The Devils put together a complete 60 minute effort and Marty walks away with a record setting 104th shutout of his career. The Devils have owned the Igloo this season and I for one will be sad to see it go, if we don't make a few trips there this spring.

Marty stopped all 35 saves including 8 shots made during power plays and had the post help him out very late in the game but unlike the game in Buffalo, Marty actually have to make some pretty good saves against the Penguins.

The Pens and the Devils were both pretty hot coming into this game and it wouldn't be fair to say the Penguins didn't bring that to the game because I thought the did, I just thought this was a case of Marty being better. Both the Penguins and the Devils spent the night going hard after loose pucks. For a few minutes in the second, the Penguins kind of fell into a funk and paid for it with the Devils scoring 2.

The Pandolfo / Nierdermayer line did a wonderful job putting a stop to the Pens top line and probably even better on the Penalty Kill. McAmmond is still playing at a level I never thought he was capable of.

The Devils as a team shined bright tonight but nothing shines brighter than Marty Brodeur. There isn't much left in the record books for Marty to put his name next to. Shutouts are difficult to achieve because it takes and individual effort as well as a team effrot at times but to be sitting alone atop the list with a 104 of them is truly incredible. It doesn't matter to me what other people think of say but Marty is truly the greatest goalie anyone of us has ever laid eyes on. He's broken record after record, been a huge assett to his team and made the NHL change the game while he was playing with it. I ask you, name 1 other goalie in the league now that can even come close to Martin Brodeur.

 

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This is one of those game where at the end of it, I sit there, scratching my head and saying WHAT!!?? This was a very sloppy game on the part of the Devils. The power play was disgusting all night. The Devils did a terrible job at covering the points and keeping the puck in the zone during the power plays. The Devils had 5 chances on the power play, one being cut short due to a hooking call on Nidermayer and I think 3 shots total found their way to the net. To make matters worse, the Devils gave up a shorthanded goal due to an absolute breakdown by Langenbrunner. I'm not sure what he was doing but I expect more from a guy wearing a "C".

Montreal tried their best to give this game to NJ, which they eventually did. The obviously were set on playing a trapping game and were very poor at doing so. The Canadiens gave NJ too many chances on the power play, although as I mentioned, the Devils did nothing with those chances.

Pikkarainen did manage to tie the game at 1 on a very flukey goal that went off Price's glove (which I think the puck would have sailed over the net anyway), off the post, off the skate of Price and into the net. I thought McAmmond did an awesome job staying onsides during the play because he appeared way ahead of the puck but did a nice toe drag to stay onsides.

It appeared to me that neither team really wanted to win this game but with a few minutes left in the third, the Canadiens made a costly mistake. Rolston carried the puck into the zone and Tomas Plekanec made an attempt to swipe the puck away which allowed Elias to get behind him and bang home Rolston's rebound.

It's not to often that you can put in a lackluster performance and skate away with 2 points. I hope Lemaire kicks some butt in practice this week and a much more energized team shows up tomorrow night against the Senators.

I will agree with the decision on the 3 stars of the game although Pikkarainen's goal was so lucky, I'm not sure star #2 doesn't belong to Rolston for his heads up play seeing that Elias was going to make a play on any rebound and shot it low on purpose.

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So the question being asked immediatley after the game is did the Devils looked past the Panthers to tomorrow nights game with the Flyers. I really don't think so. Sure, the Devils weren't as crisp tonight as they have been and once the Panthers got the lead, I am sure they started to believe in themselves a little more. It's tough to lose games when you outshoot your opponent as the Devils did tonight (28-22).

Frolik was a Devils killer tonight ans Weiss always seems to be a thorn in the side. The thing that worries me is that the Devils looked great on Monday night, so-so on Wednesday night and not so good tonight. It's been a steady decline, especially that second period of tonight's game. The killer was the breakaway goal for Florida in the 3rd which I am still not even sure how he ended up with so much room. The Devils had gotten a lucky goal prior to the breakaway and had everyone thinking comeback but that just took the air out of the team.

Clemmenson did a decent job tonight and I sure was real comfortable playing in our building, which used to be his building. To me, the Panthers wanted it more and deservingly got it. Hopefully the Devils find that hunger quickly because the Flyers are coming into town tomorrow night and they've pretty much embarrassed twice this season.

 

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I guess I am turning into one of those fans that expects too much out of his team. The Devils spoiled me on Monday with the clinic that they put on against the Sabres but they came out in the first period looking like they might do it against the Hurricanes too. I thought that the Devils were firing on all cylinders and thought they might put the game away in the second. They looked so good  in my opinion, that I was starting to wonder to myself if playing like this in Decemeber was actually a bad thing. Maybe they heard me because Carolina would quickly be back in the game.

