The New Jersey Devils dropped their seventh consecutive contest on Sunday evening by a score of 3-2. The Devils, though, came away with a point after forcing a shoot-out. The Buffalo Sabres narrowly defeated Jersey's Team after a hard-fought, physical battle.

Early on, turnovers cost the Devils--big time. Patrick Kaleta netted an early goal for Buffalo to give his team a 1-0 lead. Andy Greene turned the puck over in the defensive zone on a blind outlet pass; Jochen Hecht threw a lazy shot on goal that was deflected home by Kaleta. Greene appeared to be frustrated after the play, but I guarantee you that he was not nearly as frustrated as any Devils fan in the country (myself included).

New Jersey kicked it into full gear after allowing the first goal. At one point, the Devils were successful in pinning the Sabres deep in their own zone for a solid two-plus minutes. As a result of the sustained pressure, the Devils were able to draw a cross-checking penalty out of Kevin Porter at 18:15 of the first period. Steve Sullivan tied the game for Jersey in a matter of seconds with his first goal as a Devil since 1997. Sullivan's goal was assisted by Steve Bernier and sent the Devils into the locker room with a boost of confidence and momentum.

Photo by Gary Wiepert.

The Devils surrendered some of that momentum in the second period when Steve Ott netted the go-ahead goal for the Sabres. Ott's eighth tally of the season came 13:44 into the middle frame; the goal, as fans have become accustomed to, was a result of a complete defensive breakdown. Ott stood wide open in front of Martin Brodeur and fired it home. Anton Volchenkov can be seen on the replay "puck watching" from the top of the face-off circle. I would honestly like to know what is going through the heads of the defensemen as these plays are happening...

The one defenseman who had something to contribute tonight was Mark Fayne. Fayne scored his first goal of the season--and first in over a year--to tie the game at two just 5:46 into the final frame. Fayne's goal came while the Devils were on a penalty kill and marked the 10th short-handed goal for New Jersey on the season. Dainius Zubrus made a nifty play to send the puck to a streaking Fayne in front of the net. Fayne's wrister beat Ryan Miller on his blocker side and restored the momentum back to the Jersey side.

After a quiet remainder of the period, the Devils and Sabres headed into overtime tied at two. New Jersey out-shot Buffalo by a count of 37-22 in regulation but could not come away with anything to show for it. Both squads failed to score in the overtime period.

Tyler Ennis shot first for the Sabres in the shoot-out and lost control of the puck. Steve Sullivan was stopped by Miller on the Devils' first attempt. Nathan Gerbe rifled one past Martin Brodeur to start the second round; Patrik Elias was stopped (and by stopped, I mean TRIPPED) by Ryan Miller in his attempt. Steve Ott and Travis Zajac were unable to connect on their attempts, which sealed the deal for Buffalo.

Final Thoughts

• I have none. My brain has completely fried over the last seven games. What more do I need to say?
• Missed opportunities. Turn-overs. Horrible officiating. I am not sure what else I can come up with.
• And for those of you who didn't see the shoot-out, I suggest you find a replay of the shoot-out. When someone has an explanation as to why it was legal for Miller to trip Elias, I would This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

The Devils are back in action ("action") on Wednesday night against the Boston Bruins. Puck drop is set for 7:30 PM. It's not over until the fat lady sings, but she is definitely warming up those vocal chords.

For all of your latest Devils news, analysis, and reaction, follow us on twitter and "like" us on facebook. Be sure to follow our staff writers (Scott, Raj, Joey, and Mike) on twitter, as well. Until next time, Devils Army, sleep tight and keep the faith.

The New Jersey Devils needed this game. They knew that if they could beat the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight, then there would be a boost in morale to do even better in the remaining regular season games. Unfortunately, they did not show up for the majority of the match and that cost them another game.

Right from the start of the game, the physical tone was set. I’ll give props to Devils for playing their hearts out. Regardless of the amount of effort the Devils showed in the first period, they found no puck luck and actually conceded a goal to Toronto (just 4 minutes into the game). A shot by ex-Devil Mark Fraser was redirected in by Leafs forward Leo Komarov. Despite the goal, the Devils never gave up and kept getting great chances. The problem? Not a single one beat James Reimer. The best chance for New Jersey came during a 5-on-3 power play, but they failed to set up any great chances. That mediocre power play really told me that (at least through one period of play) the Devils did not come to play when they knew they should have.

