I’ve said a lot of negative things lately about David Clarkson and honestly, I’ve meant every one of them. I can see by a number of emails that I have received that there are people out there that completely agree with me and would love to see the next Devils headline be something about Clarkson being shipped out of town and there are some people that think I’m crazy. Where do you stand?

Believe it or not, an article came out about Clarkson today and I really have to disagree with DeBoer’s assessment of his abilities.

DeBoer had this to say about David Clarkson. "Clarkie is one of a handful of guys in the league-- and there are not many of them-- that can play in your top nine, is heavyweight tough and is capable of scoring 20 goals. Those guys are hard to find. So there is a lot to like,"

I won’t disagree that Clarkson is a tough guy who’s not afraid to drop the gloves but I’ve never really viewed him as the type to be labeled “Team Enforcer” and I’ve felt that was the role given to him in NJ.  I’ve always looked at him of more like a Milan Lucic or a Cam Neely but  he’s not even close to being as important to the team as they are/were to theirs. Cam Janssen is by far a lot tougher and a lot better at the tough guy/enforcer part of the game but for some reason has been a healthy scratch so far this season.

DeBoer thinks that Clarkson is capable of scoring 20 goals a season? He did so for DeBoer in Kitchner but Clarkson hasn’t been able to find that kind of success at this level. For years I have waited for him to put up the numbers that DeBoer thinks he can put up but it just doesn’t happen.

DeBoer also says that there aren’t many like Clarkson in the league sadly I can think of many that I would like to have on the roster in place of Clarkson for around the same amount of money. DeBoer seems to love Clarkson so I guess he’s going to stick around so be prepared to hear a lot of negative Clarkson talk from me this year.

You know, maybe cashier IS more his thing….

I can honestly say I was a little worried going into this game. Actually, scratch that, I was a lot worried. My biggest fear was watching this team lose in regulation and starting the season 0-2-0. We keep talking about last season’s horrible start but that was an 0-1-1 start at this juncture. This doesn’t mean that the Devils are off to a better start than last season, that’s going to take time to prove , it just don’t have to worry about after two games.

Let’s focus on some of the good things to start:

The Devils had great jump to start the game and Parise put them on the board early. That’s exactly what the Devils need to do every game because it seemed to give them a little confidence.  Sure, the ‘Canes eventually tied it up, but the confidence was there because NJ bounced right back. I certainly didn’t expect Fayne to put that second goal in the net but great job. They outscored and outshot the Hurricanes in the first period which is something you like to see. I do have tendency to set my expectations a little high but with guys named Parise and Kovalchuk, I expect to see one of those names on a score sheet each and every game. Tonight, we were lucky because we got both of them on there.

Like last season, Hedberg did a solid job in net. He didn’t have much a chance on the first goal as Sutter was camped out in front of him and maybe the second goal was a little soft but all in all a great performance.

I thought the Devils came away with a hard fought win tonight against a team that always gives us issues.

There was bad stuff as well:

I do want to take a moment a touch upon something Deb brought up the other night. WHY THE HELL IS ADAM OATES STILL THE POWER PLAY COACH???  The Devils are now 1 for 12 on the PP and the only reason they got the one tonight is because the Hurricanes had to pull Ward and Parise put it in an empty net. They look a little lost on the man-advantage, not moving the puck efficiently, standing around, etc. but at least they didn’t give up a shorthanded break away.

Yes, Kovalchuk got the eventual game winner but his game certainly wasn’t flawless. One, he broke his stick on a one-timer during a power play and then took his sweet time to get over to the bench for a new stick. This is where Lemaire excelled last season, getting the most out of Ilya Kovalchuk and I certainly hope DeBoer can do the same.. Two, his little stick handling mishap that had Hedberg not been paying attention to, would have resulted in the go-ahead goal for Carolina at the end of the second period. I won’t deny that Kovalchuk is a talent and can break a game open like no one else can but he makes a lot of stick handling mistakes for a guy paid $100 million dollars. I don’t think he’s at a point in his career where that can be fixed, we can only hope to survive them.

