Since we are at the Olympic break and things will get a little quiet around here for the next 2 weeks, I thought this would be the perfect time to write some posts that I've been meaning to do for a while. As a side note, Bloguin has a special Olympics Hockey blog up at http://www.olympichockeyblog.com/ and we will also be following the 5 Devils that are playing in the Olympics.

The Olympics break comes at the perfect time for this team, at least in my opinion it does. The Devils, in their last 17 games are 5-10-2 and have lost six in a row on the road. They head into the break with a 1 point lead for the Atlantic Division over the Pittsburgh Penguins who lost 4-3 in a shootout to Nashville yesterday afternoon.

For the guys not playing in Vancouver, it's a time to go home, relax a little bit and get energized for the final 6 week grind to the playoffs. The good news for the Devils is that the team expects to have Martin and Clarkson back in the lineup when they take the ice March 2nd in San Jose. For the guys that are playing in Vancouver, I think most of them can handle not getting any time off. As much as I would like to see Marty represent his country as the number one goalie, most of me hopes that Team Canada chooses Luongo over Marty so that he gets some rest. Even if Marty is picked as the guy for Team Canada, I know he won't play EVERY game for them.

The New Jersey 5 in Vancouver 2010

My biggest concern at the Olympics is the risk of injury. Let's face it, our top guys are playing and this tournament is going to be intense and require these guys to give it their all. We can't afford to see Parise, Eliase, Langebrunner, Kovalchuk or Marty go down with an injury that will impact this team on March 2nd. As much as I hope to see Team USA win a gold medal, I am just hoping our 5 come home without injury. Gold medals are great but I'd much rather get another cup.

The Olympic Schedule that features New Jersey Devils playing over the next few days will be:

Tuesday February 16th

United States vs Switzerland
3:00 PM EST - Ice Hockey - Men's Preliminary Round - Group A Game 1 
Canada vs Norway
7:30 PM EST - Ice Hockey - Men's Preliminary Round - Group A Game 2 

Wednesday February 17th
Russian Federation vs Latvia
12:00 AM EST - Ice Hockey - Men's Preliminary Round - Group B Game 3

Thursday February 18th
Czech Republic vs Slovakia
12:00 AM EST - Ice Hockey - Men's Preliminary Round - Group B Game 6

Jokinen's empty net goal increased the Hurricanes lead, 5-2, over the Devils in the third period of tonight's game at the RBC Center.

Jokinen stripped Kovalchuk at the blue line and picked up the puck in the Devils zone. With Mike Mottau cutting over to block the shot, Jokinen lifted a shot into the empty net for his second goal of the game.

Brian Rolston's powerplay goal at 17:02 of the period cut the Hurricanes lead to two.

With Staal in the box for roughing, Zajac received a pass down near the goal line. Rolston came down from the point all alone, and Zajac found him with a pass across the crease. Rolston put the puck high for his 17th goal of the season.

Zach Parise's goal at 7:26 ended Peters' shutout bid.

Ilya Kovalchuk entered the Hurricanes zone and lost the puck in the slot. Parise grabbed the loose puck and had his first shot blocked by Peters. The rebound came to Parise's stick, and he put the puck high for his 28th goal of the season.

Brian Rolston had a goal disallowed at 11:04 in the period. Rob Niedermayer brought the puck behind the net and came out along the goal line. He passed the puck to the front, where the puck went off of Rolston's skate and off a Hurricane before finding the back of the net. When the goal was reviewed, however, video showed a distinct kicking motion from Rolston and disallowed the goal.

If the goal was allowed, the score would have been 4-2.

Lemaire has tinkered with his line combinations in the third. Patrick Elias is no longer centering Jamie Langenbrunner and Kovalchuk. Kovalchuk moved up to play with the top line, and Vladmir Zharkov moved up to play with Langenbrunner and Elias.

Yann Danis has played extremely well since entering the game at 3:27 in the period. He's made several key saves to keep this game from getting out of control.

