have more post-season experience. But now they must play catch-up in order to continue their Stanley Cup title chase.
Brian Boucher was brilliant for the Flyers in recording his first playoff victory in ten years. Philadelphia derailed the Devils on their home ice 2-1 in an Eastern Conference showdown between neighborhood rivals. Journeyman Boucher turned aside 23 shots, including a stifling save with ten seconds in regulation on an attempt by Patrik Elias. Boucher denied Zach Parise and Elias all night. Chris Pronger and Mike Richards added second period goals as the seventh seeded Flyers’ momentum continued into the first round playoff meeting. Philadelphia secured a playoff berth just this Sunday with an overtime win over the New York Rangers. New Jersey’s Martin Brodeur made just 12 saves and received little help from his offense. The Devils couldn’t put anything together, forced shots and couldn’t adjust on defense. A besieged Brodeur was thoroughly outdueled by Boucher. The home team had little answers for Boucher and the Flyers at the Rock. The Devils’ lone goal came in the third period but it was too late. Travis Zajac’s slap shot bounced in front of Boucher with 2:43 left to spoil the goalie’s shutout bid. New Jersey was an unsuccessful 0-for-5 on the power play. The Flyers grabbed home-ice advantage with the first win of the seven game series. The Devils are accustomed to being behind in the playoffs. New Jersey has not won a post-season series in three years. For the Devils’ sake, let’s hope this is not another first round exit.
Parting Points: Brandon Marshall was shipped from Denver to Miami. Who else will go shopping before the NFL schedule hits the newsstands on Tuesday?
More NHL playoff updates: The Pens dropped their post-season opener in a 5-4 grinder against Ottawa. Chris Stewart notched the game-winning goal for Avalanche as the Colorado clipped San Jose 2-1.
Thursday’s Tune- “Reason for Breathing” by Babyface
Brian Boucher was brilliant for the Flyers in recording his first playoff victory in ten years. Philadelphia derailed the Devils on their home ice 2-1 in an Eastern Conference showdown between neighborhood rivals. Journeyman Boucher turned aside 23 shots, including a stifling save with ten seconds in regulation on an attempt by Patrik Elias. Boucher denied Zach Parise and Elias all night. Chris Pronger and Mike Richards added second period goals as the seventh seeded Flyers’ momentum continued into the first round playoff meeting. Philadelphia secured a playoff berth just this Sunday with an overtime win over the New York Rangers. New Jersey’s Martin Brodeur made just 12 saves and received little help from his offense. The Devils couldn’t put anything together, forced shots and couldn’t adjust on defense. A besieged Brodeur was thoroughly outdueled by Boucher. The home team had little answers for Boucher and the Flyers at the Rock. The Devils’ lone goal came in the third period but it was too late. Travis Zajac’s slap shot bounced in front of Boucher with 2:43 left to spoil the goalie’s shutout bid. New Jersey was an unsuccessful 0-for-5 on the power play. The Flyers grabbed home-ice advantage with the first win of the seven game series. The Devils are accustomed to being behind in the playoffs. New Jersey has not won a post-season series in three years. For the Devils’ sake, let’s hope this is not another first round exit.
Parting Points: Brandon Marshall was shipped from Denver to Miami. Who else will go shopping before the NFL schedule hits the newsstands on Tuesday?
More NHL playoff updates: The Pens dropped their post-season opener in a 5-4 grinder against Ottawa. Chris Stewart notched the game-winning goal for Avalanche as the Colorado clipped San Jose 2-1.
Thursday’s Tune- “Reason for Breathing” by Babyface
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Power Play Pouncing
The Devils skated into Prudential Center Tuesday night totaling just one goal in their previous two games. They glided out of the New Jersey arena 6-3 winners over Columbus following three power-play goals. New Jersey zipped the Blue Jackets in goalie, Martin Brodeur’s 40th triumph of the season. Milestone Marty has now collected eight forty win seasons in 16 career years. No other NHL goalie has more than three such seasons. Brodeur made 19 stops against visiting Columbus, the fourteenth place team in the Western Conference. Ilya Kovalchuk had a goal and three assists for the first-place Devils. New Jerseys entered Tuesday’s contest 0-for-17 on the power play in their last six games. They garnered some confidence in those advantageous situations last night. Brodeur thwarted the Jackets’ efforts as his teammates looked like students of the game with the puck.
New Jersey struck four second period goals to break open a 2-1 game. Zach Parise slipped home a Jamie Langenbrunner rebound in the first period to stake the Devils a 1-0 lead at 13:05. Columbus’ Rick Nash was sent to the penalty box on the play for roughing up Langenbrunner, and the Devils seized the one man advantage opportunity. Blue Jackets’ netminder, Steve Mason, was beaten on a second power play goal in the second period. Paul Martin connected on a slap shot rebound to open the second period and give New Jersey 2-0 edge. Columbus pulled within 2-1 when Antoine Vermette burned Brodeur high for his 23rd of the season. The Jackets had a two-man advantage for nearly a minute midway through the second period as they trailed by one. They mustered only one shot against the tightfisted Devils’ defense. New Jersey’s penalty killers were superb in breaking the Blue Jackets’ momentum.
Tuesday marked the sixth time this season Columbus has allowed six or more goals to pass through the net. Mason’s first meeting with his boyhood idol Brodeur was spoiled by an erratic Columbus team. New Jersey was tremendous in protecting the puck and their early lead. The Devils cashed in on the permeable Jackets’ defense in the final two periods. Kovalchuk unleashed a wrist shot from the left faceoff dot to beat Mason. It was the New Jersey left wing’s 37th goal of the season and gave the Devils a 3-1 lead. It was a frustrating allowance by the sophomore goaltender, Mason. The Jackets did a poor job of clearing the net and giving Mason unconstructive views in goal. New Jersey’s Travis Zajac helped blow the game open with a pair of goals in the second period. Zajac scored two goals within four minutes of each other to pad the Devils’ lead 5-1. Jakub Voracek knotted his 13th of the year for Columbus to put an end to the barrage of New Jersey goals in the high scoring second period. Brodeur was beaten once more, on a Kristian Huselius goal six minute into the final period. Huselius was called for tripping Martin earlier in the game, leading to Kovalchuk’s power play goal. Huselius was guilty of two penalties for Columbus. Parise made his presence felt again in the third period, ending any doubt of a Devils’ victory at The Rock. Parise was left wide open in front of the net with ample time to knock it through the posts, tacking on his second goal. He fired on a spin move to give the home team a decisive 6-3 win during the first-ever visit by the Blue Jackets to New Jersey.
