DEVILS LOUNGE

DEVILS BETTER GET THEIR SHIT TOGETHER

2009-03-31T20:19:00.002-04:00

I'm back! Sorry but having a new baby around the house has been too much! But now I can't take it anymore. These past five games have got all Devils fans as hot as the fires in hell. Yes you heard me right.

So what is going on, well here is my little take on the whole shit storm that has happened the past five games.
1) The Devils are getting run like a deer caught in the headlights of an 18-wheeler. Parise has gotten laid out the past few games, Marty is getting run and our defenseman are being pressured into turnovers and taken out by forwards who are told to run us through a brick wall. And what do our players do back, we hit like PUSSIES. YES, you heard me right fans, we hit like little bitches and that doesn't win come playoffs.
2) The Penalty Kill just blows. We are letting teams just set up and their are no pressure on the point men and we are allowing passes right through the center of our passive box. Again we are not going after the puck, they are so worried about positioning. Go force their players along the boards and at the points. Make them feel some fear from our penalty kill.
3) Take out Parise and there is no offense. Are Zubrus and Gionta dead? Cause they have done shit in February and March, Gionta has 7G-9A in 26 games (he had 41 points in first 49 games) and Zubrus has (wait listen to these pathetic 2nd line center numbers, here it comes) 3G-6A in 26 games. Hell Rolston and Shanahan are nowhere to be found either. Rolston has 6G-8A in 26 games and Shanahan, who has 3G in first 5 games, has 2G-6A in last 23 games.
4) Shots, Shots Shots! And I don't mean of Tequila. All teams are doing now are shooting from anywhere and watch side angle shots are low at Marty's pads where he can't control teh rebounds and the puck just lies there for people to clear. Get some fucking blocked shots.
5) 552. The chase took alot out of them and they were playing playoff hockey to get Marty to 552, so they hit a wall after it has happened. While at the same time other teams are just now playing playoff hockey cause they are desperate.

So what to do:
1) Put Shanahan with someone who can score and get him the puck.
2) Change the lines, except for the ZZ Pop line. Elias-Zubrus-Shanahan, Rolston-Madden-Gionta, Pandolfo-Holik-Clarkson.
3) Bring a forward up from Lowell. Halischuk, just some new blood. Scare some players and see what they can do for a game or two.
4) Hit everyone in sight. This next game run over Crosby and Malkin like they they road kill. Which defenseman will step up and be the Scott Stevens type, saying don't you come this way or you will leave on a stretcher.
5) Take less penalties and be more aggressive on the penalty kill.
6) Maybe have the refs give us some early power-plays. Oh, ya thats right we don't dive like that fags who play at MSG.
7) The next time anyone sees Avery on the ice, if he doesn't drop the gloves start pounding his face with their fists, we will see if he starts swinging then.
8) Control the puck and get back the aggressive forecheck. We are playing without the puck and sitting back. We need the puck more.
9) Get the breakout going.
10) lastly, get hunry and hurt the other team. Make them bleed and feel pain.

Sorry for all the mispellings, but I am too pissed off right now!

Devils Need To Bounce Back After Disaster On Long Island

2009-03-09T21:08:00.003-04:00

After their worst defeat of the year, a 7-3 trouncing to the young Islanders, the Devils know that they need to bounce back and right the ship in the final 17 games of the regular season.

Sutter spoke this week to many of the veteran players, all of whom need to step up their game as they head towards the playoffs. Players like Zubrus, Elias, Gionta, Shahahan, Madden and Rolston are all players that Sutter expects to see them games rise to the level of play he expects come playoff time.

The line of Zubrus-Elias-Gionta are the key to how far the Devils can go in their Stanley Cup run. The line was a key producer offensivelly during the Devils long winning streak in the middle of the season. Even though Elias has kept up his scoring pace, Gionta has (4G-8A) in his last 21 game while he had (11G-27A) in the first 43 games, while Zubrus has been a big dissapointment with (2G-4A) in his last 22 games, while he had (11G-17A) in his first 43 games.

If the Devils are able to win against Calgary and Phoenix, it will set up the opportunity for Brodeur to tie Patrick Roy's record in Montreal and then have a chance to break it at home against the Blackhawks at home on St. Patrick's Day.

Devil Notes:
- Havelid played 19:28 in his debut with the Devils and was a minus-2.

Devils Getting Help While Not Playing

2009-03-06T11:02:00.002-05:00

As of Thursday, the New Jersey Devils were 6 points behind the Boston Bruins for first in the Eastern Conference with 18 games remaining. They also had the Flyers and Capitals nipping at their heels. Well Thursday they got some help as the Bruins, Flyers and Capitals all lost.

With Bostons 2-1 loss to Phoenix, the Devils remain 6 points behind Boston with a game at hand. The Devils and Bruins play one more time, Sunday, March 22nd. The Bruins are 3-6-3 after a fast start to the season. Maybe, just maybe the NHL will make this the game of the week, the two best teams in the Eastern Conference, instead of the Rangers or Penguins.

Coming from behind are the Capitals and Flyers. With last nights 5-1 loss to Calgary, the Flyers remain 9 points behind the Devils but still have a game at hand. The way the Devils are playing it is all but seemingly their division to win and possibly by the end of March.

The Capitals 2-1 loss last night against the Toronto Maple Leafs, keeps the Devils 2 points ahead of the Capitals with 2 games at hand. The Capitals have struggled of late as well, losing 3 straight and five of their last eight games.

Anyway it plays out, the Devils seem to be on a collision course with the Rangers or Penguins in a first round match-up. If it was me I would be hoping to avoid those guys and prey we land the Panthers or Canadians. But one thing for sure, the Devils do have a real shot at being the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference.

Beyond Havelid, Devils Remain Silent at Trade Deadline

2009-03-04T12:19:00.007-05:00

The 2009 NHL trade deadline came and went and the New Jersey Devils remained intact, except for the addition of Nicholas Havelid. As of 3:57pm on Wednesday, a total of 20 traded were made on deadline day.

The big winners were the Calgary Flames who added Oli Jokinen and Jordan Leopold. The big additions in Calgary prompted the San Jose Sharks to act as they later added Travis Moen and Kent Huskins from Anaheim, while at the same time sent defenseman Kyle McLaren to Philadelphia.

The other team out west that made a big splash were the Phoenix Coyotes. The Coyotes sent Jokinen, Morris and Caracillo out of the desert. In return they got a load of NHL ready players in Petr Prucha, Nigel Dawes, Dmitiri Kalinin, Scottie Upshall, Matthew Lombardi and Brandon Prust.

But as all Devils fans care about is what happened in the Eastern Conference. All Atlantic Division rivals were active at the deadline.

The Rangers added Nik ANtropov and Derek Morris, but gave up draft picks and player Petr Prucha, Nigel Dawes and Dmitiri Kalinin. Along with those players Aaron Voros and Erik Reitz were put on waivers, which Reitz was picked off waivers by Toronto. And lets not forget they added Avery. In the end the Rangers have changed a dramatic portion of their roster, but their core still remains the same and that wont change the team they are.

The Flyers were all talk and less action. They talked about adding Pronger and Bouwmeester and so on, well in the end the shipped out Scottie Upshall and a draft pick and added Daniel Caracillo and Kyle McLaren. Small trades for the Flyers and still leave them with questions at goal and on defense.

The Penguins may have made the most imposing moves. Adding Chris Kunitz has seemed to already pay off with 3 goals since coming to Pittsburgh, but today they added Bill Guerin for nothing more than a 3rd to 5th round draft pick. If Crosby is healthy, the Pens have three solid lines but may have question at defense and will need Fluery to play out his ass to get past the Caps, Flyers, Bruins and Devils.

The Boston Bruins did as the Devils did, they fine tuned their roster. With a roster who does not have many players who have been past the 1st round of the playoffs, the Bruins added veteran Mark Recchi and defenseman Steve Montador, while giving up nothing from their teams core. This is essentially the same thing the Devils did in adding Havelid and Shanahan. I think we got the better end of that.

A big suprise was that the Capitals did nothing at the deadline. They have issues on the blueline and in goal, so this may be the biggest suprise.

Below are all the trades that happened today:

OTT- G Pascal LeClaire, 2009 2nd RD Pick
COL - F Antoinne Vermette

STL- D Danny Richmond
PIT-D Andy Wozniewski

CAL- D Jordan Leopold
COL - D Lawrence Nycholat, D Ryan Wilson, 2009 2nd Rd. Pick

DAL - Claims C Brendan Morrison off waivers
TOR - Claims D Eric Reitz off waivers
TOR - Claims G Martin Gerber off waivers
PIT - Claims F Craig Adams off waivers

BUF - G Mikael Tellqvist
PHO - 4th Rd Pick

CAL - C Oli Jokinen
PHO - 1st rd pick, C Matt Lombardi, F Brandon Prust

BOS- D Steve Montador
ANA - F Petteri Nokelainen

BOS- F Mark Recchi, 2010 2nd rd pick
TB - D Matt Lashoff, F Martisn Karsums

PIT- F Bill Guerin
NYI- Conditional Draft pick

PHI- F Danny Carcillo
PHO- F Scottie Upshall, 2nd Rd pick

NYR- C Nik Antropov
TOR- 2nd Rd Pick and a Conditional Pick

NYR- D Derek Morris
PHO- F Petr Prucha, F Nigel Dawes, D Dmitiri Kalinin

BUF- C Dominic Moore
TOR - 2nd Rd Pick

ANA - F Erik Christensen
ATL - D Eric O'Dell

FLA- D Steve Eminger
TB- D Noah Welch, 3rd Rd. Pick

CLB- G Kevin LaLande
CAL - 4th Round Pick

PHI- D Kyle McLaren
SJ- 6th round Pick

CHI - F Samuel Pahlsson
ANA- James Wisneiwski

SJ- F Travis Moen, D Kent Huskins
ANA- Nick Bonnino, G Tim Pielmeirer, Conditional Pick

CAR- F Patrick O'Sullivan
LA- F Justin Williams

EDM- F Patrick O'Sullivan
CAR- F Erik Cole

EDM- F Ales Kotalik
BUF- 2nd Round Pick

TOR- G Olaf Kolzig, D Jamie Heward, D Andy Rogers and 4th Round Pick
TB- D Richard Petoit

Deadline Day Is Here!

2009-03-04T09:22:00.004-05:00

Well the trade deadline is here and I will be glued to the NHL network starting at Noon, to see what is going to happen and where the Devils will land after all the dust settles.

Some things that are for sure, well at least that is what we are hearing, are that Neidermeyer and Pronger are going nowhere. On the other hand Derek Morris, Bill Guerin, Nik Antropov, Dominic Moore, Mark Recchi are all heading to new teams.

Players still up in the air are Ryan Smyth, Michael Nylander, Jay Bouwmeester, Oli Jokinen, Tomas Kaberle, Doug Weight and Martin St. Louis.

Then their are all the players who were put on waivers yesterday, Brendan Morrison, Miroslav Satan, Gary Roberts and Jon Sim, just to name a few. What will happen with them?

As for the Devils, what is their next move after picking up Nicolas Havelid the other day from Atlanta?

Will Clemmensen be traded or is their no interest from teams? Would Lou trade him to an eastern contender? Or will Weekes be the on who gets traded?

Will the Devils land another forward, hopefully a second line center?

Will Madden still be a New Jersey Devil after 3pm?

Will Greene, Gionta, Mottau, Zubrus and or Pandolfo be traded?

