Throughout the offseason, Running With The Devils will preview the Devils 2010-2011 schedule, giving you an in-depth preview of the 29 other teams the Devils will face next season. Last season, the Devils took first place in the Atlantic Division and second in the Eastern Conference. This season, the team will look to improve on their abysmal playoff performance. In today’s preview, we take a look at this season’s matchup with the San Jose Sharks.

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Throughout the offseason, Running With The Devils will preview the Devils 2010-2011 schedule, giving you an in-depth preview of the 29 other teams the Devils will face next season. Last season, the Devils took first place in the Atlantic Division and second in the Eastern Conference. This season, the team will look to improve on their abysmal playoff performance. Earlier today, I previewed the Devils’ matchup with the Montreal Canadiens. For today’s second preview, we take a look at the Devils’ cross-river rival- the New York Rangers.

Continue reading after the jump for the preview!

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Throughout the offseason, Running With The Devils will preview this season’s upcoming matchups. The Devils, who finished second in the Eastern Conference last season, will face every team in the NHL at least once next season. Today we take a look at a familiar foe, the Montreal Canadiens.

Continue reading after the jump for the preview!

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During the offseason, Running With The Devils will preview the matchup between New Jersey and their opponents. New Jersey, which finished second in the conference and won the Atlantic Division last season, will look to duplicate their success and finally get out of the first round of the playoffs this season. In today’s second schedule preview, we focus on an Eastern Conference opponent – the Boston Bruins.

Make sure to read after the jump for the full preview!

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Throughout the offseason, Running With The Devils' will preview the upcoming 2010-2011 season schedule for the New Jersey Devils. New Jersey finished second in the Eastern Conference and made the playoffs for the thirteenth straight year last season, and the team will look to duplicate that success in the upcoming season. After previewing a few teams so far (you can find those under the “Analysis/Reaction” tab), we move to the next team – the Colorado Avalanche.

Continue after the jump for the full preview with the Avs.

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Yesterday, I put up my initial reaction to the ruling that Ilya Kovalchuk’s 17-year, $102 million contract had been denied. The response was posted about an hour after the initial ruling, and quotes from system arbitrator Richard Bloch’s decision were scarce.

Eventually, quotes from the decision began circulate, and now, with more information, I can give a better opinion on today’s events. And, when looking at the quotes, I’ve come to find that Bloch’s evidence for his ruling doesn’t fully satisfy me. Bloch’s reasoning, while good, doesn’t provide a solid case against the Devils or the contract. After the jump, I provide my reasoning for this conclusion.

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A day of anxious waiting and nervous joking for Devils’ fans ended after 5 p.m. today, when they learned systems arbitrator Richard Bloch (a New Jersey native) upheld the NHL’s rejection of Ilya Kovalchuk’s 17-year, $102 million contract agreement with the Devils.

When the news first broke, I wanted to fire off an angry post about NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and the decision. I was going to rant and rave about Marian Hossa, Henrik Zetterberg, and the other players who signed similar deals.

But, when it comes down to it, Bloch made a decision that wasn’t much of a surprise, and the league finally made headway into putting these long-term deals to bed. Read after the jump for my continued reaction of the arbitrator's ruling on Kovalchuk's grievance.

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Throughout the offseason, we here at Running With The Devils will take an in-depth look at the Devils’ 2010-2011 schedule. The Devils, who finished first in the Atlantic Division and second in the Eastern Conference, will look to extend their consecutive playoff streak to 14 straight seasons. Read after the jump for my preview of this season's matchup with the Buffalo Sabres.

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Throughout the offseason, we here at Running With The Devils will take an in-depth look at the Devils’ 2010-2011 schedule. New Jersey has made the postseason 13 times in a row, winning the Atlantic Division and finishing second in the Eastern Conference last season. This year, the team will look to continue it’s impressive playoff streak while maintaining their place among the best in the conference. I’ve already previewed two opponents – the Dallas Stars and Washington Capitals – and today we preview a well-known rival – the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Read after the jump for the full preview!

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Throughout the rest of the offseason, we here at Running With The Devils will take an in-depth look at the Devils 2010-2011 schedule. New Jersey has made the postseason 13 years straight, and won the Atlantic Division during the 2009-2010 season. This year, the team will look to continue their impressive playoff streak and finish near the top of the Eastern Conference. A few days ago, I previewed the team’s games against the Dallas Stars. Today we take a look at an Eastern Conference power – the Washington Capitals.

Devils vs. Capitals – Historical Data

The Devils are 77-87-13-1 all-time against the Capitals. The team averages 2.96 goals per game against their Eastern Conference opponents, but they allow 3.31 goals per game. Last season, the Devils and Caps faced each other four times, with the Devils going 3-1-0 against them. The Devils won the first meeting, 3-2, on October 12, 2009. Mike Green and Mike Knuble scored first period goals to give the Caps an early 2-0 lead. But the Devils answered back, scoring one in the second and third to tie the game. The game went to a shootout, where Jamie Langenbrunner scored the winning goal for the Devils.

The Devils took the second matchup of the season, defeating Washington, 3-2. Brian Rolston tied the game at one apiece in the second period, and the Devils used two third period powerplay goals from Niclas Bergfors to power past the Caps. The Devils took three in a row from the Caps ten days later, when they beat them, 5-2. The Capitals, as they had during the season series, scored first. Mathieu Perreault scored at 5:02 of the first to give the Caps an early 2-0 lead. But the Devils came roaring back, scoring five unanswered goals to win the game.

The Capitals denied the Devils of a season sweep, defeating New Jersey, 4-1, on December 26, 2009. Alex Ovechkin opened the scoring at 4:09 of the first period, and Matt Bradley scored the game-winner at 13:54 of the period.

Capitals vs. Devils – This Season’s Matchup

The Caps and Devils will again face each other four times during the regular season. The Caps return virtually the same lineup as last season, except in net. The team decided not to re-sign Jose Theodore, their starting goalie the past two seasons. The Devils will still have to contend with the likes of Ovechkin, Green and Nicklas Backstrom. The Caps have been near the top of the Eastern Conference for the past few years, and that figures to continue this season. Despite their sub-.500 record against Washington, the Devils played them really well last year. Recording another six points against the Caps during the regular season would be nice to see, especially since they will probably directly compete with Washington for the top spot in the conference.

Photo Credit: Mike Stobe/Getty Images North America