Aaron Ward got way too deep covering Bergfors that he didn't give Cam Ward much of a chance on the Elias goal. It was a flukey kind of goal but what fan wouldn't take it? Andy Greene's first of the night was a thing of pure beauty as his team, especially Niedermayer, really helped him out and got great positioning on Cam Ward. Greene knew to hold on to it just long enough for that shooting lane to the top corner open up and fired it in.

The Devils came out in the second looking like they might continue to take it to the Canes as Greene got real low and put in his second of the night. From there, the Devils seemed to slow down. The Canes got on the board with a lucky goal that went of Fraser and beat Marty and then got within one goal on a nice shot by Rutuu. The Devils were able to hold off the Canes as both Marty and Cam Ward came up with some pretty big saves. Niedermayer sealed the deal with an empty net goal at the end of the 3rd.

I don't think the Devils looked past the Canes and I don't think the Canes played like a team that is the owner of the worst record in the league. Cam Ward looked pretty good for a guy who's missed a lot of time. In the end I didn't have a great feeling about this game. Like the Tampa Bay game and the Detroit game last weekend, I felt the Devils survived. Anytime you get up 3-0 and allow the other team back to get within 1 goal, you can't walk away feeling too happy about the performance but a win is a win and each time they win, they get the "Winner" stamp of approval (stealing one of my favorite lines..)

Panthers stroll into town tomorrow night followed by the Flyers on Satruday so the Devils have a busy couple of days ahead.

 

 

 

 

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I couldn't have asked for anything more from the New Jersey Devils last night. Congratulations to Marty Brodeur for tying the legendary Terru Sawchuk for career shutouts but we will get to that. First, some thoughts about the game.

The Devils put on a clinic last night. You want to know how to win hockey games, look at last nights performance and that is how you win hockey games. They were able to sustain consistent pressure, rolled all for lines quickly and effectively. Shift after shift they just took it to the Sabres and from the word go, they put their foot on the gas and didn't stop until the final horn sounded.

From the Sabres perspective, I think they have to be thankful that they didn't get blown out of the building. Ryan Miller did a good job keeping the Sabres in the game as it could have easily got out of hand quickly in the second period.

It's a rare thing when I feel I can go through the stat sheet and feel that everyone had a good game. Parise had 7 shots and an assist, Zajac had 4 shots and a goal, Rolston scored his 10th of the season, Elias did a decent job on the faceoff and the list just goes on and on. When the team plays this well, you can overlook the few things the Devils did wrong, like the penalty Rolston took while the Devils were up a man. Overall, this might be the most satisfying feeling about the Devils I've had this season because I fel Buffalo is a very deep and talented team and the Devils just took it to them.

Marty didn't have to do anything special in net tonight. There were no huge, momentum swinging saves or highlight reel kind of saves but he did the little things perfectly. He controlled the rebounds to places where his teammates could clear or move the puck up ice and he was solid with his stick and his positioning all night. Early in the second when the Devils were taking it to the Sabres and Buffalo was having a hard time getting shots on net, I thought that maybe this was the night he would tie the record. After the game, I sat on my couch and wonder how people view Marty as anything but what he is, the greatest goalie of our lives. We may never see a player achieve the things that he is doing ever again. 4 Vezinas, 3 Cups, well over 552 wins, as of right now 103 shutouts, the most minutes every played by a goalie in the history of the league, I ask those Marty haters out there, what more do you expect? What more will it take to admit how great he is? I'll admit, I get down on Marty sometimes because he makes mistakes out there but I will also be the first to admit that we will see few players like him in our lives. Congratulations Marty on tying a record few people ever saw as a breakable record.

Now I am going to get on my soapbox for a minute (no the Marty rant wasn't a soapbox kind of moment). Directv, Comcast and the NHL need to work something out. I'm not a Directv subscriber but many people did not get the game last night because it was televised on Versus and as many of you know, Directv doesn't not carry Versus because of a disagreement with Comcast (who owns Versus) over cost. It's sad for me to think of Devils fans out there (or Hockey fans in general) who don't get to witness record tying or record breaking moments because there are companies out there who can find a solutions that offers their viewers the oppurtunities to see these moments. The NHL has done a terrible job handling this and I really hope that Betteman takes his head out of his ass soon and helps Directv and Comcast rectify this situation.

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The Devils lose but get a point out of the trip to music city. One of these days I will get around to writing a piece about how much I hate the shootout and why it should just go away.

