Tonight’s game was amazing! It really was a fun game to watch. The Devils dominated play almost from the beginning and were awarded the win (in regulation!) for their outstanding efforts. The fact that the game was shown on Versus, enabling me to actually watch it on my TV as opposed to my computer, could have very well contributed to my enjoyment.

I have to admit, when I first found out that Marty Brodeur was starting the game in net for the Devils, I thought it would be a colossal mistake. Given Johan Hedberg’s perfect record against the Canes the last 4 times he faced them, I really thought/hoped/assumed that he would get the start tonight. Not so, and, at first, it looked as though my initial reaction to Marty’s presence in net was bang on…especially as the the Canes took a 1-0 lead in the 1st period on a shorthanded goal scored by none other than Brent Sutter’s son. But as the game progressed, the Marty of old seemed to materialize, and he played lights out.

As a matter of fact, Marty kept the Devils in the game and even provided some momentum (courtesy of a huge save) until Dainius Zubrus tipped an Anton Volchenkov shot past Cam Ward at 10:56 of the 2nd period. Petr Sykora put the Devils ahead at 2:37 of the 3rd period by scoring right off of a Patrik Elias faceoff win. Less than four minutes later, “Carolina” tied it when Adam Henrique tipped a Carolina shot past Marty. Henrique redeemed himself, however, just over ten minutes later when he scored the eventual game winner on a wraparound shot.

The Devils played really well, and I agree with Mike Milbury who noted that they played better than the Hurricanes. (On a side note: I love Mike Milbury. While most hockey “experts” - not named Chico Resch - rarely give the Devils any credit, Mike Milbury always seems to have the Devils’ back. I remember last season during the Devils’ amazing second half run, Mike predicted - albeit erroneously - that the Devils would make the playoffs. And he vehemently argued the point with Keith Jones. Loved it!)

Anyway, the Devils played really well, and the only part of their game that I can find fault with was the power play, as usual. They went 0 for 4 or something like that and, of course, gave up a shorthanded goal. But that goal wasn’t the result of sloppy play…Patrik Elias fell while playing the point and the Hurricanes took the puck right past him. I do have to acknowledge one good thing about the PP and that would be Petr Sykora. Sykora was on fire on the PP tonight…shooting the puck everytime it touched his stick. He may not have scored on the PP, but he isn’t afraid to shoot and doesn’t waste valuable seconds skating around and passing the puck back and forth. It was refreshing, to say the least, to actually see pucks flying at the net during a Devils PP. I’m happy that Sykora scored a goal tonight. He deserved one.

Conversely, the Devils PK is still perfect at home.

And what else could be said about Adam Henrique??? The dude is simply on fire. After scoring his first NHL goal 2 games ago, he’s since scored 3 more, 2 in one game and 2 game winners. Insane! He was the 1st star of the game and deservedly so.

FUN FACT:

The win tonight gives the Devils their 7th win. It took them 13 games to get them. Last season, they didn’t get their 7th win until their 22nd game. I would say that Peter DeBoer’s Devils are way better than John MacLean’s Devils were.

The Matchup: Carolina Hurricanes (5-6-3) vs. New Jersey Devils (6-5-1)

7:30 PM at The Rock

TV/Radio: VERSUS/660 AM WFAN

Know Your Enemy: Shutdown Line

What we Think of the Hurricanes: The Hurricanes are coming off of a 5-2 loss to Dallas and are actually in quite the slump…losing their last two games and six of their last eight. All-star goalie Cam Ward was pulled in their last game, and their power play is almost as atrocious as the Devils’. Rumor also has it that if the Hurricanes don’t start winning, coach Paul Maurice will be in the hot seat.

Tonight’s Game: The Devils enter tonight’s game having won two straight, defeating the Flyers in a shootout on Thursday and the Jets in overtime on Saturday. The Devils won their first and only meeting so far this season with the Hurricanes 4-2 on October 10th at the Rock. While the Hurricanes (well, actually, both teams) are horrendous on the PP, the Devils are third in the league on the penalty kill and are perfect on the PK at the Rock so far. (Knock on wood). Ilya Kovalchuk – still recovering from a pulled leg muscle - won’t play in tonight’s game. Andy Greene (lower body injury) is a game time decision. No offense to Kovy, but it didn’t appear as if his most recent linemates (Zach Parise and Adam Henrique) missed his presence in Saturday night’s game. Henrique had the first 2-goal game of his career (one of which was the OT game winner) with Zach getting the assists on both of them. If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times…this Henrique kid is the real deal. On the defensive end of things, Johan Hedberg is 4-0-0 against the Hurricanes over the past two seasons.

