Give the Devils credit, they not only went into a tough arena and got the win, but they did so after falling into a 2-0 hole. In fact, they were down by 2, being completely dominated in their own zone and took a penalty but found a way to kill it off. Petr Sykora then got the Devils within 1 by scoring what's becoming his kind of goal, ripping a wrist shot past the goalie. Carter then got his first on a feed from Salvador. That score held up until the shootout where goals by Parise and Clarkson got the Devils the extra point. DeBoer really believes in Clarkson but better than that, has NJ really believing in themselves when they find themselves in a hole. Lou did the right thing hiring this guy! Devils head to Boston to take on the champs Tuesday night. no comments

This was a recap I received via email but I don't know who sent it. I the owner wants to contact me via email I would appreciate that.




 The Devils may have lost, but they didn't go down with out a fight. The actual score only tells part of the story, for those who did not get a chance to watch the game, be proud of your Devils. They fought hard against one of the true regular season power houses and only really 'gave up' one goal. The other two, in this writers opinion, were dumb luck. T

he Devils held the Caps scoreless to late in the second when the puck bounced off of Ovechkins leg and dropped right in front of him, and he was able to sling it past Brodeur from about two feet. The second goal came short handed. Why? WHY? did we call for a line change when they have the puck on a break away? This set up a one on one, and those rarely end well for the goalie. Two devils on their way to the bench had an opportunity to cut off the puck in the neutral zone, but they went to the bench instead.

 The nail in the coffin was Brodeur way out of the crease and the caps basically had an empty net. I saw no reason for him to be that far out of the pipes. His reaction was phenomenal though, IF he was where he should have been, the puck would have been brick walled. Instead he was about 4 feet from the goal, and its not hard to get past a goalie who isn't there. That's the scoring summary, but that doesn't tell the whole story. We drew first blood with a beautiful top shelf that had to fly through traffic. We were actually shooting the puck, not playing with it. I counted AT LEAST three post ringers, which means we had the goalie beat, it just didn't cross the thin red line. We dominated the offensive zone for most of the game it seemed, we took chances, took shots, took hits, and fought hard. I'm proud of the game we lost. The Devils are looking so much better than last season. Let's see if we can have revenge tonight.

no comments

Tonight’s game was amazing! It really was a fun game to watch. The Devils dominated play almost from the beginning and were awarded the win (in regulation!) for their outstanding efforts. The fact that the game was shown on Versus, enabling me to actually watch it on my TV as opposed to my computer, could have very well contributed to my enjoyment.

I have to admit, when I first found out that Marty Brodeur was starting the game in net for the Devils, I thought it would be a colossal mistake. Given Johan Hedberg’s perfect record against the Canes the last 4 times he faced them, I really thought/hoped/assumed that he would get the start tonight. Not so, and, at first, it looked as though my initial reaction to Marty’s presence in net was bang on…especially as the the Canes took a 1-0 lead in the 1st period on a shorthanded goal scored by none other than Brent Sutter’s son. But as the game progressed, the Marty of old seemed to materialize, and he played lights out.

As a matter of fact, Marty kept the Devils in the game and even provided some momentum (courtesy of a huge save) until Dainius Zubrus tipped an Anton Volchenkov shot past Cam Ward at 10:56 of the 2nd period. Petr Sykora put the Devils ahead at 2:37 of the 3rd period by scoring right off of a Patrik Elias faceoff win. Less than four minutes later, “Carolina” tied it when Adam Henrique tipped a Carolina shot past Marty. Henrique redeemed himself, however, just over ten minutes later when he scored the eventual game winner on a wraparound shot.

The Devils played really well, and I agree with Mike Milbury who noted that they played better than the Hurricanes. (On a side note: I love Mike Milbury. While most hockey “experts” - not named Chico Resch - rarely give the Devils any credit, Mike Milbury always seems to have the Devils’ back. I remember last season during the Devils’ amazing second half run, Mike predicted - albeit erroneously - that the Devils would make the playoffs. And he vehemently argued the point with Keith Jones. Loved it!)

Anyway, the Devils played really well, and the only part of their game that I can find fault with was the power play, as usual. They went 0 for 4 or something like that and, of course, gave up a shorthanded goal. But that goal wasn’t the result of sloppy play…Patrik Elias fell while playing the point and the Hurricanes took the puck right past him. I do have to acknowledge one good thing about the PP and that would be Petr Sykora. Sykora was on fire on the PP tonight…shooting the puck everytime it touched his stick. He may not have scored on the PP, but he isn’t afraid to shoot and doesn’t waste valuable seconds skating around and passing the puck back and forth. It was refreshing, to say the least, to actually see pucks flying at the net during a Devils PP. I’m happy that Sykora scored a goal tonight. He deserved one.