Parting Points: The NFL has new overtime rules. What do you think? I still say the college overtime policy is the best. Now sudden-death doesn’t seem so sudden. I still think the home team should get the ball first in OT. Why have all these silly rules?
Those UConn Huskies are unstoppable. It’s amazing how overpowering they are in dominating opponents. If they do not cut down the nets this year, the head coach should be canned.
New Jersey struck four second period goals to break open a 2-1 game. Zach Parise slipped home a Jamie Langenbrunner rebound in the first period to stake the Devils a 1-0 lead at 13:05. Columbus’ Rick Nash was sent to the penalty box on the play for roughing up Langenbrunner, and the Devils seized the one man advantage opportunity. Blue Jackets’ netminder, Steve Mason, was beaten on a second power play goal in the second period. Paul Martin connected on a slap shot rebound to open the second period and give New Jersey 2-0 edge. Columbus pulled within 2-1 when Antoine Vermette burned Brodeur high for his 23rd of the season. The Jackets had a two-man advantage for nearly a minute midway through the second period as they trailed by one. They mustered only one shot against the tightfisted Devils’ defense. New Jersey’s penalty killers were superb in breaking the Blue Jackets’ momentum.
Tuesday marked the sixth time this season Columbus has allowed six or more goals to pass through the net. Mason’s first meeting with his boyhood idol Brodeur was spoiled by an erratic Columbus team. New Jersey was tremendous in protecting the puck and their early lead. The Devils cashed in on the permeable Jackets’ defense in the final two periods. Kovalchuk unleashed a wrist shot from the left faceoff dot to beat Mason. It was the New Jersey left wing’s 37th goal of the season and gave the Devils a 3-1 lead. It was a frustrating allowance by the sophomore goaltender, Mason. The Jackets did a poor job of clearing the net and giving Mason unconstructive views in goal. New Jersey’s Travis Zajac helped blow the game open with a pair of goals in the second period. Zajac scored two goals within four minutes of each other to pad the Devils’ lead 5-1. Jakub Voracek knotted his 13th of the year for Columbus to put an end to the barrage of New Jersey goals in the high scoring second period. Brodeur was beaten once more, on a Kristian Huselius goal six minute into the final period. Huselius was called for tripping Martin earlier in the game, leading to Kovalchuk’s power play goal. Huselius was guilty of two penalties for Columbus. Parise made his presence felt again in the third period, ending any doubt of a Devils’ victory at The Rock. Parise was left wide open in front of the net with ample time to knock it through the posts, tacking on his second goal. He fired on a spin move to give the home team a decisive 6-3 win during the first-ever visit by the Blue Jackets to New Jersey.
Parting Points: The NFL has new overtime rules. What do you think? I still say the college overtime policy is the best. Now sudden-death doesn’t seem so sudden. I still think the home team should get the ball first in OT. Why have all these silly rules?
Those UConn Huskies are unstoppable. It’s amazing how overpowering they are in dominating opponents. If they do not cut down the nets this year, the head coach should be canned.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Sixth Strike Sweeps Season
The Devils didn’t need the luck of the Irish to skate past the Penguins on St. Patty’s Day at the Prudential Center last night. New Jersey swept the season series against Pittsburgh with a hard-nosed 5-2 victory in Newark. Goalie Martin Brodeur’s barrage of 24 saves and a bout of Pittsburgh turnovers gave the Devils their sixth win over the Pens this season. Pittsburgh played Wednesday without star, Evgeni Malkin. The Malkin-less Pens seemed to take the night off too, after dominating the first half of the opening period. Starting goalie, Marc-Andres Fleury, was yanked from the Pittsburgh net and sent to the bench after allowing four goals on 13 shots. The victory in Newark vaulted the Devils into a first place tie with their Atlantic Division rival Penguins. The Devils also saw the return of their top defenseman, Paul Martin.
Fans in New Jersey were treated to a retro, throwback jersey night. The Devils wore their classic red, white and green uniforms in honor of St. Patrick’s Day. The Penguins were the first team to find the pot of gold, however. Chris Kunitz gave the visiting Pens a 1-0 lead at 4:01 into the contest. The eight year left wing for Pittsburgh buried a rebound behind Brodeur as the Devils got off to a slow start. The Pens outshot the Devils 26-19 but it didn’t matter. New Jersey seized control of the game by roaring back. Patrik Elias fueled the offense, picking up an assist on Dainius Zubrus’ tying goal in the first period. Elias backhanded a pass off the Pittsburgh turnover and Zurbus deked Fleury onto his back to notch the game at one. The Devils’ sparkplug wasn’t done. After Paul Martin made it a 2-1 New Jersey lead in the first, Elias scored a shorthanded goal at 3:09 in the second period. Elias picked off a cross-ice pass by Jordan Leopold for his 13th goal of the season and 3-1 Devils’ advantage.
Zach Parise pushed the New Jersey lead to 4-1 seven minutes after Elias punched in a goal. Parise’s driving rebound past Fleury was enough to ship the paltry Pens’ goalie off the ice. Fleury made just nine saves on the night. Michigan native, Brent Johnson, replaced Fleury in goal. Ruslan Fedotenko tried to help the Penguins scratch back with a Pittsburgh goal early in the third period. Fedotenko’s 10th of the season cut the deficit to 4-2, but New Jersey’s Rob Niedermeyer’s empty-netter essentially sealed the Pittsburgh loss. New Jersey has now won four of their last five games. Brodeur earned his 596th career NHL victory. New Jersey has cooked the Penguins all season and should be confident with a potential playoff meeting with Pittsburgh. The Devils have revived themselves after a slight slump. The black and red clad team are flowing offensively and shutting down speedy skaters on defense. They are primed for the playoffs if they continue to play up to the level they exhibited last night.