FUN FACT:

The Hurricanes are 0-3-0 when trailing after the 1st period and 0-4-2 when trailing after two. Here’s hoping the Devils jump out to an early lead!

GO DEVILS!!!

The Matchup: Winnipeg Jets (5-6-1) vs. New Jersey Devils (5-5-1)

7:00 PM at The Rock

TV/Radio: MSG+2/660 AM WFAN

Know Your Enemy: Thrashing the Blues (Claims to be an Atlanta Thrashers/St. Louis Blues blog. Since the Winnipeg Jets were formerly the Atlanta Thrashers, this blog is hopefully the right one.)

What we Think of the Jets: The Jets aren’t really doing that badly considering the entire team had to acclimate themselves to not only a new city and climate but also to an entirely different country…all within the past 6 months. Additionally, the Jets have remained a member of the Southeast Division and, as such, the majority of their games are against other Eastern Conference teams. This translates into a good amount of travel into another time zone. One could only assume that the traveling would take its toll on the players at some point but, so far, they’re not playing as if the excessive travelling is affecting them.

Tonight’s Game: The Devils enter tonight’s game fresh off their Thursday night shootout win in Philadelphia. You can read Darren’s recap of that game here. That same night, the Jets earned their first shutout of the season against the Islanders. The Devils are, unfortunately, riddled with injuries. Joining the usual suspects (Travis Zajac and Jacob Josefson) on the injured list are: Ilya Kovalchuk (pulled leg muscle), Andy Greene (lower body injury) and Johan Hedberg (pulled back muscle). All three of them are listed as day-to-day but will be sitting out tonight’s game. Eric Boulton could be ready to play tonight after sitting out five games due to a a sore hand. Marty Brodeur will get the start in net tonight. As we all know, his last appearance between the pipes (Wednesday’s 5-3 loss to Toronto) was less than stellar. Hopefully, he’s been able to practice a little more and shake off some of that rust he seems to have acquired while sitting out with his shoulder injury.

FUN FACT:

The Atlanta Thrashers moved to Winnipeg and became the Jets during this past off-season. For you youngsters and those with a very bad memory, there was once a Winnipeg Jets team that existed from 1972-1996. That team moved to Phoenix in 1996 and became the Coyotes. There are only two current Devils who have played against the original Winnipeg Jets team…Martin Brodeur and Petr Sykora.

We’ve made it through the first 11 games of the 2011/2012 season and the question on everyone’s mind is: “Are the Devils better under DeBoer than they were under John MacLean?”
First thing to look at would be the records. Last season the Devils got off to a miserable 3-7-1 under Johnny Mac and were dead last in the Atlantic Division (and I believe dead last in the Eastern Conference where they would stay for a while). This season, the Devils are off to a 5-5-1 start which puts them in 4th place in the Atlantic Division and sitting in the 11th spot in the Eastern Conference. A .500 record is a big improvement.

The next thing to look at would be goal for and against columns. Last season our opponents seemed to score on us at will. I remember one game we lost 7-2 and another we lost 6-1 and there weren’t too many 1 goals games. In fact, the Devils only pumped in 19 goals in their first 11 games while they gave up 36 to their opponents. This season, the Devils are still giving up more than they score but it’s a much closer margin with the Devils scoring 24 and giving up 31.

After the first 11games, I believe we can actually answer “YES” to this question but there is still a lot of room for improvement.

The one major difference that I’ve seen this season that I didn’t see in the beginning of last season was “fight.” I’m certainly not talking fisticuffs because I’m not trying to bring attention to the fact the Clarkson gets his ass kicked every time he drops his gloves. I’m talking about how the Devils don’t pack it in and go home because they’ve either allowed their opponents to get a decent lead or keep allowing their opponents to find the equalizer. Need some examples?? Ok…

Game 2: Carolina – The Hurricanes were able to find the equalizer twice before Kovalchuk put the Devils on top for good. An empty net goal would seal the 4-2 victory.

Game 4: Nashville – The Predators find themselves up 2-0 after the first period and completely dominate the second but the Devils battle back in the third to tie the game at 2. The Devils would go on to win the game in a shootout.