The second period wasn’t very different from the first. The Devils’ chances weren’t as high as they were in the first but those second period chances, in my opinion, were much stronger. At times, play got really chippy, especially between David Clarkson and Dion Phaneuf. With the exception of more power play failures, nothing really changed for the Devils. The score was still 1-0 as the teams skated off. Devils fans knew that the final 20 minutes could set the tone for the entire season. So I really hoped that they would try something different.

I was actually really impressed by what the Devils did in the third period. They had a plethora of opportunities that could have all been goals. Reimer was playing incredible and was carrying his team to another shutout. With around 12 minutes left, Leafs centerman Tyler Bozak got a breakaway and took full advantage of it. His shot went off of Marty Brodeur’s blocker but Marty never saw it in time to save it. Peter Harrold did but his hand-eye coordination failed to save the puck from going in. Down 2-0 even after all that hard work, I expected the Devils to give up. I know in sports, giving up is never an option but based on everything that New Jersey did, I wouldn’t be surprised they did. Instead, they kept on trying. Finally, the Devils’ endeavors paid off. Clarkson finally put the Devils on the board by beating Reimer 5-hole. Leafs forward Nazem Kadri threw his stick in front of Clarkson while diving but nonetheless, Clarkson stayed with the play and cut the lead in half. Sadly, that would be it. The Devils got a power play with under 2 minutes left (with Marty pulled, it’s a 6-on-4), but Reimer and Toronto’s defense held their ground. New Jersey fell 2-1 in front of the sellout home crowd at Prudential Center, leaving a majority of those fans and Devils fans everywhere else in sheer depression.

So what does this all mean? Well, the New Jersey Devils have now lost six straight games. With the New York Rangers and New York Islanders both winning in their games, they both have 42 points. So the Devils’ 39 points still keep them in 9^th. But wait, the Washington Capitals won too? Indeed, so with their win, the Caps have 40 points and now, the Devils sit in 10^th place in complete disarray. This isn’t going anywhere if they keep this up. I honestly feel that they needed to win tonight to have a shot at great a great seed before the playoffs started. With this loss, I think they will have to fight for 8^th. That will require them going at least 6-2-2 in their final 10 games. It starts tomorrow in Buffalo. That game worries me because the Sabres have been getting really hot lately. I’m panicking slightly but I will literally lose my mind if the Devils do not win tomorrow. They absolutely have NO CHOICE but to win. May the best of luck be with coach DeBoer and the New Jersey Devils.

Puck drop is set for 7:30. Be sure to follow me, Scott, Joey, and Mike on twitter for their latest reaction and analysis to everything New Jersey Devils.

How can you describe this game in one adjective? Frustrating? Abominable? Bleak? Either way, as a Devils fan, this game was an opportunity for the Devils to fight back in an attempt to move up higher in the Eastern Conference. Before the game, they were in 8^th place. Because of the Islanders taking a point in Washington and the Devils coming up empty in Boston, the New Jersey is now 9^th. If the playoffs started today, the Devils would not qualify for a chance to defend their Eastern Conference title.

I know this sounds like something a sore loser would say but honestly, the Devils deserved to win this game, not the Bruins. Almost all the chances in tonight’s game went to New Jersey, and they showed that with a strong first period. Adam Henrique, Andrei Loktionov, and David Clarkson both had brilliant chances that could have put New Jersey up 3-0 in the first period itself. Thanks to stellar goaltending from Tuuka Rask, the game was kept scoreless and the Bruins survived the Devils’ onslaught of chances.

The second period was almost identical to the first period, except one blemish ruined the entire game. Very early into the period, newly acquired Jaromir Jagr scored his 15^th goal of the season (1^st with Boston). That goal though was nothing but luck. Brad Marchand played a key role, feeding a driving Jagr from the left side (he was skating to the net pretty hard) who put his stick to tip the puck. Instead the puck hit his skate and beat Marty Brodeur. That goal just deflated my mood for the entire night. It didn’t stop the Devils though, as they kept on getting more chances and nearly scored on a few of those chances. Nonetheless, Rask was on his head the entire game and kept the Devils off the score sheet.

