The New Jersey Devils opened the 2013 season with a win against the division-rival New York Islanders. Martin Brodeur played well between the pipes, Travis Zajac and David Clarkson provided the offense, and the Devils jumped out to a quick two points.


I was extremely impressed with the pace of the game in the first period. The Devils moved the puck well and had a few good scoring opportunities. New Jersey's defense also played a key role in the first period, limiting the New York Islanders to a mere three shots on goal. Ilya Kovalchuk was in mid-season form, as was Martin Brodeur. The Devils and Isles went into the intermission locked up in a scoreless game.

The Devils came out strong again in the second period and finally cashed in on an opportunity. With 5:59 to play in the middle period, Travis Zajac opened the scoring off a beautiful feed from Ilya Kovalchuk. Henrik Tallinder tallied the second assist on Zajac's first goal of the season. The defense did its job again, holding the Islanders to seven shots. Brodeur looked flawless and kept New York off the board for a second consecutive period.

Things got interesting in the third period. New York tied the game up 7:12 into the third frame on a goal from Travis Hamonic (1). The power play goal came too easily for Hamonic, who stood wide open in front of Brodeur as three Devils' defensemen got caught in the corner. David Clarkson responded just over a minute later with a wrist shot that trickled through for his first goal of the year; Patrik Elias and Mattais Tedenby assisted Clarkson's eventual game-winning goal. The Islanders went 0-for-2 on the powerplay in the third (not counting the penalty assessed to Elias with two seconds remaining) and failed to capitalize on several key chances.


My Thoughts: The Devils played strong tonight and looked good. Rookie Stefan Matteau was focused and seemed ready to play tonight. Hopefully, we will see a lot more out of him this season. If Brodeur can keep up his stellar play, the Devils will be back into the postseason with ease. The absence of Adam Henrique is also big for New Jersey right now; once he is back, the offense will pick up and we will not see many one-goal games.

The puck movement was also extremely impressive tonight. With the extended lockout and lack of preparation time, I was worried that New Jersey might come out flat. That was not the case at all, and thankfully so.

New Jersey is back in action on Tuesday night against the Philadelphia Flyers. Philly will travel to Newark to play the Devils in their home opener, which will be broadcasted on NBCSN. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 PM. I will see YOU at the ROCK as we raise yet another banner to the rafters at the Prudential Center.

For all of your latest Devils news, follow us on twitter. Make sure to follow our content writers, as well: Scott Robb, Devin Mattera, and Raj Vaidya!

New Jersey Devils (0-0-0) @ New York Islanders (0-0-0)

In a few years we will stop having to visit that place they call an arena on Long Island and head to Brooklyn to play the Islanders but for now, we will continue to play in them in the Nassau Coliseum.

Here we go… CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?? Finally, after months and months of fighting over money and more money and contract terms and a whole bunch of stuff the average fan could care less about, it is time to drop the puck!!

This is the first preview so it will be kind of light because we really don’t know what to preview for tonight’s game but thank god there is finally a game.
 

Last Meeting

It was very late in the 2011/2012 season where we last saw the Islanders. Their season was over, ours of course was not  as the Devils just clinched a playoff spot a few days before. Travis Zajac playing in just his 5^th game since returning from a very long injury put home the game winner. A lot had been made about this goal at the time because many felt it helped Zajac’s confidence level which was going to be needed for the upcoming playoffs.

Players To Watch

Well as Devils fans we are going to be watching everyone I am sure but the big news going into this season was the lack of replacements added for the departures of Parise, Sykora and Ponikarovsky. Together, those three put 59 pucks in the net last season. Where will the scoring come from? Without Parise on the team and without Henrique in the lineup, EVERYONE is probably going to focus on Ilya Kovalchuk. That is why I will be watching him tonight. How does he respond?

I’ll be keeping my eyes on two Islanders tonight. Matt Moulson led the team with 36 goals last season and John Tavres led the team with 81 points. The Islanders are still the 5^th best team in the Atlantic division but these two guys certainly have the ability to win a few games on their own for the Islanders. They proved that last season.