Game 10: Toronto – Three times the Toronto Maple Leafs would take a one goal lead and watch the Devils come back to tie it. Eventually the Leafs took took the lead for good but the Devils had to believe that they had a chance all night long.

Game 11: Philadelphia – The Devils gave up two ugly goals early in the 2nd to find themselves in a 2-0 hole but battled back to tie the game. They gave up another goal in the 3rd, only to battle back again and finish off the Flyers in a shootout.

These things DIDN’T happen with MacLean behind the bench. This team is trying and that is a lot more than they were doing at this point in the season last year. Sure, there are issues with the defense and Marty didn’t look good in his comeback against the Leafs the other night but there is effort. That alone is enough to say that DeBoer was a much better decision than MacLean a year ago.

Give the NJ Devils credit because they fell into a 2-0 hole to a very good Flyers team but were able to battle back and find a way to send the game to OT and eventually the shootout, where they skated away with a 4-3 victory.

I thought NJ played a decent first period and didn’t allow the Flyers to find the back of the net but that obviously didn’t sit well with Philly as they came out and owned the first part of the second period. Rinaldo got the Flyers on the board first in what was really a defensive breakdown. Couterier found Rinadlo all alone in front of the net who wristed one past Hedburg.

A few minutes later, Jagr skated from one end to the other and then found Giroux all alone with a wide open net to make it 2-0. Another complete breakdown and all 5 Devils stood around watching Jagr put on a skating clinic and not one Devil picked up the puck or Giroux. That prompted a little outburst by me on twitter.

Captain Zach Parise did exactly what a captain should do, strap the team on his back and backhanded one past Bobrovsky less than a minute after the Giroux goal. Less than three minutes later, Andreas Lilja gave the puck away to Kovalchuk for a 2-on-1 break that Henrique finished for his first NHL goal and a 2-2 tie. The Devils had somehow managed to dig themselves out of a 2-0 hole and looked to have the momentum.

Early into the third, Fayne hauled down Talbot who was awarded a Penalty Shot, which Talbot put into the back of the net.  The lead lasted until 13:25, when Elias intercepted a Matt Carle clearing attempt and found Clarkson alone in front of the Philadelphia net.

Parise and Elias found the back on the net during the shootout to give the Devils the victory.

Kovalchuk ended up leaving the game with 1:35 and sat out the entire OT and shootout, which was a little concerning. Apparently he’s day to day with a pulled muscle. Hedburg also suffered an injury to his back but was able to complete the game.

It’s hard for me to give anyone on the Devils the MUD award that Deb usually hands out. After the first two Flyers goals, I was going to give it to Larry Robinson for allowing his defense to stand around and watch the Flyers just play with the puck but they, like the rest of the team recovered nicely so there is no need to hand out the MUD award again.

Congratulations to Adam Henrique who got his first NHL goal and ended up with 2 points on the night. Hopefully the Devils have picked up some momentum from this game as the Atlanta Thrashers Winnipeg Jets make their way into NJ tomorrow night.

The Matchup: The New Jersey Devils (4-5-1) at Philadelphia Flyers (7-4-1)

TV/Radio: MSG +/660 AM WFAN

Know Your Enemy: Flyers Goal Scored By…

Season Series: This is the second meeting between these two teams so far this season. The Devils opened the season at home against the Flyers on October 8th, losing 3-0.

What We Think of the Flyers: Yuck.

Tonight’s Game: The Devils enter tonight’s game after suffering defeat at the hands of the Maple Leafs last night. That loss gave the Devils an NHL losing record and was extremely frustrating to say the least. For a recap of last night’s debacle, you can read my post here. A very rusty Marty Brodeur returned to the lineup after sitting out with a shoulder injury for 3 weeks. Fortunately, the Devils decided to give him more time to rest and are going with Johan Hedberg in net tonight. The Devils aren’t the only ones with goaltending issues. The Flyers have had their fair share with Ilya Bryzgalov losing a horrendous game to the Winnipeg Jets a few games ago. Bryzgalov seems to have bounced back, though, beating the Buffalo Sabres last night by a score of 3-2. Regardless of what the Flyers do tonight, the Devils simply must find a way to win. This team is in serious need of an identity and chemistry among its players. Hopefully, they can get it together tonight.