Conversely, the Devils PK is still perfect at home.

And what else could be said about Adam Henrique??? The dude is simply on fire. After scoring his first NHL goal 2 games ago, he’s since scored 3 more, 2 in one game and 2 game winners. Insane! He was the 1st star of the game and deservedly so.

 

FUN FACT:

The win tonight gives the Devils their 7th win. It took them 13 games to get them. Last season, they didn’t get their 7th win until their 22nd game. I would say that Peter DeBoer’s Devils are way better than John MacLean’s Devils were.

no comments

Give the NJ Devils credit because they fell into a 2-0 hole to a very good Flyers team but were able to battle back and find a way to send the game to OT and eventually the shootout, where they skated away with a 4-3 victory.

I thought NJ played a decent first period and didn’t allow the Flyers to find the back of the net but that obviously didn’t sit well with Philly as they came out and owned the first part of the second period. Rinaldo got the Flyers on the board first in what was really a defensive breakdown. Couterier found Rinadlo all alone in front of the net who wristed one past Hedburg.

A few minutes later, Jagr skated from one end to the other and then found Giroux all alone with a wide open net to make it 2-0. Another complete breakdown and all 5 Devils stood around watching Jagr put on a skating clinic and not one Devil picked up the puck or Giroux. That prompted a little outburst by me on twitter.

Captain Zach Parise did exactly what a captain should do, strap the team on his back and backhanded one past Bobrovsky less than a minute after the Giroux goal. Less than three minutes later, Andreas Lilja gave the puck away to Kovalchuk for a 2-on-1 break that Henrique finished for his first NHL goal and a 2-2 tie. The Devils had somehow managed to dig themselves out of a 2-0 hole and looked to have the momentum.

Early into the third, Fayne hauled down Talbot who was awarded a Penalty Shot, which Talbot put into the back of the net.  The lead lasted until 13:25, when Elias intercepted a Matt Carle clearing attempt and found Clarkson alone in front of the Philadelphia net.

Parise and Elias found the back on the net during the shootout to give the Devils the victory.

Kovalchuk ended up leaving the game with 1:35 and sat out the entire OT and shootout, which was a little concerning. Apparently he’s day to day with a pulled muscle. Hedburg also suffered an injury to his back but was able to complete the game.

It’s hard for me to give anyone on the Devils the MUD award that Deb usually hands out. After the first two Flyers goals, I was going to give it to Larry Robinson for allowing his defense to stand around and watch the Flyers just play with the puck but they, like the rest of the team recovered nicely so there is no need to hand out the MUD award again.

Congratulations to Adam Henrique who got his first NHL goal and ended up with 2 points on the night. Hopefully the Devils have picked up some momentum from this game as the Atlanta Thrashers Winnipeg Jets make their way into NJ tomorrow night.

 

no comments

Ok...I'm officially sounding the alarm. The Devils really didn't play badly tonight. But what difference does that make if they don't get the W and 2 points? None. And if last season taught us anything, it's that the Devils can't afford to fall too far back too early. And I'm afraid that's exactly what's happening...maybe not as hideously as last season, but the Devils are behind very soon. They entered tonight's game in 12th place in the Eastern Conference. Now, I know it's a long season and there's still time for them to get into playoff position...but it's also a very short season when a team spends it trying to catch up.

But what could possibly be done to improve this situation? Like I mentioned above, the Devils aren't playing badly. So, is it DeBoer's system that's falling short? Are the Devils really just less talented than the majority of their opponents? What is the problem???

As I watched the game, I found myself wondering why there seemed to be almost no chemistry among any of the linemates. Such things as pretty plays, drop passes, and players sensing where their linemates are (without needing to slow down and look) have all been non-existent for the most part this season. And the answer probably has to do with the line shuffling and double shifting that's been going on. Many a fan had speculated that the constant shuffling of lines that took place under John MacLean last season was directly responsible for the team's lack of chemistry and subsequent lack of winning. Why do the lines need to be switched so much this season? I understand that the Devils have lost a few players due to injuries (most notably down the center), but can't someone else be called up/acquired/fill in and the team be done with it? I just don't get why there's a need for such inconsistency on a team that's been playing inconsistent at best. Last season there was actually a better excuse to shuffle lines and double shift players...the Devils were right up against the salary cap and couldn't afford to acquire or call up anyone else. This season, the Devils don't have that excuse.