Well all we can do is sit back and let the deals unfold and trust that Lou will put us over the top as the top cup contender in the east!

DEVILS NOTES:
- With their 3-2 overtime win last night aginst the Leafs and losses by Boston and San Jose, the Devils are now only six points behind the league leading Sharks and Bruins. Four teams are tied for the league lead with42 victories (Boston, San Jose, Detroit and the DEVILS!)

Brodeur, Havelid and the Trade Deadline

2009-03-02T20:11:00.002-05:00

Marty Brodeur was named the NHL's weeks 1st star.Since his return, Marty Brodeur has posted two shutouts in three games including a dominant 3-0 victory over the Flyers on Sunday.

If there were any doubters, they are seemingly all convinced that Brodeur is 100% and that he is the greatest goalie of all time. Sunday's shutout was the 100th of Brodeur's career, which now puts him three away from tying Terry Sawchuk (103). Brodeur is also inching closer to the all-time win record held by Patrick Roy (551). If all goes as planned, Brodeur could tie or break the record at Montreal on Saturday, March 14th or the St. Patrick's Day game on Tuesday, March 17th against the Chicago Blackhawks.

On Sunday, Jamie Langenbrunner netted the 200th goal of his career and is on pace to break his career best of 23 goals in a season. Also in Sunday's game, Brian Gionta got his 300th career point with his second period goal.

In the three games since Brodeur's return, the Devils have outscored their opponents 14 to 2, outshooting their opponents 120-68 and have not allowed a power-play against in eight opportunities.

On Monday, the Devils acquired defenseman Nicholas Havelid from Atlanta Anssi Salmella. Havelid, 35, has played nine years in the NHL with Atlanta and the Anaheim Ducks. In 63 games this season he has 2 goals and 13 assists and is only one of five Thrasher regulars to have a plus rating (+4). In his career, Havelid has only had a negative plus/minus rating twice in an entire season.

Havelid gives the Devils another solid veteran puck moving defenesman. The trade opens up options for Lamoriello to either put Andy Greene as the seventh defenseman or trade a defenseman for the forward they have been looking to add. Havelid's salary is for 2.9M and is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.

Many people were hoping for the Devils to land a big name defenseman, but lately Neidermeyer came off the trade block and Pronger, Jovanovski and Kaberle came with too high of a price tag and salaries to add to a team with such great chemistry.

So where do the Devils go from here? The trade deadline is Wednesday at 3pm and the Devils may not be done. The Devils are still looking to add a center or veteran winger, but with the addition of Havelid, in order to do so they will need to give up a player. Players still on the trade block are Pandolfo, Madden, Gionta, Clarkson and Zubrus all could be moved.

Havelid will not join the team in Toronto, which also puts speculation that he may be one of the players traded to add another player. One rumor floating around is that Florida would move Bouwmeester for a veteran defenseman and a forward that could help them this season in their playoff run. Some options could be Salvador or Havelid and Madden or Pandolfo for Bouwmeester. Long shot trade and only a rumor at this point.

We will find out shortly.

Devils Blast Panthers; Guerin To Decide On Trade On Sunday

2009-03-01T08:52:00.007-05:00

The New Jersey Devils had something to prove after getting thumped 4-0 by the Panthers last week in Miami. Well I think the Panthers got the answer who the better team is as the Devils dominated and tore apart the Panthers 7-2.

Zach Parise led the Devils with 2 goals and an assist, giving Parise 38 goals and 76 points on the season. Of late Parise is not just scoring goals, his goals like his 38th goal are becoming highlight reel goals that are being shown on every network that shows hockey causing fans to scream MVP chants at the game yesterday. Parise is now back on pace for exactly 50 goals and 100 points, which would both be firsts in Devils history.

The Parise-Zajac-Langenbrunner line got some help from the newly formed line of Rolston centering Shanahan and Clarkson. The new line accounted for 3 goals and six points. All three players had a goals and assist apiece on the afternoon. Sutter's changes on the third and fourth lines and may have struck gold as Rolston's was able to use his speed at center, making him much more involved throughout the game and in the offense. The fourth line had Madden at center with Pandolfo and Holik on the wings.

Brodeur got his second straight win stopping 15 shots and is expected to play Sunday against the Flyers.

The real story is coming out Long Island, where the Islanders are said to have a deal in place with a playoff contender for winger Bill Guerin.

Guerin, who has a no-trade clause, was sent home after the pre-game skate on Saturday to mull over the potential trade with his family. Guerin is expected to make his decision known to Islanders management early this morning.

The Boston Bruins were speculated a few weeks ago, but are said not to be the team Guerin could be traded to. The three teams being speculated are the Canadians, Capitals and the Devils. The deal has been a very hush-hush affair, bringing on the though by many hockey media outlets and websites that the only GM who could pull off such a hush-hush trade is Lou Lamoriello.

Guerin leads all Islanders forward with 16 goals and 36 points on the season. A former 1st round choice of the Devils in 1989, Guerin has 403 career goals. The 38 year old is making 4.5M this season and is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.

We should know the answer about Guerin sometime around game time for the Devils-Flyers game at 1pm today.

NET ZERO

2009-02-27T09:27:00.003-05:00

After missing 50 games, Martin Brodeur stepped out onto the ice at the Prudential Center and made it seem as if he was never gone.

In his first game back since recovering from surgery to repair a torn bicep, Brodeur stopped all 24 shots on way to the shutout and a 4-0 Devils win. The shutout and win put Brodeur closer to breaking two records that seemed to be a foregone conclusion for him to reach at the beginning of the season. Brodeur is now six wins shy of tying Patrick Roy's record of 551 wins and four shutouts shy of tying Terry Sawchuk's record of 103 careeer shutouts.

After a three game stretch that saw them get shutout twice, the Devils came out flying and were aggressive on the puck. Spending most of the first period in the offensive zone, Brodeur was allowed to settle into the game as he only faced five 1st period shots. After the first period, Brodeur seemed to get stronger as the game went on. Early in the 3rd period, with the Devils clinging to a 2-0 lead, Brodeur made some key saves to keep the score at 2-0.

Several times throughout the game a loud and large Thursday night crowd chanted "Marty, Marty, Marty...." and really gave the feel of excitement that could come this spring come playoff time. Now the questions that will surround Brodeur and the Devils will be how does Brodeur feel the day after his first game and with back-to-back games this weekend, will Brodeur play one or both?

OTHER NOTES:
- The Devils got all four of their goals with the Zajac-Parise-Langebrunner line on the ice. It was very noticeable that Sutter has become frustrated with the lack of offense from the other lines as he mixed up the lines all night to try and find a good combination. With players struggling offensively like: Zubrus (4pts. in 18 games), Gionta (4 pts. in 11 games), Rolston (7pts. in 15 games), Shanahan (1pt. in 9 games) and Madden (4pts, in 14 games) the Devils may be pressed to get a scoring centerman instead of the defensemen that have been rumored. Some names out their are Jokinen (PHO), Morrison (ANA), Connolly (BUF), Nylander (WAS), Spezza (OTT) and Antropov (TOR).

I am sure Lou would like to be able add both if possible and Jay Pandolfo played last night and me be being showcased for a potential trade. Pandolfo does have a no-trade clause, which would make it harder to trade him.

Weekes Is Stronger Link

2009-02-21T19:00:00.004-05:00

With the Marty Brodeur's probable return on Thursday and the trade deadline nearing on March 4th, the Devils will have to make a decision on who will be the back-up for the remainder of the season.

At first glance everyone might say it will be Clemmensen for all that he has done this year, but of late Weekes has made his stand that he wants to be here for the remainder of the season. In his last 5 starts Weekes in 5-0-0 allowing only 7 goals for a 1.37 GAA. The veteran goalie has stopped 153 of 160 shots for an out of this world .956 save percentage. Weekes has stood on his head and won some games by himself, like this past Thursday where his marvelous saves kept the Devils in the game against the Lightning and eventually came back to defeat them in the shootout 3-2.

On the other side, we have Scott Clemmensen who had two straight shutouts, but take those games away and he has struggled. In his last eight starts Clemmensen is 5-3-0 with a 2.75 GAA and a .899 save percentage. If you take away the two shutouts, Clemmensen's numbers dive into the piss poor range. Without the shutouts his GAA is 3.67 and a pathetic .863 save percentage. In each of those games he has given up at least 3 goals.

The most probable option will be that one of the goalies will end up on waivers, as both lack the trade value,are UFA at year's end and Clemmensen, who has a two-way contract, will probably reject a return to Lowell. If it was right now if you were Lamiriello and Sutter you would have to stay with Weekes at this point., He has been the better goalie of late and more experience and professionalism as being a back-up goalie.

Devils Reel In Sharks 6-5

2009-02-15T22:00:00.003-05:00

In a back and forth affair the New Jersey Devils prevailed on Sunday afternoon over the Western Conference leading San Jose Sharks 6-5.

The Devils got off to another quick start as Brian Gionta scored 30 seconds into the game. After Gionta's goal, the Devils and Sharks would swap goals in a wild first period. The Sharks struck first as Rob Blake scored, then Brian Rolston, then Patrick Marleau and finally David Clarkson finished the first period scoring.

Leading 3-2 after one period the game would settle down until late in the 2nd period when Jonathan Cheechoo blasted a shot through Clemmensen blocker side to tie the game at 3-3. Then the refs stepped in with some awful calls leading to a Sharks a five-on-three goal with 13 seconds remaining. Joe Thorton would make quick work on the five-on-three centering a pass to Setoguchi to give the Sharks a 4-3 lead after two periods.

In the third period the Devils power-play erupted for three goals. Patrick Elias scored first at 4:47 into the third, then Langenbrunner would give the Devils a 5-4 lead just under three minutes later. Then halfway through the period Zubrus turned the puck over in center ice and the Sharks Pavelski walked in and through a short-angle backhander over the short-side shoulder of Clemmensen to tie the game.

David Clarkson, who was replacing a scratched Brendan Shanahan on the power-play, would score his second goal of the game with 3:32 left in the game. Gionta controlled the puck along the boards and made a little soft backhand pass to Rolston who one-timed a shot that deflected off Clarkson, who was screening Nabakov, to give the Devils the eventual game winner.

Paul Martin and Brendan Shanahan both sat out today's game with injuries. Neither injury seems to be serious at this time. Shanahan's injury was a foot from blocking a shot in Friday's game against Boston and Martin's upper body injury was a last minute game time decision.

The Devils finished the week 4-0-0, in which saw them play the rival Rangers and Islanders and then the conference leading Bruins and Sharks. In the week the Devils doubled up their opponents outscoring them 14 to 7, including their first two shutouts since the injury to Brodeur. With the wins the Devils have opened up an eight point lead on the Flyers and an eleven point lead on the Rangers.

Winner of 13 of their last 15, the Devils head south for games in Florida and Tampa before returning north to play the Islanders on the February 21st. Then the Devils will have four full days for Brodeur to get in some good hard practices before a possible return for their February 26th home game against the Avalanche.

Devils Notes:
- Today marked the return of a Devils icon, Claude Lemieux. The 43 year old Lemieux was the 1995 Con Smythe winner in the Devils first Stanley Cup run. Today he saw six minutes of ice-time without registering a shot or a point and was a minus-1. Since returning to the NHL he has played 10 games for the Sharks and has zero points and 10 shots in that span.