I was confident that New Jersey would do something to tie the game. Like the second, they kept on getting more shots on goal. There were a plethora of rebounds as well but I really cannot fathom why the Devils couldn’t find a way to beat Rask. All I can really say is that he was having a great game and the more saves he made, the more energy dropped within the Devils’ morale. Ultimately, even pulling Marty at the end couldn’t help the Devils. I drank my green tea in disgust as the Bruins shut the Devils out 1-0 took the 2 points. I would like to point out that the officiating was a bit weak but that still doesn’t excuse the fact that the Devils should have won this game by a score of 6-1 or some score of that sort.

Is it panic time yet? I would say no. This game definitely does affect the Devils’ mindset for the remaining 11 games. However, there is no more room for games like the one we watched tonight. Steve Sullivan will be coming back to New Jersey and will play on Saturday against the Maple Leafs. Though he is 38, I believe he is going to be a big impact if the Devils turn their losing ways around. I have faith in this team and I know they can get the job done. But it all starts with a strong win at home against Toronto on Saturday. Let’s go Devils!

Puck drop is set for 7:00. Be sure to follow me (Raj – I’m glad to be back on the RWTD crew), Scott, Joey, and Mike on twitter for their latest reaction and analysis to everything New Jersey Devils.

The New Jersey Devils dropped a hard-fought game in a shootout to the Ottawa Senators on Monday night. Jersey's Team showed a lot of character in this game, however, which should be encouraging to Devils fans. Already without Ilya Kovalchuk, the Devils lost Bryce Salvador and Stephen Gionta after the first period to injury. With only sixteen skaters for the second and third period, the Devils battled back from two deficits and did not give up.

The Devils looked sloppy early on and allowed the Senators a lot of pressure time. Chris Phillips got things going early on for the Sens as he knocked in his fifth goal of the season. Phillips' goal came on assists from Mike Lundin and Mika Zibanejad just 2:12 into the game. Coach Peter DeBoer took his timeout shortly thereafter and turned things around; the Devils went on a 7-1 run in shots on goal after the timeout and led in that category, 8-6, after the opening twenty minutes.

New Jersey continued their aggressive play in the second period. Andrei Loktionov had a beautiful chance in front off a rebounded shot but hit the crossbar with the shot. Later in the period, though, Lokti converted on a net-mouth scramble for his sixth goal of the year. Finally, the Devils had been rewarded for all of their hard work.

However, the Senators reclaimed the lead with 16 seconds to play in the middle frame on a goal by Colin Greening. Greening snuck in between Adam Larsson and Andy Greene and scooped up a juicy rebound off a shot by Kyle Turris. Martin Brodeur was angry with himself for leaving such a fat rebound, but this goal was all on the defense.

Yet again, New Jersey showed its resilience in the third period. Marek Zidlicky tallied his fourth goal of the season 6:05 into the final frame and tied the game at two. The Devils held the Sens to just three shots on goal in the third period and picked up a point in the standings on their way to overtime.

Both teams had good opportunities to score in the overtime period. The Senators were unable to cash in on defensive-zone turnovers by Zidlicky and Peter Harrold. Perhaps the best chance of overtime came with just four seconds remaining. Steve Bernier collected a loose puck and moved in 2-on-1 with Adam Henrique. Bernier's shot rebounded off of Bishop's pads and right to Henrique. The puck bounced just a little bit and Adam was unable to get a stick on it; had he been able to shoot the puck, Henrique would have had a wide open net... and the game-winning goal.

Photo by Blair Gables/REUTERS.

In the shootout, Jakob Silfverberg and Patrik Elias were denied on their first attempts. Daniel Alfredsson converted on his chance before Adam Henrique sailed one over the net. Brodeur stopped Kyle Turris; Travis Zajac tied things up for New Jersey. Mika Zibanejad faked out Brodeur and scored on a backhand. Loktionov was stopped by Ben Bishop to seal the deal.

