The Devils get back at it tonight when they host the Tampa Bay Lightning. To say the Devils looked horrid in their last game would be generous.

The Matchup - The New Jersey Devils (17-7-1) vs. the Tampa Bay Lightning (10-8-8). This is the third meeting of the season and the Devils won both of the previous games were won in shootouts.

The Last Devils Game- I was afraid that the Devils would give the Canucks far too many opportunities to put the puck in the back of the net and that they did. The Devils got in a huge hole early, started to make a game of it and then got the door slammed in their face in the third.

The Last Lightning Game- Tampa Bay went up to Boston and got massacred 4-1. The reviews of that game were quite similar to the review of the Canuck/Devils game.

Tonight's Matchup- Both The Devils and the Lightning are going to be looking to make a statement in this game. Both teams are coming of very bad losses and need to bounce back. The Devils can make their fans feel much better about losing to the Canucks in the fashion that they did if they stick it to the Lightning tonight. Tampa Bay has one of the worst PK's in the league and the Devils must have huge success with the penalties they draw.

I know I personally won't be happy with another shootout win. Tampa Bay is a team that is playing much better this season than I thought they would be but they don't play consistently enough for me to call a playoff calibre team. To me, this is a team that should take a beating. The last thing I want to do is limp into a matchup with the Red Wings tomorrow night.

For thoughts on the Lightning Point of view for this game, visit our friends at The Hockey Bay.

The Matchup: The New Jersey Devils (17-6-1) vs. the Vancouver Canucks (14-12-0), first meeting of the season.

The Devils Last Game: The biggest win of the season so far, a 6-1 blowout of the divison rival Islanders and the 3rd straight victory for the Devils.

The Canucks Last Game: The league leading Sharks took care of the Canucks 4-2, who didn't put up much of a fight.

Thoughts on this game: Vancouver is the owner of the third best powerplay in the league so it's a no brainer that staying out of the box is an absolute must tonight. We saw what Dallas did with a few to many PP oppurtunities a few games ago. The Devils hope to see Neidermayer and Pandolfo return to the lineup tonight but will be a game time decision. Langenbrunner hurt himself in practice and we're aren't sure on the health of him at the moment.

If you go through the numbers and take the Sharks game out of the equation, I think the Canucks are a very solid team, at least on paper. Their record would contradict that statement but I know they got off to a rough start this season.

My prediction is not a good one for nj.. 3-2 Canucks.

It's rare that the New Jersey Devils are home at Thanksgiving but they play 10 of the next 12 games at the Rock, starting with the Ottawa Senators tonight.

The New Jersey Devils (14-6-1) vs. the Ottawa Senators (12-6-3). This is the second meeting of the season.

The Devils Last Game: It was a crazy game, getting down early to the Stars, battling back to tie the game at 3 only to watch the Stars score 2 more times to secure the 5-3 victory. Devils have 1 point in their last 3 games and need to get back to winning.

The Senators Last Game: The Senators battled back from a 2-0 deficit to tie the game in regulation and then beat the Capitals in OT. (How many time has that happened to Washington this season??) The Sens have been a surprise to me this season and are now sitting on top of the Northeast Division.

The Last Devils / Senators Game: The Devils rallied from a two-goal deficit for a 3-2 victory in Ottawa on Nov. 7, as Zach Parise and David Clarkson each notched a goal and an assist while defenseman Andy Greene scored the game-winner on a power-play goal 7:20 into the third period. Martin Brodeur made 19 saves in his 1,000th NHL start to notch the victory.

Tonight's Matchup: The Devils have been on a small little slump with 1 point in 3 games and the Senators have been hot with a 4 game winning streak. The Sens did have a little bit of bad luck come their way the other night while #1 goalie Pascal Leclaire got the night off in Washington, a puck entered the bench and hit Leclaire in the cheek breaking the cheekbone. The Senators will be without their #1 goal for 4 weeks.

I thought the Devils were un-focused in Dallas. They got the lead early, let Dallas right back into the game and then took a few bad penalties and watched their penalty killers struggle. They did a decent job coming back and making a game out of it but then let Dallas slam the door shut.

The Devils will dress 7 defenseman again tonight, as they did in Dallas but Tyler Eckford will be the defensman that plays up on the wing tonight and on the point during the power play. Corrente will get to stay on defense tonight.

The Devils had a nice streak going and now they've gotten away from it. Time to right the ship and the Senators are the right team to do it against.

