The play began with a turnover in the Devils zone. Dany Heatley scooped up the loose puck at the point, and sent a pass to Thornton in the right circle. The center’s shot deflected off of Devils’ defenseman Matt Taormina‘s stick, and the puck beat Martin Brodeur stick side for his third goal of the year.

Thornton’s second goal of the game, at 18:59 of the first period extended the Sharks lead to 3-0.

Marleau put a shot on net from the side boards that Brodeur should have stopped. But the Devils goalie was tangled with Thornton, who crashed the net, and the big center poked home the puck for his fourth goal of the season.

Thornton’s third goal of the night, a powerplay tally, came at 16:55 of the second period.

After the Devils benefitted from a awkward bounce from the boards, the Sharks received one of their own. After trying to clear it around the boards, Brodeur went behind the net, expecting the puck to come behind. But it bounced off the end boards and went to the front of the net, where Thornton came crashing down. The center fired the puck past a diving Henrik Tallinder for his fifth goal of the season.

The Thorton Line gets it going

It wasn’t only Thornton lighting the lamp in the Sharks victory. Patrick Marleau collected four points (one goal, three assists), including his 700th career NHL point after assisting on Thornton’s first goal of the night. Heatley also collected four points (one goal, three assists) on the night. In total, the Thornton Line had 13 points tonight. That’s almost as many goals the Devils have scored this season.

Brodeur told Rich Chere of the Star Ledger it looked like the Thornton Line was “playing against kids.” He wasn’t wrong.

Brodeur does all he can

There are some nights where Brodeur seems superhuman. Even if he gave one of those efforts tonight, it wouldn’t have been enough for the Devils. Brodeur faced 39 shots tonight – his second consecutive game of 30-plus shots – and made 34 difficult saves. The Sharks got a fluke goal and a soft score, but Brodeur was the usual rock in the net. But when the defense gives Brodeur no support, there’s only so much he can do.

Continue reading after the jump for the rest of the recap.

The Matchup: The New Jersey Devils (2-6-1) head to the west coast to visit the San Jose Sharks (3-3-1). This is the first of two meetings this season.

The Last Devils Game: The Devils lost 3-1  to the Rangers on Sunday night. Kovalchuk scored the only goal for New Jersey.

The Last Sharks Game: The Sharks lost to the Calgary Flames on Sunday night by a score of 4-0. All the action happened in the first period as the Flames beat Antti Niemi 3 times on 5 shots before he took a seat on the bench. It was the third game of a 3-game road trip for SJ, who ended the trip with a 2-1 record.

The Last Devils / Sharks Game: Ilya Kovalchuk and Travis Zajac each had a goal and an assist as the Devils held on for a 4-3 win in the most recent matchup, March 2 at HP Pavilion. Devin Setoguchi scored a pair of third-period goals to help rally the Sharks but ultimately fell short.

Tonight’s Matchup: The big story going into tonight's matchup is that neither team has won a game on home ice this season, which should benefit the Devils tonight. However, nothing has gone as planned for NJ, which currently owns the NHL's worst percentage of points to games played. NJ is 2-2-0 away from The Rock this season. The Devils offense is struggling, which is currently ranked last in the NHL and coming off a weekend where they only managed to score 1 goal in each game. Zubrus has been one of the few players on a hot streak and hopes to continue his hot streak tonight. He has 1 goal and 4 assists in the last 4 games.

The Devils are averaging 1.67 goals per game and have scored two or fewer in seven of their first nine. The Sharks have the NHL's second-best power play, which is scoring at a success rate of 31.4 percent. What's that mean? Stay out of the box!!

The Broadcast: 10:30pm TV - MSG+(HD); Radio - 660 AM WFAN

As for the lines, its anyones guess but I will go with what went on during Sunday's game in NY.

Zach Parise - Travis Zajac - Dainius Zubrus

Patrik Elias - Jason Arnott - David Clarkson

Jamie Langenbrunner - Jacob Josefson - Ilya Kovalchuk

Adam Mair - Tim Sestito - Rod Pelley

Andy Greene - Olivier Magnan-Grenier

Colin White - Matt Taormina

Henrik Tallinder - Matt Corrente

Martin Brodeur

Johan Hedberg

An early season West Coast road trip should afford the Devils the opportunity to soak in some sun, sand and great weather along the California coast. The players could scope out Disneyland in Anaheim, and maybe do some sightseeing in Vancouver and Chicago.

But this early-season road trip will allow for none of those off-day activities. The Devils need to pull together as a team, and they hope the next five games signal a turnaround for their abysmal start.