Three Down and One To Go as Devils Blank Bruins 1-0

2009-02-14T10:33:00.002-05:00

The New Jersey Devils entered this week knowing they had a challenge on their hands and a chance to see where their teams stacks up against the rest of the league. Well all they have done is shut-out the hated Rangers, defeat their other New York rival the Islanders and shutout the best team in the NHL, the Boston Bruins. Now all that stands from a perfect week is a win on Sunday over the Western Conference leading San Jose Sharks.

Maybe feeling a little bit of pressure knowing Marty Brodeur's return is getting closer and closer by the day, goalie Scott Clemmensen has decided not to give up the #1 goalie title he has earned in Brodeur's absence. After going his first 35 games without a shutout, Clemmensen has posted two straight shutout this week stopping 58 shots in the process. Clemmensen now owns a 2.23 GAA and a .922 save percentage this season. With Marty Brodeur' return on the horizon, Clemmensen is making what just a few months ago look to be an easy decision for Coach Sutter now a very hard one.

The Devils and Bruins played an extremely tight defensive game and showed why they are two of the top defensive teams in the NHL. The Devils defenseman have made their statement, trying to dispel all trade rumors with their play of late, that they like this group just the way it is and Lou should leave it alone.

Tim Thomas was excellent in yesterdays game again and would be my leading candidate for the Vezina trophy this season, but one mistake cost him the game. John Madden won a face off clean back to Bryce Salvador at the point, who threw a seemingly harmless wrist shot past that slipped through the legs of Thomas for the only goal of the game.

The Devils now look to finish off the week by closing out the Sharks Sunday afternoon. The Sharks, who have only lost four times all year in regulation, have struggled of late as they are 1-1-4 in their last six games.

Devils Notes:
- Travis Zajac now ranks fifth in league in plus/minus at plus 28. He was minus-11 last season.
- Brodeur should participate in his first full team practice today, speculation has him returning on February 26th.
- Devils have only given up 6 goals in their last 5 games, in that same time they have scored 14. Of the 4 goals Langenbrunner and Parise have scored 7 of them.
- It took nine rounds of the shootout for the Philadelphia Phantoms to defeat the Lowell Devils 2-1 last night. After the loss Lowell is 24-21-5 this season.

Who Is On Fire and Who Is On Ice Since Shanahan's Return

2009-02-12T16:39:00.006-05:00

It has been 10 games since Brendan Shanahan has made his debut with the New Jersey Devils in which time the Devils have gone 8-2-0 and taken control of first place in the Eastern Conference. Now with the trade deadline looming and the Devils facing their biggest challenge of the season with conference leaders the Boston Bruins and San Jose Sharks coming in to "THE ROCK" this weekend, I thought it would be a good time to look at what and who are hot and who are ice cold over the past ten games.

ON FIRE
1. Jamie Langebrunner and Zach Parise. Langenbrunner had 8 goals in his first 44 games, he has 9 over the past 10 games. Parise has continued his great season as he has 8 goals and 7 assists over the past 10 games. He is now exactly on pace to be the first Devil to score 50 goals in a season and 100 points. Zajac has been no slouch either, he has 2 goals and 10 assists in the last 10 games as this line is becoming one of the best in the league.
2. Paul Martin. Martin has taken his game to a new level over the past 10 games. Since being paired with Oduya he has broken out and still maybe the most underrated defenseman in the league. His offense has come to the surface as he had 3 assists in the last game versus the Islanders and 7 points in the last 10 games. Martin only had 12 points in his first 40 games of the season.
3. The penalty kill. If you take away the Washington game where the Devils gave up 3 power-play goals, the Devils are killing off penalties at a 90% clip. To top it all off they are 2nd in the league in short-handed goals with 10, in which half have come in the last 11 games.
4. Patrick Elias. Despite the drastic drop off in scoring from his linemates, Patrick Elias has endured. Over the past 10 games he has 3 goals and 8 assists and remains in the NHL's Top 10 point leaders. He remains on pace to break the 90 point barrier, which would be only the second time in his career he has done that. The other time was when he set the Devils franchise record with 96 points in the 2000-2001 season.
5. The defense going on the offensive. Over the past 10 games the Devils defenseman are averaging 1.8 points per game, over the first 45 games they averaged 1.46 points per game. Colin White has 13 points so far, the most he ever had in a season was 20 in his rookie year. We already spoke of Oduya and Martin, only Andy Greene has struggled since returning from his injury. The team defense has been superb as well as they are averaging 2.10 goals against in the last 10 games.

COLD AS ICE
1. Gionta and Zubrus. At one point this season I thought this line could do what the Elias-Arnott-Sykora line had accomplished. Lately this line seems to have faded, well two thirds of it at least. Zubrus who had 28 points in the first 45 games but has only managed 2 points in the past 10 games. Gionta had 38 points in the first 44 games and was on pace for a 70 point season, his most since 2005-2006. Over the last 10 games he has 4 points and is facing the possibility of being traded.
2. Bad Penalties. The Devils have taken some bad penalties early in games and have forced them to lose momentum and play from behind. Some players have been more responsible for taking bad penalties than others. The third and fourth liners (Holik, Shanahan, Clarkson, Madden, Rolston and Rupp) have taken 26 of the teams 51 minor penalties. Also in there have been 11 penalties by defenseman and 3 team bench minor penalties.
3. Andy Greene. Not as if he could of kept up the pace of a point a game all year (6pts in his first 6 games), but after coming back from his injury he has accumilated 2 points in 26 games and Sutter still has him playing on the power-play. He is even playing at a minus-1 over those 26 games and he may be the one Devils defenseman who could be moved at the trade deadline.
4. Brian Rolston. Rolston was picked up to score goals but has netted 1 goal in the last 10 games. Despite his 5 power-play goals Sutter needs to find a combination to get more offense out of Rolston, it does not seem as if him paired with Madden and Clarkson is going to cut it if the Devils want to win the Cup. A move back to center may be a possibility.
5. Jay Pandolfo. He played his first game last night since Shanahan entered the line-up, could it be to showcase him for a trade or will we see more of him in a Devils uniform. Pandolfo either needs to find a role or be shipped out for a player who will be of more use to the team.

Clemmensen, Devils Blank Rangers

2009-02-09T23:00:00.003-05:00

Scott Clemmensen came up with his best game of the year at the right time as he and the Devils shutout the Rangers 3-0, tonight at the Prudential Center.

The Devils, losers of two of their last three games, knew they had a rough week ahead with the rival Rangers and Islanders coming in, along with conference leaders Boston and San Jose. But this team has been resilient all year and knew tonight would be no different, as Scott Clemmensen stopped 27 shot in route to his first shutout of the season.

Penalties have been a problem for the Devils of late and have been the main cause for their last two losses. The Devils nearly fell into the same trap again as the Rangers, despite being out-shot 13-6 in the first period, had four power-play opportunities and seemed to control the play but the Devils escaped the first period tied at 0-0.

After the first period the Devils settled in, only allowing one more power-play opportunity to the Rangers the rest of the game. Knowing the Rangers struggles 5-on-5, as Zherdev is the only Ranger playing at a plus-rating this season, the Devils then continually rolled four lines at the Rangers.

The Devils broke threw at the 8-minute mark of the second period, as Shanahan centered a pass to Bobby Holik who jammed the puck threw Lundquvist to give the Devils a 1-0 lead. The Devils would add a power-play goal from Zach Parise 1:27 later to make it 2-0. The Devils would not need anymore goals, but Parise added an empty-netter for good measure.

The Devils play in the second and third period was simply amazing, as the Devils were relentless on the puck and seemingly demoralizing the Rangers into frustration. The Rangers, losers of their last 5 games, never seemed to have any passion and you can imagine the stir going on in Rangers camp. The Rangers are looking to do anything inlcuding firing Coach Tom Renney, bring back SeanAvery, make a trade for whoever. In the end the team from across the Hudson is lacking leadership and experience (which they thought Gomez would bring - what a joke) and the Devils too advantage of that.

There were many players who excelled tonight, but the play of Paul Martin, Colin White, Johnny Oduya and Zubrus stood out to me. They might not be on the score sheet, but their play set the tempo of the game and seemed to shut down any chance the Rangers had of scoring. Zubrus especially has been a physical force of late, trying to find his way on the score sheet, but his defense and aggressiveness is just what the Devils have needed from him.

The Devils now have beaten the Rangers three straight, but lets remember these wins mean nothing only the wins come playoff time matter.

Notes:
-Jay Pandolfo has sat out nine straight games, but it may be time for him to get back in. Mike Rupp has struggled and taken some bad penalties of late. It may be time to play Pando or trade him away for a 4th or 5th round draft pick and free up salary to bring on another player via trade.
- Clemmensen in the first Devils goalie, besides Brodeur, to shut-out the Rangers since Sean Burke.
- Brodeur took shots from coaches and some players after the morning skate today and will begin practice with the team in a few day.
- With Parise's two goals tonight he needs 18 goals in 28 games to become the first Devils player ever to score 50 goals in a season, his current pace puts him at 48 goals for the season.
-The Lowell Devils defeated the the Rangers AHL affiliate the Hartford Wolfpack 5-3 over the weekend. Lowell is 4-0-0 against Hartford this season.

Devils Need To Find Answers After Wekend Split

2009-02-08T21:00:00.004-05:00

This weekends games were a case of split personalities in the Devils play, first winning 5-1 Friday night at Atlanta then losing to the Kings 3-1 on Saturday.

The Devils have shown signs of struggling lately, especially on home ice. The Devils have lost their last two home games, being outscored 8-3 and outplayed in the process. They have proved to be a much more confident team on the road, as they have the second best road record in the league, with a 18-7-2 record.

One problem has been the play of Scott Clemmensen, who has been a savior for the Devils this season, but of late has shown signs of struggling. In his past four games he has given up 13 goals and has been prone to giving up soft goals that have cost the Devils. With Brodeur still a few weeks away, Coach Sutter may need to lean on Kevin Weekes more in the upcoming games. Weekes has won his last three games and has given up one goal in each of those games. I would not be surprised if Sutter goes to Weekes on Monday against the Rangers.

Another problem has been the play of the second line of Zubrus-Gionta-Elias, who were hot earlier in the season but have died down of late. Besides Elias, Zubrus and Gionta have struggled which has caused speculation that Gionta may be traded. In the past 10 games Gionta has four points (1G-3A) and Zubrus has two points (1G-1A). Sutter may look to move Rolston to the line and the possibility of Shanahan moving up to play on the second or third lines as well.

The biggest problem has been the penalties. First off the refs must be blind when it come to the Devils. The Devils have only had 188 power-play opportunities this season, which ranks last and is 13 less then the next closest team (FLA-201). The Devils have had to kill off 211 penalties this season .

Some penalties have been outrageous, including a penalty at Atlanta for two Devils getting kicked out of the face-off circle. The penalty-kill, which had stepped up its' play for 25 games, has regressed the last 3 games giving up 5 goals on 15 chances.

This week proves to be an obstacle with games against the Rangers, Islanders, Bruins and Sharks. Ultimately this week will decide if the Devils will make a trade or not and with the return of Colin White up in the air, we could see some new faces in the Devils uniform soon.

Avery and Rangers On Path To Renuniting

2009-02-06T17:25:00.005-05:00

It looks as if the greatest embarrassment of a player in hockey could be on the verge of reuniting with the New York Rangers.

The Rangers have expressed interest in bringing that P.O.S. Sean Avery back to Madison Square Garden. Ranger GM Glen Sather will meet with Dallas management in next few days to see if they can work out the details to reacquiring a player who belongs nowhere near an NHL rink, but jail or an insane asylum.