What To Expect

To be honest, I am not quite sure. Some of our guys have been playing in the AHL during the lockout, others went to Europe but a large number didn't do either. So that is going to be my main focus tonight, to see if the coaches worked them hard enough this week and got them ready...game ready.

The Islanders always play us tough and being that this is a short season and points are going to be critical in all 48 games, I would expect a battle tonight. Let's just hope after months of waiting, our guys are ready!!

As always, check us out on Twitter during the game and then come back for our recap after.

We are now just days away from dropping the puck on the 2013 season. It’s been a long road to get here but I think we are all ready. Due to the lockout, we get a short 48 game season and it doesn’t take a brain surgeon to figure out that long losing streaks or giving away crucial points will be a huge problem this season. Let’s also remember that we play only Eastern Conference opponents this year so points are going to be CRITICAL. At times, the Devils gave away points last season, blowing leads in the 3^rd period but in the end, that didn’t matter much as they made the playoffs and then made their run. This year it could be the difference between making the playoffs and making early tee times, more so than any other year.

The Devils have six (6) games on the schedule for the month of January and some of those games come against opponents that could easily be mentioned for having a shot at the cup.

Game 1 - @ The Islanders – Hey look, the Islanders have come a long way in recent years. I think they made some decent acquisitions in the off-season and the play of Nabakov last season really did them well. I also think they are still the bottom dwellers of the Atlantic Division. I’m not saying we should sweep the Islanders this season, we never seem to do that and they always play us well but I do think we are the better team.

Game 2 – Home against The Flyers – The Flyers scared me last season, especially with their dismantling of the Penguins in Round 1 but then, let’s be honest, we completely outplayed them in round 2. I’m sure the suspension he received last year is still on the mind of Claude Giroux and I would expect that he has something to prove against the Devils. Tough opponent to get for your home opener.

Game 3 – Capitals at the Devils – Welcome back Adam Oates, that didn’t take long to run into you. The Caps are a team that underachieved last year. When you have a natural goal scorer like Ovechkin and guys like Backstrom and Laich and Green and a decent guy in between the pipes, making the playoffs on the final night of the regular season is pathetic. Oates, while many didn’t like him here, is a good coach. Look for them to be dangerous offensively and why do I get the feeling the Devils forecheck that worked so well in the playoffs will find its way to Washington this season?

Game 4 – At Montreal – I kind of thought when Marty tested the waters last July, Montreal might be the place he ended up. Thank god that didn’t happen!! Marty loves playing in Montreal and I don’t think the Habs made enough moves in the offseason to improve on the team they have.

Game 5 – At Boston – Even without Thomas, the Bruins are going to steam roll over the rest of their Division and probably be in a spot to be a favorite to win another cup. Always a tough battle in Boston.

Game 6 – Islanders at the Devils – See, very quickly we have 4 points in the Atlantic Division on the table. Hopefully we will make it 2-0 against Atlantic Division teams going into February.

My biggest worries going into this season are:

• Can we close out teams and not give away points. Even if you end up winning in OT/shootout, let’s not hand teams a point.
• We didn’t win the cup but we still have a bullseye on our backs as the Eastern Conference Champ, especially when it comes to play those Rangers.
• It’s a short season but worse than that, it’s a short camp to get ready for the short season. Are guys going to be in game shape come Saturday? Can we stay healthy?

The key seems to be 52-56 points in order to make the playoffs this season. Let’s get it started right by finishing off the Islanders in their building in 3 periods.

LET’S GO DEVILS!!

Training camp officially opened yesterday but due to the lockout, this isn’t your normal training camp. Decisions have to be made quickly on players trying to make the team and all the other roster moves that need to be made.

The Devils open the season Saturday night in Long Island so you can see that there isn’t a lot of time for decisions to be made.