One thing is for certain...this team needs to gel and fast.

And one more thing...maybe Marty could have used a few more practice sessions before being put into a game. I'm not blaming the entire loss on the goaltender, but from what I saw tonight, I think Hedberg has been playing at a much higher level than Marty. And before anyone condemns me for speaking blasphemously about Marty, let me just emphasize that I'm not saying he's bad. I'm simply saying that he's rusty and should have had more time to practice. He let in 5 goals on 23 shots...ok, I maybe I am saying he was bad..

The good news is the power play actually seems to be on its way to being the advantage it's meant to be rather than the albatross it's been. It went 2 for 3 tonight with Dainius Zubrus and Patrik Elias scoring the PP goals. Speaking of goals, David Clarkson scored the 3rd Devils goal going one on one with Toronto's goaltender. It was actually a really uncharacteristically nice play for Clarkson.

I've decided not to award any player with the MUD award tonight. No one player stood out as one that played so poorly as to deserve it. I kid you not, in a 5-3 loss to the Maple Leafs of all teams, I can't think of one Devil who was useless. It's frustrating, really. The Devils had swarmed the Leafs' net all night and had numerous scoring chances and were given their fair share of rebounds, but they repeatedly came up short. If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times...it's time for shooting practice.

And I think it's time for a shake up, as well. This team just can't seem to get it together. There isn't one person to blame, but there are a myriad of problems. Changing the coach never seems to work (unless the coach ends up being Jacques Lemaire), so I'm willing to give DeBoer a couple more weeks before I decide if he should be let go. But something's got to give now! This team needs a spark, a shakeup, a facelift. I think it's time for the Devils to package some veterans together and create a huge blockbuster trade for some quick, younger, proven players (in particular: a number one center, a puck moving defenseman and a goaltender - who will then become Marty's replacement when his contract expires at the end of this season). The time to act is now, and I can only hope that Lou has something big in the works.

(UN)FUN FACT:

Everyone knows that Marty holds the all-time career wins record with 625. Tonight's loss, however, puts him into a three way tie with Curtis Joseph and Gump Worsley for all-time career losses with 352. Of course Marty's played more games than either of the other two, so percentage-wise he hasn't performed as badly. Still, that's one record he'd probably rather not have attached to his name.

no comments

no comments

I am so unbelievably pissed off right now, and it has very little to do with the way the Devils played or the score of the game. I’ve had the great misfortune to watch tonight’s game through the Pittsburgh feed. This means that I’ve been listening to a bunch of the worst commentators I’ve ever heard for the past 2 1/2 hours of my life. I seriously cannot believe what I’ve heard throughout the broadcast tonight. These goons have, basically: accused the Devils of cheating (by sending Petr Sykora to serve the 4 minute high sticking penalty committed by Elias); laughed at the Devils’ perceived lack of knowledge on how to conduct a morning skate (asking what the Devils are doing during morning skate that Keith Kinkaid got his neck sliced by a skate); noted that Kovy has been disengaged the entire game (except for the play which set up Elias’s shorthand goal); noted that Kovy is a horrible teammate (by glaring at Larsson for taking the penalty he took in the 3rd period - to which one of the goons remarked, regarding Kovy, “Look in the mirror”); determined that Hedberg’s own team is overworking him and needs to give him a break (he should have been pulled when the Penguins scored their 4th goal); and, of course, that the officials failed to call the Devils for numerous penalties (as the reporter located in the stands could well attest to). Now, I didn’t hear what Steve and Chico had to say about any of the above, but I’ve never heard them during any game whine repeatedly about the officials, accuse the other team of cheating or meanly insinuate that a member of the opposing team needs to “look in the mirror”. I mean, is it me or are the Devils’ broadcasts way less biased than most other teams’? As much as I complain about Chico and others at MSG, I can honestly say that, even without Doc, Devils fans are truly lucky when it comes to game broadcasts.

