Take yourselves back to the afternoon of June 23, 2009 when Brent Sutter was named the head coach of the Calgary Flames. If I remember right, my emotions were full of hatred and anger because I felt lied to. It wasn't that I thought Brent Sutter was the greatest coach in the Devils history, no, it was because he promised to do something for this organization and hadn't delivered and now lied his way out of town. Hindsight is a wonderful thing because Jaques Lemaire has turned out to be everything Sutter wasn't. I was recently on a Flames discussion board and I saw a post that said, "Flames are pissing me off. Sutter needs to get a clue" and I relized how much good he did for us by leaving. That said, tonight's matchup is one that got circled on the calendar right away when the schedule was announced, although it would have been nicer to have the game in NJ where fans could really let Sutter know what they think of him, regardless of how well the Devils have done this season.

The Matchup: The New Jersey Devils (38-21-3) at the Calgary Flames (30-24-9). This is the one and only meeting this season. (Lets hope that if the Devils get to the Cup Finals, Sutter isn't the other team there!)

The Last Devils Game: Offensively, I don't think you could have asked for more. Goals by Zajac and Kovalchuk made Devils fans smile but defensively it was a crazy game. After being up 4-0 in the third, the Devils surrendered 3 quick goals and allowed the Sharks to make a game of it but in the end were able to hold them off. We aren't sure if the Devils short-comings on defense that night was the reason the Devils traded for Martin Skoula at the deadline.

The Last Flames Game: The Flames were shutout 4-0 by the Minnesota Wild. Calgary got 29 shots on Backstrom but never really made him work. Calgary is stuggling for playoff position and that type of loss didn't help.

Tonight's Matchup: If the Devils can do what they did in San Jose the othe night, strike hard and strike often, the Flames will break...easily. If you can get an early lead against the Flames, they don't really do well. The Flames aren't known for a potent offensive, they just don't have that type of team but their defense can be strong. Putting the first game back and the Olympics aside, Miikka Kiprusoff is one of the better goalies in the league. Did you know that Calgary is tied with Edmonton for the second lowest goals scored per game average?

The important thing for the Devils tonight is to not get caught up in playing Sutter. There were a lot of guys here last year that felt terrible when he left and I am sure would like to stick it to him but you have to be careful with things like that. I'm going to keep my eyes on Zubrus and Rolston tonight because both never liked how Sutter used them on the offense last season. They both knew they could do more but were never really given the oppurtunities.

Lastly, we will not see the debut of Martin Skoula tonight.  Lou said on Thursday that Skoula would arrive in Calgary to with the team, but he won't play.  All eyes will be on  Mark Fraser and Anssi Salmela because I expect Jacques Lemaire base Skoula's playing time on their performance, so a good game from either of them will play a big role as to whether Skoula will be on the bench in Edmonton on Sunday.

Taking a stab at the lines tonight, I'll go with:

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

Andy Greene - Bryce Salvador
Colin White - Mike Mottau
Anssi Salmela - Mark Fraser

Martin Brodeur

The Olympics are over and the NHL has resumed play. I did enjoy the Olympics but I am certainly happy to get back to Devils Hockey or at least if they start winning I will be happy to get back to them!!

The Matchup: The New Jersey Devils (37-21-3) at the San Jose Sharks (40-13-9)

The Last Devils Game: It was UGLY. Even the 2 week layoff didn't make me forget about the whooping the 'Canes put in the Devils thanks to Ray Whitney.

The Last Sharks Game: The Sharks also looked bad against the Sabres going into the Olympic break. It certainly makes me wonder if the Olympics were a distraction, especially to a team like San Jose who was sending SO many guys.

Tonight's Matchup: Lets just get the Olympics stuff out of the way. Could there be a Post-Olympic Funk that is felt league wide? Sure, why not. These guys are going from playoff calibre games back to (and I say this loosely) regular season games that have little meaning, especially this East v West matchup. I'm not extremely worried about the 5 Devils that played in the Olympics. Kovalchuk and Elias left the tournament kind of early and Brodeur got the bench after the 5-3 loss to the USA over a week ago. Parise and Langenbrunner played the most of the 5 and Parise is young enough to not really have this affect him so I guess I am saying it's just Jamie that I worried about having a Post-Olympic Funk. I thought Marty's comments yesterday were exactly where I wanted him to be at this point in time.

For all your San Jose coverage on the Bloguin Network, go visit our friends over at Couch Tarts, they do a really nice job over there.  For my further thoughts on this game, please read on.