Parting Points: Yankee notes- Marte gets drilled by a Ryan Howard bullet and leaves the game; Joba’s improved performance keeps him in the hunt for the fifth rotation job.
Thursday tune- “Beautiful Disaster”- 311
Let the games begin—March Madness has officially kicked off!
Fans in New Jersey were treated to a retro, throwback jersey night. The Devils wore their classic red, white and green uniforms in honor of St. Patrick’s Day. The Penguins were the first team to find the pot of gold, however. Chris Kunitz gave the visiting Pens a 1-0 lead at 4:01 into the contest. The eight year left wing for Pittsburgh buried a rebound behind Brodeur as the Devils got off to a slow start. The Pens outshot the Devils 26-19 but it didn’t matter. New Jersey seized control of the game by roaring back. Patrik Elias fueled the offense, picking up an assist on Dainius Zubrus’ tying goal in the first period. Elias backhanded a pass off the Pittsburgh turnover and Zurbus deked Fleury onto his back to notch the game at one. The Devils’ sparkplug wasn’t done. After Paul Martin made it a 2-1 New Jersey lead in the first, Elias scored a shorthanded goal at 3:09 in the second period. Elias picked off a cross-ice pass by Jordan Leopold for his 13th goal of the season and 3-1 Devils’ advantage.
Zach Parise pushed the New Jersey lead to 4-1 seven minutes after Elias punched in a goal. Parise’s driving rebound past Fleury was enough to ship the paltry Pens’ goalie off the ice. Fleury made just nine saves on the night. Michigan native, Brent Johnson, replaced Fleury in goal. Ruslan Fedotenko tried to help the Penguins scratch back with a Pittsburgh goal early in the third period. Fedotenko’s 10th of the season cut the deficit to 4-2, but New Jersey’s Rob Niedermeyer’s empty-netter essentially sealed the Pittsburgh loss. New Jersey has now won four of their last five games. Brodeur earned his 596th career NHL victory. New Jersey has cooked the Penguins all season and should be confident with a potential playoff meeting with Pittsburgh. The Devils have revived themselves after a slight slump. The black and red clad team are flowing offensively and shutting down speedy skaters on defense. They are primed for the playoffs if they continue to play up to the level they exhibited last night.
Parting Points: Yankee notes- Marte gets drilled by a Ryan Howard bullet and leaves the game; Joba’s improved performance keeps him in the hunt for the fifth rotation job.
Thursday tune- “Beautiful Disaster”- 311
Let the games begin—March Madness has officially kicked off!
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Latest Line Lifts Lemaire, Limits Leafs
Travis Zajac bailed the Devils out and rescued them from losing to the lowly Maple Leafs Friday night in Newark. Zajac’s game-winning power play goal four minutes into the overtime session lifted New Jersey to a 5-4 win over Toronto. The victory marked just the third time in ten tries the Devils have scored more than two goals in a contest. Devils netminder, Martin Brodeur, showed his human side against the Ron Wilson coached Leafs. Wilson, who was named head coach of the USA Olympic team, watched his 17 win squad erase a two-goal New Jersey lead. Toronto battled back to send the game into the extra session, only to lose their 11th overtime game this season. The Devils improved to 35-16-2. Toronto is battling Carolina for the conference basement after suffering their 16th one-goal defeat.
Zach Parise notched a pair of goals in the first period to provide the Devils points. Parise squirted through sloppy Toronto coverage to score his 24th and 25th goals of the season. The Maple Leafs were 0 for 2 on the power play but managed a first period goal off the stick of Carl Gunnarsson. The Swedish rookie for Toronto blasted spinning shot past Brodeur’s glove for the first goal of the night. The visiting team’s 1-0 advantage lasted less than a minute. Ian White lost the puck in the shadow of the net. Parise took over the pick and tapped the puck across the crease beyond the reach of Jonas Gustavvson. It was the young Devil’s 20th two goal game of his career. The Devils, who scored just 12 goals in their last eight games, pulled ahead 4-2 by the third period. Jacque Lemaire juggled the New Jersey line and saw positive results. Lemaire moved Dainius Zubrus to the top of the line with Zajac and Parise. Zubrus returned for just his third game Friday after missing 30 with a broken knee cap. The new line quickly meshed to manufacture two more New Jersey goals. Zajac took a feed from Parise and nudged it to Zubrus for the third New Jersey goal. The 3-1 lead was enough to spark a goaltending change for Wilson. Vesa Toskala replaced Gustavvson and the change lifted the Leafs, albeit briefly. Colton Orr got a rare breakaway chance to cut the Devils lead to 3-2. Orr gloved down Jamal Mayers’s pass and closed in on Brodeur for the Toronto enforcer’s first goal in 29 games. New Jersey went back up by two on Michigan rookie, Patrick Davis’s first goal of his career.
The Maple Leafs got goals from Alexei Ponikarovsky and Matt Stajan in the final five minutes to force overtime at the Prudential Center. Both pending unrestricted free agents scored third period goals and Toronto was helped by 10 of 12 Toskala saves down the stretch. Ponikarovsky pounced on the puck after stripping sure-handed Devils defensiveman, Bryce Salvador. He shoveled home his 19th goal of the season in the final period to trim the Toronto deficit to one. Sizzling Stajan’s goal tied the game with 1:31 remaining. The seven year Ontario native knocked in Tomas Kaberle’s rebound to secure the goal. The Maple Leafs overcame a pair of two goal deficits to nearly take the lead in the third period. The rally would not be completed, however. The Devils are known for eking out defensive wins. This was anything but for first place New Jersey. Brodeur was operational in padding and preventing Gunnnarsson from slipping one from the slot. In the overtime, Toronto’s Luke Schenn ended the game in the penalty box. Schenn was called for hooking with 1:08 remaining in overtime to give New Jersey a power play opportunity. Zajac scored during the 4-on-3 advantage off a Parise assist to give the Devils the first regulation win over Toronto since being blanked three time last year. Zajac finished with three assists, including setting up both Parise tallies. Lemaire’s balanced threesome helped bury the Maple Leafs at the Rock. Zajac, Parise and Zubrus combined to cash in on four of the five New Jersey goals. Brodeur saved 25 in his 32nd consecutive start behind net.