Final Thoughts

• The Devils played an outstanding game given the circumstances. No Kovy. No Gionta/Salvador (after the first period). And they did it in one of the toughest stadiums in the National Hockey League. You have to give a lot of credit to these guys for trying so hard in such a tough situation.
• Adam Henrique, Travis Zajac, and Patrik Elias were out on the ice for a long time in the third period and they got the job done. Props to them. David Clarkson missed a couple of chances in the third period--ones that could have won the game for the Devils--but he was also tired. Give these guys some credit.
• Brodeur did not have his best game since returning from injury, but still only gave up two goals (one on a defensive breakdown). Marty knows what needs to be done in order for this team to win and I have confidence that he will step it up.
• Bryce Salvador and Stephen Gionta have not yet seen a doctor regarding their injuries; they will, however, accompany the team to Florida as they prepare for back-to-back games on Friday and Saturday night. I'm not really sure what's going on with the amount of injuries the Devils are facing. A part of me wants to say, "Suck it up and go play," but I know that cannot always be done. Hopefully, Ponikarovsky and Zubrus will return soon. It would also be nice if Salvador and Gionta's injuries are light enough that they can play on Friday night. Only time will tell.

As Pete DeBoer said tonight, "I was real proud of our effort." I was, too. The Devils will face the Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday night. Puck drop is set for 7:30 PM. It's time to get over this game and focus on the next. Lace up the skates and get out there and fight.

For all of your latest Devils news, reaction, and analysis, be sure to follow us on twitter. You can also "like" us on facebook. Be sure to follow our staff writers (Scott, Joey, and Mike) on twitter, as well.

The New Jersey Devils won their second straight contest on Saturday evening after defeating the Florida Panthers by a score of 2-1. Patrik Elias and David Clarkson netted goals and Martin Brodeur stopped 17 of 18 Florida shots to secure the victory. On the flip side, forward Ilya Kovalchuk left the game in the middle of the third period with an apparent shoulder injury. Needless to say, this is not good news for Devils fans.

The first period was, truthfully, pretty boring. No power plays, no goals, and barely any shots on goal for New Jersey. Florida led the shots on goal category after twenty minutes, 7-2.

Patrik Elias opened the scoring just 1:24 into the second frame. Elias slipped on through Scott Clemmensen's five-hole off a beautiful feed from Travis Zajac. Patty's tenth of the season gave Jersey a 1-0 lead.

David Clarkson tallied his team-leading twelfth goal 11:03 into the middle period, again on an assist from Travis Zajac. Zajac got bumped by a Panthers' defender but was able to slip the puck to Clarky, whose original shot was stopped by Clemmensen. Clarkson didn't give up on the play, found the rebound, and poked it through.

Photo by Tony Kurdzuk/The Star-Ledger.

Florida cut the lead in half with under ten seconds to go in the period off a Brodeur turn-over. Marty left the puck behind the net into the waiting hands of Tomas Fleischmann. Fleischmann was able to find Peter Mueller in front of the open net and Mueller tallied his seventh goal of the season.

The third period proved to be a key point in the game, despite seeing no goals for either team. Ilya Kovalchuk took a tumble 9:07 into the final frame. Kovy lost his edge as he swooped around the net and crashed hard into the boards. He skated off, under his own power, but in obvious pain.

Devils' coach Peter DeBoer commented on the injury after the game, saying, "He’s going to get some testing here and today and tomorrow morning and we’ll know more tomorrow. I know he was seeing the doctors here."

DeBoer added, "Injuries are a part of this. Everybody’s dealing with them. So, I think we have to be prepared for that. I think mentally coming into the season we’re prepared that we’re going to have to lose key people and be able to survive it. So no one’s feeling sorry for yourself and we’ll get through it. He’s, obviously, probably going to be out for at least a short time, so we’ll have to fill that hole."

Tim Sestito also left the game in the third, shortly after Kovalchuk, after he was cross-checked from behind hard into the boards. Sestito was down on the ice for a brief time, but was able to eventually skate off. DeBoer said he will be "fine."

Final Thoughts

• The Devils played another great game tonight, more so in the second and third period. Marty was outstanding again and his play is an encouraging sign.
• If Kovalchuk is going to be out for an extended period of time, I might just curl up into a ball and start crying. Although his numbers are not outstanding this season, his overall presence is a necessity to this team. Hopefully, the doctors have some good news for us tomorrow and Kovalchuk will not be out for too long.

