The Matchup: The Boston Bruins (34-29-12) face off against the New Jersey Devils (44-26-5). This is the fourth and final meeting between the two teams this season. The Devils currently lead the season series, 3-0-0.

The Last Bruins Game: Boston lost to the Buffalo Sabres, 3-2, last night in Boston. David Krejci gave the Bruins an early 1-0 lead, but the Sabres responded with three straight goals to take a lead. Bruins coach Claude Jullien pulled Tim Thomas after he gave up three goals on 14 shots. Tuukka Rask stopped 19 shots after coming off the bench. Ryan Miller stopped 40 shots in the victory.

The Last Devils Game: The Flyers thumped the Devils, 5-1, Sunday in Philadelphia. Martin Brodeur allowed four goals on 19 shots and was pulled after the second period. The Devils broke Brian Boucher's shutout with Ilya Kovalchuk's 39th goal of the season. Boucher made 32 saves for his sixth win of the season.

The Last Bruins - Devils Game: The Devils defeated the Bruins, 3-2, March 15 in New Jersey. Rob Niedermayer, David Clarkson and Zach Parise scored three goals on 12 shots against Thomas, chasing him from the game in the first period. Blake Wheeler and Patrice Bergeron scored to pull within one, but the Devils held on for the win.

Tonight's Matchup: The Devils need to play better than Sunday in Philadelphia.That game was an absolute stinker, and I think it was expected after a playoff-clinching game Saturday against Montreal. But this late in the season isn't a great time to turn in stinkers. The Devils currently sit two points behind the Pittsburgh Penguins for the Atlantic Division title. As I discussed here, the Devils want to be in position to clinch the second seed. The only way to do that is defeat quality opponents, and the team has one in Boston tonight.

It seems like the Devils elevate their game when playing playoff-bound teams. A great example is this weekend's game. The Devils played a solid game against the Canadiens, going 2-for-3 on the powerplay and dominating play. That's what they need to do tonight. The Devils will face Rask, one of the best goalies in the league, tonight at the Rock. They need to pressure the Boston defense early and often. If they can jump ahead and control the play, they should do well. Not only that, but Boston is playing in the second game of a back-to-back. The Devils, who had the day off yesterday, should be the fresher and more explosive team in this game. I think the Devils will return to their 60-minute effort tonight and play a solid game against a struggling Bruins team.

Gametime is 7:00 p.m., and you can catch all the action on MSG Plus and WFAN Radio.

Here are the lineups from today's practice (players in red were the extra skaters):

Zach Parise - Patrik Elias - Jamie Langenbrunner

Ilya Kovalchuk - Travis Zajac - Brian Rolston

Dainius Zubrus - Rob Niedermayer - David Clarkson

Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond - Dean McAmmond - Vladmir Zharkov

Rod Pelley - Jay Pandolfo

Bryce Salvador - Andy Greene

Colin White - Mike Mottau

Martin Skoula - Paul Martin

Mark Fraser - Anssi Salmela

Martin Brodeur

Yann Danis

The Matchup: The New Jersey Devils (44-25-5) at the Philadelphia Flyers (37-32-6)

The Last Devils Game: Last night the Devils clinched their 13th straight playoff appearence by knocking off the Montreal Canadiens 4-2. The special teams were very special as the work they've put into their power play during practice paid off again as they were 2-2 on the PP. The Devils ended their 4 game road losing streak.

The Last Flyers Game: The downward spiral continue for the Flyers. What started with Emery's season ending injury has continued down the ranks as Johan Backlund pulled a groin in last nights 4-1 lost to Pitt. The Flyers find themselves in the 8th spot this morning clinging for dear life. To be fair to the Flyers last night, I thought the officiating was horrible and cost them a few goals.

The Last Flyers/Devils Game: Jeff Carter was a Devils killer again and sent the game to OT on a well placed shot. Simon Gagne caught the Devils defense on the ice too long in OT and made the Devils pay for it.

Tonight's Game: Continue what was done last night. The Flyers, as of right now are a potential playoff team and if they can find their game just a little bit, they are a potential first round opponent for NJ. The Flyers have a ton of injuries, including Devils pest Jeff Carter but to me that means its the perfect time for a hero to be born, especially in March and especially in a game like this. Games featuring rivals have a way of getting some players to just elevate their game.