FUN FACT:

Patrik Elias’s PP goal last night was the 93rd of his career breaking the team record previously held by John MacLean. Patrik wasn’t very proud of his achievement, stating that it meant nothing since the team lost.

Enjoy the game. GO DEVILS!!!

Ok...I'm officially sounding the alarm. The Devils really didn't play badly tonight. But what difference does that make if they don't get the W and 2 points? None. And if last season taught us anything, it's that the Devils can't afford to fall too far back too early. And I'm afraid that's exactly what's happening...maybe not as hideously as last season, but the Devils are behind very soon. They entered tonight's game in 12th place in the Eastern Conference. Now, I know it's a long season and there's still time for them to get into playoff position...but it's also a very short season when a team spends it trying to catch up.

But what could possibly be done to improve this situation? Like I mentioned above, the Devils aren't playing badly. So, is it DeBoer's system that's falling short? Are the Devils really just less talented than the majority of their opponents? What is the problem???

As I watched the game, I found myself wondering why there seemed to be almost no chemistry among any of the linemates. Such things as pretty plays, drop passes, and players sensing where their linemates are (without needing to slow down and look) have all been non-existent for the most part this season. And the answer probably has to do with the line shuffling and double shifting that's been going on. Many a fan had speculated that the constant shuffling of lines that took place under John MacLean last season was directly responsible for the team's lack of chemistry and subsequent lack of winning. Why do the lines need to be switched so much this season? I understand that the Devils have lost a few players due to injuries (most notably down the center), but can't someone else be called up/acquired/fill in and the team be done with it? I just don't get why there's a need for such inconsistency on a team that's been playing inconsistent at best. Last season there was actually a better excuse to shuffle lines and double shift players...the Devils were right up against the salary cap and couldn't afford to acquire or call up anyone else. This season, the Devils don't have that excuse.

One thing is for certain...this team needs to gel and fast.

And one more thing...maybe Marty could have used a few more practice sessions before being put into a game. I'm not blaming the entire loss on the goaltender, but from what I saw tonight, I think Hedberg has been playing at a much higher level than Marty. And before anyone condemns me for speaking blasphemously about Marty, let me just emphasize that I'm not saying he's bad. I'm simply saying that he's rusty and should have had more time to practice. He let in 5 goals on 23 shots...ok, I maybe I am saying he was bad..

The good news is the power play actually seems to be on its way to being the advantage it's meant to be rather than the albatross it's been. It went 2 for 3 tonight with Dainius Zubrus and Patrik Elias scoring the PP goals. Speaking of goals, David Clarkson scored the 3rd Devils goal going one on one with Toronto's goaltender. It was actually a really uncharacteristically nice play for Clarkson.

I've decided not to award any player with the MUD award tonight. No one player stood out as one that played so poorly as to deserve it. I kid you not, in a 5-3 loss to the Maple Leafs of all teams, I can't think of one Devil who was useless. It's frustrating, really. The Devils had swarmed the Leafs' net all night and had numerous scoring chances and were given their fair share of rebounds, but they repeatedly came up short. If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times...it's time for shooting practice.

And I think it's time for a shake up, as well. This team just can't seem to get it together. There isn't one person to blame, but there are a myriad of problems. Changing the coach never seems to work (unless the coach ends up being Jacques Lemaire), so I'm willing to give DeBoer a couple more weeks before I decide if he should be let go. But something's got to give now! This team needs a spark, a shakeup, a facelift. I think it's time for the Devils to package some veterans together and create a huge blockbuster trade for some quick, younger, proven players (in particular: a number one center, a puck moving defenseman and a goaltender - who will then become Marty's replacement when his contract expires at the end of this season). The time to act is now, and I can only hope that Lou has something big in the works.

(UN)FUN FACT:

Everyone knows that Marty holds the all-time career wins record with 625. Tonight's loss, however, puts him into a three way tie with Curtis Joseph and Gump Worsley for all-time career losses with 352. Of course Marty's played more games than either of the other two, so percentage-wise he hasn't performed as badly. Still, that's one record he'd probably rather not have attached to his name.

The Matchup: The New Jersey Devils (4-4-1) vs. the Toronto Maple Leafs (7-3-1)

Where To Watch/Listen: MSG+ or  660 AM WFAN

The Last 10 Games: Toronto is 6-3-1 and NJ is 4-4-1

Our NHL12 Simulation Results: Marty Brodeur almost had a shutout in this game but Phil Kessel put one past Marty with 12 seconds left in the game to get Toronto on the board. Elias and Parise scored for NJ giving the Devils the 2-1 victory.