Here is the full training camp roster:
 

Goaltenders
1-Johan Hedberg
30-Martin Brodeur

Defensemen
2-Marek Zidlicky
5-Adam Larsson
6-Andy Greene
7-Henrik Tallinder
10-Peter Harrold
24-Bryce Salvador
28-Anton Volchenkov
29-Mark Fayne

Forwards
8-Dainius Zubrus
9-Bobby Butler
11-Stephen Gionta
12-Tim Sestito
14-Adam Henrique (injured)
15-Harri Pesonen
16-Jacob Josefson
17-Ilya Kovalchuk
18-Steve Bernier
19-Travis Zajac
20-Ryan Carter
21-Mattias Tedenby
22-Krys Barch
23-David Clarkson
25-Cam Janssen
26-Patrik Elias
32-Mathieu Darche*
34-Stefan Matteau
*Unsigned

So what do we make of this roster? Who will we see in Long Island on Saturday night? I’m very interested to see how the guys that didn’t go to Albany or Europe to play. Are they in shape? Here are some thoughts:
 

The Gionta/Carter/Bernier line was so effective last spring that I believe without a doubt they should be given the chance to return this season. Will they be as effective, I don’t know but all three should certainly be on the Devils final roster.

Bobby Butler has emerged as Albany's leading scorer with 15 goals and 8 assists in 32 games. He also has led them in shots with 92. I can’t for any reason figure out why we would send him back to Albany. Let’s hope he makes it and keeps the #9 he is wearing in camp.

A lot of people are hot about Mattias Tedenby but I for one am not. He has talent but he’s been given a shot before and managed to play his way to an AHL ticket. That’s not to say guys don’t deserve multiple chances, they do. We know maturity helps in all sports, I’m just saying I’m not hot on this guy like many are.

I’ll take a pass on Tim Sestito. He’s never really done much for me and he hasn’t been lighting the AHL world on fire this season either.

I believe that  Stefan Matteau is there only so we can get a better look at him. I don’t think he will make the team this season. He needs work, especially when it comes to discipline but he’s a kid, he’ll grow.

Mathieu Darche played for Montreal last season but the free agent has not been signed by anyone. He's in camp on a tryout basis and a lot has already been made about his presence because he appears to have taken Sykora’s place in camp. Lou's decision were made to bring in youth rather than Sykora but they brought Darche in, who is the same age and scores a lot less. I still think the move is smart. You have to respect that the Devils are looking toward their youth and the one thing Darche has over Sykora is size. He’s 6’1” and 217lbs and let’s be honest, Sykora isn’t really much of a tough guy. In a limited role, Darche could be useful.

Coming tomorrow, we will take a look at the Devils first 6 games of the season which will bring us to the beginning of February.

In a shocking move by the Leafs yesterday, they showed Brian Burke the door and brought in Dave Nonis to be their GM. It's a move that shocked me that but is what this league does from time to time.

So with Burke the topic of this post, I just thougt I'd take the oppurtunity to share my favorite game against a Brian Burke team.

The framework to end the lockout is in place and while we wait for the ratification process for the new CBA to be completed, it is now time to start focusing on a little Devils hockey.

I will address a rumor first because I need to address it in order to move on with the point of this article. We woke up this morning to rumors that Ilya Kovalchuk might be staying put in the KHL and not returning to the Devils this season. Sorry, I’m not buying it. The guy has more than a decade left with NJ and lots a lot of money to leave on the table. He’s going to become the main focus of the Devils offense now that Parise is gone and I just can’t believe he’d leave that. When the Devils open their 2013 season, you better believe that #17 will be there.

With the departure of our Captain last July 4^th, that leaves a vacancy on our team for a new captain. Who should wear the “C” from this point on? Here are a few thoughts:

Ilya Kovalchuk – Seems to make the most season. He’s locked up long term and I for one want to give the “C” to a guy who is going to be around for a while. No one likes watching their Captain walk away from the team. We’ve watched it happen twice now and I don’t want to see it happen again. He’s changed his game and bought into the Devils philosophy since joining the team, so I ask you to come up with a reason not to give it to him.