I do love the chemisty that Kovy and Rolston are starting to build and it's certainly building at the right time. Both have LETHAL shots yet have a way of getting into open ice to recieve the puck.

The Flyers are a scrappy bunch and a big team so I don't think Lemaire's displeasure with Salvador last night will keep him out of the lineup.

The bottom line for NJ is to not go into this game giving the Flyers too much room. Yes, they are slumping badly but if you take them lightly, the will find a way to beat you. Just look at the season record this year, we haven't done so well against the Flyers.

The Matchup: The New York Rangers (32-32-9) face off against the New Jersey Devils (43-25-4). This is the sixth and final meeting between the two teams this season. The Devils lead the season series, 3-2.

The Last Rangers Game: The Rangers shut out the New York Islanders, 5-0, last night in the Garden. Marian Gaborik netted two goals and one assist in the victory. Henrik Lundqvist stopped 27 shots for his third shutout of the season.

The Last Devils Game: The Devils powerplay scored three goals en-route to a victory, 6-3, over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Left-winger Ilya Kovalchuk tallied four points (1 G, 3 A), by far his most productive game as a Devil. Travis Zajac finished with two goals. The victory was the 40th for Martin Brodeur, marking the eighth time in his career he’s won 40 or more games in his career.

The Last Rangers – Devils Game: The Devils defeated the Rangers, 6-3, March 10 at The Rock. The Devils scored five goals and chased Lundqvist to the bench in the second period. The Devils received goals from five different players in the win.

Tonight’s Matchup: The Devils played one of their best games Tuesday night against Columbus. They actually played a 60-minute effort, and it showed in the final results. Yes, they had their off-moments, but the team finally put the effort on the table. With the effort came goals, and the offense really looked good. The powerplay finally clicked, and it seemed the Devils were in control for most of the game.

Coming into tonight, they have to bring that same intensity. The Rangers, who sit five points out of the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference, will come into tonight’s game looking for another big victory. The Devils, who sit one point behind Pittsburgh for the Atlantic Division lead, and with a win tonight they inch closer to a playoff berth. If the Devils win and the Atlanta Thrashers loss, the Devils make the playoffs for the 13th consecutive years. The Devils can also clinch with an overtime or shootout loss. But the team should want to win outright to clinch their playoff spot.

I expect another solid, 60-minute game from the Devils. The intensity always rises when these two teams face off, and I expect the Devils to rise to that level. I like the way the powerplay looked, and the Devils should be able to net at least another powerplay goal tonight. Despite the Rangers win last night, they’re still a middle-of-the-pack team. These are two big points tonight. The Devils need to get those points to get back ahead of Pittsburgh.

There was an optional morning skate, so no lines to look at right now. Check back with the live blog for the updated lines for tonight's matchup.

Gametime is 7 p.m. on MSG Plus. Remember to visit Running With The Devils for a live game blog!

Photo: Henrik Lundqvist allowed five goals and was pulled in the second period on March 10. Photo Credit: Bill Kostroun/AP Photo

The Matchup: The New Jersey Devils (42-24-3) at the Toronto Maple Leafs (24-34-12). The Devils are 2-1 against the Leafs this season.

The Last Devils Game: The Devils complete a perfect 6-0 season series sweep of the defending Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins. Yes, I know, it doesn't mean a damn thing but it feels good anyway. The game was more wide open than I am used to seeing as the Devils scored on 2 of 3 beakaways, got a shorthanded goal and saw 5 different Devils get on the scoresheet. Maybe they should put on the red and green more often if that's the result!!

The Last Maple Leafs Game: Wait..the Leafs are in last place and the Ottawa Senators are in 5th? Don't tell the Senators that as they got run out of the building the other night. The Leafs got the best of their rival 4-1.

The Last Devils / Maple Leafs Game: Who can forget this one?? Ilya Kovalchuk made his Devils debut and with 4 mins remaining in the 3rd period, the Devils were trailing the Leafs 3-1. When the final horn blew 4 minutes later, the Devils had a 4-3 victory and 2 points while Leafs nation stood with their mouths wide open.

Tonight's Matchup: These are the games that always concern me. First off, the Devils take their 3 game road losing streak into the Air Canada Center which is always a tough place to play no matter what the Leafs record is. Secondly, I always worry about game immediately following some huge emotional game, such as the one last night celebrating Devils history by pulling out the (somewhat) replica Xmas Tree Jerseys.

