In an effort  to keep things fresh around here, I think a little change to our previews is in order!!

After back to back games against two of the top 4 teams in our conference and having come away with from those games with 0 points and a bruised ego, I certainly welcome that the Buffalo Sabres are coming into town to close out our schedule prior to the All-Star Break.

The Devils are coming off 2 straight losses and are 5-4-1 over their last 10 games. By comparison,  the Devils have been doing much better than the Sabres have been. Buffalo has dropped their last 5 games and have a 2-7-1 record over their last 10. To add insult to injury, they’ve lost their last 12 games on the road and currently own the worst record in the Eastern Conference (1 point behind the Islanders and Lightning).

The most important thing for the Devils to do tonight (or rather not do) is take the Sabres for granted. Yes, they are sitting in the basement but that doesn’t mean they can’t find a way to beat us, especially if we give them the right opportunities. The Sabres aren’t a great team when playing 5 on 5 hockey but they are tied for 14^th when it comes to scoring on the power play. Combine that with the fact that our Penalty Kill has been horrible in recent games, staying out of the box is a must.

Word on the street is that Marty will get the start again tonight (his 5^th in a row), which isn’t a terrible idea considering he’ll get close to a week off as the Devils won’t return to the ice until next Monday due to the All-Star break. There is also word that Peter Harrold will play right wing tonight alongside Eric Boulton and Ryan Carter. Oh, did we forget to mention Harrold is a defenseman? Wait, WHAT!!?? Not a bad idea as this gives NJ 7 defenseman on the bench.

I’m certainly looking for something more from this team. Yes, they are in a position to make the playoffs but the way they’ve been playing against the elite teams in our conference this season, going 5 games in the first round isn’t very likely. If Deboer believes the Devils belong with the elite, than start showing it. An elite team would bury the Sabres tonight.

Tonight marks the 3^rd of 4 meetings this season between these two teams and the Devils have won both of the prior meetings. Hopefully we make it 3 out of 3 by the end of the 3^rd period.  It would be nice to go into the All-Star break having snapped our 2 game losing streak.

Here is the projected lineup for the Devils tonight:
 
Zach Parise - Adam Henrique - Ilya Kovalchuk
Petr Sykora - Patrik Elias - Dainius Zubrus
Alexei Ponikarovsky - Jacob Josefson - David Clarkson
Eric Boulton - Ryan Carter - Peter Harrold
 
Bryce Salvador - Mark Fayne
Matt Taormina - Adam Larsson
Anton Volchenkov - Kurtis Foster
 
Martin Brodeur 

And finally, in an effort to get you pumped up for tonight’s game, who remembers when the Devils and Sabres met in the 1994 playoffs?

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The Last 10 Games:  New Jersey is 7-2-1 and Boston is 6-4-0

Season Series: This will be the 3^rd of 4 meetings this season. Boston has won both previous meetings.

Know Your Enemy: Days of Yorr

What We Think of the Bruins:  While they aren’t #1 overall or even #1 in the conference, to me, they are the best team in the league.

The Big Story: We saw Boston just 2 weeks ago and the Devils went into that game playing decent hockey. By the end of that night the Bruins had put some serious doubt in our minds about the Devils. They took it to us for the better part of 60 minutes and really showed there was a serious gap between the two teams. So the question is, what’s changed? The Devils are once again playing decent hockey going into a matchup against the Bruins. Can we compete? Can we score goals? More importantly, can we stop Boston from scoring goals? It’s great to beat teams like Winnipeg and Edmonton but Boston starts a string of games against upper tier teams (Philly and the Rangers within the next week). We will certainly get an idea of exactly how good we are over the next week.

What I expect Tonight: I hope NJ is expecting the same team that they played 2 weeks ago. The one bad thing about the Bruins seems to be consistency. I said it in my preview last time that Boston has the ability to pump in 6 or 7 goals a night. They seem to be a team that at times can score at will one night and have the well dry up the other night. The Bruins are coming off a bad loss where Claude Julien sort of called out the Bruins play.