For Ottawa Coverage, check out Blogiun's Ottawa Blogs at http://www.the6thsens.com/ and http://www.fiveforsmiting.com/

 My prediction: Devils 4 - Senators 2

The Devils head down to Nashville tonight to take on the Predators. I'll be honest, I am pretty much an Eastern Conference kind of guy so I don't pay that much attention to the Western Conference teams. If you look at the standings, the Preds certainly appear to be struggling although they beat the conference leading Sharks the other night and have won 7 of the last 9.

The Matchup: The New Jersey Devils (14-5-0) @ the Nashville Predators (10-8-1). This is the first of two meetings this season.

The Devils Last Game: The Devils are coming off their first road loss of the season and an end to their 8 game winning streak. The Flyers had a pretty easy time Monday night and took it to the Devils for the second time this season.

The Predators Last Game: The Preds are coming off of a big win where they defeated the San Jose Sharks 4-3 even though the clock operator made some mistakes late in the game that gave SJ time to catch their breath.

Tonight's Matchup: The Devils need to regroup a little bit after Monday's game. Philly had their way with NJ getting in deep on Marty A LOT and seemed to keep NJ from getting to Emery, both in body and in shots. The Preds are on a pretty decent streak of their own right now so confidence on their end won't be a problem. The Devils can't afford to let the Predators get a big lead early on. This has been a theme with NJ this season and they've shown great restraint in not getting frustrated and mounting comebacks, but playing that type of game eventually bites you.

NJ can get the Preds off their game by blocking as many shots as they can. Prior to the Sharks game, Nashville has REALLY struggled in the goal department. Keeping shots from reaching Brodeur might be the right prescription for frustrating the Nashville shooters. Nashville is a very disciplined team and they don't allow the opposition too many chances on the PP.

The Devils will have a rookie on defense in the lineup tonight. With NJ sending Cory Murphy back to Lowell, either Matt Corrente or new called up Tyler Ekford MUST be in the game tonight. Ekford was the AHL's player of the week last week so my vote is for him.

Are the Devils really as good as their recent play is dictating or are they just playing over their heads? Maybe it's a little of both? I've been loving how this team is playing together but at the same time I am waiting for the other shoe to drop. Tonight, the Devils head back out on the road, perfect road record in hand and go to my least favorite place in the entire NHL....Philadelphia.

The Matchup:  The Matchup: The New Jersey Devils (14-4-0) @ the Philadelphia Flyers (10-5-1). This is the second meeting of the season.

The Last Devils Game: The Capitals got up quickly on the Devils 2-0 (again) and then let NJ score 5 unanswered goals.

The Last Flyers Game: Flyers tried to mount a 3rd period come back but came up short against the Sabres and lost 3-2.

The Last Devils / Flyers Game: Opening night at the Rock and the night belonged to Ray Emery.The Flyers routed the Devils in their building 5-2 and had NJ fans feeling a little uneasy about their team.

Tonights Matchup: Keep at it. The Devils have put together an impressive win streak, both on the road and just in general but the wins haven't been easy wins. The Flyers are a tough team and Philadelphia is a tough place to play. The Devils can't keep letting teams get a decent lead in the first period and expect that they will overcome that deficit every time.

The Flyers are honoring Dave "The Hammer" Schultz before the game so emotions will be a little high to start for the Flyers. Schultz was one of the best enforcers to play the game and hopefully his presence in the building won't influence the Flyers play tonight but just in case, NJ needs to be ready.

I would assume tonight's lines would be the same as they were on Saturday but I would expect Lemaire to mix them around a bit during the game as the 4th line doesn't pose too much of a threat as Clarkson can't do it all himself. Keep an eye on Left Wing Lock for goalie confirmations but honestly believe it should be Broduer vs Emery. The Flyers  average 16.9/PIM's a game so if the Devils are going to win this game, they have to cash in on the chances given to them on the PP.

The Devils have a chance to tie the record for consecutive road wins to begin the season. If the Devils do tie that record, it would be a significant feat considering the quality of opponents played on the road during these 10 games

NJ heads back on the road tonight and puts their 8 straight road victories to start the season on the line tonight. Once again the Devils find themselves in Pittsburgh to take on the defending champs. The last time we made a trip to Pittsburgh, the Devils put on quite a show for us.

The Matchup:  The New Jersey Devils (12-4-0) @ the Pittsburgh Penguins (12-6-0). This is the second meeting of the season and the second time the game is being played in Pittsburgh, The Devils and Penguins are tied atop of the Atlantic Division with 24 pts and trail the Conference leading Capitals by 2 pts.

The Last Devils Game: The Devils won their sixth straight last night easily defeating a struggling Anaheim Ducks squad. Jamie got a nice tip-in, Clarkson dragged one home and Parise capped it off with his first ever shorthanded goal that was a thing of beauty. ( I know, do to technical circumstances, there was no review of last night's game..)