Even though the Leafs are in last place, they aren't a team that can be taken lightly. So far the three previous games this season vs the Leafs have ranged from bad, to not so good to extremely lucky to win. If you go back just a few days ago, the Devils had a huge win against the Penguins and then played extremely poorly the next night against the New York Islanders, another lower teir team in the East. Have I mentioned the 3 game road losing streak yet? just checking!!

Goaltending is a question that comes up in my mind. Normally, I would say that playing a team that has Toronto's record or similiar should automatically put the backup goalie in. (That's actually what I do in NHL 10) but Marty had a quiet night last night in my opinion and the Devils haven't been good on the road recently, maybe Marty is the right choice for tonight. Of course sitting on the bench for such long periods of time might be something to point at finger at as to why Yann Denis didn't have such a stellar outing last weekend.

As for the lines tonight, I don't really see any reason to change them. Yes, Pelley's hit on Goligoski was a little dirty and he did receive a major for it but Goligoski escaped injury which seems to dictate suspension or not. (Yes the Savard/Cooke incident is the exception). It's possible that Zharkov could take Pelley's spot tonight as a kind of in-house discipline but for now. These are just a guess and I am sure they'll be different.

Zach Parise  - Travis Zajac  - Jamie Langenbrunner
Ilya Kovalchuk - Patrik Elias - Dainius Zubrus
Brian Rolston - Rob Niedermayer - David Clarkson
Jay Pandolfo - Dean McAmmond - Vladimir Zharkov

Bryce Salvador - Andy Greene
Colin White - Mike Mottau
Paul Martin - Martin Skoula

Martin Brodeur

Let's go Devils and end this road skid we are on. As always, thanks for reading and please put your comments, complaints and critique below, we do answer them.

The Matchup: The New Jersey Devils (41-24-3) vs. the Pittsburgh Penguins (41-23-5). This is the sixth and final regular season meeting of the season.

The Last Devils Game: Devils came out with a bang, put home 3 goals in the first and then hit the brakes a bit. Boston climbed back into the game but ultimately failed to put home the 3rd goal and watched NJ skate away with a 3-2 victory.

The Last Penguins Game: They played a close game against the Lightning and in the end skated away with a 2-1 victory but that's not what people were talking about in this game. Crosby got tangled up with Downie and went to the ice in a very painful looking way but would end up being ok and playing a ton of minutes in the third. Malkin left early after taking a Letang shot off his foot. X-ray's were negative on Malkin's foot and he if a game time decision for tonight's matchup.

The Last Devils / Penguins Game: Just the other night the Penguins came into NJ and once again found themselves on the losing end of the stick. That's 5 games played this season and 5 wins by the Devils. I thought both goalies played well but NJ seemed to get the bounces that the Penguins didn't.

Tonight's Matchup: This is one Devils fans circled on their calendars long ago. Something that Devils fans have wanted for some time. Tonight, the NJ Devils celebrate their history and rock the old Green and Red uniforms. Marty Brodeur will also be wearing the goalie mask he wore when called up to the Devils back in 1992. This game has the same kind of feeling that the Stevens and Daneykos retirement games had and the 3 games we played this season honoring our Stanley Cup champions. The good news is that all those games ended with the Devils grabbing 2 points at the end of the night.

But this is Pittsburgh we are playing tonight and it doesn't matter that we are going old school tonight or that we are 5-0 against them this season. The Penguins could care less what NJ is doing and are going out there to win. The lead the Devils by 2 points in a tight race for the division.

The Devils need to be consistent, both with the puck and without the puck. With that said, there may be a Defensive pick-me-up waiting to happen. Rumor is Paul Martin is a game time decision tonight so his return is either hours or days away. That's great news for this defense, I am just not sure I want Martin to return tonight, when he could come back against the Leafs or the Blues, two easier teams. Tonight's game is sure to have a playoff mentality and maybe we ease him back in. Plus, one would wonder if a rusty Martin is better than a healthy Salmela/Fraser? Against the Leafs, definately but not in this scenario.

So with that said, I'll keep Martin out for one more game and go with the lines from Friday Night

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


Bryce Salvador - Andy Greene
Colin White - Mike Mottau
Ansi Salmela - Martin Skoula


Martin Brodeur

The Matchup: The New Jersey Devils (40-24-3) vs. the Boston Bruins (30-25-12)

The Last Devils Game: Coming off a big win against the Penguins on Friday night, the Devils entered Long Island and had a very big let down. NJ got off to a 1 goal lead eary but let the Islanders slip away with the lead and eventually the win.

