The Matchup: The New Jersey Devils (45-26-7) at the Atlanta Thrashers (34-32-13)

The Last Devils Game: The Devils beat a pretty lifeless Carolina Hurricanes teams. Jamie Langenbrunner and Paul Martin got the night off. The offense that was struggling going into the Canes matchup walked away with 4 goals and the win and a shutout.

The Last Thrashers Game: The Thrashers went into Pitt really needing 2 points to help them sneak into the playoffs but only walked away with 1 point. Pitt tied the game late in the 3rd and won it in OT on a Leopold goal. Thrashers did play a very good game but they need all the wins they can get now.

The Last Thrashers/Devils Game: Last time they met, no one dreamed Kovalchuk would be on our side when this one came around!! Devils won 3-2 on goals from Parise (2) and Colin White.

Tonight's Matchup: Thrashers are in a Game 7, back against the walls, must win kind of mode right now. They trail the Flyers by 3 points for the 8th spot and only have 3 games remaining. Here comes Ilya Kovalchuk to try and slam the door shut on his former team. I don't think the Thrashers wrote out this scenario when they traded him to NJ on Feb 4th. I would imagine that Atlanta is going to come out pumped for this one because the players and fans what to show the world they can suceed without Kovalchuk and maybe do so over Kovalchuk.

The Devils are in the playoffs, that much is guarenteed. What spot they own once they start next week is up in the air. Every night it seems different so the Devils mentality has to be to just keeping doing. I would much rather play a limping Boston Bruins squad than the Ottawa Senators right now.

How the Devils played the other night vs Carolina is exactly how they have to approach tonight's game. Lemiare has said, even though we are in a fight for #2 overall, he may rest more of his regulars tonight. No, Marty will not be one of those getting rest tonight.

I think this game is going to be a little on the intense side because of Kovalchuk returning and the Thrashers playoff hopes. The Devils can't afford to look at this game as an easy game otherwise they won't come away with the W. The Devils have struggled lately against teams fighting for playoff spots but lets hope tonight is a different story and that they can in fact shut the door on Atlanta.

Clarkson's goal at 18:28 extended the Devils lead, 4-0, in tonight's game at the RBC Center.

With the Carolina net empty, Kovalchuk gained control of the puck in his zone. The winger passed the puck to Elias at the blue line, and he found Clarkson ahead of the Carolina defense at the red line. The right-winger skated down into the zone and slid the puck into the empty net for his 10th goal of the season.

After a scrum in front of the net, Parise found the puck below the goal line. The left-winger shot the puck in off of Ward's pads for his 36th goal of the season.

Brodeur continues to be sharp tonight, making a few nice saves in this period. Drayson Bowman carried the puck along the side boards, firing a shot at 13:50 of the period. Erik Staal crashed the net, trying to bring the puck from his backhand to his forehand. The puck skipped away from him, and Bowman put a backhanded shot on net that Brodeur stopped and held.

Carolina is clearly playing with some urgency now, but the Brodeur and the Devils have done a good job playing defense and keeping the shots manageable.

The top two lines have been buzzing the entire night. Elias and Kovalchuk continue to find quality scoring chances, and the first line of Parise - Travis Zajac - Zubrus have put 13 shots on net.

Patrik Elias and Dainius Zubrus scored first period goals to give the Devils their lead.

The Devils led the second period in shots, 10-7. They lead the overall shot total, 22-14.

While Brodeur hasn't faced many shots (12 through 14:53 of the second period), but he's had to make some very nice saves. Carolina has produced several good scoring chances, and Brodeur has met every chance with a good save.

The Devils have continued to pressure the Hurricanes in the period. New Jersey has forced turnovers, and they're getting some quality scoring chances. It helps that Ward has been juggling the puck when it hits his glove.

The Devils led the period in shots, 12-7.

The two goals are the most the Devils have scored since Saturday, March 27, when they scored four against the Montreal Canadiens.

Elias' goal at 18:18 of the first period extended the Devils lead, 2-0.

Ilya Kovalchuk skated the puck into the Hurricanes zone and stopped along the side boards. He sent a pass to the center of the zone, where Elias received the pass. The center held the puck and skated into the right circle. His shot sailed over Ward's shoulder and into the net for his 16th goal of the year.