It's been a well chronicled 2-6-1 start for the New Jersey Devils. There were stretches of great play (the two shutout wins), but it's been mostly low points throughout the first nine games. Defensive struggles, questionable goaltending and a lack of finish characterize the Devils play, and the team hasn't figured out how to break their slump.

The lack of success has already created frustration within the locker room.

"I think we’re all really frustrated with the start that we’ve had and the results we’ve had," Zach Parise said to Tom Gulitti of the Bergen Record. "We’ve got a lot of frustrated guys in here."

To say the five game swing against Western Conference opponents, beginning tomorrow night against the Sharks, isn't important would be a gross understatement. The Devils need to improve their play significantly, and they can use the time away from home to focus on hockey and not their terrible home record or lack of scoring.

Martin Brodeur believes the road trip will help develop chemistry, which can lead to better performances and, hopefully, better wins.

"We don’t know much about each other," Brodeur said to Rich Chere of the Star-Ledger. "On the road trips (during which) we spent a little time together, we won both games. The Washington (trip) we didn’t spend any time, so this will help us build chemistry and to play for one another.

"Not winning isn’t fun, but guys are getting along and I think this road trip hopefully will help us bond and get that little extra you need to build a team."

The Devils problems are numerous, and there isn't one concrete issue that will lead to a turnaround. Developing better chemistry should help better team play on the ice, as Brodeur hints too. Several communication breakdowns, especially in the defensive zone, cost the Devils. Having the ability to spend time with teammates and get to know their tendencies, etc. better should begin to alleviate this problem.

Team-bonding wouldn't just help on the ice. If players feel comfortable with each other off the ice, it goes a long way into building a successful team. Not every guy will invite the team over for beers and bar-b-que during the offseason. But knowing how to talk to the other plays in the room helps the team leadership determine the best way to deal with the locker room. Team chemistry always tiptoes a fine line between well-balanced and train wreck, and a more comfortable locker room can lead to more well-balanced New Jersey squad.

There's plenty of issues the Devils need to work out to right their season, but team chemistry has been talked about a ton throughout the struggles. The Devils finally have the time to develop the chemistry several players are seeking. It could help make teammates more accountable and help them to play for each other.

The bottom line isn't about team chemistry, it's about wins and losses. If the Devils come back from this road trip with a less than stellar record, team chemistry won't be the only issue the team will face.

Photo Credit: AP Photo

The Devils began a six-game road trip with a game against their hated rivals, the New York Rangers, at Madison Square Garden. New Jersey had a chance to get their road trip started right, with the opportunity to beat their rivals on their home ice and give them a good feeling heading out to the West Coast. The Devils, however, couldn’t capitalize on their opportunities, losing to their rivals, 3-1. Now the team goes out west with a two-game losing streak and several questions left to be answered.

Second period struggles continue

The Devils second period woes began last season, and it’s carried over into this season. Through the first nine games of the season, the Devils have allowed 17 goals in the middle period. That’s two more than the Devils’ scored this entire season. Those problems continued tonight, as the Devils once again left the second period in with a two goal deficit. Out of the many problems the Devils have, the biggest is their play in the middle period.

Coach John MacLean said the lack of consistency contributes to the Devils’ second period woes.

“We haven’t been consistent,” the Devils’ coach told the media after the game. “We need to have consistency night in and night out.”

Zach Parise echoed those same concerns.

“We’re a pretty talented team, but we’re missing something right now” the left-winger said. “At times, we’re not playing together out there. The effort was there tonight, but it’s not the result that we needed.”

Ryan Callahan kills the Devils (Again)

Callahan loves playing against the Devils. In 16 games against the Devils, Callahan has ten points (five goals, five assists) and seems to always come up with a big play at key moments in the game. And when that moment came, Callahan was there to bury the Devils.

With the Rangers already ahead, 1-0, Ilya Kovalchuk gave the Devils a powerplay opportunity with a questionable interference call. The Rangers controlled the puck, with Michael Rosival holding the puck at the point. The defenseman passed the puck to Brandon Dubinsky along the side boards, and the forward drifted into the right circle. He put a shot on net as Callahan crashed the crease. The forward tipped the puck through Martin Brodeur's pads for his first goal of the season.

Rosival gets a great bounce

There’s a lot of things contributing to the Devils 2-6-1 start to the season, and some of it is bad luck. For the Rangers, a bounce went their way in the second period, and it gave them a 1-0 lead.

The scoring drive began on a shot from Ruslan Fedentko from the right circle. The puck went off of Brodeur’s shoulder and stunned the Devils’ goalie. The rebound rolled up to Rosival at the point, who one-timed the puck to the net. The puck grazed off the leg of Andy Greene and went around Brodeur for his second goal of the season.