The Devils will face-off against the Ottawa Senators on Monday night. Puck drop is set for 7:00. For all of your latest Devils news, reaction, and analysis, follow us on twitter. You can also like us on facebook. Our staff writers (Scott, Joey, and Mike) can also be found on twitter.

Martin Brodeur is back, baby!

In a virtual must win game, the New Jersey Devils shined and were able to defeat the Carolina Hurricanes 4-1 and avoid the season series sweep by Carolina.

The Devils welcomed back the greatest goaltender, Martin Brodeur, who was returning after a 13 game absence with a pinched nerved in his back.

The Devils were in need of their starting goaltender to be back healthy in the Devils lineup because Johan Hedberg was certainly not getting it done during the past 13 games with Brodeur out. In the recent stretch of games in which Hedberg started the Devils are 3-5-2 in their last ten games. The Devils obviously were a different team and couldn't get anything going.

Brodeur was quick to make his comeback as he made a quick save on Eric Stall. He had to make 10 saves in the first 7 minutes of the opening perion. Stopping them all, he was officially back to work.

Loktionov also made he return to New Jersey after missing the previous game vs. New York.

It gets better. With New Jersey on the powerplay, there was a delayed slashing penalty on Marek Zidlicky. The Hurricanes took a shot on goal which deflected off Brodeur and a Hurricanes player cleared the zone and the puck trickled off the boards and slid into the Hurricanes net. Dan Ellis was heading to the bench because of the delayed penalty. Since Brodeur was the last player to touch the puck, he was credited with the PPG. That was Brodeur's 3rd career goal. Brodeur's goal also gave him more goals than Danny Briere of Philadelphia over the past month.

The first period was dominated by the Carolina Hurricanes. They were able to maintain sustained pressure on the Devils and get a heavy amount of shots on Brodeur. However, New Jersey's defense was just stellar as they rose to the occasion and didn't allow many good chances for Carolina.

The Devils only managed to get 4 shots on goal in the first as their offense continued to struggles to get pucks in the net. 

The Hurricanes put 11 shots on goal, which were all stopped by Brodeur.

Also worth noting that since Dan Ellis was unable to get to the bench, he was credited with the goal allowed on the goal by Martin Brodeur.

The Devils played nearly flawless hockey in the second period as they extended their lead to 3-0 over the Carolina Hurricanes.

Adam Henrique (10th goal of the season) and Peter Harrold (2nd goal of the season) both contributed in the scoring for New Jersey which were scored 46 seconds apart from each other.

Ryan Carter came close to also scoring for New Jersey but his backhand was just wide of the net.

The play of the New Jersey was 100% better than in the first. They played extremely well and outhustled the Carolina Hurricanes. The Devils were able to get back to playing their type of hockey that they love to play and that which made them successful in the first quarter of the season.

The Devils were able to throw 12 shots on Ellis.

Carolina, a miserable 3.

The Devils for the first time in a long time were able to feel comfortable out there skating not just because they had Martin Brodeur back, but also because they had a comfortable lead for once.

In the third, Jeff Skinner was able to sneak a shot passed Martin Brodeur and score on the powerplay and make it a 3-1 game late in the third.

With Eric Stall in the box for tripping, Loktionov rang a shot off the post and in for his 5th goal of the season and wrapped the game up for New Jersey.

Dan Ellis left late in third for Carolina with an apparent hand injury.

Brodeurs in his return from injury was able to score a goal, stopped 22 of 23 shots, and get the win!

Tonight seemed liked a good indication of good things to come for New Jersey going forth. The Devils for the first time this year were on the outside of the playoff picture and now were fighting for a spot. With Martin Brodeur back, they are waiting on Zubrus, Tallinder, and Poni to get back healthy so that they are able to have their full squad back together.

New Jersey's only concerns in my opinion are that the consistency needs to be there more for them to have any chance at a playoff run, let alone making the playoffs. The Devils have not scored much and as a result of it have struggled to put up wins in key games. The goaltending hasn't been 100% as we all saw and that is very concerning. But, granted that it wasn't Martin Brodeur between the pipes, I'm going to let it pass.