The Rangers management feel as if their play this season has been lack luster and the addition of Avery would bring a spark back to their line-up. Rangers ownership, management, coaches and player have been discussing the option of bring back Avery to New York and their seems to be a resounding consensus to reacquire Avery (proves what kind of character they have across the Hudson). Their hope would be to have Avery back playing in the NHL by the March 4th trade deadline.

The process is not as easy as it seems. Dallas first must place Avery on waivers, then if no other team picks Avery up off waivers (and their is only one scumbag organization in the NHL that would pick him up), then he would be sent to Hartford of the AHL. After playing at Hartford, Avery would then need to go through re-entry waivers, upon which the Rangers would claim him and then have to only pay half of his $3.8 million salary ($1.93 M to be exact) and Dallas would be responsible for the other half.

Avery, who was snubbed by the Rangers this off-season in free agency, signed with the Dallas Stars for 4 years at $15.5 million.

Devils fans, I would love to hear your comments on what you think of the Rangers possibly reacquiring Sean Avery. To comment click on the article headline and then you will see the comment button and form at the bottom of the article. Thanks and I look forward to hearing from you all you Devils fans.

Devils Trade Defensman For Center

2009-02-04T19:26:00.002-05:00

The Devils made a trade last night, trading Sheldon Brookbank to the Anaheim Mighty Ducks for the rights to center David McIntyre.

The 6-0 185-lb. McIntyre, has 13 goals and 17 assists for 30 points in 26 games with Colgate (ECAC) this season. In three years at Colgate he has 37 goals and 42 assists in 105 career games. The native of Ontario, Canada was Dallas' fourth choice in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.

Brookbank, who was originally claimed off waiver from the Columbus Blue Jackets last October, saw action in 15 games this season. In 59 career games with the Devils the 6-2 215-lb. defenseman collected 8 assists.

The trade of Brookbank and his $525,000 salary begins to clear up some salary cap space for the Devils as they look to add a veteran defenseman before the trade deadline.

Caps Punish Devils 5-2

2009-02-04T15:59:00.002-05:00

All good things must come to an end and so did the Devils eight game winning streak as the Devils fell to the Washington Capitals last night 5-2.

Early it seemed as if the Devils had controlled the play and were on the verge of taking the lead, then the Devils got called for a too many men on the ice penalty and everything changed. Seeming as if the Devils would kill off the penalty, Alexander Semin sent a pass across ice and Mike Green roofed a shot to give the Capitals a 1-0. After the goal the Capitals took control of the game as they seemed to beat the Devils on every board battle and fore-checked two players down low forcing the Devils defensemen into turnovers and bad passes.

Four minutes later the Capitals scored again on the power-play, this time taking only four seconds to get a goal from Brad Laich off a set play off the face-off. An offensively talented Capitals would finish the night 3-for-4 on the power-play, which is the first time the Devils gave up more than one power-play against in the past twelve games.

The Devils tried to cut into a 3-0 Capitals lead, when Brian Rolston scored on a 5-on-3 power-play and then to start the third period Jamie Langebrunner scored shorthanded 41-seconds in to make the score 3-2.

The Capitals scored the back breaking goal, as Nylander's wrist shot from the right circle beat Clemmensen which gave the Caps a 4-2 lead and their third power-play goal of the night. The Caps got the power-play off a controversial call when Mike Rupp took the puck hard to the net and slid into the Caps goalie and received a goalie-interference penalty. All game the Caps seemed to get away with clear penalties and the Devils undisciplined play made a huge difference in the outcome of the game.

The Devils now need to put this game behind them as the Devils will head to Atlanta on Friday before coming home for a five game home-stand which starts on Saturday against the Kings. The Devils will also see the Rangers on Monday and Islanders on Wednesday before the weekend when the leaders in the Eastern and Western Conferences come into town (Bruins - Friday / Sharks -Sunday).

The Capitals played exceptional hockey last night and is one of the most talented teams in the game, with players like Ovechkin, Green, Semin, Federov, Backstrom, Laich and Nylander. A second round match-up could be inevitable for the Devils and Washington. Washington has a clear lead in their division, the Bruins have basically solidified the 1st in the conference and if the Devils win the Atlantic, the Devils and Caps should be favored to win their first round series. The Caps are a team we should be scared of with their offensive talent and if they add a defenseman they could be a hard out.

Notes:
- Brodeur will start practicing in a week to ten days and should be ready for game action in another ten to fourteen days after that. Sutter has made it clear the Devils will not lean on Brodeur to play every game down the stretch once he comes back, but will work him in slowly and him and Clemmensen both ready for playoff hockey.
-The Devils need to get more out of Zubrus and Gionta. Gionta only has 10 points (2G-8A) in the last 15 games and Zubrus has 8 points (3G-5A) in his last 15 games. In that same time linemate Patrick Elias has 17 points (5G-12A). The second line has not been as productive as early in the season and it may be time to make a change on that line.

Gionta On Trade Block As Devils Search For Defenseman

2009-02-02T15:43:00.000-05:00

The New Jersey Devils may have won eight games in-a-row, but that does not mean that they are content with their current roster.

Devils GM Lou Lamoriello is rumored to be shopping Brian Gionta to shed some salary to add a veteran top four defenseman. Gionta, who is making $4 Million, is set to become an unrestricted free agent at season end and could be the most valued trade commodity for the Devils.

The veteran forwards productivity has continued to decline since his 48 goal season in 2005-2006. This season, while playing on a line with Patrick Elias and Dainius Zubrus he has netted 11 goals and 30 assists but only has 2 goals in the last 14 games.

The addition of Brendan Shanahan has given the Devils some scoring depth upfront and the freedom to move a forward via a trade. The Devils have also been shopping forwards Jay Pandolfo and John Madden, both who earn just under $3 million this season, though Pandolfo has been a healthy scratch the past five games and Madden's lack of offensive ability make them much less valuable than Gionta.

With several top line defenseman available like Scott Neidermeyer, Chris Pronger, Jay Bouwmeester, Tomas Kaberle, just to name a few, the Devils will need to shed some salary. Currently just sitting under the cap, the Devils will be forced to package a forward, defenseman and draft picks if they are to land one of the high priced veteran defenseman.

The Captain Answers The Call, Twice!

2009-02-01T10:21:00.002-05:00

Thanks to Jamie Langebrunner, the Devils have now won 8-in-a-row after back to back 4-3 overtime wins over the Bruins and Penguins. Langenbrunner has scored 2 goals in each of the past the three games, including back-to-back overtime winners and the tying goal with 15 seconds left in the third against the Penguins.

Despite the Devils hot streak, the past two games were bench mark games for them. Beating the Bruins and for most of the game outplaying them, showed many people around the league that the Devils are one of the contenders in the Eastern Conference. The win against the Penguins, but the team that went to the Stanley Cup Finals a year ago further back out of the playoff picture.

It has not just been winning for the Devils it is how they have been winning. The team itself has taken on a new identity, without losing their defensive responsibility, and a mentality that they can win no matter what the score, no matter who the team. The Devils are scoring as they rank 8th in the league in scoring and have only lost three games when they have scored three or more goals in a game (26-2-1). The addition of Shanahan has proven positive as he has given more than anyone may have expected in his first five games. In the first five game Shanahan has 3 goals and an assist, is killing penalties, has two power-play goals and playing at a plus-2.

Langenbrunner has been one player who has stepped up their game as the games have gotten more important. In 14 games this month, Langebrunner has 9 goals and 9 assists, before January he only had 5 goals and 18 assists. Langenbrunnr now has 41 points, tied with Brian Gionta for fourth on the team. Langebrunner and Zajac have stepped up their games this month, and Zubrus and Gionta have been playing better of late after a few poor games. Now if the Devils get the Zubrus line going as they were earlier in the year, Rolston and Clarkson scoring again and a healthy Marty Brodeur they may be unstoppable.

Note:
- I had to watch these past two games on DVR, because my wife was giving birth to our daughter, but the past two games had such an edge and intensity that made me feel excited. And any fans at the Penguins game, I give you credit cause it looked like "The ROCK" was going crazy in that big overtime win. For me, it is the Devils puck movement, their play is faster and more up tempo and as a fan you are feeling a confidence that they have the game won even before the puck has been dropped.

Devils Down Ottawa 4-1, Head To Boston For Big Showdown

2009-01-28T20:25:00.002-05:00

The Devils came back from the All-Star break, just the way they went into it. As the hottest team in the NHL. Last nights 4-1 win over the Ottawa Senators gave the Devils six straight wins and wins in eleven of their last fifteen games.

The Devils won the game by holding the Ottawa Senators to 22 shots and got goals from Elias, Shanahan and two goals from Langenbrunner. Patrick Elias got the scoring started by scoring on a centering pass from Brian Gionta that went off Elias's skate and into the net to give the Devils a 1-0 1st period lead.

Just past the midway point, the Senators tied the game on a power-play goal by Picard. After the Senators goal, the Devils took over control of the game. Langebrunner scored after he bounced a puck off the chest of the Senators goalie from the side of the net. Then 19 seconds into the 3rd period, Langenbrunner added his second goal of the game, when Parise fed a pass from behind the net while airborne to give the Devils a commanding 3-1 lead.

The goal was Langenbrunner's 10th of the season, making him the seventh Devil to have 10 or more goals on the season.

The Senators had an opportunity to comeback when Brendan Shanahan went off for a double-minor high sticking penalty. The Devils shut the door and any hope of a Senators comeback, when they did not allow a single shot on the double-minor penalty-kill. Shanahan would make up for taking the penalty as he scored his second goal in three games with the Devils to finish off the scoring and giving the Devils a 4-1 victory.

Now the Devils look forward to a big time match-up on Thursday at Boston. Boston, who leads the Eastern Conference with 75 points (35-8-5), will have Bergeron and Lucic back in the line-up for Thursday's game. The Bruins rank 1st in the league in goals-against, 2nd in goals scored and have the 3rd best power-play. If that was not enough, they have Claude Julian who has a vendetta against Lou Lamiriello and the New Jersey Devils, after he was fired with only a few game to go in the season just two years ago.

THE NEW JERSEY DEVILS: ALL-STAR BREAK REPORT

2009-01-25T11:18:00.002-05:00

Even before the season began, many so-called hockey experts said the New Jersey Devils would not even make the playoffs. When star goalie Martin Brodeur went down with a torn bi-cep tendon that would keep him out until March, everyone rode the Devils off and had them start looking to next year. Everyone that is except for the New Jersey Devils and their die hard fans.

Over the past 13 seasons, the New Jersey Devils have won three Stanley Cups, only the Detriot Red Wings have won more in that time. The Devils have made the playoffs 11 consecutive seasons and had 11 consecutive 40-plus win seasons, never finishing with less than 95 points and breaking the 100 point barrier in nine of those eleven seasons. So why would everyone doubt one of the most successful franchises in sports over the past 15 years? You gt me!

The Devils will return from the All-Star break sitting atop the Atlantic Division with 61 points (29-15-3), one point ahead of the New York Rangers and two points ahead of the Philadelphia Flyers. The Devils have been able to achieved this, despite being without Martin Brodeur for 37 games and free agent signings Brian Rolston and Bobby Holik for 18 games a piece. So here is a look back at the first half and how the Devils have gotten to where they are?

MVP: Zach Parise / Patrick Elias
Zach Parise has become a bona fide NHL star and Patrick Elias has once again become one of the NHL elite players. For the first time, maybe ever, their could be two Devils who finish the year in the top 10 in scoring in the league.