David Clarkson – If you read my in game notes, I was all over him but maybe I am being a little unfair to him? Maybe I need to be harder on the coaches to use him correctly. See, Clarkson is a lot like me when I play hockey. My best attribute is to camp out in front of the net, screen the goalie and bang home rebounds. I once had a team captain that wanted me to model my game after Randy McKay and I did just that and became a better hockey player because of that. I think that’s the type of player that Clarkson is and should be but for some reason, no coach has done that with him. He’s out there on the power play, stick him above the crease.

At the end of the day the Devils do have a number of things to work on but a win is a win and I will take it. It’s early in the season and they showed some resiliency when Carolina kept finding a way to tie the game. The Kings come into NJ on Thursday and I think they are a team with a few more offensive weapons than Carolina. Let's hope the Devils are ready.

For those of you that missed the game, enjoy the highlights.

Occasionally, we will do an "as they play" post where we share thoughts on the period, usually at the end of each period. Please check back at the end of each period to see an update to the post.



* It's currently 82 degrees in NJ and feels like a day that should be spent at the beach, not at the hockey rink.
* The only feed I can get of the game because I am at work is the Hurricanes feed. Life is vastly different in North Carolina than it is here in NJ isn't it??
* Nice goal by Parise. Nice to get a quick goal and gain some confidence after being shutout by the Fyers on opening night.
* I do like the Sykora/Elias combination. It looks much better than the Arnott/Elias combo last season.
* I wish Larsson had picked any number other than 5. Colin White has made me hate that number on a Devils uniform!!
* Powerplay still isn't where I would like it to be. For one, Elias held on to the puck for way to long. Putting the puck in the net on a PP is all about effectively moving the puck. Standing there waiting for something to open up is not effecitvely moving the puck.
* Wow Ilya Kovalchuk playing some nice defense as Staal exited the box.
* The first period ends and the Devils lead 1-0 on the scoreboad and lead 11 shots to Carolina's 8 shots. Still taking too many penalties for my liking.




* Adam Larsson played over 8 minutes in the first period. Does it seem like too much for a rookie or are we just that confident in his abilities?
* A bad penalty by Petr Sykora for holding the stick of Chad LaRose. Carolina 0-2 on the PP so far today.
* Shorthanded oppurtunity for Elias, not much of an oppurtunity.
* I personally like putting Kovalchuk on a line with two youngsters. I think it will cause him to grip it and rip it more often.
* Year 2 in a Devils uniform and Tallinder still makes too many mistakes for my liking.
* Carolina finds the equalizer.. Ponakwhatever puts it past Hedberg as Sutter camps out in front.
* NJ did a nice job answering back and getting the go ahead goal. Kovalchuk made a great pass and give Fayne credit for taking his time to make sure he got the puck and put it past Cam Ward.
* Clarkson sucks, can we please trade scratch him??
* LaRose knots it up at 2. Dueces wild! This game continues to be a see-saw. Tallinder looked like crap on that goal. He's quickly joining Clarkson on my "list."
* Zubrus off for tripping, Jokinen off for Diving... 4 on 4 here we come!!
* Parise just deked Faulk out of his pants. Parise looking very comfortable.
* Hurricanes announcers just butchered Alexander Vasyunov's name.
* WOW... ugly cross check from behind by Pitkanen. Parise gets up a little slowly.
* Kovalchuk takes his sweet ass time to go get a new stick while on the power play. 
* Larsson in obvious pain on the bench.
* Carolina delay of game.. 5on3..nothing comes of it.
* WHAT THE HELL KOVALCHUK??? Almost stuck on in his own net.
* End of 2, tied at 2. Devils 16 shots, Canes 16 shots, Kovalchuk 1 shot on Hedberg..ASS!!