The Last Penguins Game: After getting shut out 5-0 by the Sharks, it would seem a Bruins team that doesn't score much would have been just what Mario ordered but the Bruins shut the Pens out 3-0. Pens lost Brooks Orpik to injury during that game.

The Last Devils / Penguins Game: The Devils ended the Penguins 9 game winning streak by the score of 4-1. It was probably the best game of the season for the Devils up to that point and the Ottawa win might be the only that tops it so far this season. The Devils did get a lucky bounce to start the scoring.

Tonights Matchup: Keep it going. Whatever mind set they are in right now is working. I am sure the Penguins are looking to put a stop to their current scoreless skid so I do expect them to throw everything at the Devils to begin the game. Injuries are still an issue for NJ but let the Devils remember all the little things they've been doing the last 6 games and these injuries are easy to overcome. Marty loves playing in the igloo which is a good thing for us.I expect Rolston and Elias to be in the lineup tonight and think that maybe Corrente will be taking Murphy's spot on D tonight.

Let's just remember, these are the defending Stanley Cup champs coming off back to back shutouts....Think this says it best...

For thoughts on the other side of the puck, head over to The Pens Blog for their thoughts. His blog is well worth your time and effort.

Who didn't love the first Mighty Ducks movie? I regularly use the quote "Quack Quack Quack Mr. Ducksworth, Quack Quack Quack." In fact, the Devils pulled a play from the movie a few games back and used the Flying V to score a powerplay goal (ok, so it wasn't from the movie but that was used in the movie). Wonder what ever happened to that Adam Banks kid, he was such a playmaker!! Anyway, lets get to it..

The Matchup: The New Jersey Devils (11-4-0) vs. the Anaheim Ducks (6-7-2). This is the first and only meeting of the season.

New Jersey's Last Game: Probably the most impressive road victory this season. Down 2-0 to the Senators, the Devils scored three (count em..3!!) power play goals to stretch their road record to 8-0. I thought the Devils regrouped very well after getting down early and really put the foot down on the Sens throat.

Anaheim's Last Game: Knocked off the Coyotes 4-3 but allowed the Coyotes to score 3 goals in an 8 minute span in the third period.

Tonight's Matchup: Unfortunately, this won't be a Rob vs Scott game or a Rob vs his old team game because Rob Niedermayer is still out with an injury. Matt Correntte has been recalled from Lowell so it should be interesting to see where he fits into the picture. Elias who missed the Sens game (just because Jaques didn't want him playing back to back games right away) will be in the lineup tonight against the Ducks.

The Devils need to just continuing doing the things they've been doing lately. They are coming off 5 straight victories including 2 straight wins at home. This is an important game for the Ducks so I am sure they will be ready. The Ducks are the league's 3rd worst PK team and the Devils PP has been on fire as of late so hopefully the Devils will get some PP chances tonight and continue building confidence on their PP.

Since this is the only meeting with the Ducks this season, this is the only time I get to share my favorite goal against the Ducks. It was back in 2003, Game 7 with only a few minutes to go, the Devils were already up 2-0 but Jeff Friesen sealed the game, the victory and the cup with a quick shot (his 2nd goal of the game) that beat Jiggy. Friesen wasn't a major contributor during the 2003 season but he was Mr. Clutch when it came to the post-season.

The Matchup: New Jersey Devils (9-4-0) vs New York Islanders(5-5-5). This is the first meeting of the season. The Devils won the series matchup last season 4-2 and outshot the Islanders by a large margin of 226-177.

Last Devils Game: After what I thought was a slow first two periods by both teams, the Devils, specifically Niklas Bergfors, kicked it into high gear and scored 2 PPG's and held off the Ovechkin-less Washington Capitals 3-2 for only their 2nd home victory this season. Marty looked pretty good against Washington.

Last Islanders Game: The Sabres outworked about outplayed the Islanders and shutout the Islanders 3-0 ending the nice run that the Islanders were putting together. Face-offs were key in this game, an area I thought the Islanders were doing well in this season.

Tonight's Matchup: Let's start with who is in. Does the name Patrick Elias sound familiar? Yup, that's right, good ol' #26 makes his season debut tonight. Marty sits in favor of Yann Denis facing his old team and the first game of a back to back weekend (Devils travel to Ottawa tomorrow). Rob Niedermayer will miss this weekends game due to an "Upper Body Injury" suffered Wednesday night.