Parise, whose 28 goals ranks him 3rd behind Ovechkin and Carter, is currently 7th in the league with 55 points, while Elias ranks 9th with 54 points. The best part is they play on different lines, giving the other teams fits and the Devils two scoring lines.

MOST IMPROVED PLAYER: Travis Zajac
Zajac's 15 goals and 21 assists already surpass his numbers from last season and with 35 games remaining he should easily break his career high of 42 points. Of late, Zajac has been the hot stick for the Devils as he has 5 goals and 3 assists in the past 7 games. Best of all has been his improvement on defense playing at a plus-19 compared to last seasons minus-11 rating.

BIGGEST SUPRISE: Scott Clemmensen
When the season started Scott Clemmensen was barely on the Devils radar. He would be headed to Lowell and spend time there all season and be an insurance policy. Well the Devils cashed in that insurance policy and more than they expected.

Not only has Clemmensen come in and held down the fort, he has asserted his presence. The Devils goal, who may have been snubbed for a trip to the All-Star game, has put up Brodeurian numbers in the absence of the star goaltender. Clemmensen is 7th in the league in wins (19), 6th in Goal-Against-Average (2.29) and 8th in save percentage (.922).

Now the big questions are, can he keep it up and what will the Devils do once Marty comes back at the end of February? Who will go and who will stay? One thing is for certain, Clemmensen will see a nice pay day from some team next season.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT: Jay Pandolfo
The long time Devil signed a three year 7.5M dollar contract over the summer and now with the signing of Brendan Shanahan, Pandolfo is watching the games from the press box.

He and long time linemate, John Madden, have been separated for most of the season and when he has played of late he has only seen time of late on the fourth line. There has been speculation of trading Pandolfo, but he will be difficult to move in the salary cap era.

TRADE DEADLINE: To Trade or not to trade, that is the question?
The Devils added Brendan Shanahan and may be happy with the depth they now have at the forward position. The defense has been underrated all year, but their solid play has the Devils ranked 5th in the league on defense. But GM Lou Lamiriello has been known to always add a veteran to the mix at the trade deadline. Looking back Lamiriello has brought in defenseman like Bryce Salvador, Jason Weimer, Phil Housley, Shawn Chambers and Vladmir Malakhov at the dealine and I would expect him to do the same. Except for Malakhov, there is one thing that ties all these players together. Lou got them for cheap and without breaking up the current roster.

THE FUTURE: Five things to look out for in the second half
Here are a few things to look out for after the all-star break:
1) Can John Madden keep it going? The Devils center has struggled all year and has been rumored in trades for a few weeks. Since Shanahan has joined the team, Madden has 1 goal,6 assists and a plus-6 rating in the past five games. Now can he keep playing the way he has of late, or will the Devils look to move him at the trade deadline?
2) Will Parise be the first Devil to score 50 goals in a season and will he or Elias break the 100 point plateau? Parise is on pace for 95 points and 48 goals, just short of the two marks.
3) How much of a difference will Shanahan make? He scored in his first game, but his presence may be felt far more than just on the score sheet.
4) Will Lou stand still or make a move? As we already stated, will Lou add a veteran blueliner or will he look for a 3rd line centerman to play with his wingers Rolston, Shanahan and Clarkson.
5) How will Brodeur play when he returns? He has never been out of the line-up for this long in his career. Will the rest help him and have him fresh for the playoffs or will he come back not in top form and send the Devils into a funk.

WHAT IS UP NEXT: The homestretch begins.
The Devils will come back from the all-star break with two road games at Ottawa and Boston and then play seven of eight on home ice. Scott Clemmensen and the Devils will need to try and put some distance between them and the Rangers and Flyers, while they await the return of Brodeur between February 26th and March 7th.

With 35 games remaining the Devils have nine divisional games left, including three against the Islanders and two against the Flyers, Rangers and Penguins. The Devils will not be doing much traveling the remainder of the season, as their furthest trip is a game at Chicago on March 27th. Besides that game every game will be played in the eastern time zone.

Madden's Solid Play Continues As Devils Ride Five Game Winning Streak Into All-Star Break

2009-01-22T21:07:00.006-05:00

John Madden's name has had a rough go of it all year as he had had a difficult time trying to figure out what his role is under Coach Sutter. Of late it may have seem as if John Madden has found his way.

Last night John Madden had two assists in the Devils 5-2 win over the Montreal Canadians, which extended his point a game streak to five games. Over the past five games, Madden has 1G-6A-7PTS which is a huge improvement from his 4G-7A-11pts through his first 36 games. Even more important than his points is that Madden is a plus-6 over the past five games and now stands at a minus-3 for the entire season.

Madden has seemed to find his place on the line with Clarkson and Rolston, who both have been playing well of late. The trio has combined for 4G-11A and a plus-14 rating over the past five games and much like the top two lines, Madden has been given time to gain chemistry with his linemates, which has seemed to pay off of late. Now with the addition of Shanahan, the Devils have four lines that have the ability to create scoring chances and control the puck.

If you haven't noticed, Madden has been given the role of being out their at the end of the game. Madden assisted on Parise's empty-net goal against the Predators, after winning a big face-off, and assisted on Elias's empty-net goal to finish off the Canadians last night.

The Devils head into the All-Star break riding a five game winning streak and stand alone in first place with 61 points, one ahead of the Rangers and two ahead of the Flyers. They also stand 11 points ahead of the 9th place Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Devils will look ahead to a much deserved break and what awaits them on the other side of the All-Star Break is the two road games and then they will play seven of eight at "THE ROCK". They will also look forward to the return of Marty Brodeur, who begun skating on his own yesterday.

No timetable has been set for Brodeur's return, but he is said to be ahead of schedule and with no setbacks should return before the trade deadline (March 3rd), sometime in late February.

Notes:
- In some sad news, former Devils Coach Pat Burns has been diagnosed with lung cancer. This is Burns third bout with cancer and our prayers go out to him.
- Brian Rolston was recognized before last nights game for playing in his 1,000 career game, which occurred at the start of the road trip in LA.
- Jay Pandolfo sat out his second straight game last night, since the return of Shanahan.

Shanahan Proves Value as Devils Take Over First Place

2009-01-20T10:59:00.007-05:00

It might of taken Brendan Shanahan just over one period to get his feet wet, but from then on he made his presence felt in his Devils return. The Devils with their 3-1 win last night over the Predators, finish their road trip 5-1-0 and in the process take over first place in the Atlantic division.

Shanahan, who led all Devils with 6 shots on goal, started off the scoring for the Devils with a five-on-three power-play goal early in the second period. The veteran who turns 40 on Friday, just missed on several other opportunities on the power-play that would have extended the Devils lead.

The future Hall of Famer showed his true value to team with his play late in the third period. After the Preds had cut the Devils lead late in the third to 2-1 , Sutter placed Shanahan on the wing with Madden and Rolston to sure up their defense. Sutter's decision paid off as the Preds pushed to tie the game down the stretch.

One shift that stood out for me was when Shanahan went down to block a shot from the point, got up and back checked a Predator from behind in front of the net to stop a scoring chance and then cleared the puck along the boards. Not finished on the shift, Shanahan then forechecked the puck away from the Predators goalie and then had the presence and strength to control the puck away from the Predators for a good 15 seconds.

The to be 40 year old Shanahan, was not the only Devil that stood out last night as Scott Clemmensen continued to get back to playing well and John Madden stepped up his game.

Clemmensen, made his second solid start in-a-row stopping 33-of-34 shots. Clemmensen, who had struggled controlling his rebounds over the past few starts has been better over the past two starts at clearing rebounds from in front of his net. After 5 straight games with a save-percentage under 90%, Clemmer has had two straight games with save percentages of 97%.

John Madden, who I had suggested would need to step his game up with the addition of Shanahan to the line-up, did just that. Madden was strong killing penalties, won some big late face-offs, added two assists on the night and played at a plus-2. Madden now has 1G-4A and is a plus-4 in his last four games, he only had 4G-7A through his first 36 games.

In first place for the first time this season, the Devils now head home for a Wednesday night game with Montreal before the All-Star Break. The Rangers have held the top spot for 97 days this season and it is about time the weak have fallen.

Devils Notes:
- Jay Pandolfo was the odd man out last night as Shanahan made his debut. Sutter, claimed that Pando was not an irreplaceable player on the penalty kill anymore with players like Zajac, Parise, Elias, Rolston and Shanahan who all can kill penalties.
- Clarkson scored his 10th goal of the season, which breaks his mark of a year ago (9 goals).
- The Devils had killed off 19-of-20 penalties on this road trip, the only goal was when a Jason Arnott blast hit Bryce Salvador in the gut bounced down off Radek Bonk and into the net. I have to admit I miss the likes of Jason Arnott in a Devils uniform.
- The Devils power-play has been off the charts as they have scored 7 goals in 15 opportunities on the road trip. They have also scored at least one power-play goal in 7 of their last 9 games.

Shanahan is In, So who is Out?

2009-01-18T23:55:00.003-05:00

Tonight in Nashville, Brendan Shanahan will make his season debut for the New Jersey Devils. Now with the official addition of Shanahan to the line-up, Coach Sutter will have to make the decision of removing someone from the line-up and put them in the stands.

So which player will he choose? Here is a look at who may be in or out and why.

Jay Pandolfo
Negatives: Pandolfo ranks highest on our poll here at the DEVILS LOUNGE. Pando, who signed a three year deal in the off-season at 2.5M a year, has not lived up to his paycheck. Over the past four season he has average 12G-12A, but this year through 45 games he has 4G-5A and is playing at a minus-8 rating. Besides the 2006-2007 season, Pando has not played at a minus rating since the first two years of his career.

Positives: In Pando's defense, he has never been asked to score goals but he is expected to kill penalties and check the other teams top line. Well, he and Madden are no expected to check the other teams top line under Sutter, so he is in search of finding his role on this team. And for the penalty killing, the Devils have killed 22 of 24 penalties and they are 16 for 16 on this road trip. Pando has been very valuable on the penalty kill.

Mike Rupp
Negatives: The 6'5 forward has never been a big scorer at the NHL level, as he 27 goals in 306 career game.This season in 43 games he has posted 3G-3A. The forward has always been considered a fourth liner and is never expected to play on the power-play or the penalty kill. The end result is his $500,000 salary and his inconsistent play at times this year may be what pushes him out of the line-up.

Positives: Rupp is loved by many Devils fans because of his play in Game 7 against the Ducks in the 2003 Stanley Cup. His physical presence is needed in the line-up and he understands his role on the Devils team. Of late Rupp has not seen his name on the score sheet, but his presence in the games have been noticed as he has been creating opportunities on the fourth line with center Bobby Holik. Lastly, Rupp is the Devils enforcer and the Devils always need someone who will drop the gloves in their line-up and lets not forget he played center when Holik was injured and that versatility is a positive.

David Clarkson
Negatives: Someone voted for him on the poll and as much as I value all of your opinions, I cannot find any reason to take him out of the line-up at this time.

Positives: In the past four games he has 2G-2A, his 9 goals in 45 games ties his mark for all of last year. He is 3 points shy of the 22 he had all of last season. He fights, scores, checks, plays in front of the net on the power-play and is playing at an even plus/minus rating. Clarkson and Rolston have gained some chemistry, despite not having a center who compliments them. He may even eventually fit in well on the fourth line with Holik and Rupp.