“Our guys are not competing as hard as they should, and because of that we're just an ordinary hockey club right now."”

So I would hope the Devils are expecting a team out to prove to that they are more than just an ordinary hockey team, the one that can pump in 6 or 7 goals in a 60 minute span.

The Devils appear to be getting Adam Henrique back tonight which is good news but the Bruins appear to be getting Brad Marchand and Rich Peverley back tonight, which isn’t good news for us.

If the Devils are going to find success tonight, it’s going to need to come from Elias and Kovalchuk. Elias leads NJ with 44 points while Kovalchuk is right behind him with 40 points. However, Kovalchuk hasn’t made much noise against Boston in a long time (one goal on 21 shots and a minus-7 rating in his last eight games versus Boston) and Elias hasn’t done any better (one goal, one assist and a minus-9 rating in his last 11 matchups with the Bruins). Both have been huge reasons why the Devils are surging at the moment and MUST show up tonight.

The one thing I don't want to see tonight are turnovers. We've been a little careless with the puck recently and while it hasn't really hurt us, constantly turning the puck over to a team like the Bruins will end up hurting.

ProbableLines:

Zach Parise - Adam Henrique - Ilya Kovalchuk
Petr Sykora - Patrik Elias - Dainius Zubrus
Steven Zalewski - Jacob Josefson - David Clarkson
Ryan Carter - Brad Mills - Cam Janssen

Henrik Tallinder - Mark Fayne
Bryce Salvador - Adam Larsson
Anton Volchenkov - Kurtis Foster

Martin Brodeur
Johan Hedberg

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The Last 10 Games: Winnipeg 5-5-0, New Jersey 6-3-1.

Season Series: This will final meeting between these two teams in the regular season. So far, NJ leads the season series 2-1. These two just met on Saturday night with the Devils winning 2-1 in Winnipeg.

What We Think of the Jets:  These are the types of teams I don’t like playing. Right now, the Jets need to make some noise because they are currently on the outside looking in. Why not start now? Especially against the Devils team that seems to be dealing with injuries.

What I Am Looking For Tonight: Keep rolling!! Besides that Calgary game which really was only the first period, the Devils had a good road trip. I thought the defense did a fantastic job on Saturday night in Winnipeg and hope to see a repeat performance tonight. In fact, they’ve been playing well the last few games. Can you believe that the Devils, who completed a 3-1 road trip, gave up only 3 goals in those 3 victories? With a nice long home stand coming up, the Devils could make some noise in the Eastern Conference standings, where they currently sit in 6^th place, 4 points behind Ottawa.

The Devils are dealing with injuries so I have to look to the veteran guys to pick up the slack for the injured.

The Devils have recalled Jacob Josefson and Brad Mills from Albany because Adam Henrique will miss his second game in a row with a pulled groin and Travis Zajac is still having Achilles issues and can’t skate. Sykora, who missed practice on Monday is expected to play.

Possible Lines:

Parise-Zubrus-Kovalchuk
Sykora-Elias-Clarkson
Carter-Josefson-Tedenby
Boulton-Zalewski-Mills 

Tallinder-Fayne
Salvador-Larrson
Volchenkov-Foster

Brodeur

And Finally…. Really Isaiah? REALLY??? I thought the meaning was pretty self-explanatory, I mean, just look at the picture next to the title….

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The Last 10 Games: New Jersey 6-3-1; Florida 4-3-3.

Season Series: This will be the third meeting between the two teams this season. Florida won the first game on Nov 21, when they climbed back from a 3-0 deficit to win 4-3 in regulation. I’m sure we all remember that gem!! NJ then beat Florida 3-2 on Dec 13^th but needed a shutout to do it.