* Larsson leading all Devils with TOI with 17:55. Clarkson has 9:06 which is 9:06 too much.
* Devils start the 3rd with :35 left on the PP. Devils fail to score 0-4 so far..Adam Oates really earning that paycheck.
* Palmieri with a bad tripping penalty. Carolina PP attempt #4
* Elias going off for Goalie Interfence but Ward is way out side the crease area and Elias did try to get out of the way.
* Eric Staal trying to play the part of hero today.
* Devils kill on the 5 on 3 and the ensuing 5 on 4. Momentum where are you??
* SCOOOOORRRRREEEEEEE!!! Ilya Kovalchuk... Guess he figured out which goalie to shoot at. It helps that he put the Carolina goalie in front of this net for the 3rd period.
* Did you know Kovalchuk now has 33 goals and 65 points against Carolina, more than any other team in the league??
* Clarkson should get Gleason's number after the game and ask him for pointers because Gleason knows exactly what Clarkson is going to do with the puck. I'm only guessing here, but Gleason might know before Clarkson knows.
* A close game like this is where a Captain is needed. Keep them in it Zach...
* In order, the list of Hurricanes that scare me late in a close game... Sutter, Staal, Skinner...
* Hurricanes pull Ward but Ponakwhatever gets called for Interference.
* Ward lifted again 5on5 empty net. Parise with the EN goal.
* Things getting chippy and the refs don't let Mills and Faulk go. Devils go back on the PP.
* Devils win 4-2, DeBoer gets his first as the Devils head coach. Goals by Parise, Fayne and Kovalchuk.
 
 

The Matchup: The New Jersey Devils (0-1-0) vs. the Carolina Hurricanes(0-1-1)

Know Your Enemy: Shutdown Line

What Shutdown Line is saying about the Hurricanes:

Unfortunately, some of the mistakes that occurred last night (Friday night) happened again and Carolina ended up losing this game in overtime 4-3. Overall, it wasn't that bad of a performance by Carolina but there's still a lot of work to be done over the next few days.

Our EA Sports NHL 12 Simulation Results: The Devils won 5-2 with goals from Sykora, Elias, Kovalchuk and two goals by Zach Parise, including an empty net goal. The Hurricanes got goals by Brandon Sutter and Eric Staal.

Today’s Game: The Devils have to win this one right? Of course they don’t but getting off to an 0-2 start isn’t going to be pleasant for anyone. While winning isn’t mandatory, scoring is. There is simply no excuse for this team to walk away with a big fat zero on the scoreboard. It was painfully obvious the other night that the Devils lack confidence in themselves and their offensive abilities. I’m hoping that the Devils can move the puck efficiently today against the Hurricanes because they struggled in that area the other night, which caused the Devils to have problems generating shots.

Team discipline has to be better this afternoon. At one point in the game against Philly, the Devils were just playing horrible, undisciplined hockey capped off by David Clarkson getting beaten down on the ice. Fix that now!!

Hedberg gets the start today and that’s not to say that Marty had a bad game the other night. Without Marty, the score would have easily been a lot worse. There will be some shuffling to the lines in order to create some confidence with the puck. I certainly hope that Mark Fayne has a better game today but Tallinder has to help him out a little bit as well. If it were my choice, I hope the same for David Clarkson because his game was nothing but ugly the other night. Kovalchuk needs to show us why we paid him so much money and play smarter hockey and stop turning the puck over so much. I’d almost prefer for Kovalchuk to be more selfish out there and opt to shoot first, pass second.  I’d personally like to see Cam Janssen in because the Devils could probably benefit from throwing the body around.

There is a lot of work to be done by the Devils and Carolina is going to come in here a little hungry this afternoon. Thankfully, Peter DeBoer came from the Southeast Division and knows Carolina pretty well, so hopefully that will give the Devils a bit of an edge.

Ick. Where to begin? For those of you who didn’t watch the game…you didn’t miss anything worth watching and the score says it all. Sure, teams lose and teams win, and the Devils aren’t exactly known to dominate their opponents on opening night. But this one really sucks. Not only were the Devils shutout on home ice in the season opener….they were shutout on home ice in the opening game of a season during which they have more to prove than ever. Here’s how it (or, more accurately, nothing) went down…

It became apparent to me about halfway through the 2nd period that, despite all the hope and hype, the Devils were doing the same old song and dance. NO OFFENSE. I mean, really. How could it possibly be that a team that has two of the league’s elite forwards in Ilya Kovalchuk and Zach Parise can’t manage to put the puck into the opponent’s net at least once in 60 minutes? As frustrating as that is, add to that the fact that the Devils had 3 consecutive power plays and still failed to generate any offense. Which leads to my next gripe:

WHY THE HELL IS ADAM OATES STILL THE POWER PLAY COACH??? Because he did such a bang-up job last season??? The Devils’ power play went 0 for 5 or something. I got too frustrated to keep track after that, but it’s the 0 for part that really matters. For crying out loud…a man advantage is supposed to be just that – an advantage. Not an equalization and certainly not a disadvantage. Not only did the PP fail to score it also gave the Flyers at least two short handed chances (during which Martin Brodeur came up big). And I guess that was one positive of the night…although the score doesn’t really reflect it, Brodeur played really well. The second goal he let in was pretty soft, but all in all, he really kept the Devils in the game for the most part. Other positives were Adam Larsson, Adam Henrique and Jacob Josefson. They are the three players, other than Brodeur, who actually stood out tonight, in my opinion. But none of them scored a goal which is what the team actually needs more than anything. So really nothing else they did matters at this point.

