Two words: Alexei Ponikarovsky. Sure, I've been hard on him all season long, but he sure did step up in a big way tonight. Ponikarovsky sent the Devils to victory with the game-winning goal 17:21 into overtime. Devils' star Ilya Kovalchuk played a huge part in the win tonight, with a goal and two assists. New Jersey skates into Sunday's game with a 2-1 series lead and a whole lot of momentum.


Things started off rather gloomy for the Devils tonight. Adam Henrique took a tripping penalty just 4:48 into the game and gave the Flyers the first power play opportunity of the evening. Brayden Schenn capitalized on the chance and put the Flyers up 1-0 just a minute and twenty seconds later. It looked like Martin Brodeur could have saved the shot, but after a moment of hesitation from Marty, the puck ended up in the back of the net. Patrik Elias had the answer for the Devils 12:33 into the opening period when he scored on the power play to tie the game at one. Just a short twenty seconds later, Ilya Kovalchuk fired one past Ilya Bryzgalov to put New Jersey up by one. The Devils continued to play smart hockey by staying out of the penalty box and took a 2-1 lead into the first intermission.


This second period was one that Devils fans will want to forget. New Jersey seemed to lose some of their first period momentum and took a couple of penalties that could have been avoided. The officiating also took a turn for the worse in period number two. Ilya Kovalchuk was called for delay of game after he cleared the puck over the glass. However, after looking at the replay, it was clear that the puck was deflected over the boards; nonetheless, New Jersey was able to kill off the penalty--something they would have to do twice in overtime in order to win the game. Matt Carle scored his second goal of the playoffs 4:44 into the middle period to tie the game at two goals a piece.


Looking to rebound from their second period blunders, the Devils came out strong and appeared to have regained their first period energy. A great New Jersey forecheck lead to the tie-breaking goal from Zach Parise 7:29 into the third. Patrik Elias made a great pass while pinned in between two defenders and the boards to set up Parise. Zach then took the puck around the net and beat Bryzgalov through the five-hole to give the Devils a 3-2 lead. Shortly after, at 11:04 into the third, Danny Briere tied the game for Philadelphia on a rebound that should have been controlled by Brodeur. The Devils defense did a poor job of covering Briere, as he had a wide open path to the front of the net. Sixty minutes of hockey was not enough for these two teams tonight, as this game went into overtime tied at three goals a piece.


Yet again, the Devils had to battle not only the boys in orange and black, but also the boys in white and black. Dainius Zubrus was called for boarding 8:23 into the extra period on a questionable call from the officials. Zubrus did not leave his feet on the hit and the puck had just been played. The Devils were able to successfully kill off the penalty before Bryce Salvador was called for delay of game 12:29 in. The best penalty kill in NHL history apparently showed up for the game tonight, as New Jersey was successful again in killing off the penalty. Cue Alexei Ponikarovsky. Ilya Kovalchuk maintained possession of the puck in the neutral zone as Alexei Ponikarovsky jumped onto the ice. Philadelphia was caught in a line change and Poni skated in two-on-one. Poni shot the puck and collected his own rebound, back-handing the game winner into the back of the net. The goal horn sounded and the chant began...

The Good

• Ilya Kovalchuk was strong in his return to the line up tonight, collecting three points (1 G, 2 A). Without Kovy, this game could have been a LOT different for the Devils.
• The Devils penalty kill was strong once again tonight as they went 4-for-5. As strong as the Flyers power play is, a stat like this is key.
• Alexei Ponikarovsky finally produced a big-time goal for New Jersey. Maybe this will give the youngster some confidence heading into Sunday's game.

The Bad

• Martin Brodeur looked a little shaky at times and let up some big time rebounds. If the Devils want to continue their success, Marty will have to keep his game under control and play like the veteran that he is.
• The Devils have been plagued by delay of game penalties in the playoffs. In order to win, New Jersey needs to stay out of the box. Taking stupid penalties such as delay of game is really discouraging.
• The officiating was horrible tonight. At times, it seemed like the referees were watching a completely different game. The Devils were able to overcome the poor officiating tonight; it looks like they will have to continue to do so as there has been NO improvement in officiating throughout the playoffs.

 
Above: Alexei Ponikarovsky #12 of the New Jersey Devils scores a goal in overtime to defeat the Philadelphia Flyers in Game Three of the Eastern Conference Semifinals during the 2012 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Prudential Center on May 3, 2012 in Newark, New Jersey. The New Jersey Devils defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 3-4 in overtime. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

The Devils are back in action on Sunday night (7:30 PM) as they take on the Philadelphia Flyers in Game Four of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. I will see YOU at the Prudential Center as New Jersey looks to take a 3-1 series lead. For all of your latest Devils news, follow the @RWTDblog staff on twitter: @RealScottRobb, @DEVIN88MATTERA, and @Rvaidya33. You can also check us out on facebook, too. LET'S GO DEVILS...