Know Your Enemy:  http://miamiherald.typepad.com/flapanthers/

What We Think of the Panthers:  I thought maybe the panthers would have dropped down a little in the standings by the time January rolled around but the truth is, they are a good team and continue to play decently. They’d better watch out though, looks like Washington is started to storm up the standings.

What I Am Looking For Tonight: Any sign of life because god only knows this team flat lined the other night against the Bruins. Here’s the issue that the Devils face. They were up 2-0 on Ottawa, lost that lead in the third and lost the game in OT. The Bruins proved how much better they are than us by just destroying us. If the Devils don’t win tonight, that means they’ve dropped 3 in a row going into Pittsburgh tomorrow night. Not a great way to go into Pittsburgh.

Describe the Panthers top line in one word. Lethal!! So the Devils will need to stop them.

And finally…. This is a screen shot from the Devils / Panthers game on Dec 13^th… Obviously she didn't like the call. Stay classy Panthers fans, stay classy!!

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The Last 10 Games: New Jersey 7-2-1; Ottawa 7-3-0.

Season Series: This is the 2^nd of 4 meetings this season. The first was a game in Boston and a back and forth game that the Bruins eventually won 4-3 off the stick of Benoit Pouliot with just over 3 minutes remaining in the game.

Know Your Enemy: http://daysofyorr.com/

What We Think of the Bruins:  I would use the words physical, talented and downright scary to describe the Bruins. Whenever we play the Bruins, I just hope this isn’t the night that the Bruins decided to put 6 or 7 pucks in the back of the net. They certainly have that ability. Not only can they score lots of goals, they’ll have no qualms about beating the living crap out of you while doing so.

What I Am Looking For Tonight: It has to be said, the Devils need to stop this horseshit when up a man. I’m so tired of the Devils giving up shorthanded goals. If you give them up when you’re up 5-1, so be it but we don’t, we give them up at the most crucial times. So, tonight’s number one focus, NO SHORTIES!!!

It’s the Bruins so I am looking for the Devils to come out with an edge tonight. They’ll have to. Boston is a physical team and if the Devils don’t match them physically, it will be a long night for NJ. Dallas gave Boston a severe beating in their last game so I’m sure the Bruins have something to prove. I’ve always wondered if winning in NJ is something special for Claude Julien.

NJ gave up a 2-0 lead the other night and lost the game in OT 3-2. I was more annoyed they blew a 2-0 lead than actually losing the game 3-2 in OT. If they get a lead tonight, please for the love of god hang on to it.

I would expect Boston to come out with fire in their eyes. I’m sure they don’t like sitting behind the Rangers for the Conference lead.

Injury Report: New Jersey defenseman Anton Volchenkov could return to the lineup after missing Monday's game against his former team with a lower-body injury. Forward Jacob Josefson is skating with the team again and getting closer to returning from a broken collarbone. Defenseman Andy Greene is still recovering from a broken toe. Travis Zajac has some soreness in his Achilles and will be sitting tonight.

Projected Lines
Zach Parise - Adam Henrique - Ilya Kovalchuk
Petr Sykora- Patrik Elias - Dainius Zubrus
Mattias Tedenby - Ryan Carter - David Clarkson
Eric Boulton - Tim Sestito - Cam Janssen

Henrik Tallinder - Mark Fayne
Bryce Salvador - Adam Larsson
Matt Taormina - Kurtis Foster

Martin Brodeur will make his fourth straight start (Uh…that’s not good!!)

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The Last 10 Games: New Jersey 7-3-0; Ottawa 6-3-1.

Season Series: New Jersey leads the season series 1-0 (4 game total) after Adam Henrique scored the game winner in a shootout in NJ on Dec 8^th.

Know Your Enemy: http://www.the6thsens.com/

 What We Think of the Senators:  I have to think the Ottawa and NJ are two teams that are very evenly matched and these two teams will probably battle until the end of the season. As always, Alfredsson  always makes me nervous when he laces them up against us.