The Devils will be back in action Saturday @ 7:00PM to take on the Florida Panthers at the Prudential Center. Until Saturday, enjoy the win and Go Devils!

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The Canadiens are so hot that there young players who are called up from the minors are even producing.

With the Devils attempting to clear the zone, Jarred Tinordi set up Tomas Plekanec with the redirect goal giving the Canadiens the 2-1 lead late in the game.

"We make that play 20 times a game, and sometimes the puck doesn't want to go your way," said Hedberg, who finished with 20 saves. "It came back to them and boom boom, it's in the net. It was one of those games that comes down to a goal like that, and we were weren't fortunate enough to get it."

Colby Armstrong ended his 39 game goal drought by scoring in the first period giving the Canadiens the 1-0 lead.

Peter Harrold scored the New Jersey Devils lone goal on the powerplay in the loss to Montreal. That was Harrold's first goal since December 2, 2010. Ilya Kovalchuk picked up the lone assist on the goal.

Ilya Kovalchuk had an opportunity on the PK to give the Devils the lead but was unable to capitalize on the 2-on-1 which he rang a shot of the pipe.

The Devils effort in the third was nothing less than superb. They got 18 shots on Carey Price and he stood tall and made the saves which included a chest save through traffic stopping Patrick Elias and stoning Travis Zajac and Adam Henrique in the final minute of play.

"It's a tough one to swallow, but their goalie played well and so did ours," Devils forward Ilya Kovalchuk said.

The Devils shot attempts weren't lacking as they were able to get 33 shots on Carey Price. Once again the inability to put the puck into the back of the net came back to bite the Devils.

Lost in all this was Johan Hedberg who had a phenominal game stopping 20 of the 22 shots he faced. If it wasn't for a lack of goal support Hedberg would certainly have had a lot more wins during this tough stretch that he and the Devils have gotten into. Hedberg was playing in his 12th straight game while Martin Brodeur is still recovering from injury.

Defenseman Anton Volchenkov lost his footing shortly after the faceoff which allowed Colby Armstrong to get open and take the shot which he whistled by Johan Hedberg for the goal.

The Devils have completed a stretch where they were playing 3 games in 4 days (1-1-1) and will get some much needed rest before they head down the stretch for a playoff push.

The Canadiens are tied with the Pittsburgh Penguins with the most points in the Eastern Conference.

The Devils also honored legendary goalies coach Jacques Caron at tonights game.

(AP Photo/ Bruce Bennett/ Getty Images)

The Devils will be back in action on Tuesday at the Prudential Center to take on the New York Rangers.

For the latest news, analysis, and notes for everything on the New Jersey Devils follow us on Twitter and "like" us on Facebook.

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In a completion of the home and home series, the Philadelphia Flyers were able to come away with a much needed home win keeping their slim but possible playoff hopes alive. Thanks to superb play from the goalie Ilya Bryzgalov who stopped 27 of 28 shots, the Flyers came away with a 2-1 win over the New Jersey Devils.

Johan Hedberg stopped 21 of 22 of his shots, but was unable to stop Matt Read and Claude Giroux in the shootout.

Late in the first period with Philadelphia on a 3-on-2, Devils player Andy Greene collided with goalie Johan Hedberg and gave the Flyers a wide open net which Maxime Talbot buried off the assists from Simon Gagne and Matt Read. Besides the little mishap on that shift, the Devils came to play and were clearly out hustling the Flyers and just looked like the better team early.

The Devils had an early 5-on-3 with Jakub Voracek and Wayne Simmonds both in the penalty box, but were unable to take advantage of the opportunity.

The shots were an even 10 shots for each team.

In the second, the Devils were still forcing the issue and sooner or later they had to put one in the back of the net. That's exactly what happened as David Clarkson finally got out of his goal drought and redirected the Bryce Salvador shot into the back of the net tying the game at 1-1.

The shot totals in the second were 7-7 and 17-17 overall.

In the third, there was no scoring from either team but the physical play began to pick up on both sides. For the Devils you could see the Flyers becoming desperate to get this win and earn at least one point in this game.

There were outstanding opportunities for both teams to score but the goalies rose to the occasion and made excellent saves to preserve the tie game.