I actually thought the Devils and the Predators played a pretty even game. Both teams would get some momentum going, make some decent passes and setup some nice scoring chances and watch the other team regroup and do the same. There were moments of back and forth play and moments were both Marty and Pekka Rinne had to come up with big saves.

The Predators came out fore-checking and it led to Arnott scoring the first goal of the night, which in my opinion wasn't a strong goal. Give the Devils credit, they fought right back, got some decent chances on the powerplay which then led to Colin White throwing a puck at the net after the penalty time to Nashville had expired. Colin was credited with the goal for quite a while but Doc and Chico kept telling us how they thought eventually it would be credited to Parise because he came across the middle and tipped it with the edge of his blade. Arnott would then score again in the third on a nice redirection that he timed perfectly (and got a little help from the post). The Devils would fight back again quickly as Dean McAmmond made a nice pass in front that Zach Parise shoveled in for his second of the night. This game would eventually be decided in the shootout that saw Michael Santorelli and Martin Erat beat Martin Brodeur. Travis Zajac scored the only goal in the shootout for the Devils and it was extremely fortunate to go in.

I thought the Devils shot the puck a lot better than they did on Monday night. Maybe the credit belongs to Philly still for being extremely effective shot blockers  but Nashville only managed 11 blocked shots and allowed 28 to get through. Speaking of shot blocking,  Dainius Zubrus left the game in the second after blocking a shot from the point with his leg and immediately fell to the ice. With Zubrus out of the game, Nashville was much better at winning face-offs. Zubrus will not make the trip to Dallas but instead come back to NJ and get his leg evaluated on Friday. I thought Tyler Eckford played a very good game for his first in the NHL and I certainly hope this kid stays in the lineup for the time being.

All in all I am happy to get the point. The Devils didn't lose the game in the 65 minutes that count in my mind and they played a very evenly matched team. Shot selections in the shootout could probably have been better but as I said in the beginning of this post, I don't like the shootout so I can't fault NJ for it. The Devils head to Dallas tomorrow night and we will try to do our first live blogging event of the game right here tomorrow night.

My Three Stars:
#1 - Jason Arnott (2 Goals)
#2 - Zach Parise (2 Goals)
#3 - Joel Ward (6 shots)

In case you missed the game, here's the video recap:

 

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The Devils lose, lets get over it. Actually, it's kind of a relief because now the talk about records can stop and the Devils can focus on the things they are doing wrong, which even though they are 8-2-0 in the last 10, they are doing some things wrong..especially last night!! I am bummed about the way they played and how they lost though. It would be one thing if NJ played a flawless game and still managed to lose but NJ played a sloppy game last night and lost.

I don't think the Devils brought their A game with them to Philadelphia. I thought the defense was terrible and for some reason, kept allowing the Flyers offense to get in deep and even behind them at times, creating too many chances for a team with that much talent. The Devils gave up 35 shots and just too many scoring chances. I have to give a partial hats off to Marty Brodeur because he did keep the Devils in the game for a while, but like I said it is a partial hats off and I will get to that.

Philadelphia did an amazing job at blocking shots and I don't know if that deserves a pat on the back or is that rests on the Devils shooters to find better ways of getting the puck to the net. The Devils manages to get 35 shots on goal but took 73 shots and watched the Flyers block 26 of them. The Devils went nearly 12 minutes in the third period without getting a single shot on goal.

Now, back to Marty for a minute. There are moments when I think he is absolutely brilliant and then there are moments where he frustrates the crap out of me. The third goal he let in last night was one of those moments. That pucked belonged to Bryce Salvador and I think he was going to make the play and clear the puck but Marty jumped in front and poke-checked it right to James Van Riemsdyk, and in the process put himself out of position and saw Riemsdyk fire it right past him. I don't know what Marty saw but he should have let his defense do their job. The hard thing about that goal is that Parise scored with less than a second left would have been the equalizer if Marty didn't make that mistake.

The Devils stay on the road and head to Nashville on Thursday and Dallas on Saturday which are games that they can win, erase the memory of a bad game in Philly and keep having people think of the Devils as a strong team and not just a flash in the pan. As for the Flyers, they seem to have our number so far this season but we do face them 4 more times this season and will have plenty of oppurtunites to change our luck against them.

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The unbelievable roll that the Devils are on when away from their home state of NJ continues to roll. The Devils made another visit to the defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins and once again, rolled out of Pittsburgh with another 4-1 victory.

The Penguins got the scoring started with a goal that Marty thought should have been overturned. On the replay it looked as if Fedotenko had a little intereference with Marty during the goal but you had to see this on the replay. In real-time, it just looked like he was banging away at the puck.