Parting Points: Song of the day- Selena’s “I Could Fall In Love”
Zach Parise notched a pair of goals in the first period to provide the Devils points. Parise squirted through sloppy Toronto coverage to score his 24th and 25th goals of the season. The Maple Leafs were 0 for 2 on the power play but managed a first period goal off the stick of Carl Gunnarsson. The Swedish rookie for Toronto blasted spinning shot past Brodeur’s glove for the first goal of the night. The visiting team’s 1-0 advantage lasted less than a minute. Ian White lost the puck in the shadow of the net. Parise took over the pick and tapped the puck across the crease beyond the reach of Jonas Gustavvson. It was the young Devil’s 20th two goal game of his career. The Devils, who scored just 12 goals in their last eight games, pulled ahead 4-2 by the third period. Jacque Lemaire juggled the New Jersey line and saw positive results. Lemaire moved Dainius Zubrus to the top of the line with Zajac and Parise. Zubrus returned for just his third game Friday after missing 30 with a broken knee cap. The new line quickly meshed to manufacture two more New Jersey goals. Zajac took a feed from Parise and nudged it to Zubrus for the third New Jersey goal. The 3-1 lead was enough to spark a goaltending change for Wilson. Vesa Toskala replaced Gustavvson and the change lifted the Leafs, albeit briefly. Colton Orr got a rare breakaway chance to cut the Devils lead to 3-2. Orr gloved down Jamal Mayers’s pass and closed in on Brodeur for the Toronto enforcer’s first goal in 29 games. New Jersey went back up by two on Michigan rookie, Patrick Davis’s first goal of his career.
The Maple Leafs got goals from Alexei Ponikarovsky and Matt Stajan in the final five minutes to force overtime at the Prudential Center. Both pending unrestricted free agents scored third period goals and Toronto was helped by 10 of 12 Toskala saves down the stretch. Ponikarovsky pounced on the puck after stripping sure-handed Devils defensiveman, Bryce Salvador. He shoveled home his 19th goal of the season in the final period to trim the Toronto deficit to one. Sizzling Stajan’s goal tied the game with 1:31 remaining. The seven year Ontario native knocked in Tomas Kaberle’s rebound to secure the goal. The Maple Leafs overcame a pair of two goal deficits to nearly take the lead in the third period. The rally would not be completed, however. The Devils are known for eking out defensive wins. This was anything but for first place New Jersey. Brodeur was operational in padding and preventing Gunnnarsson from slipping one from the slot. In the overtime, Toronto’s Luke Schenn ended the game in the penalty box. Schenn was called for hooking with 1:08 remaining in overtime to give New Jersey a power play opportunity. Zajac scored during the 4-on-3 advantage off a Parise assist to give the Devils the first regulation win over Toronto since being blanked three time last year. Zajac finished with three assists, including setting up both Parise tallies. Lemaire’s balanced threesome helped bury the Maple Leafs at the Rock. Zajac, Parise and Zubrus combined to cash in on four of the five New Jersey goals. Brodeur saved 25 in his 32nd consecutive start behind net.
Parting Points: Song of the day- Selena’s “I Could Fall In Love”
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Parise Pockets Pair in Physical Play at Prudential
Zach Parise planted the puck between the posts for the first time in exactly a month to start the scoring for the Devils last night in Newark. Parise’s pair of goals Monday were enough to lift New Jersey to a very physical 3-2 victory over the Atlanta Thrashers. The 25 year old team leader in goals and points the past two seasons snapped a 12 game scoring drought to give New Jersey their fourth straight victory at The Rock. It is imperative for Parise to fluster the foes in order for the Devils to deliver. Atlanta took 20 hits on New Jersey but fought off early shakiness to make it a closely contest meeting. The Devils own a 27-9-1 record and bounced back from a pre-Christmas spiritless loss to Washington. New Jersey returned to their winning ways with their best skater recapturing the spotlight. The Thrashers dropped their fifth straight game, despite fighting to trim the home lead to one goal with 7:28 remaining in the contest.
Parise slipped by Atlanta defenders 10:46 into the first period to beat badly-screened goalie, Johan Hedberg. The winger broke through and knocked in his own rebound over Hedberg’s pads for the first Devils’ tally. His 16th goal of the season tied the game at 1-1. Niclas Bergfors and Andy Greene each earned an assist on the goal. A minute earlier in the quarter, Ilya Kovalchuk recorded Atlanta’s initial goal with a blast from the left circle past Martin Brodeur. Kovalchuk’s extended his point-scoring streak to ten with his 23rd goal. Marty Reasoner and Tobias Enstrom picked up the assists on the score. Devils’ defensivemen, Collin White, chipped in a first period goal to put the Devils ahead 2-1 at 16:34. It was the long-time Devil’s second goal of 2009. The ten year veteran was on the ice for nearly 23 minutes Monday. Bergfors notched his second assist of the night on White’s slapper.
Atlanta was rewarded for their enduring effort after neither team scored in the sloppy second period. New Jersey failed to move the puck and often allowed Atlanta clear shots up the ice. The Devils got on board first with the super speedy Parise’s second of two scores. Patrik Elias swung a cross-ice pass to Parise .59 seconds into the third period. The power play goal was Parise’s 17th, and put New Jersey up 3-1. A two goal lead is usually suffice for the game’s most dominant netminder, Brodeur. Marty allowed Atlanta to best him once more, but finished with 24 saves. Reasoner gave the redshirts a reason for concern by blitzing Brodeur from the high slot after a two-zone Atlanta rush. The 19-15-4 Thrashers wouldn’t get any closer. A solid road effort turned into another loss for John Anderson’s Thrashers. Luckily for the Devils, the defense held up well in advantageous Atlanta situations. New Jersey’s goalie fended off a flurry of attackers and snared shots to the ice to preserve the edge. Brodeur was playing in his first game at the Prudential Center since his historical shutout. The three time Stanley Cup goaltender hung tough behind net, and Parise stepped up with surging, skillful, shining statement to thump the Thrashers.