Rookie Matt Corrente and Tom Kostopoulos fought at 6:25 of the period. Corrente landed several rights and clearly won the fight.

Jussi Jokinen's goal at 3:27 stretched the Hurricanes lead to four.

Once again, it was Whitney who was involved in the play. Whitney held the puck along the boards and spun away from Travis Zajac. He passed the puck to Jokinen in the left circle, who one-timed the puck over Brodeur's shoulder for his 22nd goal of the season.

The Devils came out flat in this period, and the Hurricanes jumped all of them. It wasn't a matter of whether they would score their four goal, but when they would score it.

Shortly after that goal, Devils coach Jacques Lemaire pulled Martin Brodeur and inserted Yann Danis.

The second period was one to forget for the Devils. They took four penalties in the period (including allowing a 5-on-3), and allowed two powerplay goals. The Hurricanes consistently caused turnovers and pressured the Devils into mistakes. If the Devils have any hope in getting back in the game, they need to play with some sense of urgency in the third period.

The Hurricanes outshot the Devils, 10-7, in the third period and lead in total shots, 17-15.

Ray Whitney scored his second powerplay goal after his 5-on-3 goal one minute earlier. Tim Gleason took a shot that hit the post and stopped in the crease. Brodeur reached back to get the puck, but Whitney raced into the crease and put the puck into the empty net for his 19th goal of the season.

The Devils have now been outscored, 14-2, in the second period of their last seven games.

Whitney scored his first goal of the period on a 5-on-3 powerplay chance at 4:34 in the second.

With Dainius Zubrus (hooking, 2:46) and Rob Niedermayer (holding, 4:06) in the box, Erik Staal brought the puck across the blue line. He skated to the top of the left circle, where he stopped and passed the puck to Whitney in the center of the right circle. Whitney one-timed a shot past a diving Brodeur for his 18th goal of the season.

Zach Boychuk's first career NHL goal at 16:47 of the first period gave the Hurricanes the one goal lead.

Carolina created their scoring chance off a turnover by Devils defenseman Anssi Salmela. After Brandon Sutter forced the turnover, the Hurricanes worked the puck to the point. Hurricanes defenseman Brett Carson fired a shot that was blocked in front, and Boychuk found the puck in the slot. Sutter crashed the net, taking Brodeur down with him, and Boychuk took a backhanded shot that hit Mark Fraser's stick and went over the Devils goalie and into the net.

The Devils led the first period in shots, 8-7.

So far tonight, the Devils are 0-for-3 on the powerplay. Carolina is playing very aggressively, pressuring the Devil and forcing them to make a bad pass. It'll be interesting to see how the Devils will adjust to their kill.

The Hurricanes are 27-for-28 in penalty kill opportunities in the month of February (including tonight's game).

Carolina had a goal waved off by the referees during a powerplay chance at 9:17 of the first period. With Zach Parise in the box for hooking, the Hurricanes put the puck on Brodeur. Jussi Jokinen crashed the net and knocked the puck in, but the referee already had his whistle to his mouth, signaling a stoppage in play. Replays show the puck was still loose when the referee brought the whistle to his mouth.

Zach Parise had a great scoring chance at 4:10 of the first period, but he couldn't bury the puck. After Jamie Langenbrunner fired a shot on Peters, the rebound trickled out to Parise's stick. He tried to go low, but Peters put out the pad to make the save.

This is the final game for both teams before the Olympic break.

Martin Brodeur will get the start for the Devils. Justin Peters will be in net for the Hurricanes.

Devils defenseman Anssi Salemela will suit up for the Devils tonight after missing the past two games with a suspected concussion. Salmela received the concussion after a hit from the Philadelphia Flyers Jeff Carter in Monday night's game.

Devils center Dean McAmmond will be sidelined tonight. He's out with an upper-body injury.