I just had to get that out. Now, on to the game…

Despite the awful 4-1 score, I really don’t think the Devils played that badly tonight. They held the Penguins to 1 goal until halfway through the 3rd period when it seemed as if last night’s game caught up with them and they just fizzled out. Because, you know, it makes total sense to load a team’s schedule one week after giving them almost an entire week off. The Devils’ one goal was a beauty, though, scored shorthanded by Patrik Elias on a play set up by Ilya Kovalchuk. (Incidentally, this was scored during the double minor committed by Elias and served by Sykora). After the Devils scored, the Penguins came back and scored 3 in a row (justice for the Devils’ cheating by having Sykora serve the penalty rather than Elias, according to the Pens’ announcers). I’d be curious to know what was said about that on the Devils’ broadcast. It was clearly Elias who committed the high sticking penalty, but do any of us really believe that Lou’s Devils would intentionally cheat in that circumstance? Or intentionally cheat at all? Lou values integrity above all else…we’re talking about a guy that wouldn’t even consider having his team intentionally lose a game two seasons ago which would have ensured that they not face the Flyers (a team the Devils didn’t fare well against during the regular season) in the 1st round of the playoffs. Would the Devils really be so sneaky and cheat in a game so early on in the season? REALLY?!?

Moose played amazingly well, but like the rest of his teammates, he just seemed to tire out by the middle of the 3rd period. The Devils certainly improved their 2nd period performance tonight…outplaying, if not outscoring, the Penguins during the 2nd period. The power play, however, seems to have regressed…it looked decent and actually resulted in a goal last night, but tonight, it was back to its usual mess. In defense of the PP, though, I think the Devils only had 2 PPs all night, and they were both in the 3rd period and 1 was cut short by a Nick Palmieri penalty, so they were tired by that point. I’m not trying to make excuses for the Devils. They’re professional athletes and should be well enough conditioned to do their jobs 2 nights in a row…especially after 5 days off. But you could tell that lack of focus and energy was the issue - as was evidenced by numerous sloppy line changes as the game progressed.

Last night I introduced a new designation that I’m going to bestow upon 1 Devil at the end of every loss. I call it the Most Useless Devil (MUD) award. Tonight’s recipient is…

David Clarkson! Congratulations, David! Not only did you take an offensive zone penalty for high sticking the goaltender in the very first stages of the game…but the Penguins’ ensuing power play resulted in their first goal of the night. Better game next time.

And just to balance it out…the Most Impressive Devil tonight was…

Adam Henrique! Ok, so there were other Devils that actually made more of a difference in the game (Elias and Moose come to mind), but I was impressed with Henrique’s play practically every shift he was on the ice. Henrique is filling in for the injured Jacob Josefson and was playing in only his second game of the season. He had a number of quality scoring chances, was fast as lightning and didn’t hesitate to get in the goalie’s face. I said it after the first game, and I’ll say it again…I like this kid.

 

(UN)FUN FACT:

As mentioned above, backup goaltender Keith Kincaid suffered a cut to his neck by the blade of a teammate’s skate during today’s morning skate. Luckily, it was just a surface cut, but such an injury could be life threatening. In September 2009, Jeff Frazee, another goalie in the Devils’ system, suffered a similar injury, but his was even more serious. Hopefully today’s incident marks the end of these types of injuries to Devils goaltenders.

no comments

Where do I even begin? This game had so many ups and downs I’m sure that I’m officially bipolar after watching it. Unfortunately, it ended on a low note with the Devils losing their first shootout of three consecutive shootouts.

The bane of the Devils’ play in recent years had reared its ugly head in tonight’s game. Well, ok, maybe not the bane but a few of the many. Not only did the Devils’ offense turn out a fairly weak performance 5-on-5 mustering only 19 shots on goal (to San Jose’s 40), the Devils proved that old habits really do die hard by being happy to sit on a 2 goal lead. The Devils actually came out and played like a team that wanted to win. Patrik Elias scored an early power play goal (Yes, you read that correctly…the Devils actually scored on the PP), and Zach Parise put the Devils up by 2 when he scored on a penalty shot. Yep, the Rock was rockin’. And Johan Hedberg was on fire, too. The Sharks peppered him with shots, but he looked like a brick wall.

Then, the trusty old 2nd period slump started. The entire team seemed to revert back to that nasty habit from last season of disappearing during the 2nd period thereby turning in a truly horrendous 2nd period performance. What is up with the 2nd period and this team? I’m so frustrated because the Devils could and should have won this game if they didn’t stop playing in the middle of it! The Sharks weren’t the better team or more talented out there…they just never gave up. This seemed to be a recurring theme last season with the Devils, and we don’t need a reminder of how that turned out.