Kovalchuk is my choice but let’s look at some other guys that might hear their names in this conversation.

Patrik Elias – No doubt that Elias has been a leader for us on the ice. He’s even worn the “C” for the Devils before but I always got the feeling that he wasn’t exactly comfortable with that on his uniform. I don’t really think he’d jump at the chance to wear it again and I believe the DeBoer probably can see that.

Bryce Salvador – I prefer to have my captain be a defenseman but when you look at the Devils defense, no one really stands out above the rest. It’s a very good group of guys that get the job done but there isn’t a Stevens or Niedermayer among them. If you had to pick a defenseman, Salvador is the veteran but I don’t see him or any other defenseman wearing the C.

Travis Zajac – You could make an argument for this guy. The team seems to be lost when he is out of the lineup. He missed most of last season and the Devils were noticeably improved when he returned to the lineup and was very helpful in their run to the Cup Finals, BUT and it’s a but that would get the likes of Sir Mix-a-lot all riled up, Zajac is a UFA in 7 months and do the Devils really want to go through this again?

So that’s my short list and it really is a VERY short list because I think Kovalchuk is really the only guy that should get the “C” on his jersey. Who do you think should be the next captain of the Devils? Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comment section!

After 113 days and a 16-hour negotiation marathon that wrapped up at 5am et on Sunday morning, a tentative deal on a new 10-year collective bargaining agreement has been reached between the National Hockey League and NHL Players' Association

That means we will be talking Devils hockey RIGHT HERE starting this week!!!

NHL fans are angry, there is no denying that. I’m angry, I just want to watch some hockey, talk about hockey and heckle my Rangers fan co-worker but without the NHL playing, it is impossible to do any of that. We’ve lost nearly 45% of our season to this lockout and fans are getting angrier by the day. Is it a surprise that a group of NHL fans are advocating something called Just Drop It?

Here’s the video that was posted on YouTube:

So after watching, we are to understand that in 10 days’ time, if the lockout is still in effect, for every game we lose, we are supposed to take that from them when they do return to the ice. During said ban, we aren’t supposed to attend any games, watch any hockey (highlights included) on TV or buy any merchandise.

Would the hardcore fan actually do this? I would imagine the casual hockey fan might not return but those hardcore ones? Like I said, I am angry. And like I’ve said previously, I feel under appreciated by the NHL but the fact is this: Most fans, including myself are going to come back. We as fans are kind of stupid. We run up credit card debt in order to attend games or in order to buy the latest merchandise. I’ve know people who put watching a game on tv or attending a game in person above their responsibilities that have to their families. I’d argue that the bigger issue the NHL faces when play resumes is not fan loyalty but rather their sponsors. Will sponsor want to dump money into a league that doesn’t blink twice at locking out players and canceling games? What can the NHL offer to any of their sponsors that the NFL, NBA or MLB doesn’t already?  I’ve digressed.

This mission that these very loyal NHL fans are on has a few problems:

1)      We’ve been waiting for the NHL to end the lockout and return to the ice. If you lose 10 games between Dec 21^st and the end of the lockout, you’re telling me that you have enough discipline to not tune into opening night? I’m sorry, I don’t buy it.

2)      I don’t think there is any way that this will reach enough people that would follow through where it actually hurt teams. I’ve heard a lot of people willing to continue to watch on TV but give up their season tickets. That will be felt by the owners not a bunch of empty threats about not returning for a certain amount of time.

3)      By saying you’ll boycott X number of games and not buy merchandise during your X number of games boycott, you are basically saying eventually you will be back and eventually I will start running up my credit card debt to support my NHL habit, they’ll just have to wait X number of games. I say shit or get off the pot. You want to walk away from the NHL, go ahead and do so but saying you’ll going to walk away but return in 3 weeks’ time is kind of dumb.

I do applaud them for their effort. No one likes to sit idly by and wait, I just don’t think this will do much. Maybe I’m wrong, maybe come opening night, the NHL will be playing to an empty arena.