Henrik Lundqvist stands tall

Like so many Devils – Rangers game before tonight, a win hinged on the play of the goalies. And as he’s done 18 times before, Lundqvist stood tall and backstopped the Rangers to a victory. The Swedish goalie stopped several opportunities in the third period as the Devils tried desperately to come back and tie the game. The Devils took 12 shots in the third period, and only beat Lundqvist on a beautiful feed from Dainius Zubrus to Kovalchuk, who had a wide open net to shoot into. There’s a reason why the Rangers’ goalie has 19 wins against the Devils. He single-handidly helped the Rangers hold on to their win tonight.

For the rest of the recap, continue reading after the jump.

The Matchup: The New Jersey Devils (2-5-1) go across the river to face off against their hated rivals, the New York Rangers (3-2-1). This is the first of six meetings this season.

The Last Devils Game: The Devils were thrashed by the Sabres, 6-1, last night at home. I’m still peeved about the loss, but here’s three things to note:

1. The Devils looked terrible in their own zone.

2. Johan Hedberg wasn’t given any support.

3. The team played lackluster and, frankly, worse than an AHL team.

The Last Rangers Game: The Rangers defeated the Boston Bruins, 3-2, last night in Boston. The Rangers jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period with goals from Artem Anisimov and Alex Frolov. Zdeno Chara cut the lead to 2-1 with a powerplay tally at 19:55 of the period. The Rangers extended their lead in the second period, with Marc Staal giving the Blueshirts a 3-1 lead. Nathan Horton continued his hot start, pulling the Bruins to within a goal at 12:27 of the period. The Rangers would blank the Bruins in the third for their second straight win.

The Last Devils – Rangers Game: The Rangers defeated the Devils, 4-3, in a shootout during a late season meeting last year. The Devils once again scored first, with Ilya Kovalchuk giving New Jersey an early 1-0 lead. Brandon Dubinsky tied the game with a powerplay goal in the second period, tying the game at one. The third period followed the same script as the fourth game, with the Devils wasting leads. Patrik Elias put the Devils ahead, 2-1, early in the third period. Anisimov tied the game at 9:40 of the second period, and the scoring gates were opened. Jamie Langenbrunner gave the Devils a 3-2 lead at 12:37 of the period, but the Rangers answered that tally with one of their own. With their net open, Chris Drury scored at 19:43 to tie the game and send it to overtime. The teams remained scoreless through the extra period, and Erik Christensen was the only player to score in the shootout. (For a full recap, click here.)

For a full recap of the historical rivalry, check our preview here. Make sure you follow the jump for the analysis of tonight's matchup.

The New Jersey Devils had four days to sit and think about their 1-4-1 start, the organization’s worst since 1983-84. The team spent three days practicing, attempting to iron out the wrinkles. The Devils then flew up to Montreal, looking to continue their dominance over the rivals in Canada and show the start was a fluke. Despite being outshot and outplayed in the first period, the Devils leaned on Martin Brodeur and won their first game in regulation, blanking the Canadiens, 3-0.

Marty Loves Some Home Cooking

Brodeur loves to play in Montreal. Coming into tonight’s game, Brodeur was 17-14-2  with a 1.80 goals against average, a .935 save percentage and four shutouts. The stellar play continued for Brodeur in his hometown tonight. Brodeur needed to be sharp in the first period, when the Devils were outshot, 10-3, and gave the Habs some good scoring chances. That continued into the second period, where Brodeur once again turned away the Habs. But he would save his best performance for the third period.

After Matt Taormina increased the lead to 3-0 (more on that later), the Habs began to open it up. Brodeur’s best saves came with the Devils on the penalty kill. The first great save came on a scramble play at the front of the net. Brodeur went behind the net to play the puck, and was bumped by his own defenseman. With the net open, Brodeur had to scramble back. Andy Greene blocked Brian Gionta‘s shot, but the puck deflected toward the net. Broduer, on his back, used his mask to keep it out and maintain the shutout.

Brodeur then made three consecutive saves at 7:01 of the period to keep the game scoreless. Gionta had the puck next to the net, and tried to stuff it home. The Devils’ goalie went to the splits to make the save, and kept the pads down on the ice to stop several more stuff tries.

Brodeur now has 112 career shutouts, and nine shutouts against the Habs. Only the Islanders have been blanked more by Brodeur (10) then the Canadiens.

Arnott Hits The Century Mark

Jason Arnott, like many of the Devils, struggled through the first six games of the season. The center sat at two goals and carried a -7 rating. Four days off seemed to do the Devils’ center good. With New Jersey holding on to a tenuous one goal lead in the second period, Arnott put the nail in the coffin. With the Devils controlling the puck in the zone, Jamie Langenbrunner skated the puck from behind the net. He left a drop pass for Dainius Zubrus, who held the puck along the boards. Zubrus sent the puck to Arnott, who set up low in the left circle. The center whipped a wrist shot on net that deflected off of Dustin Boyd and through the legs of Carey Price for the goal.