What I Am Looking For Tonight:  Keep it rolling. The Devils ended 2011 with two very good wins and a full effort in those wins. Don’t change too much, keep playing disciplined hockey and keep firing the puck.   

Final Thoughts: We are approaching the halfway point of the season and the Devils have put themselves in a good position so far. I never expected to win the division and I did expect some sloppy play and headaches this season but I also expected them to battle it out for the 8^th spot. Right now NJ sits in the 6^th spot and are only 3 points behind Pittsburgh. If the Devils can do what they did last year in January, February and March, the spring might be a good one for us!!

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The Last 10 Games: New Jersey is 7-3-0 and Pitssburgh is 5-5-0.

Season Series: This is the second meeting between the two teams this season. The last meeting was on October 22nd in Pittsburgh where the Devils were handed a 4-1 loss.

Know Your Enemy: http://www.thepensblog.com/

What We Think of the Penguins: One of the most talented teams in the league. There are so many weapons offensively that even without Sydney Crosby, they could easily blow this game open and make the Devils end 2011 on a bad note.

What I Am Looking For Tonight: The Devils put in a full 60 minute effort the other night and they skated away with the win in regulation. It was certainly one of their better efforts this season and they are going to need to repeat that kind of performance if they want to beat Pittsburgh. There is a huge difference between the Sabres and the Penguins and the Devils have to be prepared for that. I thought DeBoer did an excellent job with his lines the other night and he’s going to have to do an even better job against Pittsburgh.

Let’s redeem ourselves for a bad showing in Pittsburgh back in October and end 2011 on a high note.

Final Thoughts: I got a lot of heat the other day after I blasted Kovalchuk  for his performance against the Hurricanes. I can’t and won’t apologize for what I wrote or how I feel about the guy.. The only thing I will admit to is that his errant pass could have happened to anyone and it takes a stroke of bad luck to send it 200 feet into your own net. However, for those who say I am too hard on him, let me have you sit on this thought. Believe it or not, the Devils are 1 of 2 teams in the NHL that have 7 players with 10+ goals so far this season. With that kind of balanced scoring, is a guy like Kovalchuk and  his $6.667 million cap hit really necessary?  What’s he adding? Yes, he’s one of those 7 but he’s certainly not doing what Giroux, Stamkos or Kessel are doing for their teams although his paycheck suggests he should be. Just imagine this team if he were.

Don't forget to stay for the fireworks after the game. We wish all our readers a very happy and healthy 2012. 

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The Last 10 Games: New Jersey is 7-3-0 and Buffalo is 4-4-2.

Season Series:  This is the second meeting between the two teams this season. The last meeting was on Nov 16 in Buffalo where the Devils skated away with a 5-3 victory.

Know Your Enemy: http://www.topshelfblog.com/

What We Think of the Sabres: The Sabres are pretty much where I thought they would be this season. At the beginning of the season I pictured a dog fight for the 7^th and 8^th spots in the East between NJ, Buffalo, Carolina and Toronto. I was right about NJ and Buffalo but way off on the other two. Buffalo has been struggling recently but they’ve had injuries and any time you have a Ryan Miller in your net, a winning streak isn’t far away.

Big Story Lines Tonight: The Sabres beat the Caps the other night to snap a 3 game losing streak and now they get Brad Boyes and Jochen Hecht back in their lineup tonight. The Devils lost to the ‘Canes 4-2 the other night and looked pretty bad doing so. Adam Larsson will return to the lineup tonight (non-injury) and Henrik Tallinder is hoping to get back to it tonight.

What I Am Looking For Tonight: I’ll call it a Christmas hangover but hopefully we see a much better effort tonight than we did on Monday night. We’ve been kicking and screaming about the Devils not showing up for the third period but the other night in Carolina, they showed up in the third, they just didn’t show up in the second. Let’s play a full 60 minute (or usually in our case 65 minutes) and get the win. We have a tough game on Saturday at home against the Penguins so it would be nice to go into that one and not be on a 2 game slide.