The Last Bruins Game: They took on their rivals the Montreal Canadieans and Montreal skated away with a 3-2 victory. Boston started slowly and weren't able to catch Montreal.

The Last Devils - Bruins Game: It was a game where the goalies shinned and stole the show. With the game knotted at 1-1 after an OT period, the game went into a skills contest and that's when Jamie beat Boston Goalie Tuukka Rask 5-hole to win the game. This was the game in which Marty passed Patrick Roy for most minutes played by a goalie.

Tonight's Game: The Devils need redemtion for the lose on the island but Boston has tons to play for right now. They are in the battle for that 8th and final playoff spot and it looks like Marc Savard won't be returning at all this season after the Cooke incident so Boston needs points wherevere and whenever they can get them.

Boston this season has been a team that has struggled to score goals and should hopefully continue that trend tonight. The Bruins goaltending on the other hand has been excellant and will certainly be a test for NJ who has stuggled putting pucks in the net so far in 2010, although recently they've been a little better.

I thought NJ spent a lot of time standing still the other night and not moving the puck, two key areas that they didn't do in wins over the Rangers and Penguins. If they want to win tonight, moving the feet and the puck is certainly a way to get the job done.

Lines for tonight probably look like:

The Matchup: The New Jersey Devils (39-23-3) vs. the Pittsburgh Penguins (40-22-5). This is the 5th time the two teams have met this season and the second meeting at the Prudential Center.

The Last Devils Game: The Devils played a game where they finished their checks, hustled to the puck and didn't allow the fact that Rangers kept fighting back to tie the score affect them.

The Last Penguins Game: The started their 5 game road trip in Carolina that found the Penguins down a few goals but were able to battle back and force OT only to lose in OT on a quick goal from the corner by Brian Pothier.

The Last Devils-Penguins Game: The Devils have pretty much owned the Penguins this season. In the previos 4 games, the Devils have outscore Pittsburgh 14-2. The last game was a 2-0 victory with the Former Devil, Nik Bergfors providing the only goal that wasn't shot into an empty net. Like most games vs the Penguins this season, the Pens offense was certainly sputtering against the Devils in this game.

Tonight's Matchup: It's one of those 4 point swingers. While the offense was certainly firing on all cylinders the other night, the defense had noticable lags. Pittsburgh is a much more potent team offensively than the Rangers and the Devils will need to concentrate and those defensive lags tonight. The Penguins are 4-0-1 since returning from the Olympic Break so to say that this is a hot team would pretty much be spot on.

Zach Parise has shown no Olympic hangover with three goals in four games and Rob Niedermayer played arguably his best game as a Devil against New York with a goal, an assist and a plus-3 rating in more than 18 minutes of ice time.

Jordan Staal seems to have the hot hand for the Penguins lately as he has scored a goal in three of the last four games and has six points over the span. He's one goal away from a second straight 20-goal season.

Lets remember that Martin Skoula came to NJ from Pittsburgh via Toronto and probably wants to play a really good game tonight. He didn't fit in very well with Pittsburgh and he's been quoted saying that he wants to make Pittsburgh realize that trading him was a mistake. There's no mistake that Lemaire seems to like this guy as he had 21:03 of ice time in Edmonton and 21:55 of ice time against the Rangers despite being on the 3rd pairing.

Devils could really use the a win tonight as the schedule gets pretty busy with a trip to Long Island tomorrow night and then back at home on Monday against the Bruins and Wednesday against the Penguins to close out the season series.

I am going to go with the same Forward lines that we saw against the Rangers although Pelley might get the healthy scratch tonight. As for the Defense, Lemaire wasn't happy with Frasers mistakes against NY and if Salmela got the seat for his effort against the Oilers, than Fraser should get the seat for Wednesday night.

Zach Parise - Travis Zajac - Dainius Zubrus
Ilya Kovalchuk - Patrik Elias - Jamie Langenbrunner
Brian Rolston - Rob Niedermayer - David Clarkson
Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond - Dean McAmmond - Rod Pelley


Bryce Salvador - Andy Greene
Colin White - Mike Mottau
Anssi Salmela - Martin Skoula


Martin Brodeur