There was some confusion after the goal. The puck went in and out, and David Clarkson put in the rebound. The goal light, however, was late to go off. The referee had his arm extended to signal goal after Elias' shot.

Zubrus' powerplay goal at 13:13 of the first period put the Devils ahead, 1-0.

With Chad LaRose in the box for interference, Carolina couldn't clear the puck at the point. Zach Parise tapped the puck to Zubrus, who was all alone in the left circle. The winger skated toward the net and put a wrist shot through the pads of goalie Cam Ward for his ninth goal of the season.

The Devils have played a solid first period, controlling the tempo throughout. If Mottau didn't take the penalty, Carolina may only have one or two shots on net.

Martin Brodeur made a spectacular save at 5:48 of the first period. With Mike Mottau in the box for hooking, Brett Carson pinched from the slot and into the right circle. He took a shot, but Brodeur slid across the crease and stacked the pass to kick the puck away.

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Here were the starting lineups:

Devils: Jay Pandolfo-Rob Niedermayer-Brian Rolston; Bryce Salvador-Andy Greene; Martin Brodeur.

Hurricanes: Zach Boychuk-Drayson Bowman-Patrick Dwyer; Brian Pothier-Jay Harrison; Cam Ward.

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The Devils enter tonight's game tied with Pittsburgh for the Atlantic Division. The Devils lead the division because of tiebreakers, but both teams are even with five games left. The Devils will also be looking to end a three-game losing streak.

Martin Brodeur will start in net tonight for the Devils.

Jamie Langenbrunner will not be in tonight's lineup. The captain will be a healthy scratch. Vladimir Zharkov will also be scratched. Mark Fraser, Jay Pandolfo and Dainius Zubrus will also play.

Here are tonight's line combinations:

Tonight's Matchup: The New Jersey Devils (44-26-7) face off against the Carolina Hurricanes (33-35-10). This is the fourth and final game of the series. The Devils lead, 2-1-0.

The Last Devils Game: Kris Versteeg scored a late goal, and Jonathan Toews tallied the only shootout goal to defeat the Devils, 2-1. Versteeg scored a 6-on-5 goal with 26 second left in the third period to tie the game. Martin Brodeur finished with 26 saves.

The Last Hurricanes Game: The Canes lost to the Senators, 4-3, in a shootout Thursday. Erik Karlsson scored with 7.7 seconds remaining to force overtime. Alex Kovalev scored the only shootout goal for Ottawa.

The Last Devils - Hurricanes Game: The Hurricanes defeated the Devils, 5-2, on February 13. Jussi Jokinen and Ray Whitney scored two goals each in the win. For a more detailed recap, you can check out the recap from the game here.

Tonight's Matchup: The Devils really missed a golden opportunity last night. If they held on for the win, they could have an outright lead in the division. Instead, they're now tied with Pittsburgh, and both teams have five games remaining. The Devils have the tougher schedule, and every point counts. Not only that, but the Devils are making mistakes and allowing teams to score late, which can swing a playoff series toward the other team. Here's what Brodeur said about last night's loss.

"It is a concern because I think we're going to play some tight games in the playoffs and losing games like that can change the momentum of a series," Brodeur said. "We have to bear down in those situations. With a minute left, we have to be desperate. The puck needs to get out; we need to get it out by kicking it, batting it … anything. It's got to get out."

Tonight provides one of those opportunities. Carolina has been hot, but the Devils have the opportunity to gain two big points. These are the games the Devils need to win. They'll be without Jamie Langenbrunner, who's getting a rest in tonight's game.

Gametime is 7 p.m., and you can watch the action on MSG Plus or listen to the game on WFAN.

In the continuing “Eastern Conference Playoff Preview” series, I’ll preview the Boston Bruins. The team,currently sitting eighth in the division, has been holding off the Atlanta Thrashers and the New York Rangers for the last spot in the playoffs. With injuries and a lack of scoring, the Bruins look to be one of the weakest playoff teams in the division.