Here are the lines for tonight:

Ilya Kovalchuk - Patrick Elias - Jamie Langenbrunner

Jay Pandolfo - Rob Niedermayer - Brian Rolston

Vladmir Zharkov - Rod Pelley - Matt Corrente

Bryce Salvador - Andy Greene

Colin White - Mike Mottau

Anssi Salmela - Mark Fraser

Martin Brodeur

The Devils newest acquisition, Ilya Kovalchuk, went four games without scoring a goal after being traded from the Atlanta Thrashers almost two weeks ago.

Tonight was his coming out party.

Kovalchuk scored the game winning goal in the third period, and the Devils defeated the Predators, 5-2.

Kovalchuk’s first goal as a Devil at 8:24 broke a 3-3 tie in the third period. Patrick Elias carried the puck up the side boards, bringing the defense with him. He sent a backhanded pass to streaking Kovalchuk, who carried the puck to the slot. Kovalchuk sent a wrist shot past the outstretched glove of Predators goalie Pekka Rinne for the goal.

After he scored, some Devils fans decided to throw their hats on the ice to celebrate the goal. Kovalchuk was named the first star of the game, and recorded two points and finished  the game with a +3 rating.

The Devils began the scoring at 9:49 in the first period. Devils captain Jamie Langenbrunner carried the puck into the Predator’s zone, where he skated around two Predators defenseman. He went into the slot and held the puck just below the goal line, drawing Rinne out of the goal. Langenbrunner then passed the puck to Travis Zajac, who tapped the puck into the empty net for his 19th goal of the season.

Zajac’s 19 goals is the second-highest goal output of his career. His career high is 20 goals, which he achieved last season.

After tying the game in the first period, the Predators took the lead 46 seconds into the second period. Predators right-winger Jordin Tootoo carried the puck over the blue line and used Devils defenseman Andy Greene to screen goalie Martin Brodeur. Tootoo let go a wrist shot from the point that beat Brodeur for his fourth goal of the season.

But the Devils responded with a goal of their own 1:14 later. Elias carried the puck over the blue line and blasted a slap shot from the point. The puck beat Rinne high for the game-tying goal. It’s Elias’ 11th of the season.

Then Kovalchuk took over.

After scoring the game-winner, Kovalchuk assisted on Parise’s powerplay goal at 13:08 in the third period. With Predators defenseman Dan Hamhuis in the box for tripping, Kovalchuk carried the puck down the side boards. He attempted to pass the puck to the front of the net, but the puck deflected off the skate of Predator’s defenseman Shea Webber. Parise picked up the loose puck in the slot and put a wrist shot past Rinne to give the Devils a two goal lead.

The victory was the Devils fifth in their last 16 games. The team plays the Carolina Hurricanes tomorrow in their final game before the Olympic break.

Game Notes:

The Devils powerplay is anemic as of late, going 3-28 over their last five contests (the team was 1-for-5 tonight). One of those missed chances was a two-man advantage, which the Devils are only 2-for-17 this season...Despite their second period goal, the Devils have still been outscored, 12-2, in the second period of their last six games...Kovalchuk's goal drought of six games (two with Atlanta, four with the Devils) was the second longest of his career. He had a nine-game scoreless streak with Atlanta in 2008.

Seems like every season that there is a large snow storm to hit NJ the day of a Devils game, it's a guarantee that the announcers that night will mention the famous game between the Calgary Flames and New Jersey Devils back in 1987. 334 fans braved the weather and 20+ inches of snow to watch the Devils beat the Flames 7-5.Can you imagine a rink with only 334 fans watching the game? The stadium seemed empty last night and there were of 5,000 that showed up.

AGAIN!!?? The Devils had yet another 2 goal lead on the Flyers and yet again blew it and lost the game 3-2. Luckily, they managed to squeeze out a point in this game before allowing the Flyers to win in OT. With the point, the Devils stay 1 point ahead of Pittsburgh for the division lead but that's really secondary at this point. I, like most fans are unhappy, frustrated and upset with this team at the moment. As I said the other day, I am looking forward to the Olympic Break because I am hoping it gives the Devils some time to regroup, well the ones not making the trip to Vancouver.