 

no comments

There was a lot of talk about Kovalchuk missing Game 2 both before and during the game on Tuesday. By the end of the game all that seemed to matter was that the Devils went into Philly, stayed focused and came away with a 4 goal 3rd period and knocked off the Flyers 4-1 which evened the series at 1 game a piece as this series shifts to the Prudential Center for games 3 & 4. I've been preaching all playoffs that this time of year isn't neccesarily about the superstars. The opposition puts so much focus on stopping guys like Parise, Kovalchuk and Elias that you need other guys to step up. That's exactly how it played out Tuesday with Larsson, Clarkson and Zajac scoring keys goals for the Devils.
I've watched Peter Laviolette for a number of years now. He's an animated coach with a short fuse. I would imagine that Tuesday loss has to be keeping him awake at night. Exepct Philly to come out with a lot more "jam" tonight. The Flyers are more successful in the playoffs when they don't score first. What happens tonight? You can't just sit back and let the other team score first. Space Cadet Bryzgalov had an outstanding first two periods the other night before everything just fell apart. How does he bounce back?	We saw at the end of Game 2 that Philly wanted to try and start being a little more physical. Expect more of that tonight. It's what helped them in Round 1. Devils need to be prepared but also need to play their game. Staying out of the box is unrealistic as these refs like to call penalties that are extremely borderline. The Devils did a great job on the PK in Game 2 and need to continue that trend in Game 3. The game shifts to New Jersey which means the Devils control the matchups. Does DeBoer change the strategy of what matchups he was given in Philly? The Flyers are a great road team so this is where DeBoer earns his paycheck.
1. Claude Giroux - He was quiet in game 2 but he was a huge part of the success in Round 1. He won't stay quiet for long, or at least will try not to stay quiet. 2. Ilya Bryzgalov - How does he respond. Game 2 was kind of like the way his season has been. Great start followed up by a complete breakdown. Is his psyche shattered? Is he too worried about bears, who lost more monkeys in space or that the "universe is huMANGous beeg" 3. Wayne Simmonds - We saw him running his mouth and getting in faces at the end of Game 2. I'm actually surprised it took that long. I'm sure he will do his best to get under the skin of some Devils tonight.	1. Travis Zajac - Right now, he's on the top of my list when it comes to the Devils MVP in the post-season. He's scored some clutch goals and he seems to be the type of player that the other team overlooks.  2. Adam Larsson - So first postseason game under his belt and shared in the role of being a hero as his game tying goal seemed to be the key to opening the flood gates. First playoff game is an emotional ride, how does he respond in game 2? 3. Marty Brodeur - He's been stellar since Game 6 of the first round. The Devils need him to continue with this kind of play if they stand a shot at getting to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Scott Hartnell-Claude Giroux-Jaromir Jagr Brayden Schenn-Danny Briere-Wayne Simmonds Matt Read-James van Riemsdyk-Jakub Voracek Max Talbot-Sean Couturier-Eric Wellwood Kimmo Timonen-Matt CarleBraydon Coburn-Nicklas GrossmannAndreas Lilja-Marc-Andre Bourdon Ilya Bryzgalov   Sergei Bobrovsky	Zach Parise-Patrik Elias-David Clarkson Petr Sykora-Travis Zajac-Dainius Zubrus Alexei Ponikarovsky-Adam Henrique-Steve Bernier Ryan Carter-Stephen Gionta-Ilya Kovalchuk Andy Greene-Mark Fayne Bryce Salvador-Marek Zidlicky Anton Volchenkov-Adam Larsson Marty Brodeur Johan Hedberg ** this is what happened in the morning skate. Time will tell if Kovalchuk plays tonight. I'm sure he's a game time decision **
Flyers will win if … If they can bring up the tempo and the physicallity of the game. Brodeur can be beaten if they create traffic and the occasional bump in the crease, we saw that in Game 1.	Devils will win if... they keep up with the Penalty Killing. I thought most of the losses in Round 1 were due to allowing the Panthers momentum from power play success. We saw Philly gain momentum in Game 1 when they scored on the PP as well suffered when they went 0/5 in Game 2. Don't fall into the trap that Pittsburgh fell into when Philly started getting chippy with them.

 

"Tonight I'm planking but on Thursday it's all about Tebowing!!"

 

You couldn’t escape the fact that Ilya Kovalchuk wasn’t in the lineup last night, mainly because Pierre Maguire and Kenny Albert weren’t going to let us forget. Guess what, it didn’t matter. The Devils worked hard all night and found a way to get the job done. They kept their frustration levels in check as Bryzgalov seemed to answer everything the Devils threw at him in the first 2 periods.The Devils kept at it and eventually solved the Philly netminder and put 4 unanswered goals past him (ok, one was an empty net goal).

In his post-game interview, DeBoer was asked if he was surprised how the Devils responded without their sniper. “I really felt we would respond like this,” proud Devils coach Pete DeBoer said. “It’s not more than I expected. It is what I expected. I knew we’d be better than Game 1. I think there were some obvious reasons why we ran out of gas a little in Game 1. I knew we’d bounce back. We’ve dealt with adversity of injuries and things all year and I really felt that we’d have a great game tonight and we did.” The one thing the media seems to forget is that Kovalchuk isn’t the be all end all of this team.

I thought the Flyers did a good job matching up against Elias and Parise, like I had thought the missing Kovalchuk would allow them to do but tonight was about those next tier guys that you need to step up this time of year.

Larsson tied the game at 1-1 when he took a nice little dish from Zubrus and beat Bryzgalov high to the glove side. You had to feel good for Larsson who has been a healthy scratch for all of the playoffs so far. Yes he’s made his mistakes but he’s worked hard all year, gets inserted into the lineup when his team needs him the most and scores his first playoff goal in his first playoff game. He even made some nice breakout passes throughout the game.

We’ve been waiting for Clarkson to show up in the goal scoring column and like most of his goals this season, his first of the playoffs came in a huge spot. He passed the puck off to Parise and followed the play to the net, which resulted in a nice juicy rebound sitting there for him to drive home. Of course the goal was nothing compared to what happened after the goal as Clarkson somehow ended up on top of the net.

Zajac sealed the game when he took a Gionta rebound behind the net and beat Bryzgalov on a backhand wrap around before he could get over to the post. Salvador then put home a crazy, bouncing empty net goal from his own blue line to send the Philly faithful home.