Forwards:

One of the worst injuries for this team came when Marc Savard was concussed by Matt Cooke. Although he didn’t wow anyone with his offensive prowess, he still brought a gritty presence to the team. Without him, Boston has seemed to struggle without him. They shouldn’t have a problem scoring, with players like Patrice Bergeron, Marco Sturm, and surprise players like David Krejci. But the team ranks 30th in the league in scoring, with 182 goals scored this season. The team’s -33 plus/minus ranking isn’t great either. Both of those things show Boston’s lack of scoring depth. With the possibility of facing the Washington Capitals in the first round, that lack of scoring can really put the Bruins in a hole.

Defense:

Zdeno Chara leads an average defensive squad for the Bruins. Chara leads all Bruins defenseman in goals, assists and points. He’s also the plus/minus leader. After Chara, there’s not much on the blue line. The defense, as a whole, ranks 30th in the league in goals against. A lack of scoring and a lack of defense? That doesn’t bode well for the playoffs.

Goalie:

Maybe one of the only bright spots for Boston is the emergence of goalie Tuukka Rask. The 6-3 Finn has solidified the number one position in Beantown, going 19-12-4 with a 1.99 goals against average. He’s far outplayed former Vezina winner Tim Thomas. His G.A.A. and save percentage (.930) are very, very good. If there’s one person keeping Boston afloat, it’s Rask. His play could lengthen a series. But without any solid scoring options or defensive play, it looks like it’ll all be on him to win them a series.

So, does Boston stand a chance in the playoffs? Like many of the lower seeds, they don’t look great. They lack a scoring offense, and the team’s defense isn’t that much better. The only bright spot, Rask, can’t steal them a playoff series. With Boston barely hanging on to the eighth seed, it might be a one-and-done year.

Photo Credit: Rick Stewart/Getty Images

HOW DO YOU LOSE THAT GAME???? 

(hint: See the article before this one!!)

Throughout the day, I like to check Tom Gulliti's Fire and Ice Blog. The Bergen Record reporter usually provides some great reporting, and one of those stories stuck out yesterday. You can check out the entire post here, but what it said was that Devils' coach Jacques Lemaire doesn't plan to rest Martin Brodeur in any of the remaining six games. The 37 year old veteran, who has already played 71 games this season, will never admit to being tired or overworked. But Marty might need a break.

Almost every single year, Brodeur has performed worse in the playoffs than in the regular season. There was one year, 2005-2006, where he outperformed the regular season. But, his consistent heavy workload during the regular season seems to have a negative effect on his performance. While it may not be the be-all, end-all reason for Brodeur's struggles, I'm sure it adds to the playoff decline.

So what's the solution? Clearly, I think the Devils should look to rest Brodeur in these final six games. But they're also sitting in fourth, and the second seed is a better position. Brodeur's play is significantly better since the Olympic break, but the team around him is struggling. The last few games, Brodeur has needed to be the Devils best player on the ice. Putting the extra stress on him now can have adverse effects in the future. While it's important to win the second seed, it's more important to give Brodeur some rest to keep him fresh for the playoffs.

Photo Credit: Jim McIsaac/Getty Images

The Matchup: Chicago Blackhawks (47-22-7) at the New Jersey Devils (44-26-6). This is the second and final meeting of the regular season.

The Last Devils Game: Kind of disappointing because the Devils once again had the chance to push the door closer to being closed on the hopes of making the playoffs for yet another bubble team but like the Rangers and the Flyers before them, the Bruins escaped the meeting with a W. Marty did his job and ended up letting in the only goal of the game with 18 seconds to go.

The Last Blackhawks Game: After losing to St.Louis and looking shakey in recent play, people were starting to wonder if Brian Campbells injury was affecting them more than anyone thought but then the Blackhawks went into Minnesota and kicked them around, scored 4 goals, kept the Wild off the board and kicked them some more.

The Last Blackhawks/Devils Game: We last saw the Hawks on New Year's Eve and I remember thinking that standing in Time Square, waiting for that 10 seconds of action where the ball comes down would have been a better use of my time. The Devils stunk and it was so bad that Andrew Peters wasn't the worst one out there. Chicago handed it to the Devils 5-1.