I’m looking for Kovalchuk to redeem himself tonight. He had an awful game Monday, seemed to know that in his post-game comments and hopefully goes out there like a man on a mission tonight. I was a little hard on him yesterday and it was more frustration than anything else but I do expect a lot from him.

I’m also looking for more from our captain. He had an awesome game in Dallas but since then has been quiet. It is time to pick it up again and start leading this team

Marty is in net tonight so hopefully the good Marty shows up. Sadly, we just never know which Marty we are going to get.

Projected Lines:

Zach Parise-Adam Henrique-Ilya Kovalchuk
Petr Sykora-Patrik Elias-Dainius Zubrus
Mattias Tedenby-Travis Zajac-David Clarkson
Eric Boulton-Ryan Carter-Cam Janssen.

Bryce Salvador-Adam Larsson
Matt Taormina-Mark Fayne
Anton Volchenkov-Kurtis Foster

Martin Brodeur, Johan Hedberg.

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The Last 10 Games: New Jersey is 7-3-0 and Carolina is 3-5-2.

Season Series:  This is the third time they meet this season, the two teams only play each other four times in the regular season. The Devils won both of the games played in NJ between these two teams this season.

Know Your Enemy: Shutdown Line

What We Think of the Hurricanes: Not a great team and honestly, hard to think of them as a great team when the hired John MacLean to be their assistant coach and well, we know what he did to our team last season. However, both meetings against Carolina this season have come down to the wire so while not a great team, an evenly matched team.

What I Am Looking For Tonight: A full 60 minutes. The other night against Washington, the Devils were amazing for 40 minutes and then that last 20 the wheels completely fell off. Same thing happened against the Rangers, thought NJ played well the first two periods but just blew it in the 3rd. Should be an interesting 3rd tonight because if I am not mistaken, Carolina can't seem to hold a 3rd period lead either. Hopefully there is no Christmas hangover tonight. I know I am suffering from it!!

Tonight, the Devils will be without defenseman Tallinder and Larsson, who if flying back from Sweden at the moment.

This is the final road game for 2011 and lets hope it ends on a good note. The Rangers game left a bad taste in my mouth and the Caps game, well it didn't leave me feeling to good about our abilities to hold on to a lead so hopefully this game in Carolina will make me feel a little better.

Projected Lines:

Parise-Henrique-Kovakchuk
Sykora-Elias-Zubrus
Tedenby-Zajac-Clarkson
Boulton-Carter-Janssen

Salvador-Fayne
Volchenkov-Foster
Urbom-Taormina

Johan Hedberg
Martin Brodeur

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The Last 10 Games New Jersey is 6-4-0 and New York is 6-3-1.

Season Series:  This is the first time we get to see our hated rival this season.

Know Your Enemy: http://www.nyrangersblog.com/

What We Think of the Rangers: There is nothing to like. We hate them, it’s no secret we hate them but the one thing we hate more than the Rangers is losing to the Rangers.


What I Am Looking For Tonight: A win, plain and simple. The Devils are on a tear lately having scored 11 goals in their last 2 games. They need to just keep continuing whatever it is that they are doing that is creating so many goals.

The defense has to be tight tonight because we need to protect Marty. It’s no secret that the Prudential Center will be half full of Ranger fans so if Marty has a game where he gets beat early and beat often, the arena will be rocking with the Marty chant.

Elias is out of the game tonight which leaves a decent sized hole in our lineup. Parise, Henrique and Kovy, we are looking to you to fill the void.

Projected Lines:

Zach Parise - Adam Henrique - Ilya Kovalchuk
Petr Sykora - Travis Zajac - Dainius Zubrus
Mattias Tedenby - Ryan Carter - David Clarkson
Eric Boulton - Tim Sestito - Cam Janssen

Matt Taormina - Mark Fayne
Anton Volchenkov - Kurtis Foster
Bryce Salvador - Adam Larsson

Martin Brodeur