Bryzgalov was the big story in the first two periods of this game but the Devils hard work and ability to overcome the frustration of a goalie standing on his head ended up being the bigger story by the end of the game. The series shifts to NJ knotted up at 1 a piece.

A few more quick thoughts on the game

• Once again the officiating was questionable. There were quite a few questionable calls, like the Giroux dropping the stick and Henrique getting a penalty for it.
• Speaking of penalties though, the Devils did a great job on the PK last night. Not sure what the difference was but there was a noticeable difference.
• I know the Devils fans were getting frustrated by the lack of scoring in the first 2 periods, especially when Henrique was denied in the slot, followed up by a Devils PP that put a lot of shots on net but none into the net. I keep talking about the Devils ability to just keep going and it really was amazing to watch.
• I’ve been hard on Harrold recently but give him credit, he looked decent out there last night. Not a Kovalchuk replacement by any means but he worked hard.
• You have to question the Kovalchuk injury at this point though. Is it serious, will he be back for game 3?  If he is, how can you justify sitting Larsson?
• At the beginning of the game I thought the Devils needed to be more physical, questioned where that would come from but the Devils didn’t need to. They kept to the plan they had and in the end, it all worked. Good thing I’m not the coach!!
• Did the Flyers sit back too much? I would imagine they feel that they did and that we should expect a Flyers team with a lot more “let's fucking giddy up and go” than we saw last night. (Yea, I’ve been waiting to work in my favorite 24/7 line for quite some time now!!)

The RWTD 3 Stars of the night

* - Travis Zajac - He's putting his name in the hat for the Devils MVP of the playoffs. 5 goals and 3 assists in 9 playoff games.
** - Adam Larsson - Solved the Philly goaltender and got the Devils rolling down the hill. 
*** - David Clarkson - Put home the game winner and then gave with Internet plenty of material for some photoshop fun!!
 

Here we go…GAME 2!! It’s been a pretty busy morning around the New Jersey Devils as they prepare for Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals against the Philadelphia Flyers. News came out this morning that Ilya Kovalchuk will be out of tonight’s game with an undisclosed injury. This, only days after telling reporters that he was fine. I said it early into the Panthers series that he didn’t look himself, that it was more than playoff nerves. Hopefully, it’s not too serious and he will get back out there soon.

There are a few problems with Kovalchuk out of the lineup. The most obvious is that the power play will now be missing one of its point men. Zidlicky will have to make up for that loss but not having to defend Kovalchuk’s slapper from the point is certainly an advantage for any penalty killing unit. The second is that the Devils will need to replace the minutes that belong to Kovalchuk and I certainly don’t know how they are going to do that. Finally, Laviolette’s job just got easier because he can concentrate on his matchups against Parise and Elias a little more closely. Kovy hasn’t put  a lot of pucks in the net but certainly a key piece to this team.

Here are the lines we will probably be looking at tonight:

Zach Parise - Patrik Elias - David Clarkson
Petr Sykora - Travis Zajac - Dainius Zubrus
Alexei Ponikarovsky - Adam Henrique - Steve Bernier
Ryan Carter - Stephen Gionta - Peter Harrold

Bryce Salvador - Marek Zidlicky
Anton Volchenkov - Adam Larsson
Andy Greene - Mark Fayne

Martin Brodeur
Johan Hedberg

So Larsson will make his playoff debut because Harrold moves up to the 4^th offense, Bernier to the 3^rd line in order to move Clarkson up to the first line. What???? I’m very curious as to what DeBoer sees in Harrold to think that he should be playing defense in any series, can make the transition from Offense to Defense. Part of me thinks that he just threw names against the wall to see what would stick in order to make tonight’s line combinations. One thing is clear in my mind, this game is about Marty stealing us a win.

Things I want to see tonight:

• STAY OUT OF THE BOX. The one thing I have learned in these playoffs is that a great PK during the regular season means absolutely nothing. We continue to lose games because we give the opposition opportunities up a man.

 

• Get the pucks on net. A lot of people are picking Philly to win the cup but I don’t see how they can when Bryzgalov lets in so many goals he shouldn’t. It’s the playoffs, no way Sykora should have been able to put the tying goal home the other night.

 

• Survive the second period. I don’t know what else to say but the second period has been a place that we’ve let a lot of teams back into the game.

 

• Take it shift by shift. Especially with the line juggling, it’s important to remember to take it shift by shift.

Tonight is important because I really don’t want to go back to the Rock down 2-0 to a very confident Flyers team.

And Finally….

With Kovy back home in NJ, I guess Braydon Schenn’s jaw is safe!!

 

no comments

Hello everyone and welcome to another addition Masala Monday. The last time I talked to you guys, our beloved New Jersey Devils were in a 3-2 series hole against the Florida Panthers. Well they came back strong and now are playing the Philadelphia Flyers in round 2 (but you guys all know that). I predicted that the players who were listed as spicy/stale would have an impact against Florida and indeed they did, sending us to round 2. Let’s take a look at how some players have stood out to me from Games 6 & 7 vs. Florida and Game 1 vs. Philadelphia.

Spicy:

Travis Zajac – Without a doubt Zajac deserves a spot here. After missing a majority of the season, Zajac came back strong and in these playoffs, he’s been the go-to guy. Devils fans will always remember him for that Game 6 overtime goal at The Rock that tied the series against Florida at 3. Though he didn’t score in Game 7, his presence was a force to be reckoned with. In Game 1 at Philadelphia in the 2^nd period, Zajac swooped in and shot a puck that just trickled over the goal line past Ilya Bryzgalov. That goal tied the game at 2 and even though the Devils lost, Zajac’s team leading 4 goals and 7 points (add 3 assists) gives New Jersey the confidence they need to rebound and silence those critics. 