Cam Janssen was a healthy scratch which caused me to scratch my head…especially as I watched David Clarkson make his third boneheaded play of the game and try to fight Wayne Simmonds in an altogether embarrassing effort (for which he somehow managed to accrue two extra penalty minutes for Unsportsmanlike Conduct). Correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t Janssen brought back to New Jersey to act as the enforcer on the team - thereby removing that honor from Clarkson in the hopes that Clarkson would actually earn his paycheck and score a few goals this season? Why would Janssen be scratched and especially for a game against the Flyers who are known to be dirty, rotten players? I seriously don’t get the logic in that.

To sum it up, the Devils were awful and (I hate to say it) looked eerily like they looked at the beginning of last season. And Peter DeBoer’s “system” looked no less chaotic than John MacLean’s did. And that’s scary.

I’m sure some of you are thinking, “Chill, Debra. It’s only the first game of a very long season.” And to that I say that, while that may be true, I have zero patience this year. Patience is what killed this team last year. If Lou Lamoriello had fired John MacLean at Halloween or even Thanksgiving, the Devils would have most likely been in the playoffs. I seriously hope that Lamoriello doesn’t make the same mistake this year and wait too long for the team’s problems to correct themselves. Because if history has taught us anything, it’s that they won’t correct themselves.

Last season sucked to high heaven, but we all survived. Everything happens for a reason, and if we don’t learn from past mistakes, those same mistakes will continue to haunt us. The Devils can’t simply shrug this atrocious start to their season off. Changes have to be made already. Here’s one: try putting Ilya Kovalchuk on a line with people who have talent and/or finesse. The fact that one of the world’s top five elite players is playing on a line with the likes of Dainius Zubrus as his center and Nick Palmieri is an abomination. And I like Zubrus (jury’s still out on Palmieri)…just not centering Kovy. Kovy would be better served playing with Patrik Elias and Petr Sykora. They all play a more similar style, have more finesse and are quick skaters. Let Zach Parise play alongside Zubrus and Palmieri. They are all more grinders and are comfortable and effective playing the boards (tonight notwithstanding).

And those are my thoughts about the game and the team. If I seem frustrated and down that’s because I am. I’m not sure how any Devils fan who watched that debacle couldn’t be. Even Chico Resch was negative towards the Devils by the end of the game.

(NOT SO) FUN FACT:

Tonight’s game is the first time the Devils have ever been shutout in their season opener. Hopefully, they will only improve from here.

This is it!! We finally get to drop the puck on the Devils 2011/2012 season. It has been a LONG time since we’ve seen the Devils play a meaningful hockey game and we are very excited to get this going again!!

Know Your Enemy:  Flyers Goal Scored By

What we think of the Flyers: After getting swept out of the 2011 Playoffs, the Flyers made quite a few big changes this summer. Notable leaders Mike Richards and Jeff Carter were traded away for youth and the Flyers signed big time free agents Jaromir Jagr and Ilya Bryzgalov. The Flyers certainly seem to have a win now attitude and did well in their first game of the season, spoiling the Boston Bruins home opener / banner raising party.

The Devils have also made some changes during the summer although nothing like what the Flyers did. Some of the biggest additions to this team were additions by subtraction as the Devils parted ways with Brian Rolston and Colin White. The Devils will finally get a healthy Zach Parise in the lineup and I don’t believe there is any bigger story surrounding the Devils than that one.

Opening Night Stats: Over the last few years, opening night hasn't been our friend. In fact, 2008 was the last time the Devils started the season 1-0. The last time the Devils opened the season at home against the Philadelphia Flyers was back in 2009 and lost by a score of 5-2. Last year the Devils lost to the Dallas Stars 4-3 in OT after starting the game so well but all that is old news. This is 2011/2012 and we are ready for a great Devils season.