Bergfors had a nice goal to even the game in the second period and Andy Greene had a nice shot to give the Devils the lead. I was pretty sure Greene's goal was redirected but it was Parise's goal that was the back breaker. If you turn the puck over in the neutral zone and it ends up on Zajac's stick with Parise rushing up with him, I am putting my money on the Devils scoring.

The Devils are playing well and doing so without some key members but we have to remember the calendar only reads Novermber 12th. It was mentioned the other night during the Ducks game that Scott Niedermayer leaving the Ducks was a possibility, especially if the Ducks continue to live at the bottom of the division. Way too early for this conversation to be taking place. Right now, his services aren't neede but that doesn't mean that can't change in a hurry. Go back and read this article (http://runningwiththedevils.com/2009-articles/october/10-bold-predictions.html) and you will see #10 is already coming true.

Devils come home tomorrow to host the Washington Capitals.

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More important to me than the World Series, the Devils won at home last night. Who am I kidding, even if they lost it would still be more important to me than what happened in that other sport. The Devils improve their home record to 2-4-0 by knocking off the Capitals 3-2 but honestly, I thought the effort was kind of flat.

The first period got off to an extrememly slow start and the Caps outshot NJ 11-6 and took a 1-o lead off of Tyler Sloan's goal. The way the Devils played in the first reminded me of how the Devils played in the first period the last time these two team met. Just like the first meeting, Brian Rolston would knock a puck in the net that brought NJ back into the game, except that in the first game it cut the deficit in half where as this one tied the game and this goal was nothing but pure luck and I really can't give any credit to Rolston for the goal except that he was the last Devil to touch it. In the second, the Devils outshot the Caps 11-6 and got a goal so now through 2 periods, both teams weren't thrilling me, shots were even at 17 and the score was tied at 1. I figured this game was just going to find its way to a shootout like the first meeting did. In steps Niklas Bergfors.

I'm not sure what was said in the locker room after the second period, maybe talk about only wanting to play 60 minutes and nothing more because the Devils came out in the 3rd and dominated the beginning part of the period. The Capitals committed 4 minor penalties in the 3rd and the Devils capitalized on 2 of those chances. Parise was in great position on a nice old style PP rush up the ice and found Bergfors for the go ahead goal, his first PP goal. The Caps found themselves in the box again and it was Bergfors (after lengthy reviews by the scoring judge) who was credited with the redirection past the Caps goalie.

The Devils seem to slack off a little which let Washington get back to within 1 of the Devils but eventually they shut the door, took the 2 points and called it a night.

I was certainly impressed with Bergfors tonight and I am glad he's making the best of his oppurtunity with the Devils. He did look a little lost in the very beginning of the season but call that inexperience because now, he is playing like he belongs. Marty has looked better and better each game but that won't stop me from wishing to see Denis a little more this season.

Devils get ready to host the Islanders, who have been on a streak to the Rock on Friday night. This will be the first look at John Tavares in the regular season. Rumor is Elias might be back. Rob Niedermayer left the game in the 3rd period last night with an Upper Body Injury" and we hope its nothing serious but will await more information today.

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In the beginning of the game, the Devils looked like a much different team than the one we watched on Wednesday night. The moved their feet and they created some good chances and pretty much took it to the Bruins early. I guess the Bruins felt the same way because that didn't happen in the 2nd and 3rd periods. For the most part I thought Boston played a better game but overall I thought the game was a little sloppy in the later periods.

Yann Denis did an outstanding job in net, like he did in the preseason. I hope the confidence that he showed in net leads Lemaire to use him more than the Devils have used past backups. I thought his positioning all night was incredible and the one goal that Boston was able to get by him really wasn't his fault.

Even though I felt that it was a sloppy game for the most part, it was a tight and exciting game as well. With the score tied 1-1 with just under 2 minutes to play, Parise tried to redirect a Langenbrunner shot that snuck between the legs of Tim Thomas and a crashing Zubrus was able to sneak behind Thomas and stick it home. It was a very heads up play by Zubrus and he started crashing the net at the right moment. It may not be the prettiest goal but it was certainly a clutch goal.

A down note is that Oduya left the game in the second period with a lower body injury. He mention after the game that it happened on the last shift in the first period and felt best to take himself out of the game. Yes its true that Oduya hasn't been able to find his way into the scoring sheets but with Martin out for 4 weeks, losing Oduya for a prolonged period of time isn't something I want to think about. We aren't sure if he made the trip to Tampa of returned home, I am sure we will find out more later today.

So the Devils keep their perfect road record intact and head on down to Tampa Bay for a matchup on Halloween afternoon.

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