David Clarkson, of all people, scored in the 3rd to put the Devils back on top.  Clarkson was basically 1-on-1 with the goalie, and I couldn;t for the life of me figure out how Clarkson was able to get such great positioning.  Then I realized it was because he was being defended by none other than Colin White, and (surprise, surprise) White allowed Clarkson to beat him to the goal.  (There's a player I think we can all feel grateful not having on our team anymore).  So, the Devils are leading 3-2 with less than a minute to go in regulation and, of course, the Sharks score to tie it up again and then win in the shootout.  I feel for Moose who played lights out for most of the game with little help from his offense.

I also feel for Jacob Josefson who broke his right clavicle going into the boards in the 1st period. This couldn’t come at a worse time for the Devils with the team’s only other true center, Travis Zajac, out until at least December. If one thing’s clear, the Devils need to find themselves a center STAT. Of course, I was already of the mindset that the Devils needed another center, so now I propose that they acquire two centers. I know…wishful thinking, but maybe this will wake Lou up to the fact that he needs to do some center shopping and quick. It’s just a shame that Josefson had to suffer an injury in order for this wakeup call to be made.

And I still feel for Kovy. Why this guy isn’t on the most dynamic line on the team is beyond me. Which leads me to the introduction of a new accolade I’ve decided to bestow upon one lucky Devil at the end of every game: Most Useless Devil (or MUD) award. Tonight, the MUD award goes to…

Nick Palmieri! Congratulations, Nick, not only did you throw an illegal check to the head of an unsuspecting Shark player, you missed the net on nearly every shot attempt you made and missed at least one breakaway pass. Better game next time.

Hey…if we don’t hold them accountable, who will?

Do you have a player in mind that you think deserves the MUD award? If so, please share your thoughts.

And just to balance out the yin and yang of this post, I’d like to name the Most Impressive Devil of the game…Zach Parise. Not only did he score a beautiful backhand through the 5-hole on his first career penalty shot, but Zach was pumped up and remained so throughout most of the game. You could tell that he wasn’t resting on his laurels during the sleepy 2nd period, and he tried to get the rest of his team fired up, as well. He’s been impressive so far in his role of captain, in my opinion. I see a change in his demeanor this season that wasn’t there before. He’s a little more serious, a little more mature and a little more assertive away from the play. And that’s only what I can see on TV. I’m sure he’s just as impressive in the locker room and on the bench. I think he wanted the captaincy more than he ever let on, and he’s taking every facet of it and the responsibility that comes with it very seriously. I also think we all had the pleasure of watching Zach “grow up” as he turned into one of the veterans in mind and leadership (if not yet body) all of a sudden.

 

FUN FACT:

Tonight’s game was the Devils’ third straight game that was decided in a shootout. The Devils won the previous two, but even if they won tonight, they would still be one consecutive shootout win away from tying the record of 4 consecutive shootout wins set by the Pittsburgh Penguins at the end of last season. Let’s hope this is the last of shootouts for a while. Not because the Devils are playing the Penguins tomorrow night, but because getting your wins via shootouts is a risky way to play…especially against division opponents. It’s great to get the win and 2 points, of course, but why let your opponent walk away with a point? Come playoff time every point counts so the more games the Devils can win in regulation, the better.

no comments

The way this game started, I really thought I was going to sit through another game like we played against the Flyers to open the season. Thankfully the Devils would end up clawing their way back into this game but we will get to that.

I thought the Devils came out with some jump and the Predators gave them an early power play but like  a typical Devils power play, they weren’t able to generate much but even with that, I thought the Devils controlled play early. That is until David Clarkson decided to try and put Sutter through the boards and got called for Boarding which cost him 5 minutes. It wasn’t the smartest hit but also didn’t deserve 5.  It was a crazy 5 minutes that followed because Elias got tripped, which was called and then Salvador hauled down a Predator on the breakaway, which got called and ended up in a Penalty Shot which Hedberg stopped and then scored 1 goal on the PP and another as time expired. 1st period ended with the Preds up 2-0

The Devils mailed in the second period and didn’t get many chances at all. Had they shown up for this period, maybe the Devils could have gotten the win in regulation. Kovalchuk had 1 shot in the 2nd and he needs to shoot more.  2nd period ended with the Preds up 2-0 and appearing to have the momentum and slowly putting NJ to sleep.