Zach Parise – Captain Zach has been consistent throughout the playoffs. Of course, if you’re the captain of the team, you gotta be consistent. Otherwise, how do you expect the team to be consistent? Parise showed strong leadership through his selfless play in New Jersey’s comeback against Florida. In Game 1 at Philadelphia, Parise added a goal to give the Devils a 1-0 advantage. I just hoped we could’ve held that but the past is behind us. Parise has 3 goals and 3 assists (6 points) and if the Devils want to avoid the embarrassment from losing to the Flyers again, those numbers will have to (and I think they will) go up.

Adam Henrique – I didn’t put him here last time because I didn’t see much from him in the first 5 games against Florida. I’m amazed at what he did after. He created several chances in Game 6 and ultimately I thought that he would have something to say in Game 7. You gotta think he did more than just that! Opening the scoring AND closing the scoring…in double overtime?! Please, how can you not put him in the spicy category? Look for Henrique to play a pivotal role in New Jersey’s quest for glory.

The Devils 4^th Line – How much can we say about these guys? Coach DeBoer trusts them beyond limits. We’ve seen this line of Steve Bernier-Ryan Carter-Stephen Gionta being matched with some of the top lines that both Florida and Philadelphia have to offer. In addition, they’ve fared well against them. I was truly impressed to see Gionta in particular, forecheck the way he did against the Briere line in Philly. He’s showing shades of his brother for sure. The 4^th line currently has the most even strength goals for the Devils with 5.

Stale:

Ilya Kovalchuk – Why Kovy why? I love this guy a lot and I look up to him in several ways. However, you can’t tell me that he’s suffering from an “injury” but then not know what it is. If there’s any injury, it’s a lack of heart. I remember NHL on NBC analyst Keith Jones ripping on Alex Radulov for his lazy play(http://bit.ly/Km7TVd). While Radulov was actually healthy, I’m sure Jones would’ve had an ample amount to say about Kovalchuk and his performance in these playoffs. He doesn’t seem that fast as of late and that Game 1 performance was just awful. I HOPE he can rebound but if he doesn’t, we need other guys to step up to the plate. Otherwise, we might as well just lock up our Devils gear until next October and trust me, I REALLY don’t want to do that.

Anton Volchenkov/Peter Harrold – What’s up with these guys? I haven’t seen a single amount of effort taken by these guys. Maybe a little bit by Volchenkov but they both make careless plays. In the case of Florida, it’s okay because they’re not as difficult a team compared to the Flyers. If there’s one thing we know about Philadelphia’s pro hockey team, it’s that they’re like crocodiles waiting for their prey to be just close enough for the kill. In this case the prey is the play of Volchenkov and Harrold and I seriously think it’s time to bench one of them and oh I don’t know…FREE LARSSON?!

Alex Ponikarovsky – Come on how does this guy even move up on the first line? If it’s because him and Kovalchuk speak the same language, that’s a big mistake because Ponikarovsky hasn’t done squat in the playoffs and I certainly don’t believe appeasing him to the first line will do any better for the team. Hockey is a team sport and Poni’s move to the first line will do more harm than good. That’s just my take though. He’s more effective on the 3^rd line.

As a team? I actually would say the Devils are quite SPICY! Yes they had a big setback in the 4-3 OT loss to Philly. So what? Do we all not remember how they came back against Florida in style? Also do we not realize that the mental block we have had against the Flyers has most likely been destroyed? The Devils are back and if you don’t believe so, do share your views. Once again, I encourage your them! You all can send me your views/criticisms via commenting or via tweeting.

For all the latest Devils news, follow us on twitter: @RWTDblog, @Rvaidya33, @RealScottRobb, and @DEVIN88MATTERA and you can like us on our Facebook page! So long for now – I’m Raj Vaidya, and hopefully this spice wasn’t too hot to handle!

Let’s all be honest here. Despite a slight advantage to Philly over the years, every Devil fan loves him/herself a Devils/Flyers match up. Well… we’ve got a playoff matchup against them now and it certainly did not start as per my needs. Game 1 of this Eastern Conference Semifinals between New Jersey and Philadelphia was one that Devils fans will want to forget forever.



Before the puck was even dropped, Cam Janssen was apparently warming up for the Devils (he didn’t play) for an intimidation factor I suppose. Coach Peter DeBoer also changed the lines up in an attempt to generate more offense (Alex Ponikarovsky moved up to the 1^st line and captain Zach Parise moved down to the 2^nd line). When the period started, I was amazed with what the Devils were doing in the first 3 minutes. To start against the Flyers like that was unbelievable. Just 3:16 into the game, Zach Parise brought me out of my seat with a shot that beat Ilya Bryzgalov down low! His 3^rd goal of the playoffs was assisted by Patrik Elias, who made a great pass to set up Parise. Philadelphia forward Jake Voracek took a slashing penalty nearing the 16 minute point. I was very impressed with what the ensuing Devils power play had to offer. Though they couldn’t score, the Flyers didn’t seem to have any motive to stop New Jersey’s momentum. Midway through the period, the Devils had an 11-0 shots advantage but that was broken 2 seconds later when Marty Brodeur made a stop on a Flyer player coming up to him on his right. That got a sarcastic applause from the obnoxious and disrespectful Flyer crowd. After that shot however, I truly believe everything went Philadelphia’s way throughout the game. The Flyers got a lot more shots but the Devils had some fair chances in Philly’s zone (mainly because Bryzgalov was misplaying the puck many times). After one, shots-on-goal were a promising 15-6 in favor of NJ.