So I throw it to you. Are you going to boycott the NHL once they return?

The precedent the NHL has set for lockouts is a huge problem and a lot of people are losing out because of it. Yes, players and owners are losing money but they are the ones in control right now. They are the ones that can put a stop to the lockout. With so much focus on the NHLPA and the NHL, it begs the question, who is losing the most because of this lockout? Here are a couple I came up with (in no particular order) and please feel free to add some that you think I missed in the comment section below.

• The Fans – I think this one is obvious. As fans, we wake up every morning and log on to our favorite sports website to find that the lockout hasn’t been resolved. Even when talks seem to be going well, they come to an abrupt halt with either the owners or players talking about how they were “deeply offended” by the other side. We are powerless and for a lot of us, we don’t have any other hockey options. So there we are, sitting, waiting, wishing for a season to begin. (Did I get the song in your head? If not, here you go…) The big question I have, which I really can’t answer, is this: if you are a season ticket holder and the ultimate outcome of this is the cancelation of yet another season, do you go back? I’m not a season ticket holder but if I was, I would have a hard time giving that much money over to a league that doesn’t really seem to appreciate the fans. The NHL would really have to do something for me to make me want to give them that kind of money. Personally, I’d take the cash, buy a bigger flat screen and watch in the comfort of my own home. Yes, they get money from me watching but I’d have a bigger TV for other things as well.
   
• Older Players – Yes, they are players and have some say in what is going on but it seems that some players want to take what the NHL is offering and some don’t, so they aren’t in complete control. All I know is that there are a number of players in this league that are very near retirement. After the 2004/2005 lockout, guys like Mark Messier, Scott Stevens, Al MacInnis, Adam Oates and Ron Francis never got to return to the ice. These were guys that left a huge mark on the game and they just faded away from the NHL. No swan song, no farewell tour and most importantly, no victory lap. If we lose this season, which older players have we seen play their last NHL game and did so without knowing it was their final game? Daniel Alfredsson, Teemu Selanne, (gulp) Marty Brodeur? Let’s hope we get all these guys a victory lap.
   
• Small business with ties to the NHL – On game night, I invite you to take a stroll around Newark (don’t worry, it’s safe.) Take a moment and realize the amount of bars and restaurants are packed both before and after a game. I haven’t seen the numbers for Newark but this doesn’t only happen in Newark. This happens near every arena in the NHL. In one city, I read of a bar losing between $60,000-$80,000 a month. Millionaire league owners and players fight over hockey related revenue, escrow, and make whole while at the same time putting Mr. Joe Schmo Hockey Man out of business. I doubt people are making the trip to Newark to go drinking in some bar if they aren’t in town to watch a hockey game.
   
• State of Michigan – While I am not a fan of the Winter Classic, there is no denying that it brings in some decent money for the hosting city. This year’s Winter Classic seemed like it was going to be done on a much larger scale which probably meant even more money for the state of Micigan / city of Detroit. Michigan was to play host to the Winter Classic this year but watched that cash cow get pulled from underneath them. It would have been cool to see the NHL play a game in the Big House, which maybe they will do someday but as for this year, it was cancelled back in October.

• The Minnesota Wild – As much as this one pains me to talk about, the lockout definitely hurts them. The Wild made potentially the move of the year with the off-season pick up of free agents Zach Parise and Ryan Suter. No doubt Minnesota paid a ridiculous amount of money to do this, but there was a palpable excitement in the air, which Minnesota hasn’t seen in a long time. According to USA Today, “They have sold the equivalent of about 4,000 new season tickets since the day the 13-year, $98 million contracts for Parise and Suter were revealed, signaling the most-anticipated season in the franchise’s 12-year history. Thanks to the NHL lockout, though, the mute button has been pushed on the buzz and begs the question, will the casual fan that just bought their first set of season tickets because they bought into the buzz just opt to get their money back and forget about the NHL. If you are a casual fan, the message that fans don’t matter must be a lot louder and clearer than it is for the hardcore fan.