John Madden
Negatives: Madden has never scored less than 12 goals in a season, this season may be the worst of his career. The 35 year old center, who is a UFA at years end, has 5G-9A-14pt 39 games and worst of all a minus-7 rating. As Pando, he is trying to find out how he fits in under Coach Sutter. He has played between Rolston and Clarkson, but has not been effective in getting them the puck or creating offense. In the end he or Holik could be taken out and move Rolston to center between Shanahan and Clarkson.

Positives: As Pando, he has been a big part of the improvements on the penalty-kill. He has long been a centerpiece of the Devils and is an assistant captain, despite no goals he brings something to the Devils when it matters. He is still one of the Devils top face-off men, but is more expendable than he was in the past. He should stay for now, but may be gone or out of the line-up.

Bobby Holik
Negatives: Holik is 38 years of age and a 3rd line center at best nowadays. He missed 18 games due to surgery on a broken hand, which may be the reason for his 2G-3A in 27 games. He is playing at a minus-3 rating and has not scored more than 34 points or had a positive plus/minus rating in any of the past 3 seasons in Atlanta. He was tried between Rolston and Clarkson as well, but Madden was moved back in that spot after he couldn't help find chemistry with the two wingers.

Positives: He was brought in because of his size, grit, playoff experience and his ability to win face-offs. He is the best Devil in the face-off circle winning 59.8% of his face-offs. If needed, he can play in front of the net on the power-play and he gives the Devils more size at center-ice.

At first I thought it may be Rupp who will sit, and he still may, but Pandolfo and Madden are also options. I would not be surprised if Sutter sits Pandolfo to make a statement to the veteran forward that he needs to bring up his play. Or another option is a person may sit so that the Devils can showcase some other players for trade possibilities.

Devils Breeze Past Isles; Next Stop Nashville

2009-01-18T10:30:00.002-05:00

From the drop of the puck, you could see the Devils were going to the far better team in last nights game against the depleted Islanders. Out hustling, controlling the puck and winning the board battles all night the Devils showed they wanted the puck more than the Islanders did all night.

Throughout the night, the Devils forced turnovers and had room and space to make plays and move the puck freely. The first goal of the night came off a forced turnover by Parise, as he easily took the puck away from goalie Yann Danis behind the net and centered it to Travis Zajac for his 14th goal of the year.

Zajac has been the Devils best player on this road trip, posting 4G-3A-7pts and a plus-6 rating on the current road trip. In his third season with the Devils, Zajac has found a comfort zone and with 37 games remaining his 35 points are already one more than last year's totals of 34 points (14G-20A).

Scott Clemmensen reappeared in goal last night and stopped 32 of 33 shots, but was not tested by the Islanders all night, as the Devils controlled the play the entire night. Clemmensen played better than he had in previous games and controlled his rebounds, which had one of his big problems of late.

Now with Monday's game in Nashville, Coach Sutter has a choice to make in goal. Clemmensen has been the stand-in #1 goalie, but of late Weekes has stepped up his play and been the better of the two goalies. Sutter, still believes he needs both goalies to hold the fort and play well to be successful and I suspect that both goalies play one more game each before the All-Star break coming up next weekend.

Monday's game in Nashville will probably bring another choice for Coach Sutter as Brendan Shanahan is expected to make his season debut. With four lines playing well during this road trip, it will be hard decision for Sutter and will be hard to break up the continuity that these lines have started to gain over the past few games.

Tomorrow I will be looking at all the players who may come out and why they should and why they should not come out of the line-up.

Notes:
- The Devils only having two power-plays in the past two games can be alarming, but they scored on both opportunities.
- The Devils speciality team struggled early, but have slowly moved up the chains. The power-play ranks 14th in league, up from the mid 20's early in the year. The penalty-kill ranks 13th up from a low ranking of 26th.
- Petr Vrana, who started the season with the Devils had his season ended with a broken leg in an AHL game.
- Devils top prospect Matt Halischuk, who was thought to be out for the year with a knee injury, returned in Friday's 5-4 loss to the Philadelphia Phantoms. He scored a goal which gives him 6 goals in 10 games this season at Lowell.

Devils Continue Road Trip On Island After Win Over Blue Jackets

2009-01-17T15:19:00.002-05:00

After grinding out a 2-1 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets and star rookie goalie Steve Mason on Friday night, the Devils flew right to Long Island for tonight's game against the Islanders. The Devils will play their fifth game on a current six game road trip tonight before they head to Nashville to complete the road trip on Monday.

The Islanders come into tonight's game injury plagued at the goalie position. Already with DiPietro out after having a second knee surgery, the Islanders lost back-up goalie Joey MacDondald with a strained groin on Tuesday. Yann Danis has taken over the goaltending duties for the time being and should start tonight against the Devils. In 5 games this season Danis is 0-4-0 with a 3.99 GAA and a .860 save-percentage.

The Islanders sit at 12-28-4 and in last place in the Eastern Conference. The Islanders are a team who have lost six straight and are looking to sell off many of their veterans like Doug Weight, Bill Guerin, Mike Comrie and Andy Sutton by the trading deadline. The Devils always seem to have trouble with the Islanders, no matter who is in goal or what their record is and should be very cautious of a let down.

Currently the Devils are 3-1-0 on this road trip after a grinding 2-1 victory in Columbus last night.

The Blue Jackets defense was baffling for the Devils, and maybe the best I had seen all year. Struggling to break through, the Devils could not even muster a shot within 20 feet of rookie goalie Steve Mason. Mason came into last nights game with a 1.80 GAA and a league high 6 shutouts.

Exactly half way through the 3rd period, the Devils final got a break as Dorsett took a penalty giving the Devils their one and only power-play of the night. It took only six seconds for Travis Zajac to score his 13th goal of the year off a turnover by R.J. Umberger.

The Devils seemed to pick up their play from that moment on, backing the Jackets down in their own end. Then just 1:13 after Zajac's goal, David Clarkson came around for a wrap around and then jabbed the puck out from underneath Steve Mason's pads across the crease to John Madden who tapped it in the open net.

The goal went to review as the net had come off it's moorings just as the goal was being scored. The goal was upheld under review by of all refs, doughnut eating Don Koharski. Koharski had to work most of the game alone as the other ref had gone down with an injury early in the first period.

Kevin Weekes continued his strong play as he earned his 2nd win on this road trip. He stopped 26 of 27 shots and has given up 2 goals in his past two starts. The veteran goalie will most likely not be playing tonight on Long Island but could get the start Monday in Nashville, depending on how Scott Clemmensen plays tonight.

One Devils who may be in the line-up tonight is Brendan Shanahan. Shanahan, who will wear number 18, has been practicing and traveling with the Devils the past few days and the coaching staff has left it up to Shanahan to tell them when he feels he is ready to go.

Madden Most Effected By Shanahan Signing

2009-01-15T20:01:00.002-05:00

Brendan Shanahan participated in his first official practice with the New Jersey Devils on Thursday in Columbus. After signing a one-year $800,000 pro-rated contract on Wednesday, Shanahan flew to Columbus with GM Lou Lamoriello and is speculated to be inserted into the line-up in the next week.

The signing of the veteran forward has sparked speculation of which forward may be watching from the stands once Shanahan is ready to be inserted into the line-up. Shanahan's presence will put pressure on several Devils forwards to step-up their games, but the most effected may be John Madden.

Madden, who is set to become a restricted free-agent after the season, has been mediocre at best this season. After posting a 20 goal season in 2007-2008, he has 4 goals and 8 assists in 37 games this season.

The 10 veteran, all as a New Jersey Devil, has seen his ice time and role diminish under Brent Sutter. The time when you would see John Madden checking the other team top line has become a distant memory as Sutter leads the Devils into the new NHL. This season has seen the long time duo of Madden and Pandolfo separated, Madden go through a 24 game goal scoring drought and at times even seen him relegated to the fourth line. Not something that you would expect for the center who will be playing between two scoring wingers in Rolston and Shanahan.

Lamoriello and Sutter both understand that to be a top contender for the Stanley Cup, you need three lines that can score and play defense. The addition of Shanahan gives the Devils the potential of three productive scoring lines, depending on how John Madden plays at center with the veteran duo of Shanahan and Rolston.

There has been speculation that Madden, who's career high was 23 assists, may be moved by the trading deadline and replaced with a playmaking center. So after 10 years with the Devils, John Madden's future with the organization will all depend on how much offense he can produce over the next few weeks.

Devils Win Despite Clemmensen's Return To Reality

2009-01-14T16:48:00.005-05:00

At the start of the season no one would of expected to see Scott Clemmensen start a game for the New Jersey Devils this year, and especially play as many games as he has to this point in the season.

It has been a miracle season for the veteran goalie, but fairy tales must end sometime and everyone must come back to reality. That includes Scott Clemmensen, whose play has seemed to drop off over the Devils recent struggles.

Clemmensen started his run by stealing away the #1 job from Kevin Weekes, by posting a 12-5-1 record with a .924 save-percentage and a 2.18 GAA through his first 18 starts. Well things have turned around quickly, as in Clemmensen's past 8 starts he has a 4-4-0 record and .903 save-percentage and a 2.88 GAA. In those 8 games he has given up 3 or more goals seven times, compared to only allowing 3 or more goals five times in his first 18 starts.

Last night was evident of Clemmensen's declining play. With the Devils up 3-0 on the heels of three first period goals in first eleven minutes of play, the Canucks fought back to turn a route into a nail biter. After Zajac made the score 4-1 early in the third, a goal by Demitra off a weak rebound and a short angle goal through the legs of Clemmensen by Bernier made the score 4-3 with 2:41 remaining. Both Canucks goals, were shots that appeared as if they should of been stopped. The Devils eventually got an empty net goal by Zubrus to hold on for a 5-3 victory.

The Devils have rode Clemmensen thus far and with Marty Brodeur still about 6 to 8 weeks away Coach Sutter may need to switch patterns and play Kevin Weekes more in coming weeks. Weekes played his best game of the year against the Kings to open the road trip. Against the Kings he was aggressive in coming out and challenging the shooters and controlling many of the rebounds, which he had not been doing in earlier starts.

With games this weekend at Columbus on Friday and at the Islanders on Saturday, Kevin Weekes and Scott Clemmensen will pobably split the two games. Anything to hold the fort until Marty can get back

Notes:
- Shanahan officially signed a one-year $800,000 contract, which he will receive half of signing half-way through the season. He will begin practicing with the team in the coming days, but no news on when he will make his first apperance in a game.
- Parise, Zajac and Langenbrunner have used this road trip to get going again. In the 3 games so far on the road trip the trio has combined for 6G-8A-14pts.
- You can now check me and all the NHL rumors out at RumorMeThis.com, as I have been named the official blogger for the Devils. Great site, so check it out!

Devils Power Past Kings To Start Road Trip

2009-01-11T11:14:00.006-05:00

The New Jersey Devils started off their 10 day road trip by trouncing the Los Angeles Kings 5-1 last night at the Staples Center.

With the news before the game that the Devils signed Brendan Shanahan, especially for his ability to hopefully help the Devils 20th ranked power-play, the Devils preceded to score three power-play goals in route to the victory. Travis Zajac, Patrick Elias and Brian Rolston all scored power-play goals on the night for the Devils who went a combined 3-for 7 on the power-play. The Devils wasted no time in getting the goals as two of the goals were scored less than 7-seconds into the power-play.