If I was forced to describe this period in one word, it would be unfathomable. It was simple up and down hockey but the Devils were icing the puck more than need be. I even lost count and in a playoff game, that’s definitely not something to be proud of. From this, the Flyers took advantage of all the chances they got, but Marty was there to save the day (his stop at the 15:15 point on Max Talbot and at the 12:50 point on Sean Couturier). A minute after the Couturier save however, things started to fall apart for the Devils. Voracek found an open teammate in Danny Briere and passed him the puck, which allowed Briere to go on a breakaway. I’m not quite sure why Marty went down so early and stacked his pads when Briere didn’t even move but Briere found an opening and put it by Brodeur. His 7^th goal of the playoffs assisted by Voracek tied this game up at 1. Misery continued for the Devils just 37 seconds later. This time, Marty was truly to blame. He tried to play the puck but instead to the stick of a Devil, Philly defenseman Erik Gustafsson took it and passed it to an open teammate in James Van Riemsdyk (The Traitor), who scored on a wide open goal. Van Riemsdyk’s 1^st goal of the playoffs was assisted by Gustafsson and suddenly the Flyers were up 2-1. Eric Wellwood of the Flyers took a tripping penalty but the Devils power play that ensued had no effect, in fact, it harmed the Devils more than it helped. Just 9 seconds after the power play expired and Wellwood came out of the box, Elias took a hooking penalty. I put my palms in my face at that moment because I was almost ready to give up on the game. Adam Henrique, however, reversed that expression on my face with a great shorthanded attempt, ultimately resulting in a penalty on Flyer defenseman Matt Carle at the 6:38 point. Ultimately after the 4-on-4, the Devils power play quickly cashed in! Travis Zajac, at the 6:07 point, came swooping in and shot the puck from a pass, which trickled over the goal line behind Bryzgalov! Zajac’s 4^th of the playoffs were assisted by Parise and Ilya Kovalchuk and the Devils tied it at 2. Chances were pretty even after that, but the majority of those Flyers chances came off of turnovers from Marek Zidlicky. Shots-on-goal after two were 18-14 in favor of NJ.



Hardip Sidhu, a fellow Devils fan on twitter (@HardipGoDevils) tweeted before the game to “Hope for the best but expect the worst!” Well… that’s essentially what I was doing. I was HOPING the Devils could find a way to break this game open in the 3^rd. Unfortunately, I just did not have that confidence in the Devils. We’ve all seen how they’ve performed in the 3^rd as of late. All fans can do is pray. Knowing Devils fans and their prayers, they rarely get answered nowadays and the Flyers were ruling play for the majority of this period. There were several early chances by Philly that kept NJ on its heels. At the 16:10 point, Andy Greene took a hooking penalty. I was almost certain Kovalchuk would go off at the same time for whacking the Flyer player on the throat – thank goodness he didn’t. Well, there wasn’t really any reason to thank anybody on the ensuing power play, when Claude Giroux one-timed a rocket top shelf on Marty. Giroux’s 7^th of the playoffs assisted by Kimmo Timonen and Scott Hartnell came 19 seconds into the power play. I was essentially speechless because not only did the Flyers keep puck possession, but they eclipsed the Devils in shots! Still, I was sensing a miracle. Just a few seconds after the 9 minute mark, Philadelphia called a timeout, which greatly helped NJ. 20 seconds after the timeout, Petr Sykora, with great poise and patience, scored on Bryzaglov’s 5-hole on a breakaway! This game was tied at 3! Sykora’s 1^st of the playoffs was assisted by David Clarkson. That didn’t stop the Flyers from getting the 4^th goal though. Kovy turned the puck over a lot and that resulted in some scary chances for Philly. At the 6:18 point, Marty tried to play the puck behind the net but DROPPED HIS STICK! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! I’m thankful that there was a defenseman there otherwise things could have turned out pretty ugly. The Devils called a timeout with 3:39 to give the players some rest. The Flyers responded later with chances from Van Riemsdyk and Briere but no goals were scored. We were headed into overtime…again. Shots-on-goal after regulation were a shocking 29-22 in favor of Philadelphia.



The Devils were heading into overtime for the 3^rd consecutive playoff game in a row. That’s the first time they did that in franchise playoff history. Could they make it 3 for 3 though? From the first 30 seconds I probably wouldn’t say so. That’s when Zidlicky (aka Bum) took a delay of game penalty. If you all recollect, Bum did this in Florida during game 7 in the waning minutes of the 3^rd period, which allowed Florida to tie the game at 2. Here, the Flyers had a chance to win it. I thought the game was over on this power play when Briere “scored” at the 17:47 mark. We have this love for video replay though and it showed that Briere kicked the puck in. No Goal was the call! A minute later, Ponikarovsky almost won it for NJ but the loose puck near Bryzgalov was cleared out. It only took a shot from the point to beat Brodeur unfortunately. That shot was taken by guess who… Briere. You could make an argument that Van Riemsdyk interfered with Marty but to be honest I saw nothing. Briere’s 7^th of the playoffs assisted by Voracek and Carle gave the Flyers the 4-3 win at the 15:24 point. Shot-on-goal for the game were a miserable 36-26 in favor of Philadelphia. Complete bummer.