Parting Points: Are the Vikings caving? Cutler connected in crunchtime to overcome the Favre mystique.
These Mike Leach allegations are disturbing, to say the least.
Tracy McGrady is requesting a trade. I can’t blame the All-Star Rocket for wanting more minutes. Does Houston exchange an expiring contracts or a young shooter?
Parise slipped by Atlanta defenders 10:46 into the first period to beat badly-screened goalie, Johan Hedberg. The winger broke through and knocked in his own rebound over Hedberg’s pads for the first Devils’ tally. His 16th goal of the season tied the game at 1-1. Niclas Bergfors and Andy Greene each earned an assist on the goal. A minute earlier in the quarter, Ilya Kovalchuk recorded Atlanta’s initial goal with a blast from the left circle past Martin Brodeur. Kovalchuk’s extended his point-scoring streak to ten with his 23rd goal. Marty Reasoner and Tobias Enstrom picked up the assists on the score. Devils’ defensivemen, Collin White, chipped in a first period goal to put the Devils ahead 2-1 at 16:34. It was the long-time Devil’s second goal of 2009. The ten year veteran was on the ice for nearly 23 minutes Monday. Bergfors notched his second assist of the night on White’s slapper.
Atlanta was rewarded for their enduring effort after neither team scored in the sloppy second period. New Jersey failed to move the puck and often allowed Atlanta clear shots up the ice. The Devils got on board first with the super speedy Parise’s second of two scores. Patrik Elias swung a cross-ice pass to Parise .59 seconds into the third period. The power play goal was Parise’s 17th, and put New Jersey up 3-1. A two goal lead is usually suffice for the game’s most dominant netminder, Brodeur. Marty allowed Atlanta to best him once more, but finished with 24 saves. Reasoner gave the redshirts a reason for concern by blitzing Brodeur from the high slot after a two-zone Atlanta rush. The 19-15-4 Thrashers wouldn’t get any closer. A solid road effort turned into another loss for John Anderson’s Thrashers. Luckily for the Devils, the defense held up well in advantageous Atlanta situations. New Jersey’s goalie fended off a flurry of attackers and snared shots to the ice to preserve the edge. Brodeur was playing in his first game at the Prudential Center since his historical shutout. The three time Stanley Cup goaltender hung tough behind net, and Parise stepped up with surging, skillful, shining statement to thump the Thrashers.
Parting Points: Are the Vikings caving? Cutler connected in crunchtime to overcome the Favre mystique.
These Mike Leach allegations are disturbing, to say the least.
Tracy McGrady is requesting a trade. I can’t blame the All-Star Rocket for wanting more minutes. Does Houston exchange an expiring contracts or a young shooter?
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Punchless Power Play at Prudential
The New Jersey Devils managed to skate past Montreal 2-1 Wednesday even without a power play goal in five tries. The Canadiens played short-handed and took the first five penalties of the game, but the Devils were unable to capitalize on the advantage. The Devils sputtered on the power play throughout the first two periods. Instead, New Jersey benefited from awesome goaltending and a fluke goal from first year Finland native, Illka Pikkarainen. Devils’ netminder, Martin Brodeur, tied Patrick Roy’s NHL record for regular season appearances at 1,029. Brodeur also inked his 598th career win. The goalie missed passing Terry Shawchuk on the all-time shutout list because Travin Moen scored unassisted in the first period. The Devils fell behind and squandered a two-man advantage when the Habs inexplicably scored a shorthanded goal. Moen took the puck off a Jamie Langenbrunner turnover and deposited into the net for a 1-0 Montreal lead. Langenbrunner flubbed the puck on a cross-ice pass from defensiveman, Andy Greene. The Prudential Center crowd showered the arena with boos. Most of the jeers were directed at former Devil forward, Scott Gomez. The Canadien Gomez was booed every time he touched the puck. The Devils couldn’t get much going or facilitate much against Gomez’s new team until the second period.
The Devils answered in the second period on Pikkarainen’s wrister that deflected off the glove of Carey Price in goal. Price accidentally knocked the puck with the back of his right skate to allow New Jersey the equalizer to score. Patrik Elias broke the 1-1 tie 17:24 into the third period to salvage the Devils’ 23rd win. Elias picked up his seventh goal of the year by redirecting his own rebound into the net. Price stopped the initial shot, but Elias whistled in the game winner with 2:36 remaining, just in time. Elias’ goal sealed the fifth consecutive New Jersey victory over Montreal. The franchise’s all time leading scorer was coming off his 300th goal in Saturday’s 4-1 win over the Flyers. Price made 25 saves for Montreal. He made eight during the four-penalty first quarter. The 16 year veteran, Brodeur, was credited with 17 stops. The Devils are second to Pittsburgh in the Atlantic Division. New Jersey improved to 12-6 at home. Montreal sits at fourth in a close Northeast Division. One game separates the two teams ahead of the Canadiens. The Sabres own the division lead, five games up on the Habs.
Parting Points: Sad news about former WVU Mountaineer Chris Henry’s passing today. Thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends and teammates.
Halladay is finally a part of the senior circuit…but he hasn’t pitched a playoff game yet.