Peter Harrold of New Jersey was the victim of a vicious charge (can't even call that a hit) from Brayden Schenn and was lucky that he got up. Schenn should have got at least a 5 minute major for that hit and will certainly be getting suspended for leaving his feet.

On that powerplay the Devils were nearly inches away from winning the game. Tavis Zajac ripped a shot from the point which deflected off Bryzgalov, bounced off a couple of bodies in front of him, and trickled just inches away from going into the net and stunning the Flyers in Philadelphia. However, they were unable to score and the game would go into overtime.

The overtime was all Devils as they came close many times to ending the game but Ilya Bryzgalov would stand strong making some very impressive saves. He would make 6 saves in the overtime and basically kept the Flyers in the game.

The Devils had plently of opportunities, but couldn't convert the chances into goals.

"We had a couple good chances," Kovalchuk said. "But The Bryz was playing real well tonight.

In the shootout, Matt Read scored and Ilya Kovalchuk matched him. Claude Giroux scored on the second attempt, and both David Clarkson and Patrick Elias would miss on their shots giving the Flyers the win.

The Devils were 7-0 vs. the Flyers in shootouts all-time before Friday nights game.

"We needed to win a hockey game tonight," coach Peter Laviolette said.

Peter Laviolette said it perfectly. The Flyers needed this win, not only for keeping their chances of a playoff birth alive, but to get some momentum for this team heading into their next game. Philadelphia came into the game having lost 4 of their last 5 games and sitting at 11th place in the Eastern Conference.

No doubt Philadelphia need this win.

(AP Photo/ Matt Slocum)

The Devils (13-9-6) will be in action on Saturday night at the Prudential Center, as they will take on the Montreal Canadiens (18-5-4) at 7:00pm. Until Saturday night, Go Devils!

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The Devils arguably played their best hockey of the season and it came against one of the Devils biggest rivals in the league, the Philadelphia Flyers. The Devils were able to score 5 goals in the game as they blew out the Flyers 5-2 in front off another sold out crowd at the Prudential Center. Adam Henrique added a pair of goals with Kovalchuk, Elias, and Loktionov, all adding goal tallies. This was the first time that the Devils scored five goals in a game since Feb. 15th, against Philadelphia. With the win, this marks seven games in a row dating back to last year that the Devils have beaten the Flyers. The Devils improve to 13-9-5 (31 points) on the year and continue to hold down the 7th seed in the Eastern Conference.

In the first period the Devils were able to establish their presence early as Patrick Elias was able to score the first goal of the game (9th goal of season), with the assists going to Adam Henrique and Steve Bernier.

With the Flyers on the powerplay for a Ryan Carter tripping, Jakub Vorachek netted his 13th goal of the year and tied the game at one half way through the first.

Not even a minute later, Adam Henrique scored for the Devils (8th goal of season) to put them back on top 2-1.

Philadelphia was givien another chance on the powerplay but Ilya Kovalchuk had something to say about that as he was able to snipe a wristshot past Ilya Bryzgalov for another shorthanded goal (4th shorthanded goal of season) as the Devils began to pull away with a 3-1 score.

The shots were 11-9 in favor of Philadelphia.

As the second period starts the Devils are obviously in full control of the game, completely out playing the Flyers in nearly every aspect of the game. It continued to show as Loktionov, with an awesome toe drag, was able to wrist a shot between the legs of Ilya Bryzgalov (4th goal of season) making it a 4-1 game.

Johan Hedberg continued to put up strong saves, stopping every shot that came his way in the second period. He would finish the game with a total of 24 saves and gathering a much needed win.

The shot totals were 13-7 in the second and 22-18 overall, both in favor of New Jersey.

The third period was pretty much like the first two, the Devils in complete control.

With a Philadelphia carry over penalty into the third, Adam Henrique scored his second goal of the game (9th goal of season), with assists from Loktionov and Zid and put the Devils in the drivers seat with a commading 5-1 lead.

Needing a spark for his team, Scott Hartnell would take the game into his own hands. He managed to take every single penalty for the Flyers in the third which consisted of a boarding, slashing, unsportsmanlike conduct, and another slashing. On the boarding call, he tried to take out the Devils best player Ilya Kovalchuk by trying to apply a hard elbow to him.