3-4 (OT) 

Three Stars:

1. Danny Briere
2. James Van Riemsdyk
3. Zach Parise

Next Game: Game 2 Devils @ Flyers May 1^st, 2012: 7:30 PM on NBC Sports Network

Key Notes:

   It was great news to me that the New Jersey Devils got to play a game on NBC for the first time in 5 years! In addition, I was excited to hear Doc Emrick call the game. Unfortunately, including the game today, the Devils have not won a game this season when Doc calls it. The last time the Devils knocked the Flyers out of the playoffs, they won the cup (2000). However the last couple of times the two teams played off against each other, Philadelphia won both meetings in 5 games (2004, 2010). Thankfully NJ doesn’t have to worry about those infamous rats anymore but keep in mind that a smoke bomb was thrown in 2008 in Philly. Anything can happen. Anyone notice what happened before the 3^rd period? There was a problem with Marty’s goal post. 19,972 was the attendance but 19,900 of them had to be Flyers fans and when they saw that they chanted “Marty”. Yeah, it’s totally Brodeur’s fault for a dysfunctional goal post right? The majority of Flyers fans have absolutely no class and I’m not expecting them to conform into class acts anytime soon. The one good thing about this game was that the Devils PK went 5/6.

For all the latest Devils news, follow us on twitter: @RWTDblog, @Rvaidya33, @RealScottRobb, and @DEVIN88MATTERA and you can like us on our Facebook page! Also, be sure to check out “Masala Monday” (next edition on April 30^th).

The Eastern Conference Semifinals are upon us and your New Jersey Devils are gearing up for their match-up with the Philadelphia Flyers. With the series set to begin on Sunday, April 29, the Devils will have a short rest coming off their double-overtime victory over Florida early Friday morning. The series promises big hits, great saves, and a whole lot of trash talk.

Who: The sixth-seeded New Jersey Devils will take on the fifth-seeded Philadelphia Flyers. The Devils finished the regular season with 102 points, just one behind the Flyers. The last time New Jersey knocked the Flyers out of the playoffs, Bill Clinton was President and a gallon of gas was just $1.51. Yep, you guessed it. The year was 2000 and the Devils were on their way to a Stanley Cup victory. Down 3-1 in the series, New Jersey rallied to beat the Flyers in seven games and advance to the Stanley Cup Finals.

When:

 

Season Series: New Jersey faired pretty well against the Flyers this season. Technically, the Flyers won the series with a record of 3-2-1 (7 points), while the Devils went 3-3-0 (6 points). The Flyers outscored New Jersey by a tally of 18-15 in the regular season.

Do I Smell Stanley Cup: This will definitely be an interesting series. If New Jersey is able to knock off the Flyers in the second round, the Devils will have a lot of momentum heading in to the Eastern Conference Finals. Both of these teams are just 12 wins away from winning it all.

Key Players: Martin Brodeur will be huge for the Devils this round. Brodeur went 1-3 against the Flyers this year, but posted an impressive 2.26 GAA and .905 SV%. Marty picked up career win number 650 against the Flyers on March 11, a game that I was in attendance for. Ilya Kovalchuk now knows what has to be done in order to win a playoff series; look for Kovy to step up big in the second round. On the opposite side of the puck, Claude Giroux will play an important role for the Flyers in the Semifinals. Giroux is coming off a fantastic series against the Pittsburgh Penguins and is for sure one of the top players in the NHL. Does Martin Brodeur have enough to stop Giroux and his top-line buddies?

Prediction: I went 2-for-3 in my predictions last round. I said that Adam Henrique would be a key player for the Devils and he ended up with two goals in Game Seven. I also said that the Devils and Flyers would meet in the Conference Semifinals. However, my predicted "sweep" of the Florida Panthers wasn't so great, so I will try to be a bit more realistic this time around. Devils in six. New Jersey wins G1, G3, G4, and G6; with that, the Devils will advance to the Eastern Conference Finals against the New York Rangers.


Above: New Jersey's Ilya Kovalchuk fights Brayden Schenn during a scrum that followed Zac Rinaldo's dangerous trip of Zach Parise. (Photo by Eric Hartline/US Presswire)

Make sure you follow the @RWTDblog staff on twitter: @RealScottRobb, @DEVIN88MATTERA, and @Rvaidya33. Check us out on facebook, too. If you haven't already, check out our photo gallery of highs and lows from round one of the playoffs. I will see YOU at Game Four of the Eastern Conference Semifinals at the Prudential Center on May 6 at 7:30 PM. LET'S GO DEVILS!

 

 THEY DID IT! New Jersey advances! 83:47 minutes of play time, a game that'd lapse into the early goings of Friday morning concluding with a dramatic 2OT goal from Calder Trophy candidate Adam Henrique would be the deciding factor in a Game 7 between the Florida Panthers and your New Jersey Devils. From the opening faceoff, you could tell this team had momentum carrying over from Game 6. The game, I believe, was won by the veteran experience in net by Martin Brodeur, aided by the youthful energy present in Adam Henrique throught the length of the game.



 Scoring BOTH, the first, and last goal, Adam Henrique would manage to scathe his way into the path of a drive from the blue line, redirecting a blast off the stick of defenseman Anton Volchenkov into the net past Panthers goaltender Jose Theodore. Henrique's goal in the first was scored 90 seconds in, a tip-in from Volchenkov and Clarkson even strength to put Jersey on the board. In wake of Adam's goal, the penalty box would recieve visits from both Bryce Salvador and Erik Gudbranson at 6:04 for roughing, followed up a minute later by Dmitry Kulikov from Florida giving New Jersey the man advantage, a 4 on 3 for a few ticks of the clock until the off setting minors would clear, resulting in a successful PK by the Cats. Three minutes later, Clarkson would take two in the sin bin for a rather questionable "diving" call after being CLOSELINED by Ed Jovanovski, who, as well, would sit two for holding at 10:39 of the first period, just over the half way point of the 1st. In the closing minutes of period one, Salvador would take a breather again, in the penalty box when he was called for interference at 17:20; New Jersey killed off the powerplay. Brodeur would push aside all 12 shots faced in the opening 20 as his cross-ice-opponent Jose Theodore, would stop 8 of 9. The Devils stuck to the basic idea of applying pressure right out of the gate, scoring early, and taking little to no penalties. New Jersey 1-0 Florida.