Starting his first game since December 13th, Kevin Weekes played exceptional for a Devils team who were desperate for a victory after playing their worst game of the year in a 4-0 loss to the Thrashers earlier in the week. Weekes stopped 34 of 35 shots and came up big early in the third period. Holding a 3-1 lead early in the third, the Kings pressed to cut into the Devils lead but Weekes came up with several remarkable saves to keep the score at 3-1, until Rolston scored his power-play goal to put the game away at the 6:29 mark of the third period.

This was a Devils team who had not played well since their 4-2 win over the Rangers back on December 27th. With a ten day road trip staring them in the face, this was a team desperate for a victory and needed to play with some desperation in their game.

Several players had been struggling of late including Travis Zajac and the all-star Zach Parise, who had combined for one point in the past three games. Zajac stepped up his play winning two big face-offs that led to two of the power-play goals, scoring a goal and adding two assists on the night. Parise scored a beautiful goal in the second period, which was the 100th of his career, to give the Devils a 3-1 lead and added an assist on Jamie Langebrunner's late third period goal.

Overall you could see the Devils step-up in all areas of their game as they were finishing their checks, forcing the King's defense on the forecheck and the defensemen were clearing the front of the net and jumping into the play last night.

The Devils will need to continue their strong play as they remain behind the Flyers and Rangers in the standing, but have games at hand on each team. Tonight they continue the road trip with a game against the Ducks, before heading to Vancouver to meet the revamped Canucks with Mats Sundin in the line-up.

Notes:and Rumors
- Madden was moved up to center Rolston and Clarkson. There are now rumors surrounding the Devils that the Shanahan signing is not the last move Lamoriello will be making as we near the trade deadline. It is being rumored that Madden could be moved as the Devils will look to find a play-making centerman, most likely who could play between Rolston and eventually Shanahan.
- Jamie Langebrunner has started the New Year off well scoring 3 goals in the first five games of the month. Langenbrunner only had 5 goals through the first 36 games of the season.
- Last nights game against the Kings was the 1,000 game of Brian Rolston's career.
- With the signing of Brendan Shanahan, 14 of the Devils 24 players are 30 years of age or older.
- A Devils goalie will be going top the all-star game after all. Jeff Frazee, the Devils 2nd round selection in the 2005 draft, stepped in for Scott Clemmensen at Lowell when Clemmensen was called up after Brodeur's injury. In that time Frazee has gone 10-6-2 with a 2.31 GAA.
- The Lowell Devils have won 6 of their last 8 games out-scoring their opponents 31-16 in those 8 games. Two players that started the year off with the Devils are playing well. Nicholas Bergfors has 8G-12A-20pts. in 23 games and Anssi Salmela has 6G-9A-15pts in 21 games.

Devils Add Another Old Face In Shanahan

2009-01-11T09:48:00.003-05:00

Future Hall of Famer and ex-Devil Brendan Shanahan has agreed in principal in a contract with the New Jersey Devils.

Shanahan, who turns 40 years of age on January 23rd, was not re-signed by the Rangers after scoring 52 goals the past two seasons for the Blueshirts. Several other teams sought after the veterans services, including the Flyers, Blues and Penguins. In the end, salary cap issues and a willingness for Shanahan to stay in the New York area was his deciding factor in signing with the Devils.

The 8-time all-star has played in 1,490 career games and has accumulated 650 career goals, which ranks 11th all-time. Known as a power-play specialist, he is expected to help a struggling Devils power-play which currently ranks 20th in the NHL. A three time winner of the Stanley Cup, Shanhan brings even more experience and leadership to a Devils room stacked with veterans and is expected to see regular ice-time as a forward most likely on the third line with Brian Rolston and center John Madden.

Shanahan who was the Devils 1st round selection and 2nd overall selection in 1987, joins Brian Rolston, Bobby Holik and Scott Clemmensen as ex-Devils to sign with their former club this season. He is well remembered by Devils fans for his decision to leave the Devils in free agency to sign with the St. Louis Blues on July 25, 1991. A move that resulted in Hall-of-Famer Scott Stevens arriving in New Jersey for compensation.

Shanahan, who started skating in New Jersey on Saturday, will not join the team until the contract is settled. It is expected that he will eventually sign a pro-rated contract at a salary of 1.5M for this season.

Parise Added To All-Star Roster; Clemmensen Shafted Over Pathetic Choice In Goal

2009-01-08T12:15:00.002-05:00

Today the NHL All-Star reserves were selected and some tough choices had to be made. Fortunately for the Devils, Zach Parise will be attending the All-Star game in Montreal this year, while Patrick Elias and the rest of the Devils will be staying home and relaxing for a few days.

The team selected for the East and West Conferences had no bad choices, but one selection boggles my mind and that is Henrik Lundqvist. The people who made the selections could not find a better goalie in the Eastern Conference than a guy who ranks 25th in save percentage and goals against. Henrik is 3rd in the league in wins with 20, oh ya but wait 7 have come via the shootout so really he has 13 wins. Now in the past I would say that Lunqvist deserves to go, but not with the kind of year he is having. There must be someone with better stats than this guy.

Hey I know somebody, how about Scott Clemmensen? Yeah, this guys has 15 wins and only 2 via the shootout so he has 13 wins as well in 11 less games I might add. Clemmensen also has a goals-against average (GAA) that ranks 7th in league that is 0.40 lower than old Henry and a save-percentage that ranks 9th in the league.

Now I will be realistic and did not believe that Clemmensen would get the All-Star nod, but if he has these numbers that blow away that flopper they call a goalie across the Hudson than is there not someone else with a stronger track record that is far more deserving than Lundqvist this year?

I know so! Shame on you NHL!!! Gary Bettman and the NHL All-Star selection committee you all get a game misconduct for being stupid.

Why The Devils Need Two Points Against Atlanta

2009-01-07T20:40:00.002-05:00

The Devils came up short in last nights comeback against the Carolina Hurricanes and have not played stellar hockey over the past eight games. The Devils are 4-4-0 in their past eight games and even their wins against St. Louis and the Senators have not come easy. The only clear cut victories were a 4-2 win against the Rangers and a 4-1 win over the Canadians.

Despite the weak performances lately the Devils remain two-points behind the Rangers and Flyers and a win against the Thrashers on Thursday is needed before the Devils head out on six game nine day road trip.

One of the Devils problems under Brent Sutter has been their inability to play a complete 60-minute game of hard hitting, quick puck movement and hard forechecking hockey that he expects night in and out. This has been evident over the past eight games with every player and every line (Yes even Zach Parise). It has not been one thing that stands out, it may be one thing one night and one thing another.

For example, over the past two games the Devils have given up 3 PPG against in 8 chances, while in the previous six games they had killed off 19-21. In that same time the Devils have 3PPG for in their last 7 chances, but in their previous six games they had only gone 2-for-23 on their power-play. Other times it has been the Devils long streak without scoring a goal or maybe the top line of Parise-Zajac-Langenbrunner scoring like crazy one night and the next night not even seeming as if they can sniff a chance.

Over this time the one player who has shown to be the one true reliable constant is Patrick Elias (2G-7A in last 6 games). Let us hope Sutter can get his team back on track to playing 60-minutes of hard hockey or we could looking up at Philly and the Rangers by the end of the month.

Devils Power Past Sens

2009-01-05T22:37:00.003-05:00

The Devils escaped with a much needed two-points against the down and out Ottawa Senators on Sunday night at the Rock. Down 3-2 late in the 3rd period, Mike Rupp drew a penalty and gave the Devils a power-play with 5:20 remaining in the hockey game.

With only 20-seconds remaining on the power-play Jamie Langenbrunner picked up a loose puck at center ice and came thru the blue-line and blasted a shot over the right pad of the Senators goaltender. Langenbrunner has started the new year off right with two goals in two games and now has seven on the year.

The Devils headed into overtime where again they drew a penalty, as Chris Phillips held up Patrick Elias in the neutral zone. The first wave of the power-play just missed as Parise and Elias both had great opportunities that just went wide. Then with 36-second left on this power-play Travis Zajac got the puck to Rolston at the point and he just lined up and fired it as hard as he could through Auld for the game winning goal. The goal was Rolston's 6th of the year and he as well as Langenbrunner and Gionta have been picking up their scoring as of late.

The line of the night was easily the Zubrus-Elias-Gionta line that accounted for the first two Devils goals. Down 1-0 late in the first Elias saucered a pass at the blue-line to Zubrus who tipped a one-timer to Gionta who blasted a shot off of Auld and Zubrus pounded home an easy rebound. The second goal was just as pretty, as Gionta sent a puck across ice to Elias who centered a pass to Zuburs to circled around the net and tapped the puck into a wide open net.

The Devils have been playing well of late and getting contributions from all four lines. They will need to keep it up as after this week against Carolina and Atlanta the Devils head out on an eight game road trip.

Notes:
-Some Devils are having great years and have picked up their games from last season, here are a few:
Zubrus: Last Year (13-25A-38pts) This Year (10G-13A-23Pts)
Elias : Last Year (20G-35A-55pts) This Year (17G-26A-43pts)
Zajac: Last Year (14G-20A-34pts) This Year (10G-18A-28pts)
Clarkson: Last Year (9G-13A-22pts) This Year (7G-7A-14pts)
- Some other worthy stat comparisons are the Devils who have better plus/minus ratings this year compared to last:
Langenbrunner: Last Year (-1) This Year +10) - difference +11
Zajac: Last Year (-11) This Year (+12) difference +23
Gionta: Last Year (+1) This Year (+14) difference +13
Mottau: Last Year (-11) This Year (+14) difference +25
White: Last Year (-5) This Year (+10) difference +15

Three Devils Who Should Be Playing On All-Star Weekend

2009-01-04T10:24:00.005-05:00

Voting for the starters of the NHL All-Star game just concluded the other day and what a mess this was. At one point it looked as if the Canadians would have five starters in the all-star game, with only three actually being close to deserving on a nomination. The Pittsburgh fans flew in and saved the day by voting for Crosby and Malkin in their place. There is no doubt that those two are absolutely deserving of the honor. And that is what this should be an honor, of who played the best in the first half not who is the most popular. So where does that leave some of our Devils?

Well I see three Devils deserving of going to Montreal. Zach Parise should be a lock and if he doesn't go this thing is a real sham. Parise is 5th in the league in points (46) and 5th in goals (22). He has been one of the most dominant players in the league this year and no reason not to see him in Montreal on All-Star weekend.

Next is Patrick Elias, once one of the top forwards in the league has returned his game to the high level we have come to expect from him. Elias who has only scored 21 goals/69 pts. in 2006-2007 and 20 goals/55 pts. in 2007-2008 is primed to easily surpass those marks this season. Elias's 17 goals ranks 18th in the league and 15th in points (41 pts.) Clearly his among the top forwards in the league with Jeff Carter, Marc Savard, Alex Ovechkin, Nicholas Backstorm, Mike Richards, Phil Kessel and Ilyga Kovalchuk.

Last is the biggest surprise of them all, Scott Clemmensen. When looking at all the goalies in the Eastern Conference Clemmensen is a clear top candidate for the All-Star team. Clemmensen has a 2.17 GAA, which ranks 4th in the league and only the Boston duo of Thomas and Fernandez have lower GAA in the Eastern Conference. Clemmensen also ranks 7th in SV% with a .926, with only Thomas and Fernandez ahead of him again as well as Anderson from FLA. His 14 wins ranks 10th in the league, while every goalie but two ahead of him has played at 5 more games.