Kovalchuk came out in the first minute of the third and put one past Rinne who was screened by Parise. The Devils then caught momentum and you could feel the Devils were going to tie this game up and eventually Tedenby fed a nice pass to Clarkson who snuck it by Rinne to tie the game at 2.  Those are the type of goals I expect from Clarkson and he spent a lot of time right in front of Rinne tonight and had a lot of chances. Doesn’t change how I feel about him but he should play like that A LOT more. The way the Devils played in the 3rd, especially 5 on 5, they deserved to win this in regulation but Rinne was SPECTACULAR all night and were lucky to get 2 by him. They eventually got the 2nd point after the shootout.

I thought Hedberg had a very strong game as well. The PP goals he let in early weren’t really his fault. This was Hedbergs 3rd game of the season and Marty didn’t dress tonight which makes me worry about Marty’s health. Can his 39 year old body withstand playing hockey anymore? Just seems like he’s been getting injured and tweaking stuff a lot over the last few years.

For the second straight game, the Devils found themselves in a shootout.  Kovalchuk is 2 for 2 this season in the shootout as is Zach Parise. Both looked great again in the skills competition like they did the other night. The important stat here is the Johan Hedberg is perfect in the shootout so far.

Nice big comeback win and a huge confidence boost. Now we go into a long break as the Devils don’t play again until Friday night and hopefully that doesn’t hurt us.

I’d just like to complain for a minute about the MSG feed tonight.  I thought the lighting was terrible, a few times commercials were on during game play and the audio didn't match the video in between periods. It was hard to watch because of the mistakes MSG made.

For those that missed the game, here are the highlights presented by nhl.com

no comments

As you’ve probably surmised from the title, the Devils won their first OT contest of the season (a shootout) against the LA Kings. It’s nice to know that the Devils can perform well enough 4 on 4 and in a shootout to eek out a victory, but, in my opinion, this game should have never made it past regulation. After the Kings scored 1:47 into the 1st period, the Devils played an outstanding hockey game. They controlled the puck for almost the entire 2nd half. Of course they weren’t able to score more than one goal in regulation (and that was a Patrik Elias tally in the 1st period). And that’s bothersome. Nevertheless, they hung in there and eventually came away with 2 points.

The Kings seemed to lose most signs of life after the 1st period, but I suspect that may have just as much to do with the fact that they recently arrived back from travelling around Europe and were probably jet-lagged, fatigued or both as it has to do with the play of the Devils. Not to shortchange the Devils…like I said, they played great for the most part. But the Kings just fizzled out after the 1st period. You can read what the other side has to say about it here.

One more thing to report, Marty started the game in net but was replaced by Hedberg at the start of the 2nd period. The Devils said that Marty had “upper body soreness”. Hopefully, he’s ok, but Moose was outstanding. He made quite a few really big saves, especially in OT and, obviously, the shootout.

Despite the Devils’ overall good play and puck possession, there are still a few things that I find concerning…mostly because on any given night they could be deeply troubling.

First, the Devils only scored ONCE in regulation. It’s all good and great to control the play and the puck and shoot it constantly. But if the puck doesn’t go in the net, what difference does it make? What’s the point? I’ve said this many times in the past, and I’ll say it again…maybe the Devils would benefit from devoting an entire day to doing shooting drills a la Midgets on Ice.

Second, the PP went 0 for 2 tonight. I don’t even know what else to say about this anymore, but it leads nicely into my next concern…

Third, WHY IS CLARKSON ON THE FIRST PP UNIT??? WHY IS HE ON THE PP AT ALL??? WHY IS HE ON THE TEAM AT ALL??? I agree wholeheartedly with Darren when it comes to Clarkson. Ugh! It’s just frustratingly painful to watch him do anything in a Devils jersey…not that he does much of anything worthwhile. Seriously, in what universe is he considered an asset to the team? And who are these people at the Rock who all moan in unison whenever Clarkson’s shots never get past the goaltender? Like they’re shocked by this? I’m beginning to suspect that the sound guy at the Rock plays a great, collective moan though the sound system whenever this happens. What does anyone see in this guy? Please, someone explain it to me. I’m serious…I would love to know.

So, to sum it up, the Devils played a great game but have very little offense, a goose egg on the PP and Clarkson taking up valuable space. The main thing is, they got 2 points and really did earn them.

 

FUN FACT:

To put David Clarkson’s $2,666,667 annual salary into perspective, it’s higher than the salaries of Saku Koivu, Brad Marchand, Pascal Dupuis and Mike Knuble. Clarkson certainly hasn’t produced or impressed as much as any of those other players. Think the Devils may be getting ripped off with this one?

If you missed the game, here are the highlights provided by nhl.com

no comments