 
 Believe it or not, New Jersey WOULDNT blow the lead here in the dreaded second period. Normally, this is where I feel a sense of depression while watching the games; knowing the Devils' track record in second periods this season. Like I said, believe it or not, New Jersey would SCORE here! Another rookie this time, one with quite a familiar last name for that matter, Stephen Gionta would punch in his 2nd goal of the playoffs (1st goal coming back in a 4-3 loss to Florida in G3) and his 3rd goal of his young NHL career since being called up from the Albany Devils. With no penalties here this period, Baby Gio's goal would be the lone, outstanding marker on the period's box score. Gionta's goal would be clocked in at 9:15 of the second period from rookie blue liner Peter Harrold and Ryan Carter, even strength, to give New Jersey the 2-0 edge 40 minutes down, 20 to go. Brodeur continued to hold onto the goose-egg on the scoreboard, tacking on a medicore 2 saves on two relatively weak shots. Through 40 minutes, the Devils managed to out shoot Florida 20-14, going 0-1 on the powerplay while killing off the only Florida powerplay opportunity.


 
 As if this nailbitter of a game had been scripted somewhere in Hollywood, it would be only fitting for the team down 2-0 to make a valiant effort to capture the "W" in regulation. We'll open the 3rd period with the dis-allowed goal. A shot by a Panther about 2 min in would scooter its way past the lunging body of Marty Brodeur and into the back of the net bringing the Panthers to within one of the Devs with PLENTY of time on their side. The downside? Brodeur was interfered with. A questionable "shove" from behind by Adam Henrique on Shawn Matthias would lead to a collision with Marty in the crease, allowing the puck to find its way past the nearly impenetrable 3x Stanley Cup Champion goalie. Florida would be short handed; Matthias to the box at 1:50 for goaltender interference. New Jersey could not convert on the opportunity. When Matthias hit the ice again after his 2 minutes were up, shortly after, David Clarkson would take his turn in the penalty box when he was nabbed for hi-sticking. This would come to back to nip New Jersey in their one achillies heel of the series, their lack of killing penalties. With Clarky in the box and Florida up 5 skaters to the Devils' 4, nearly 45 seconds later Erik Gudbranson would nearly erase a man advantage for his team when he was sent to sit out two for slashing Bryce Salvador right on the left thumb. While on the 4 on 4, Devils defenseman Peter Harrold would slip up, holding is the call, and 2 minutes would be the sentencing. With a 4 on 3 for a short while, it'd be the New Jersey Nightmare, Stephen Weiss on the powerplay with 4 seconds remaining, who would put Florida on the board, finally, after a beautiful passing pattern between himself, Brian Campbell, and Mikael Samuelsson would lead back to Weiss driving one past Marty on the glove side for the goal. With Clarkson emerging from the box and New Jersey still killing off the Harrold holding penalty, Florida would show a sense of urgency as their shot totals began to rise in numbers, leaving them with 17 more shots in the 3rd than the 2nd (33 total through periods 1-3). The Devils miraculously would keep Florida off the board throughout the remaining minutes of the period! Oh, wait, I forgot a certain somebody taking a costly delay of game penalty with 3:48 minutes left in the game, his name, Marek Zidlicky. Despite pressure from behind, all he needed to do was chip it forward where a teammate was; instead we were left withMr. Zidlicky sitting in the penalty box for all of 20 seconds... yes, 20, seconds, in the box. FLORIDA POWERPLAY GOAL! Marcel Goc from Bergenheim and Garrison at 16:32 of the third would knot this game up at 2! As if the suspense wasnt building up enough for us all to begin with, and then, in the waning minutes, a horrific penalty could potential put New Jersey on the brink of playing Philadelphia this weekend, or playing 18 holes of golf Monday morning... the score would remain the same, shot totals through 60 were 33-26 Florida. Florida went 2/4 on the powerplay while New Jersey was 0/2 (concluding the night 0/3), this game, would be decided in THE, SINGLE MOST, DRAMATIC PLAYOFF SCENARIO OF ALL... OVERTIME, or so we thought.



 Well well well... overtime, for the second game in a row. Winner takes all! Devils-Panthers in Sunrise, Florida, WELL PAST sunset would take the opening faceoff for the 20 minute sudden death overtime period. Florida winning the draw would make just about ANY fan nervous at this stage of the game, as it sure as hell did for me. Shot after shot, followed up by save after save would suddenly see the last penalty of the night come from the corner in the Devils defensive zone. Florida's prolific goal scorer Kris Versteeg called for the slash 3:21 in the period would seem to put the Panthers fans in attendance at BankAtlantic Center in a stage of unease. But, when all was said and done, you could only guess that New Jersey wouldnt score with a man advantage and shortly after the teams were back at even strength. This period was frightning, very frightning... Big saves needed to be made over and over and over again when Brodeur's defense collapsed in front of him, only having to bail himself out time and time again. One player i'd like to point out in the 1OT period who showed veteren experience was Petr Sykora. He'll most likely go unnoticed after last night/this morning's game due to the hype over the GWG, but, in the first sudden death OT, Sykky was able to race back, trailing Bergenehim and Versteeg on two seperate plays to pull off a successful backcheck, knocking the puck loose when defensemen Anton Volchenkov and Peter Harrold could not keep up with the Florida snipers. Kudos to Sykora. Brodeur, like the 1st period would stop all 12 shots faced resulting in no goals while Jose Theodore shut down 9 of 9. TIE, GAME... DOUBLE OVERTIME.