Tonight's Game: The Devils need to play better. The one thing they have going for them is that they aren't playing a team that's in desperation mode, the Hawks are already in the Playoffs. This is a great game to a) tune-up for the playoffs and b) find out where we stand with one of the leagues best. I certainly wouldn't mind if this was a Stanley Cup Finals Preview.

The bottom line is that New Jersey has to find some consistency in their game. Passing hasn't been great, the power play has struggled (although was clicking for one game recently) and with 6 games left to do it, it needs to start happening now.

Lemaire has already said he plans on not giving Marty any time off. Lemaire doesn't feel like Marty is tired and needs time off and Brodeur seemed to agree. “I feel good,” he said. “It’s weird. I just don’t feel like I’ve played a lot of hockey right now compared to other years for whatever reason. The way the schedule has been, it hasn’t been that hard on me at all.” Brodeur has played in a league-high 71 games, but said he feels fresh

It's hard to know what the lines will be, especially coming off a 1-0 loss. Lemaire can't go with what he had the other night as the offense was stifled. The one thing I do want to see is Kocalchuk and Rolston together because I really think there is something there. I thought Lemaire didn't stick with it enought last game.

The one good thing going into this matchup with Chicago is that the Devils are a deeper, more-balanced team than they were earlier in the season.

In the continuing “Eastern Conference Playoff Preview” series, I take a look at the Philadelphia Flyers. The Devils rival currently holds the sixth position in the Eastern Conference. But the team has gone through some adversity as of late, losing three goaltenders and their leading scorer, Jeff Carter. Can this team succeed in the playoffs without those integral pieces?

Forwards:

The Flyers have some solid, but not great, forwards on the team. With the injury to Jeff Carter, the team lost their leading scorer and one of their best goal scorers. One of the best forwards on the team is Mike Richards. The young captain has 28 goals and 30 assists through 76 games, and his play on the penalty kill and powerplay are stellar. He’s one of the better two-way forwards in the game today. After Richards, the Flyers have several role players. Simon Gagne, who could be a great goal scorer, has only played 52 games this season. The same can be said for Danny Briere. What I don’t like about the Flyers is the injury risk throughout all of their lines. Gagne usually has one major injury per year, and Briere hasn’t been fully healthy since signing with Philadelphia (8 years, $52 million with a no trade clause). Both of these guys can make plays and put the puck in the net. With one major weapon already down, another injury to a scoring forward would sink this team.

Defense:

The Flyers first defensive pairing of Chris Pronger and Matt Carle are extremely good. Both defenseman combine for a plus/minus rating of 41. Pronger leads the team in assists, and has chipped in 10 goals during the season. But that has been one of the only bright spots for the Flyers defense this year. They rank near the middle of the pack in goals against, allowing 202 so far this season. They also rank 25th in shots against, with 2,184 shots taken against their goalies. Coming into the season, the team had high hopes for their defense. But so far those expectations haven’t been met, and they have underperformed this season.

Goalie:

Philadephia has dressed four goaltenders this season, and only one of them remains healthy today: Brian Boucher. The first starter, Ray Emery, was enjoying a great comeback season But an abdominal strain – and the resulting surgery from the injury – knocked him out for the season. Next came Michael Leighton, who looked terrible in Carolina. The Flyers got lucky again, as Leighton played exceptionally well with the team. But an ankle injury sidelined him for the remainder of the season. They even gave rookie John Backlund an opportunity, but he was injured during his first ever start. Now, their playoff chances rest on Brian Boucher, a goalie who has never started more than 45 games in a season. His career save percentage is under .900. Clearly, goalie is the weakest link of this team. The Flyers cannot depend on Boucher to bring win them a series. He’s the weakest goalie coming into the playoffs. This will, without a doubt, hold back Philadelphia in the playoffs this year.

So, where do the Flyers sit coming into the playoffs? They seem to be one of the weakest teams qualifying for the playoffs. They’re missing their leading scorer, and the defense has been underwhelming all season. Now, they need to depend on a career backup who has never played well in the N.H.L. The Flyers look like the surest bet to be a one and done in the playoffs this year.

Photo Credit: Nick Laham/Getty Images