So news came down about 10 mins before the game that Parise was out with an upper body injury. It came out after the game that it wasn't anything serious and Parise expects to be in the game on Friday night. Searching the Internet it seems Team USA isn't worried about Parise at all, so I guess I shouldn't be either. Bryce Salvador left the game with a little over 5 minutes remaining in the first period after getting clipped with a high stick near the eye. Lemaire made it sound like he didn’t think Salvador’s injury was something that will keep him out for long.


The Devils got on the board early, 45 seconds in to be exact as Zajac took what looked to be a routine shot but trickled through the legs of Leighton and slowly crossed the goal line. Rob Niedermayer made it 2-0 at 8:01 when he threw a spinaround backhand in front from the bottom of the right circle that went off Leighton’s left pad and then deflected in off defenseman Kimmo Timonen’s left leg. Ex-Devil Arron Ahsam answered right back and cut the lead in half. Scott Hartnell nearly tied the game with a power play goal that had to be reviewed. I personally think it was over the line but there were no specific camera angles to prove it. Jeff Carter, who's been a Devils killer this week, tied the game at 2 in the second with a perfectly place wrist shot from the left side. Simone Gagne won the game in OT with a wrist shot from the slot as, who else, Jeff Carter created a screen in front of Marty.

The Devils were 0-3 on the powerplay and never looked very comfortable being on it. I felt throughout the game the Devils seemed to have this "get Ilya the puck at all costs" mentality and it isn't working. He's not scoring so he's getting frustrated. He's not scoring so the fans are getting frustrated. Actually, when we talk about offense and having the puck, I thought both teams were horrible at it. Passing once again proves to be a problem for the Devils.

I also think the Devils got beaten physically. I look at the Devils and think this team is really soft. Maybe that will change when Clarkson comes back and with Salvador out last night, that only increased the Devils softness. Good on Elias for hitting Gagne after the whistle. The Devils need to do more of that, stir things up a bit. I mean Carter has killed them this week and no one really put a body on him.

As always, here are the highlights if you missed the game:

The Matchup: TheNew Jersey Devils (36-20-2) at the Philadelphia Flyers (29-25-3). This is the fifth of six meetings this season and the second time they meet this week.

The Last Devils Games, The Last Flyers Game and The Last Devils/Flyers Game: The Devils seemed to be in control of this game early but as recent performances have taught us, don't count on the Devils getting through the second period without giving up at least two goals. That's exactly what they did and then let up a disgusting goal in the third to give the Flyers a 3-2 victory. Devils had 7 power play oppurtunities and only scored on the first one. Did you know the Devils have 37 PP goals in 199 Power Play oppurtunities? Horrible!!

Tonight's Game: Put together an effort that lasts the entire 60 mins. I shouldn't have to write that but I can't remember the last time I walked away from a game and thought NJ played every minute of every shift. If the Devils find themselves up a few goals, don't sit back on the lead. Put together a solid effort in the second period and stop letting teams score multiple goals in short time periods. The important thing to avoid are those drops in intensity that seem to be destroying our momentum.

The Flyers are the most penalized team in the league so you are going to be getting some chances on the PP. I thought the Devils struggled on setting up in the zone while on the PP and did too much chasing of the puck. Hopefully that changes tonight. They have a tremendous QB for the PP now and we need to find him some scoring lanes.

As for Kovalchuk, tonight's the night. Everything I've read, this guy wants to contribute to this team and he will. I am sure he's frustrated by not scoring and gripping the stick to tightly. I have a feeling he'll relax a bit tonight and find some twine.

As for the lines, I thought the Devils had some good things going at times the othernight but Salmela isn't going to be able to dress for the Devils.

Zach Parise  - Travis Zajac  - Jamie Langenbrunner
Ilya Kovalchuk - Dainius Zubrus - Patrik Elias
Jay Pandolfo - Rob Niedermayer - Brian Rolston
Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond - Dean McAmmond - Vladimir Zharkov

Andy Greene  - Bryce Salvador
Colin White - Mike Mottau
Rob Davison - Mark Fraser

Martin Brodeur