Song of the day- “This Magic Moment” by the Drifters
The Devils answered in the second period on Pikkarainen’s wrister that deflected off the glove of Carey Price in goal. Price accidentally knocked the puck with the back of his right skate to allow New Jersey the equalizer to score. Patrik Elias broke the 1-1 tie 17:24 into the third period to salvage the Devils’ 23rd win. Elias picked up his seventh goal of the year by redirecting his own rebound into the net. Price stopped the initial shot, but Elias whistled in the game winner with 2:36 remaining, just in time. Elias’ goal sealed the fifth consecutive New Jersey victory over Montreal. The franchise’s all time leading scorer was coming off his 300th goal in Saturday’s 4-1 win over the Flyers. Price made 25 saves for Montreal. He made eight during the four-penalty first quarter. The 16 year veteran, Brodeur, was credited with 17 stops. The Devils are second to Pittsburgh in the Atlantic Division. New Jersey improved to 12-6 at home. Montreal sits at fourth in a close Northeast Division. One game separates the two teams ahead of the Canadiens. The Sabres own the division lead, five games up on the Habs.
Parting Points: Sad news about former WVU Mountaineer Chris Henry’s passing today. Thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends and teammates.
Halladay is finally a part of the senior circuit…but he hasn’t pitched a playoff game yet.
Song of the day- “This Magic Moment” by the Drifters
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Second Stint
The New Jersey Devils announced their new head coach yesterday. Former Devils Stanley Cup-winning coach, Jacques Lemaire, returns to New Jersey after Brent Sutter resigned his position over a month ago. Lemaire takes over for a team that has suffered two straight first-round playoff disappointments and hasn’t won a championship in six seasons. The Devils are looking for a chance to rekindle and reawaken the team with the coach who led them to their first NHL title. Lemaire left the Devils in 1998 with a 199-122-57 record.
Lemaire anchored the 1995 New Jersey Devils to the Stanley Cup and the 63 year old coached the team through five seasons. He recently resigned as the Minnesota Wild head coach after being with the team since their expansion inception in 2000. Lemaire stepped down, citing he took the Wild as far as he could. Minnesota made the playoffs three times under Lemaire’s trying tutelage.
General manager, Lou Lamoriello, assigned Lemaire the vacated job on Monday after agreeing on a contract last weekend. As a player, coach and executive, Lemaire is a 11 time Stanley Cup winner. His coaching resume includes stops in Montreal, New Jersey and Minnesota and now Lemaire will start his second stint with the 2009-10 Devils. Lamoriello also announced new assistant coaching positions for the team. Mario Tremblay, Tommy Albelin and Jacques Caron are the three assistants starring under Lemaire. Tremblay is completely new to the organization and was Lemaire’s assistant in Minnesota. The defensive leader for the Wild, Tremblay intends to be an influence in New Jersey’s progression on the rink. The Devils are a very offensive team, but it should be good to see Tremblay infuse his tactics on the defensive end. I think that is where the Devils struggled last season, and especially when they gave up two late goals to the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 7 of the post-season. A bit of physicality would be a good thing if it means the Devils crawl closer to the cup again.
The team also announced in Monday’s teleconference that current assistant coach, John MacLean, would take over in Lowell, Massachusetts for the baby Devils of the AHL. I thought MacLean was the leading man to take over for Sutter, but he was once again passed over for the former feature flame.
The hiring of Lemaire is a solid move and I am pleased with the decision by Lamoriello. The organization is heading in the right direction and after eight seasons in Minnesota, Lemaire may just need a change of scenery to become the powerful leader he was in the 1990s for New Jersey. Lemaire’s defensive system propelled the prosperous Devils to their first Stanley Cup. The roster is in dire need of a firepower fine-tuning. The Wild teams under Lemaire were in the top five in goals against the last seven years. They were 22nd in scoring last season, so my only concern would be how Lemaire is going to guide the Devils offense to great heights. Some passion and hard work from the head coach might be enough to reinvent the wheel for 2009 Devils hockey.
Parting points: My favorite from Beck, “Girl”, resonating from my stereo. I love this weather and this is the ultimate summer tune.
Lemaire anchored the 1995 New Jersey Devils to the Stanley Cup and the 63 year old coached the team through five seasons. He recently resigned as the Minnesota Wild head coach after being with the team since their expansion inception in 2000. Lemaire stepped down, citing he took the Wild as far as he could. Minnesota made the playoffs three times under Lemaire’s trying tutelage.
General manager, Lou Lamoriello, assigned Lemaire the vacated job on Monday after agreeing on a contract last weekend. As a player, coach and executive, Lemaire is a 11 time Stanley Cup winner. His coaching resume includes stops in Montreal, New Jersey and Minnesota and now Lemaire will start his second stint with the 2009-10 Devils. Lamoriello also announced new assistant coaching positions for the team. Mario Tremblay, Tommy Albelin and Jacques Caron are the three assistants starring under Lemaire. Tremblay is completely new to the organization and was Lemaire’s assistant in Minnesota. The defensive leader for the Wild, Tremblay intends to be an influence in New Jersey’s progression on the rink. The Devils are a very offensive team, but it should be good to see Tremblay infuse his tactics on the defensive end. I think that is where the Devils struggled last season, and especially when they gave up two late goals to the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 7 of the post-season. A bit of physicality would be a good thing if it means the Devils crawl closer to the cup again.
The team also announced in Monday’s teleconference that current assistant coach, John MacLean, would take over in Lowell, Massachusetts for the baby Devils of the AHL. I thought MacLean was the leading man to take over for Sutter, but he was once again passed over for the former feature flame.
The hiring of Lemaire is a solid move and I am pleased with the decision by Lamoriello. The organization is heading in the right direction and after eight seasons in Minnesota, Lemaire may just need a change of scenery to become the powerful leader he was in the 1990s for New Jersey. Lemaire’s defensive system propelled the prosperous Devils to their first Stanley Cup. The roster is in dire need of a firepower fine-tuning. The Wild teams under Lemaire were in the top five in goals against the last seven years. They were 22nd in scoring last season, so my only concern would be how Lemaire is going to guide the Devils offense to great heights. Some passion and hard work from the head coach might be enough to reinvent the wheel for 2009 Devils hockey.