 With this sudden death period beginning quarter after midnight here on the East Coast, I was HOPING AND PRAYING it would be wrapped up quick, and in favor of the Devils, of course, since I have class at 7:00am Friday morning... It sure seems as though someone heard me up there as this period would be no more than 4 minutes in length! With 1 shot taken, it'd be wrapped up! The night! The game! The series! The Panthers! ALL FINISHED! Opening AND closing the scoring for the game, Adam Henrique! ADAM HENRIQUE! The Devils win 3-2 in double OT over the Florida Panthers! After catching the puck and dropping it to the ice surface, a nifty little wrister would find a gap between the pads of Jose Three-or-more sealing Florida's fate. Henrique, The Exterminator with a quick usage of Rat-B-Gone on a wrister 5Hole would win it for the Dev's!

 3-2 Final/2OT 
 
 New Jersey would prevail! 4 games to 3. Emergence as a threat and a force to be reckoned with in the Eastern Conference Semifinals as the Devils' next opponent is not all that of an unfamiliar foe. The Broad Street Bullies, in the City of Brotherly Love, I can promise you this much, there sure as HELL wont be any "brotherly love" in this Atlantic Division rivalry matchup in the 2nd round of the playoffs. New Jersey's playoff schedule is as follows: 
Game 1: Sunday, April 29th- 3:00pm, @ PHI
Game 2: Tuesday, May 1st- 7:30pm, @ PHI
Game 3: Thursday, May 3rd- 7:30pm, NJ
Game 4: Saturday, May 6th- 7:30pm, NJ
Game 5*: @PHI
Game 6*: NJ
Game 7*: @PHI
* If necessary
(Game 4, Saturday May 6th, will be Martin Brodeur's 40th birthday)
 
 My prediction for this series will go as follows: New Jersey taking Game 1, Game 3, Game 4, and Game 6, dropping Games 2 & 5. Im not a Bryz-liever, im just not. To be honest, I dont think Philadelphia is as good of a team as everyone makes them out to be, especially going from the net out. Their forwards are ALWAYS a threat, but as for Bryzgalov, in the Quarterfinals, I feel as though he was faced up against a goaltender (Marc-Andre Fleury) who's head was all scrambled, a series which saw over 50 goals in 6 games, a 10-3 Pittsburgh victory in Game 5, the goaltending was WELL above par in that series and I dont feel as though Mr. Universe will be able to contend with the veteran experience of Brodeur. Devils in 6 is my prediction.
 


To hear all the latest Devils Playoff information, be sure to follow us on twitter at @RWTDblog , @DEVIN88MATTERA ,@RealScottRobband @Rvaidya33 as well as our facebook page! From all of us here at Running With The Devils, I'm Devin Mattera, you stay classy Devils Fans!

Game 7!! Two words filled with anticipation and drama. A game in which all things are equal and the past is meaningless. 82 regular season games and 6 playoff games of sweat, pain and sacrifice comes down to 1 game,  60 minutes of hockey. For one of these teams, tomorrow means preparing for the next stage of battle on the road to hockey’s ultimate prize while the other cleans out their lockers and prepares for a summer of what ifs. There is nothing like a game 7.

Hopefully for the players, they don’t look at it that way because that is A LOT of pressure but the question of the day is, who has more pressure on them? Florida or New Jersey?

This series has followed the script of what a playoff series should be, except maybe it was missing the bad blood that you sometimes see. Each game has had its proverbial ebbs and flows, so I am not surprised we’ve ended up in a Game 7, winner take all death match. I do think overall that NJ has been the better team and hopefully will be the better team tonight, which is all that matters.

The biggest frustration so far this postseason has been a guy like Clarkson who had a huge year but has been very quiet in these playoffs. It’s not usually the super stars, the snipers that win you games this time of year. It’s those grinders, those guys that live in front of the net. The Devils 4^th line, which didn’t really exist for much of the season, has been huge in this series. I need Clarkson to be huge tonight.

Keys To The Game:

• Tighten up defensively. The Devils did a decent job for most of game 5 but allowing 2 goals on only 4 shots in the 2^nd the other night is not tight defense. Fix that!!
• Speaking of the 2^nd period – SURVIVE!!! Florida has owned that period which has given them a couple of wins. It’s been a recurring theme all year that the Devils miss a period. DON’T let it happen tonight.
• Try and take the crowd out early. It’s game 7, they’ll be pumped and loud but if you can get them out of the game early, it will make it easier.
• The only safe lead is the one that we have when the clock read 3rd period :00. Don't sit back on anything.
• Throw pucks at the net because you never know. Look at Bernier’s goal the other night, he chased it to the boards, turned around and just threw it at the net. Florida should have stopped it but it snuck in. You can’t get those bounces if you don’t throw it at the net.
• Simplify the game, don’t over think it. Too many times we try to get cute with the puck.
• Play hard for however many minutes the game last tonight, hopefully only 60. Don’t let up,keep the foot on the gas. If you get the chance to squeeze the life out of them, then by all means…

A Plea To Marty Brodeur

PLEASE…no soft goals. Fight like you haven’t fought in a long time. Channel that Marty from 10 years ago that used to put this team on his back and steal games. You did it just a couple of games ago, we are looking for one more tonight. Live to play another series, we the fans aren’t ready for this to end and you as the goalie are our last line of defense. If they can’t get it by you, then they can’t win.

And finally….

There was a conversation on twitter yesterday about “Miracle” which led to my feeling old because that game is actually my first hockey memory I have and the people I was talking to told me that they weren’t even thoughts in their parents minds at the time. That just means they are like 29 or 30 right??. ANYWAY, when it comes to inspirational hockey speeches, I think the Herb Brookes speech that was shown in Miracle ranks up there as the best.