Kostopolous then officialy (IMO) became a Devil was when he laid a vicious check on Scott Hartnell leading to an outpour of tweets with the hastag #HartnellDown.

Hartnell however added a goal for Flyers as he put a high shot past the lunging Hedberg, giving the Flyers their second goal of the night, but still way behind.

The Devils outshot the Flyers 10-7 and owned the shot total for the game, 32-25. Most importantly was the scoreboard as the Devils finished the blowout in Newark, 5-2 being the final.

(AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)

The Devils will travel to Philadelphia to take on the Flyers this Friday and complete the home and home series between these two teams. Until Friday, Go Devils!

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The New Jersey Devils got a much-needed win on Sunday night, just 24 hours after their worst loss of the season. That loss came to the Carolina Hurricanes by a score of 6-3. Johan Hedberg was pulled for the second time in three starts after the second period and gave way to rookie goaltender Jeff Frazee.

However, Hedberg and the Devils rebounded nicely on Sunday, defeating the Winnipeg Jets 3-2 in a shootout. Ryan Carter and Stephen Gionta netted Jersey's goals and Patrik Elias' put the icing on the cake in the shootout.

The Devils have now won two of their last three games; Elias has sealed the deal in the shootout on both occasions. Elias' late game heroics have become a theme as of late--he netted the game tying goal against Buffalo just a few nights ago with a little over a minute remaining in regulation.

Tonight's game was a good sign for the Devils Army. Coach Peter DeBoer said after the game, "Tonight I thought we put it all together for the first time in a while." This could not be more accurate.

The Devils jumped out to an early 2-0 lead as a result of some hard work by the former fourth (now third) line. Ryan Carter got things started 8:47 into the opening frame. His goal came off a net-mouth scramble and was assisted by Travis Zajac and Anton Volchenkov. For the first time since February 18, New Jersey had netted the first goal of the game. Stephen Gionta added to the lead less than two minutes later with his third tally of the season. Ilya Kovalchuk and Adam Larsson added assists.

One thing is for certain--Johan Hedberg's play tonight will instill a big boost of confidence for not only him, but for his teammates, as well. Despite what the scoreboard says, Hedberg really should have had a shut-out tonight. Andy Greene deflected a shot on goal past Hedberg in a play that should have been left alone. Mark Stuart fluttered one towards the net and it would have been an easy stop for Moose if Greene had not touched it.

Evander Kane tied things up in the middle frame on an odd-man rush. Larsson got caught up in the offensive zone and was late getting back. Kane's wrister beat Hedberg up high and just caught the inside of the post. I'll be honest, not too many goalies in the National Hockey League were going to stop that shot.

What really impressed me tonight was the added physicality that the Devils brought to the table. I noticed Steve Bernier a lot tonight as a result of his hard checks and physical play. In order to continue on their winning ways, New Jersey will have to play physical. They are not an oversized team, so any advantage they can get is a good one.

Both teams were denied several scoring opportunities in the third period and overtime. Ilya Kovalchuk and David Clarkson failed to convert on their shootout chances; Blake Wheeler and Evander Kane produced the same results for Winnipeg. Patrik Elias slid one in past Ondrej Pavelec's five hole before Moose denied Andrew Ladd to send the Devils to victory.


Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images.

Final Thoughts

• The Devils have not played as well as they did tonight in a long time. Let's hope they keep it up.
• Jersey squares up against Philadelphia on Wednesday night in the first leg of a home-and-home series. As always, Devils fans, we need to ROCK the ROCK. I will be cheering from Section 123 in my brand-new Adam Henrique jersey, so stop by and say hello. I am usually in the Digital Zone after the first period. Belated birthday presents will be accepted at that time!
• With the win tonight, Jersey stayed in seventh place in the Eastern Conference. Over the next few games, the Devils should be able to make a push to move higher up if they continue to play like they did this evening.
• Still no word on when Martin Brodeur will return. As soon as I know, I will certainly pass it on to the followers here at Running With The Devils.

For all of your latest Devils news, analysis, and reaction, be sure to follow us (me and Joey, as well!) on twitter. You can "like" us on facebook, too! Until Wednesday night, Devils fans, sleep tight and Let's Go Devils!