What/Who We Will Be Watching: Adam Larsson has made his way into the opening night roster. I liked what I saw from him in the preseason and I am certainly interested to see how he carries himself in a regular season game. He is a rookie but he has great potential. Zach’s back and ready to show the world he deserves a big contract this summer and that the knee injury suffered last season is ancient history. Last year the Arnott and Elias reunion didn’t play out like we had hoped but maybe this year the Elias and Sykora reunion will.

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, the Devils must get off to a better start this season and beating the Flyers on opening night would be a great way to do that. A year ago, it was painfully obvious that John MacLean didn’t have the support of the players but going into this season, I don’t feel that rings true with Peter DeBoer.

It is also worth noting that the Devils will be wearing a special patch on their sweaters in memory of former Devils Karel Rachunek and Alexander Vasyunov, who were among those who lost their lives in last month’s tragic plane crash involving Lokomotiv Yaroslavl. The patches will be worn during tonights game agasint Philadelphia, as well as the first road game of the season on Oct. 15 in Nashville. The 1¼” x 3¼” black patch features “KR • AV” in white stitching and will be worn on the upper right chest. 

Let’s quickly recap the 2010/2011 season.  John MacLean finally gets a shot as head coach of the New Jersey Devils but calling the Devils awful would be a compliment. After a 9-22-2 start, Lou says “Yippee Ki Yay” to MacLean right before Christmas and old faithful Jaques Lemaire returns to a familiar position with the team. While the Devils would go on to miss the playoffs for the first time since 1996, Lemaire was a much needed change, whipped a bunch of out of shape hockey players back into shape and led the Devils to a 28-17-3 record under his watch. At one point, we all believed they could sneak their way into the 8th spot in the Eastern Conference. So what will 2011/2012 bring to the table?

The Headlines Going Into the Season:

Is This Marty’s Last Dance? – He is in the final year of his contract so this could be it for the 39 year old goaltender.

Peter DeBoer Takes Over –  Can DeBoer end the annual summer hunt for a new head coach?

The Return of Zach Parise -  We missed him last season and as a guy heading towards the open market next summer, I expect a HUGE year from #9. It was announced this afternoon that Zach will be the Devils new captain.

Will Kovalchuk Be Better? – Last season, Kovalchuk posted his lowest single-season goals and points tallies since his rookie season. With a healthy Parise, he SHOULD do much better but I think Zajac is a huge part of that equation as well.

How Will Larsson Do? – After a disappointing season, the Devils wound up with the 4th pick overall in the draft and used it to draft D Adam Larsson. We expect great things out of this kid and after a strong preseason he’s made his way into the opening day lineup. Not a bad start for the kid!!

What We Think

Darren’s Thoughts on 2011/2012 – I’ve learned a valuable lesson in sports over the last year. It really does matter how well you do out of the gate. The Devils had a terrible start last season followed by an incredible run but in the end, it was that start that did them in. The Devils proved last season that they weren’t a bad team, just a team that got off to a bad start. I think the Devils organization believes that statement as well because there were no drastic changes made this summer. One thing is for certain, the Devils can’t afford to get off to the same kind of start this season. The biggest question I have for this team is the following: Can the Devils win without Jaques Lemaire?

The truth is, I think the Devils are the definition of a wild card this year. I don’t really know what to expect of this team. I would love to see Marty have one last great season and head for retirement but Marty is 39 and the defense corps that was once our identity isn’t there anymore. Don’t get me wrong, I like some of the guys on defense and Adam Larsson brings a new dimension to the blue line with with his mobility and puck skills but this is the one aspect of the New Jersey Devils that worries me.

I have a lot of question marks surrounding this team. I know Kovalchuk and Parise will shine but will it be enough to carry this team offensively? Does Elias have anything left in the tank? Arnott was brought in a year ago to reignite Elias and that didn’t seem to work so will having been reunited with Petr Sykora this season do the trick? How long will Zajac be out and how will that affect our start? The Devils appear to have a lot of youthful talent in the organization but can they consistently perform on the NHL level? Will the presence of Cam Janssen as the team enforcer allow David Clarkson to become the player we’ve all been expecting  for years?  Hopefully DeBoer has the answers and I hope the Devils can climb back into the playoff picture but there are A LOT of good teams in the Eastern Conference this season so I do expect a dog fight from Game 1 through Game 82.
 