Parting points: My favorite from Beck, “Girl”, resonating from my stereo. I love this weather and this is the ultimate summer tune.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Carolina Canes’ Cam Creates Challenge
The New Jersey ice arena known as “The Rock” hosts tonight’s first playoff game between the Devils and Carolina Hurricanes. Carolina arrives as the number six seed in the Eastern conference. New Jersey represents the third seeded team. The Devils are messing with a mental quagmire. The lower seeded Hurricanes have the edge in the regular season matches between the two. In the four regular season meetings, Carolina won three games. The only loss came last week with the Hurricanes’ goalie, Cam Ward, rested. Wednesday night they face each other in a best of seven series, the first two being played at The Prudential Center. Four wins by either means an advancement to the next round.
The Devil’s ornate offense is guided by Zach Parise, Patrick Elias, Jamie Langenbrunner, Brian Gionta and Travis Zajac. Elias became the franchise’s all-time scoring leader this season and contributed 31 goals. Zach zapped 45 of his own shots into goal this year, and provided the Devils 94 points at the forward position. Parisi has really blossomed this season and thrives as a unit with Langenbrunner and Zajac. Zach did not make an impact last year during the playoffs, but give the kid enough ice team and he is bound to score this year. John Madden and Jay Pandolfo are a dynamic duo who should see time along with Brendan Shanahan. Shanahan has the capacity to step up during the post-season and give the Devils clutch play.
The reposed Devils center, Brian Rolston, is one veteran on the final line who I am confident will be ready to bring it to the Hurricanes. Center Bobby Holik, another team leader, should be back on the ice after being scratched from last week’s game.
Dainius Zubrus scored the game winning goal in Saturday’s win on a pass from Gionta. Rolton’s flip to David Clarkson also led to a goal. The teamwork initiative seemed to spell success against a backup goalie, but the team will need to pack the punch against the starter, Ward. Clarkson is the agitator the Devils need and with their have size and balance they can match the pace of the Hurricanes. New Jersey is competent enough to beat Ward and win the series.
With the winningest goalie in league history in Martin Brodeur, the Devils have the edge in net. Martin’s experience in the playoffs and hot finish coming back from injury are positives for New Jersey heading into the tough series. Brodeur has been on three Stanley cup championship teams. Martin is mystifying and a proven commodity capable of closing out competition. However, Carolina is 10-7 against him and have faced Brodeur in the playoffs before. Scott Clemmensen is not a shabby backup goalie in case the Devils need him against the Hurricanes.
Southeast foe, Carolina, has their own well-versed backstop, Ward. The Conn Smythe Trophy winner in 2006, Ward was a major reason the Hurricanes won the Stanley Cup that year. Cam is a threat any time he takes the net, and his stamina is great. The Devils were unable to get the puck past him with success during the season, so the pressure will be on Parisi and company this time around. Ward seems to bring his game to another level during the playoffs and it’s important to have guys around the goal to shield Cam’s view from the net.
The Canes offense is sufficient and not untested, but they are prone to being overpowered. The team was able to outscore the Devils 11-8 during the year in mostly close affairs. One standout figure was the Hurricanes going 7 of 16 on the power play during those four games. That factor certainly has a mental advantage for the lower seed. The Devils only ranked 15th in power play percentage this year so that has to be a concern for head coach, Brent Sutter.
Eric Staal is one of the best NHL centers and hottest players coming into the playoffs. He scored 40 goals for the second time in his career and with left winger, Erik Cole, was even more efficient. Tuomo Ruutu and Cole ignite the Canes’ line up front and the team boasts 10 players with Stanley Cup rings. Cole’s speed and Staal’s assist ability are going to be the biggest challenge facing the New Jersey defense. Staal also had 14 power play goals this year. Center, Matt Cullen’s familiarity in handling the Devils’ in the post-season cannot be overlooked either. Ray Whitney was Carolina’s leading point man and Jossi Jokinen is a solid backup on offense. Unfathomable third liner, captain Rob Brind’Amour and mainstay, Sergei Samsonov also bring firepower to the Hurricane team. Chad LaRose is like the Shanahan of the Canes. He is an impact player with game winning goal capabilities. Carolina is a steady skating team with resonant lines.
Carolina can conquer because they are hard workers and don’t make many mistakes defensively. The defense, while not flashy, has skaters Joe Corvo and Joni Pitkanen. The two are excellent puck handlers who control the Hurricanes’ impressive tempo. Dennis Seidenberg and Tim Gleason are unsung defensive players with ice insight as well. Both could cause problems in front of Brodeur by jumping into play.
The Devils’ defense is a surefire, strong and deep bunch. Paul Martin and Colin White are the shutdown stoppers on the fourth best defense in the league. Johnny Oduya doesn’t get enough credit but does the little things defensively to make this Devils team better. His skating ability is extraordinary and he is a difference maker. Still, Carolina does not have a shut down guy on defense and the Devils need to work that to their favor.
Niklas Havelid returned to the lineup against the Canes Saturday after suffering an upper body ailment. Havelid was effective in turning the puck over. The Devils cannot allow the Canes power-play goals like they did during the regular season meetings. Carolina defensiveman, Anton Babchuk, scored four goals on the power play in just two of those games. There cannot be a reoccurrence of that if New Jersey has their hopes pinned on round two of the post-season. To an extent, the Devils are the more talented team. But Carolina is athletic and have surprise players like Babchuk who appear to be trivialities but are really tormentors.
New Jersey won a franchise best 51 games this year, and the goaltending and defense were the main reasons. The Devils do not have a high-powered offense, but can win games on defense. They only allowed 2.52 goals per game. Carolina is not defensive slacker either, allowing just 2.70 goals on average. New Jersey’s penalty shooting might be the x-factor. Last year’s loss in the playoffs to the New York Rangers is still fresh in New Jersey’s mind. The pitfall left a sour taste in their mouths and I think the team will use that as a motivating factor against the Hurricanes. Carolina is a team on the rebound, however. They brought back a former coach, Paul Maurice, and fan favorite in Cole. The team did nothing but win, including a record 12 straight at home, down the stretch of the season. The Devils can win with execution and mistake-free skating but must stay out of the box. The team has had such a momentous and memorable year. Will it be enough to overcome the late success and turn around in Carolina? I predict a thrilling six game series, with New Jersey finally taking care of business.