A Quick West Coast Recap: The Devils looked fantastic against the LA Kings but couldn’t find that kind of performance or chemistry against the Phoenix Coyotes, where they lost 5-3. They finished the 4 game road trip in Dallas but didn’t skate away with a win there either so the Devils return to NJ after an unsuccessful road trip.

Tonight’s Game: Marty returns and in years past that was always a huge sigh of relief but really all that means tonight is that Johan Hedburg gets a much needed break.
Toronto is not the Toronto we have come to know over the past few seasons. The Leafs currently lead the Northeast Division by 1 point over the Ottawa Senators and sit in 3rd place overall in the East. Phil Kessel is  a huge part of the Leafs success this season as he lead Toronto in goals (10) and points (18) and is second on the team when it comes to assists (8). Oh, did I mention that Kessel is also the NHL scoring leader at the moment? Toronto is 4th in the league with 35 goals for which is a good thing because they are near the bottom of the league in goals against, also with 35. So what’s that mean? If you are a New Jersey Devil, SHOOT THE PUCK!! Make that goalie work for the win. If the Devils defense can clamp down on the Toronto Offense, then the Devils should skate away with a win tonight.

The Devils also need to stop taking penalties and do more with the opportunities they get, then beating this Toronto team should be pretty straight forward. NJ has had a number of days to practice and prepare for the leafs.

Projected Lines:
Zach Parise - Adam Henrique - Ilya Kovalchuk
Petr Sykora - Patrik Elias - Dainius Zubrus
Mattias Tedenby - Ryan Carter - David Clarkson
Cam Janssen - Brad Mills - Nick Palmieri

Henrik Tallinder - Adam Larsson
Andy Greene - Mark Fayne
Bryce Salvador - Anton Volchenkov

And Finally: We know firsthand that people in the state of New Jersey have been dealing with a lot of power issues over the last few days. Between Hurricanes and an October snow storm, this state has been through a lot in the last 2 months. We hope all our readers are safe and if you are still without power, we hope that power will be restored for you very soon. Stay safe and stay warm, those things are much more important than this little game we write about every day.

TV: MSG PLUS (HD)  RADIO: WFAN 660 AM
 
Last 10 Games: Phoenix 3-3-2 / New Jersey 4-2-1
 
Know Your Enemy:  HipChecks

Our EA Sports NHL 12 Simulation Results: Doan and Whitney both scored for the Coyotes but it wasn’t enough as Elias, Parise, Kovalchuk, Green and Larsson all found the back of the net in a 5-2 stomping in the desert. (It was Larsson’s first of his NHL career..let’s hope that actually happens for the kid tonight!!)

What We Think of the Coyotes: For me, Phoenix is not a very deep team. Doan and Whitney are going to get most of their goals this season but should they lose either of those guys to injury this year, things could get ugly for Phoenix. I am basing this on looking at their roster because the Coyotes are a Western Conference team and I have to admit that I don’t watch any of their games. I do think they took a huge step back when they decided to trade away the negotiating rights for Ilya Bryzgalov after last season. I don’t want to take anything away from Mike Smith but there’s a long list of guys I would want before Mike Smith and that list includes Ilya Bryzgalov.

Tonight’s Game: The Devils are coming off of a game in which Peter DeBoer said was the Devils best 60 minutes of hockey yet this season. Now the trick is to not get too cocky about that performance and continue to work hard. Phoenix is not LA but that doesn’t mean the Devils can mail in the performance tonight.

I want to see continued improvement at rolling all 4 lines. I would really like to see a little something more from the Tedenby/Henrique/Clarkson line in terms of points. They’ve played well as a line but it hasn’t translated to the scoreboard, which is something that needs to happen.

I don’t believe we will see the newest Devils, Ryan Carter in action tonight but he is on his way and we should see him soon. Kovalchuk is certainly racking up the minutes spent on the ice but there is still something bothering me there. I’m not a 100% sure what that is but I watch him out there and I just feel a disconnect between him and the rest of the team. I hope that feeling goes away and I’ve said it before and will say it again, when you have a guy like Kovalchuk, I expect him to find  his way on to the score sheet, either in the G column or the A column every night. He’s come close to doing that every night but I still see a disconnect.