So my prediction is that the Devils will somehow claw their way into a playoff position but I won’t give them home ice advantage, meaning they finish somewhere between 5th and 8th place in the East. I do believe this will be it for Marty Brodeur and I do believe the Devils find a way to keep Parise in NJ. Making him team captain is certainly a step in that direction.

Deb's Thoughts on 2011/2012 - If I could say one thing with certainty, it would be that the Devils’ actions (or, more appropriately, inactions) during the offseason demonstrate to me the organization’s belief that the debacle that was last season was a one-off, fluky occurrence that had very little to do with the talent of the players on the roster.  For a team who finished last season drastically below everyone’s expectations, surprisingly few changes had been made during the summer.  Sure, Pete DeBoer was hired as the new head coach…but in Jersey, the hiring of a new coach is practically an annual event anyway.  And, yes, the Devils acquired the number one defenseman in the 2011 entry draft with the 4th overall pick.  But perhaps the most important changes that were made were the ones that resulted in the Devils losing players.  The Devils were finally able to shed some dead weight – old, slow players that were crippling the Devils in terms of the salary cap.  The two most notable such players were Brian Rolston and Colin White with an almost $8 million combined annual salary cap hit.

So, here the Devils are - pretty much the same team as they were entering last season – but with yet another new coach, plus Adam Larsson and minus Rolston and White.  A few new role players have been added and disposed of, too, of course.  But the core of the team (minus the unimpressive Jamie Langenbrunner who was traded mid-season and equally unimpressive Jason Arnott who was traded at the trade deadline) consisting of:   Martin Brodeur, Ilya Kovalchuk, Zach Parise, Patrik Elias, Anton Volchenkov and Travis Zajac remains the same.  Travis Zajac will begin the season sidelined with an injury, but other than that, there really isn’t much change to the core of the team from last season.

I subscribe to the Devils’ line of thinking (typing with crossed fingers and toes)…that last season was a one-off disaster that never should have happened and probably will not happen again anytime in the near future.  So, assuming (and hoping) that we are correct, we can pretty much expect the same performance from the Devils this season as was expected from them last season.  And pretty much everyone expected great things from them.  Last year at this time, practically every sportswriter and analyst “in the know” predicted that the Devils would go far in the playoffs.  Ironically, that was the first time that many of them predicted the Devils to do so well.
 
There really isn’t much reason why the same predictions wouldn’t be made considering how little the team has changed.  The only hesitancy in making such predictions would be shaky confidence due to last season’s disappointment.  But, if like the Devils and me, you believe that last season’s lackluster performance was a one-time fluke then your confidence shouldn’t be too shaken.  Of course there are still uncertainties – the competency of DeBoer, whether or not Parise will get his groove back, how much the injury to Zajac will really impact this team, Brodeur’s age, etc. – but there are always uncertainties surrounding every team at the start of every season if not every game.  That’s what makes sports so exciting.
So, I predict this:  the Devils will make the playoffs.  If they don’t win the Atlantic Division, they will finish a very close second and be in one of the top 4 playoff spots in the Eastern Conference, as usual.  Barring any significant injuries, I will even go so far as to say that if the Devils can make it past the first round of playoffs, thereby shaking that monkey off their backs, they will play in the Stanley Cup Finals.  Obviously, only time will tell if my prediction will come true.  But, in the meantime, enjoy the season and …
LET’S GO DEVILS!!! 

FUN FACT:
In only one of the three seasons which lead to the Devils becoming Stanley Cup Champions did the Devils actually win the Atlantic Division.  That was in 2003 when they were ranked 2nd in the Eastern Conference.  They finished 2nd in the division in both 1995 and 2000 and were ranked 5th and 4th in the Eastern Conference, respectively.

Let us know what you think!!