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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 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

The final week before the Olympic break and it certainly is a doozy with 4 games in 6 days including two against the Flyers.

The Matchup: The New Jersey Devils (36-19-2) at the Philadelphia Flyers (28-25-3). This is the 4th of 6 meetings this season and the first of two meetings this week.

The Last Devils Game: Thought they played a pretty good game, got a lot of shots on net but Henrik Lundqvist (and his huge pads) came up big for the Rangers as they went on to a 3-1 win over the Devils. If you go back and watch the highlights, Lundqvist robbed NJ at least half a dozen times.

The Last Flyers Game: They also ran into a hot goalie as the Flyers only got one goal on 39 shots and the Wild got 2 past the Flyers for the win.

The Last Devils / Flyers Game: Going into this game it seemed that the Flyers had the Devils number this season. They had won the previous two games 5-2 and then 3-2 but the Devils didn't want to hear that nonsense. Elias scored twice, including his 300th of his career and Marty stopped 22 of 23 as NJ got the 4-1 victory.

Tonight's Matchup: Follow the formula that was used in New York on Saturday night. Sure, Emery (if he plays) can be a spotlight stealing goalie but he's nursing an injury so I don't imagine him being 100%.

Devils had an optional practice yesterday morning which caught Mottau and Fraser working on passing. I was glad to see Mottau working hard yesterday because the one big error he made Satruday resulted in a goal against, something he was certainly disappointed in.
As for the lines, I liked what I saw on Saturday with the exception of Peters. That guy never does much and Saturday he got into two quick fights and then got benched in the third as we double shifted a wing. I'd keep the lines the same, including Peters since we'll probably need a little muscle tonight. I certainly would keep Kovalchuk and Elias together as their chemistry needs to grow and once it does, should be incredible.

The Matchup: The New Jersey Devils (35-18-2) vs. the Toronto Maple Leafs (18-28-11). This is the third meeting between the two teams this season.

The Last Devils Game, The Last Leafs Game, & The Last Devils-Leafs Game: These two just met on Tuesday night in which Dion Phaneuf and Jean-Sebastien Giguere made their Leafs debut. Phaneuf made some hits, threw some fist and acted like a total pansy by not taking of his visor (maybe my #1 pet peeve in fighting). Giggy wasn't challenged and Toronto kept NJ off the board while getting 3 of their own. Overall, it was a disappointing game.

Tonight's Matchup: Kovalchuk makes his NJ Devils debut. I can actually say I never thought I'd write that sentence. So the goal tonight is to do everything differently than they did on Tuesday, make Kovalchuk feel at ease with his new team and hopefully start some kind of chemisty with the fantastic #17.

I'd imagine Brodeur will get the start tonight after getting to sit on Tuesday night.

I trashed Oduya a little bit in my Kovalchuk piece but now I will throw him a little bone. The defense won't have Oduya out there now so they will have to do a little better job containing the Leafs tonight. I'm sure we'll get to see Salmela tonight as well and certainly hope he brings something to the table as well.

NJ will need to make Giguere work. After last weekend, the Leafs team is a better team as we found out on Tuesday. I'm just hoping after yesterday, this Devils team is a much better team and the Leafs will find that out tonight.

Wonder what Kovalchuk can do? Watch this....

Yea, I think he's got some talent in those hands of his.

As for the lines, I really have no idea but I'll take a stab. (Don't be surprised if Kovy ends up on with Parise and Zajac tho).

The Matchup: The New Jersey Devils (34-15-1) at the Ottawa Senators (28-21-4). This is the 4th and final matchup of the regular season. The Devils are 3-0 against Ottawa and looking for the season sweep tonight.

The Last Devils Game: It was a game that I was certainly nervous about given the fact that NJ went into Long Island and got the worst beating of the season only 5 days prior but the Devils got revenge and beat the Islanders 4-2. The Devils had been struggling with scoring goals up until the Islanders game but found the back of the net 4 times. Let's hope that continues tonight against the Senators.

The Last Senators Game: When the Sens were forced to trade Dany Heatley in the summer, did anyone give them a chance at playing more than 82 games this season? The enators extended their winning streak to 6 with a close victory over their Northeast division rival Boston Bruins but Alfredson and Spezza were the difference makers in a 2-1 victory.