Who's Hot: Niklas Bergfors is coming off his first multi-point game and Travis Zajac has 13 points over the last 12 games. With 43 shots in 13 games, Bergfors is second among rookies to John Tavares (48 shots), who has played two more games. Speaking of Tavares, he is having an extremely productive rookie campaign, as is expected, scoring 5 goals and 11 points in 14 games for the Islanders. He did, however, see his four-game point-scoring streak (2 goals, 2 assists) come to an end on Wednesday in a 3-0 loss to the Sabres.

A few key injuries on the Devils roster has me a little worried that Tavares mught get the time he needs out there to be a thorn in the side of the Devils. Hopefully, Denis understands the Islanders methodology and can shut them down. Should be an interesting game.

For some insight to the Islanders view of this game, head over to our friends at the Islanders Hockey Blog

The Matchup: New Jersey Devils (8-4-0) vs Washington Capitals (8-2-4). This is the second meeting this season between the two teams. Washington sits in 1st in the SouthEast division, 6pts ahead of Tampa Bay and the Devils sit in 3rd place in the Atlantic Division, 3 points behind the New York Rangers.

Last Devils Game: They pretty much out-did everything the Tampa Bay Lightning did but couldn't find a way to put up more goals on them. It took a shootout and a David Clarkson backhand in the shootout to grab the win on the road.

Last Capitals Game: Columbus knocked off the Capitals 5-4 in OT but that wasn't the bad news. The Capitals lost Alexander Ovechkin to an injury and is slated as "week-to-week."

Last Devils / Capitals Game: This game, that took place in Washington saw the Capitals get out to an early 2-0 lead in the first before watching the Devils storm back and eventually get goals from Jamie Langenbrunner and Zach Parise in the shootout to seal their third straight road victory.

Tonight's Matchup: Lets begin with who's in and who's out. As mentioned above, Ovechkin will not be in the lineup for tonight's game. Patrik Elias, who began skating with the team this week will not get the green light for tonight's game and Matt Halischuk has been recalled from Lowell for tonight's game which makes it seem that Andrew Peters will once again take his familiar seat above the press box.

The Devils need to approach this game as if it were a road game. NJ is perfect on the road and awful at home. I don't know why and I don't think NJ knows why they can't seem to win games at home but whatever it is they do away from The Rock, they need to do that tonight.

I would imagine that the Capitals will want to come out firing on all cylinders tonight. They need to make up for no AO, they are coming off an OT loss against the Blue Jackets at home and their defense is giving up 30+ shots a game. This is a team that's supposed to have a very good season and contend for the cup but the few games I watched of them this season, I felt at little less than ethusiastic about them.

The great thing about games on back to back nights is that when you don't play well the first night, you can quickly put that behind you instead of dwelling on it for a few days. The Devils take their show back on the road, which is a perfect 5-0 so far this season.

The Matchup - New Jersey Devils (6-4-0) vs Boston Bruins (5-4-1). This is the first meeting of the season. The two teams were 2-2 against each other last season.

Last Devils Game - They were outplayed last night by the Buffalo Sabres and lost by a score of 4-1. Martin Brodeur stopped 23 of 27 shots he faced and the Devils were able to get 32 shots on net after getting off to a slow start. The Devils dropped to 1-4 at home this season.

Last Bruins Game - The Bruins took on the Ottawa Sentaors on Saturday night (nice to see NJ isn't the only team with multiple days off).  They were down 3-1 until the final 1:28 of the third period when the Bruins got things going their way by scoring 2 quick goals and ended up winning in a shootout.

Game Thoughts - Marty Brodeur sits tonight which means we get our first glimpse of Yann Danis in the regular season. What we saw of him in the preseason was something to like so lets hope 10 games of sitting on the bench hasn't made him rusty. Andrew Peters will get to play tonight while Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond (always a mouthful...that's what she said!!), who played in last nights game, gets to sit this one out. Even though the Devils defense didn't have the best night last night, Lemaire is sticking with the same 6 guys and the same pairings as last night, which means Cory Murphy gets to sit this one out again.

The Bruins have been on a tear lately when it comes to the penalty kill but special teams isn't NJ's strong suit. The Bruins have a couple of key injuries in Milan Lucic and Marc Savard but we have to remember big man Zdeno Chara is back on the blue just waiting to rip one of his slapshots past Denis. If the Devils are going to win tonight, they need to move their feet the entire game, cycle the puck and get some traffic in front of Thomas (are you listening David Clarkson??) and put 100% effort in 100% of the time.

Tonight's Enemy Blog - Something's Bruin, go visit him for thoughts from the Bruins side to this game although he's talking about a style we played more than a decade ago. Seriously, he's a good guy so go give him some hits.