The Devils defeated the New York Rangers 2-1 in OT tonight to win their first preseason game of the 2011-2012 season. Being a preseason game, this may not seem like anything to write about. But it is, and here’s why…

First, prior to tonight’s game, no one had actually witnessed the Devils play another team since Pete DeBoer had been named head coach this past summer. Granted, a 2-1 OT win in the preseason rarely guarantees that a team has an exceptional coach at the helm, but after the John MacLean debacle of last season, such a result pretty much guarantees a better coaching situation here in Jersey. That’s not saying much (nor is it much to aim for) but at least it’s something to build some hope around regarding the ever-elusive position of coaching as far as the Devils are concerned.

Second, the Rangers played their all-star starting goaltender, Henrik Lundqvist, for half of tonight’s game. Meanwhile, not only did Martin Brodeur not dress for tonight’s game, but neither did Johan Hedberg. Yes, you read that correctly. The Devils won tonight’s game with Keith Kincaid and Jeff Frazee in net. Congratulations to them both for an outstanding win!

Third, the Devils’ first goal tonight was scored by none other than tryout Petr Sykora. If you combine tonight’s tally with the hat trick he scored in Monday’s scrimmage you will see that he has been on fire. Add that to the fact that tonight he was playing center (for the first time in 15 years), and I really don’t see how anyone can’t be impressed with him. Is he old by NHL standards? Yes. Is he a retread? Yes. But have the Devils needed goals like people in hell need ice water? YES! And, if somehow/some way those goals are going to come via a veteran retread by the name of Petr Sykora…then so be it. If Mark Recchi’s presence could help the Bruins win the Cup at age 42, then there’s absolutely no reason why Petr Sykora couldn’t help the Devils do the same at the age of 35. I say, “Give that man a contract!”

Did any of you see the game? What were your thoughts? Please share them with us!

FUN FACT:

Since the Devils still haven’t named a captain, three players wore the “A” tonight: Zach Parise, Ilya Kovalchuk and Patrik Elias. If you were Pete DeBoer which of those three would you choose as captain? Patrik Elias has recently gone on record as saying that it should be someone younger than him. This could very likely be Zach Parise’s last year as a Devil. Ilya Kovalchuk has committed the remainder of his hockey life to the Devils, is an all-star player and has experience being a captain. I think the choice is pretty obvious…but, of course (and unfortunately), I’m not in the locker room. Should be interesting to see what transpires, especially since, according to Tom Gulitti, DeBoer plans to name a captain before the start of the regular season.

The Devils opened their 2011 Training Camp and there are certainly some things that are worth paying attention to.

Martin Broduer - Is this his final training camp? Brodeur is entering the last season of his contract and doesn’t know whether he will continue playing after it expires. It's not something the future Hall of Famer is going to think about or talk about right now because there is a long season ahead of him.

Jacob Josefson  - With the injury to Travis Zajac, Jacob Josefson is getting a shot at playing center along side Ilya Kovalchuk. Zajac’s absence has created a sizeable hole for the Devils because he did so many things.

Jaques Lemaire -  Jacques Lemaire is back in his role as a special assignment coach with the Devils and watched the first full day of training camp practices Saturday from the stands while DeBoer ran the drills on the ice. Give DeBoer credit as he doesn't appear to be letting Lemaire's presence bother him.

David Clarkson - Played for DeBoer in the past and had a great relationship with him. It will be interesting to see if DeBoer can get out of Clarkson what we've all been waiting for from him for years.

Camp is just starting and we'll be covering developments as they happen.

As Darren posted earlier, there was tragic news out of Russia today when it was reported that a plane carrying members of the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl KHL hockey team crashed into the Volga River shortly after take-off from Yaroslavl, Russia (about 150 miles northeast of Moscow). Only 2 of the 45 people aboard the flight survived. The plane was flying to Minsk, Belarus, where the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl hockey team was to play their season opener against Dinamo Minsk on Thursday. The cause of the crash is unknown.

Devils prospect Alexander Vasyunov and former Devils defenseman Karel Rachunek were among those who died in the plane crash. Vasyunov was one of the many Devils prospects who were called up from Albany to fill vacancies on the Devils’ roster during the 2010-2011 season. He played 18 NHL games for the Devils. Rachunek played in 47 games for the Devils during the 2007-2008 season.

Also among those killed were former NHLers Pavol Demitra, Ruslan Salei and Brad McCrimmon. Forward Alexander Galimov and a crew member are the two survivors, and both are reportedly in critical condition with severe burns. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all of the family members and friends of those who have been affected by this tragedy.