Parting points: “They say the devil’s water, it ain’t so sweet”- The Killers’ “When We Were Young”
The Devil’s ornate offense is guided by Zach Parise, Patrick Elias, Jamie Langenbrunner, Brian Gionta and Travis Zajac. Elias became the franchise’s all-time scoring leader this season and contributed 31 goals. Zach zapped 45 of his own shots into goal this year, and provided the Devils 94 points at the forward position. Parisi has really blossomed this season and thrives as a unit with Langenbrunner and Zajac. Zach did not make an impact last year during the playoffs, but give the kid enough ice team and he is bound to score this year. John Madden and Jay Pandolfo are a dynamic duo who should see time along with Brendan Shanahan. Shanahan has the capacity to step up during the post-season and give the Devils clutch play.
The reposed Devils center, Brian Rolston, is one veteran on the final line who I am confident will be ready to bring it to the Hurricanes. Center Bobby Holik, another team leader, should be back on the ice after being scratched from last week’s game.
Dainius Zubrus scored the game winning goal in Saturday’s win on a pass from Gionta. Rolton’s flip to David Clarkson also led to a goal. The teamwork initiative seemed to spell success against a backup goalie, but the team will need to pack the punch against the starter, Ward. Clarkson is the agitator the Devils need and with their have size and balance they can match the pace of the Hurricanes. New Jersey is competent enough to beat Ward and win the series.
With the winningest goalie in league history in Martin Brodeur, the Devils have the edge in net. Martin’s experience in the playoffs and hot finish coming back from injury are positives for New Jersey heading into the tough series. Brodeur has been on three Stanley cup championship teams. Martin is mystifying and a proven commodity capable of closing out competition. However, Carolina is 10-7 against him and have faced Brodeur in the playoffs before. Scott Clemmensen is not a shabby backup goalie in case the Devils need him against the Hurricanes.
Southeast foe, Carolina, has their own well-versed backstop, Ward. The Conn Smythe Trophy winner in 2006, Ward was a major reason the Hurricanes won the Stanley Cup that year. Cam is a threat any time he takes the net, and his stamina is great. The Devils were unable to get the puck past him with success during the season, so the pressure will be on Parisi and company this time around. Ward seems to bring his game to another level during the playoffs and it’s important to have guys around the goal to shield Cam’s view from the net.
The Canes offense is sufficient and not untested, but they are prone to being overpowered. The team was able to outscore the Devils 11-8 during the year in mostly close affairs. One standout figure was the Hurricanes going 7 of 16 on the power play during those four games. That factor certainly has a mental advantage for the lower seed. The Devils only ranked 15th in power play percentage this year so that has to be a concern for head coach, Brent Sutter.
Eric Staal is one of the best NHL centers and hottest players coming into the playoffs. He scored 40 goals for the second time in his career and with left winger, Erik Cole, was even more efficient. Tuomo Ruutu and Cole ignite the Canes’ line up front and the team boasts 10 players with Stanley Cup rings. Cole’s speed and Staal’s assist ability are going to be the biggest challenge facing the New Jersey defense. Staal also had 14 power play goals this year. Center, Matt Cullen’s familiarity in handling the Devils’ in the post-season cannot be overlooked either. Ray Whitney was Carolina’s leading point man and Jossi Jokinen is a solid backup on offense. Unfathomable third liner, captain Rob Brind’Amour and mainstay, Sergei Samsonov also bring firepower to the Hurricane team. Chad LaRose is like the Shanahan of the Canes. He is an impact player with game winning goal capabilities. Carolina is a steady skating team with resonant lines.
Carolina can conquer because they are hard workers and don’t make many mistakes defensively. The defense, while not flashy, has skaters Joe Corvo and Joni Pitkanen. The two are excellent puck handlers who control the Hurricanes’ impressive tempo. Dennis Seidenberg and Tim Gleason are unsung defensive players with ice insight as well. Both could cause problems in front of Brodeur by jumping into play.
The Devils’ defense is a surefire, strong and deep bunch. Paul Martin and Colin White are the shutdown stoppers on the fourth best defense in the league. Johnny Oduya doesn’t get enough credit but does the little things defensively to make this Devils team better. His skating ability is extraordinary and he is a difference maker. Still, Carolina does not have a shut down guy on defense and the Devils need to work that to their favor.
Niklas Havelid returned to the lineup against the Canes Saturday after suffering an upper body ailment. Havelid was effective in turning the puck over. The Devils cannot allow the Canes power-play goals like they did during the regular season meetings. Carolina defensiveman, Anton Babchuk, scored four goals on the power play in just two of those games. There cannot be a reoccurrence of that if New Jersey has their hopes pinned on round two of the post-season. To an extent, the Devils are the more talented team. But Carolina is athletic and have surprise players like Babchuk who appear to be trivialities but are really tormentors.
New Jersey won a franchise best 51 games this year, and the goaltending and defense were the main reasons. The Devils do not have a high-powered offense, but can win games on defense. They only allowed 2.52 goals per game. Carolina is not defensive slacker either, allowing just 2.70 goals on average. New Jersey’s penalty shooting might be the x-factor. Last year’s loss in the playoffs to the New York Rangers is still fresh in New Jersey’s mind. The pitfall left a sour taste in their mouths and I think the team will use that as a motivating factor against the Hurricanes. Carolina is a team on the rebound, however. They brought back a former coach, Paul Maurice, and fan favorite in Cole. The team did nothing but win, including a record 12 straight at home, down the stretch of the season. The Devils can win with execution and mistake-free skating but must stay out of the box. The team has had such a momentous and memorable year. Will it be enough to overcome the late success and turn around in Carolina? I predict a thrilling six game series, with New Jersey finally taking care of business.
Parting points: “They say the devil’s water, it ain’t so sweet”- The Killers’ “When We Were Young”
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