It was Arnott’s 100th as a Devil. Congratulations to him for hitting that milestone with the club.

For the rest of the recap, read after the jump!

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Here is tonight's live game blog!

The Matchup: The New Jersey Devils (1-4-1) face off against the Montreal Canadiens (3-1-1) at the Bell Centre in Montreal. This is the first meeting between the teams this season.

The Last Devils Game: The Devils lost to the Boston Bruins, 4-1, Saturday at the Prudential Center. After a scoreless first period, Dainius Zubrus opened the scoring, giving the Devils a 1-0 lead at 3:45 of the second period. But that would be all the Devils would get, as Boston came roaring back to put the game away. Jordan Caron scored at 5:38 to tie the game at 1-1. Michael Ryder scored the eventual game-winning goal, connecting off a feed from Tyler Seguin to put the Bruins ahead, 2-1. Shawn Thornton increased the lead to 3-1 at 16:43 of the second. Milan Lucic capped the four-goal outburst, scoring at 18:09 to put the Bruins ahead, 4-1. Tim Thomas finished with 31 saves for the win. Martin Brodeur stopped 31 shots in the loss.

The Last Canadiens Game: The Canadiens defeated the Ottawa Senators, 4-3, Sunday at the Bell Centre. Trailing 3-1 in the second period, the Canadiens scored four straight goals to take the lead. Jeff Halpern began the comeback, netting his second goal at 13:39 of the second period. Andrei Kostitsyn tied the game, 3-3, at 17:29 of the second. Tomas Plekanec played hero, scoring the game-winner at 16:01 of the third period.

The Last Devils - Canadiens Game: The Devils won the final game of the series last season, 4-2, on March 27. Patrik Elias struck first for the Devils, giving the team a 1-0 lead with a powerplay goal at 8:11 of the first period. The teams traded goals in the second period, with the Devils holding a 3-2 advantage at the end of the second period. Brian Rolston added an empty-net goal in the third period to clinch the win.

Last season, the Devils won three of four from the Montreal Canadiens. For a full analysis of the historical matchup between the two teams, click here.
Welcome Home Marty! Brodeur makes his 60th career start against the Canadiens tonight, his most against a non-Atlantic Division opponent. In 30 appearances at Montreal, Broduer is 17-12-1 with a 1.80 goals against average, a .935 save percentage and four shutouts. In his career, Brodeur is 38-16-5 against the Habs, with a 1.78 GAA and eight shutouts. Brodeur admitted yesterday that he hasn't been sharp to begin the season, but these meetings always seem to bring out the best in the veteran netminder.

Tonight's Matchup: The Devils took three days to practice, and coach John MacLean put the team to work. They skated hard, practiced game situations and made significant moves throughout the lineup. But captain Jamie Langenbrunner said the positives from practice mean nothing if they don't translate to a win.
"It depends on how we come out of it," Langenbrunner said to Tom Gulitti. "We did have a good week of practice where we got the battle and work back in our game, but it’s how we respond on the ice tomorrow night for 60 minutes that counts. No one gives you any points for a practice."
The Devils couldn't be walking into a better situation to earn their second win of the season. Despite Montreal's early success, New Jersey has always played them well, especially in their own building. The Devils are 8-2-0 in their last 10 games at the Bell Centre, and the team holds an overall record of 22-23-4 all time in Montreal. An almost .500 record against a team in their own building is respectable.

One thing New Jersey will have to do is meet the energy and pressure from the Canadiens. The Bell Centre will be loud, and the building will be a sellout. The Devils will need to respond to that energy and attempt to silence the crowd early. With some solid scoring and surprising play from Carey Price, the Canadiens won't be a cakewalk. But the Devils, with four days to prepare, should be able to handle them in Montreal.

Game time is 7:30 p.m., and you can catch all the action on MSG Plus or WFAN 660. Remember to come back to Running With The Devils for our live chat, beginning at 7:15 pm!
Here are tonight's starting lines, based off of the Devils' pairings from practice yesterday:

Zach Parise - Travis Zajac - Dainius Zubrus
Patrik Elias - Jacob Josefson - Ilya Kovalchuk
Rod Pelley - Jason Arnott - Jamie Langenbrunner
Adam Mair - Tim Sestito - David Clarkson

Henrik Tallinder - Matt Corrente
Matt Taormina - Colin White
Andy Greene - Olivier Magnan-Grenier

Martin Brodeur
Johan Hedberg