The Last Devils/Senators Game: These two teams last met in NJ and the Devils skated away with a 4-2 victory, although I felt it was a lucky victory. The Senators had chances, in fact the Devils took 6 penalties and the Senators couldn't capitalize on any of those chances. This was a game where I felt the Devils weren't very good but luckily the Senators weren't very good either.

Tonight's Matchup: Keep getting the puck to the net. The Devils got a lot of shots on DiPietro on Saturday night and got 4 past him. The more the puck is thrown at the net, the more chances of it going in the net. It's a basic rule in hockey and sometimes players forget that. Remember the Bryce Salvador goal the last time these two teams met? He just threw it at the net and somehow it bounced in. The Senators are a hot team as of recent so the Devils will need to show up for the entire 60 minutes. The Senators certainly aren't going to roll over and die tonight, not in their own building.

Zubrus will be back in the lineup tonight. It will be nice to have his size back in the lineup. Marty will be making his 30th start in a row and Colin White has only been fined - not suspended - for his hit from behind so he will also be available tonight. I think the Devils need to maybe dress Peters tonight, since Clarkson is not available as the Devils will have Chris Neil and Jarkko Ruutu to deal with.

These are the lines I would go with..

Zach Parise  - Travis Zajac  - Jamie Langenbrunner
Brian Rolston - Dainius Zubrus - Niclas Bergfors
Jay Pandolfo - Rob Niedermayer - Vladimir Zharkov
Andrew Peters - Dean McAmmond - Nick Palmieri


Andy Greene - Bryce Salvador
Colin White - Mike Mottau
Johnny Oduya - Mark Fraser

Martin Brodeur

One more thing, the Devils are hosting an online chat with Devils legend Ken Daneyko today at 2 PM on the official web site (You can also follow right here). Submit your questions in the chat, or by Twitter with the hashtag, #DaneykoChat (though you'll need to be in the chat to see if it's answered).

The Matchup: The New Jersey Devils (33-14-1) versus the Montreal Canadiens (23-23-5)

The Last Devils Game: Going into the game, I believe everyone was a little down on the team. NJ had just come off the worst performance of the season against the Islanders but the Devils did the little things correctly against the Panthers. The offense got chances and the defense played much better. Marty stopped every shot and defeated Florida 2-0

The Last Canadiens Game: Montreal got into a 3-1 hole against the Blues but got huge goals from Benoit Pouliot and Mike Cammalleri to force overtime, securing them at least one point in the game. Ty Conklin made a HUGE save on Andre Markov and Andy McDonald took the puck to the other end and fired a laser into the net giving the Blues the 4-3 win.

The Last Canadiens / Devils Game: They last met in Montreal on Jan 9th. An up-tempo battle all game brought a 1-1 tie into overtime. Parise got the puck on his stick with no one between him and the Halak, made his move and froze Halak, and earned the Devils' second win over Montreal this season.

Tonight's Matchup: Just build on what was done Wednesday night against the Panthers. Keep getting the puck to the net. The Devils, like most teams, sometimes look to get the pretty play a little to often where as Wednesday night they concentrated on getting the puck on net, which opened many scoring oppurtunities. Going into the Panthers game, the Devils were finding themselves in early holes by giving up too many 1st period goals. Against the Panthers, it's something they didn't do. They need to continue working on that tonight and not let Montreal get out to an early lead. NJ needs to start finding the back of the net more consistantely as the Devils have scored only 11 goals in their last seven games, a stretch that has seen the club go 3-4-0. The Power Play has been awful recently and every game I hope that finds a way to gain momentum.

This is the first trip back to NJ for Brian Gionta, who was injured in the first Canadiens trip this season, so I would expect there to be a little something extra in his effort tonight. Scott Gomez isn't having the best season in my opinion but you know he always steps up his game against the Devils. Marty gets the start yet again tonight but he loves to play his childhood favorite team. Halak gets the start for the Canadiens tonight. Ilkka Pikkarainen was placed on Waivers yesterday so I would imagine that opens the door for PLx3 or Andrew Peters to get the chance to play tonight. I thought both Davis and Palmieri did well enough the other night to deserve a spot in tonight's lineup.

So my lines would be...

Zach Parise  - Travis Zajac  - Jamie Langenbrunner
Brian Rolston - Rob Niedermayer - Niclas Bergfors
Jay Pandolfo - Dean McAmmond - Vladimir Zharkov
Pierre-Luc Letourneau Leblond - Patrick Davis - Nick Palmieri


Andy Greene - Bryce Salvador
Colin White - Mike Mottau
Johnny Oduya - Mark Fraser