Now I know there are more flashy names like Fag Boy Lunquvist (NYR), Ryan Miller (BUF), Cam Ward (CAR) and Marc Fluery (PIT). I mean Fluery missed being named the starter by 29,000 votes and he has a 3.01 GAA, only 11 wins in 22 games and a poor .904 Sv%. So hopefully whoever decides on who is in and who is out really picks the best players.

Then again who are we kidding, the Devils never get respect on TheFourthPeriods.com Power Rankings the Devils are not even in the top 10, but hey still have the Rangers ranked 8th and the Pens ranked 6th. This just proves some people don't know shit about hockey and yet they get paid to write and evaluate it.

Devils Start Off 2009 On Strong Note

2009-01-04T10:00:00.004-05:00

The New Year rang in and the Devils started it off with a strong decisive 4-1 victory over the Montreal Canadians. Three Devils (Brian Gionta, Jamie Langenbrunner and John Madden) who at times in the first half of the season, struggled to put the puck in the back of the net started 2009 off with a bang.

Brian Gionta started off the scoring with his 10th of year. Despite being tied for 3rd on the team in goals, Gionta could have even had more goals in the first half. After a later 1st period goal by Zach Parise, John Madden made the score 3-1 in the 2nd period. The goal was Madden's 4th of the year and his first since he netted two goals against Dallas on October 22nd, 32 games ago. Jamie Langebrunner finished off the scoring in the 3rd period with his 6th of the season. Langenbrunner of all three has been really snake bitten, missing numerous glorious opportunities of late. Despite his lack of goal scoring this season the Captain has come through with 20 assists.

With the win the Devils have moved within two points of the New York Rangers with three games at hand and three points behind the Flyers with two games at hand on them. There is a good chance if the Devils take care of business against the struggling Senators today and then take e care of the Hurricanes and Thrashers next week the Devils could in first place.

Notes:
- The Lowell Devils after a long losing streak, won three in a row before last nights 3-2 loss to the Worcester. Former Devils Claude Lemieux scored his 3rd goal of the season in the game last night.
- Colin White missed his third straight game with an injury. There are reports he return today against Ottawa, but should be back next week. The Devils have had the luxury, esspecially on D to sit players who are injured until they are 100% because of their depth.

Devils Split New Year's Road Trip as They Finish December 9-4-1

2009-01-01T11:09:00.003-05:00

For many the holiday season came and went and many will be sad to see the month and another year end. The New Jersey Devils will be among them as the Devils finished December with a 9-4-1 record by splitting their first real road trip west of Pittsburgh this season. On Tuesday the Devils finished off the St. Louis Blues as Zach Parise scored two goals and Brian Rolston added his fifth of the season in the 4-3 win. New Year's Eve presented more of a challenge in Dallas, as the Devils were left punch drunk as they got pounded by the hard hitting Stars in the 4-2 loss.

The month of December was the Devils best to date this year. The big surprise of the month and year has been the play of Scott Clemmensen. Clemmer started all but one game in December going 9-3-1 only allowing more than 3 goals-against once, the 8-5 win against the Rangers. The entire month Clemmer only allowed a total of 26 goals and had a save percentage that would rank among the tops in the league at .931 save-percentage.

Despite being shut-out twice and setting the franchise record for longest time without scoring a goal, the Devils stepped the offense up into a new gear this month scoring 43 goals. In fact the Devils were 8-0-0 when they scored 3 goals or more.

The tandem of Elias and Parise have become one of the top scoring duos in the league. Their combined 38 goals ranks 2nd among all duos behind Philadelphia's Jeff Carter and Simon Gagne's 45 goals. Their 84 combined points ranks 4th behind Malkin/Crosby (PIT-109pts.), Ovechkin/Backstrom (WAS-91pts.) and Savard/Krejci (BOS-86pts.). This month alone the duo combined for 17G-21A-38Pts.

The super-duo had help as other teammates came through with some offense as well. Zajac had 6G and 11pts, Langebrunner and Gionta each chipped in 2G-10A for 12 pts and Brian Rolston returned and scored 4 goals in the final eights of the month. Even David Clarkson started to kick-up his offense as he had 2G-4A-6pts, and 5 of the points have come in the last eight games of the month.

The biggest difference and the reason the Devils have the chance to overtake the Rangers and Flyers in the coming weeks is the play of their specialty teams. The power-play has been better as they were 10-for-50 (20.0%) in December and the penalty-kill which was one of the worst in the league killed off a respectable 45-of-52 (86.53) chances this month. But there is still room for improvement as they both still rank around 20th in the league.

Notes:
-Marty Brodeur has begun off-ice workouts and his expected return may be moved up to late February. More will be known by the end of January.
-The three Devils prospects at the World Juniors Championships have played well through the preliminary rounds first four games so far. Mattias Tedenby (SWE) has 1G-2A-3pts and a +2 rating, Patrice Cormier (CAN) 0G-1A-1pt and a +1 rating and Mike Hoeffel (USA) 1G-2A-3pt and a +3 rating.
- With the games in St. Louis and Dallas, the Devils played their first multi-game road trip west of Pittsburgh. The Devils will play nine games on the road in January including a trip out west to face the Kings, Ducks and Canucks and them come back eastward to play Columbus before playing the Islanders and then making another trip to Nashville. The Devils are currently 10-5-2 on the road and are 7-2-1 in their last 10 road games.

More Ex-Devils Could Be Coming Home To Jersey

2008-12-30T09:50:00.002-05:00

The Devils already signed former Devils Bobby Holik and Brian Rolston in the off-season and many joked that who was next, Claude Lemieux. Well Claude will not be returning to the Devils but the 43 year old seems poised to sign a one-year two way contract with the San Jose Sharks. Lemieux is currently playing for the San Jose farm club the Worcester Sharks and has 2G-4A in 14 games.

Of the realistic options for the Devils, Brendan Shanahan has been looking for a team all year long. The Rangers felt they did not need him or his leadership, they thought Scott Gomez was someone who could step in and fill that role. Oh boy, were they wrong. The Flyers tried to sign him in November, but they could not clear the cap space. Other teams like the Blues have been interested, but Shanahan has made it clear he wants to stay near the New York area. So that leaves the Devils?

The Devils said they had no interest or do they? Lou always keeps everything tight to the vest so you never know and he never rushes into something, but adding Shanahan would not hurt the team just help. His leadership and power-play expertise is something any team would seem to want. You could easily see him slide into the third line with Rolston and Holik, freeing up Clarkson, Madden or Pandolfo for a trade for a defenseman.

Another ex-Devil of interest could be the Islanders Bill Guerin. The Islanders are going nowhere fast and are looking to unload Guerin and Doug Weight for draft picks. The only problem is that their cap hit is 4.5 million dollars each, so they may be hard to move as not many teams have the cap space to add that amount of money. The Devils could, but would need to make the move right around the trading deadline. In return the Devils would not have to give-up much in return, so keep you eyes and ears open in regard to these two players.

But what the Devils need the most is a top four defenseman who can play the point on the power-play and kill penalties. Well not too many ex-Devils out there on the trade market that fit this role. The top defenseman that could be on the move and fit what the Devils need are Mattheui Schneider (ATL), Jay Bouwmeester (FLA) and Thomas Kaberle (TOR). All three come with high price tags, but Schneider, Bouwmeester will be free agents at the end of the year.

The one ex-Devil defenseman that could be an option is Jason Smith. The Ottawa Senators are desperate to make a trade and Smith brings a strong defensive presence, a leadership quality and a cheaper price tag at 2.5M a year. And he is signed through next year as well.

We will see what happens but wouldn't mind bringing back some more ex-devils that could help. Devils start a two game road trip in St. Louis tonight and a great New Year's for me watching the Devils beat the Dallas Stars and then see the ball drop.

Devils Are Better Off Without Gomez

2008-12-29T12:38:00.007-05:00

It seems as if things are getting back to normal and the world order is falling back into place. After a long stretch where the Devils were dominated by the Rangers the tides have turned back to way they should be with the Devils frustrating the Rangers into submission. The latest 4-2 win, not only made it two-in-row but the Devils stormed Lundquvist for four goals which could seem like 20 after he posted a 1.19 GAA in the last ten games against the Devils at the Garden.

After being shut-out two games in-a-row and setting the franchise record for longest streak with-out a goal, the Devils got on the board 2:54 into the game on a Brian Rolston goal. Rolston's goal was his 3rd in the past six games and his first on the power-play. The Devils also got goals from their top three goal scorers Elias (17), Parise (19) and Zajac (10). And the Rangers just never seemed as if they were in the game at all from the drop of the puck.

Scott Gomez was held off the scoreboard and is not living up to the huge salary that he received two years ago. While leading the Rangers in ice time with near twenty-three minutes a game, Gomez has 23pts. (6G-17A) and is playing at a minus-11 rating. So is he missed? No way, no how.

The Devils top two centers of Zubrus and Zajac have combined for 46pts. (18G-28A) and are playing at a combined plus-21 rating. Not too shabby, especially considering Gomez makes 3.6 million more a season than does Zajac and Zubrus combined. I will take that production instead of an overpaid center who can't score goals or play defense any day. So the next time the Devils play the Rangers, don't booo Scotty, just thank him for being just another overpaid center who the Rangers took from us.

Notes:
-The Fourth Period web-site is reporting that Devils are still an option for Brendan Shanahan. Shanahan is looking to stay close to the New York area and the Flyers and Rangers do not have the cap space to sign him. He would be a great fit and could possibly move into the 3rd line with Holik and Rolston, letting Clarkson play with Madden and Pandolfo. The longer though he goes without signing, the less effective he may be in his return. So if the Devils are gonna make the move it must be sooner than later.
- A feel good story in Barry Tallackson is happening. After surgery during camp to relieve an irregular heartbeat, Tallackson returned to the Devils but was not ready and got sent down to Lowell. After struggling through his first 8 games without a point, Tallackson has started to find the back of the net and now has 4 goals in his last 4 games. So good for him and maybe we will see him somehwere in the NHL soon, whether it is with the Devils or on another club.
- Speaking of Lowell, the AHL affiliate has won their last two games after a long losing streak. They now sit at 13-14-4 and are 6pts. out of a playoff spot with at least one game at hand on everyone in the Eastern Conference.

151 Minutes, 24 Seconds and Counting

2008-12-27T08:42:00.002-05:00

151 Minutes and 24 seconds and counting! Yes Devil fans, that is how long we have gone without a goal. The last Devils goal was by Brian Rolston at 8:36 of the 2nd period against the Flyers last Sunday.

Last night, the Devils shut down the Pens high powered duo of Crosby and Malkin, limiting the Penguins to 18 shots but a goal by Fedetenko in the 2nd period just squeaked through Clemmensen and it seemed as if in slow motion crossed the goal line for the only goal of the game.

For a team that had scored 30 goals in seven games (4.29 Goals-per-Game) before these past two shut-outs, tough times and missed opportunities have been the scenario for the past two games. As in the game against the Bruins, the Devils had glorious opportunities that were missed. Jamie Langenbrunner had several chances that he missed on, Travis Zajac missed a wide-open net late in the 2nd period, David Clarkson missed a goal by literally an inch as the entire puck just couldn't get across the goal line , etc. etc etc.

Despite pestering 37 shots at the Pens, the game seemed lack luster and for three periods and the Devils seemed to lack the sense of urgency to score for two periods. The Devils need to find their offense right away as they held to the garden and face the Rangers tonight, as not getting at least two points out of this week would be a huge set-back.

Notes:
- The Devils have three players playing in the World Junior Championships in Ottawa. Mike Hoeffel (LW/USA-2007 2nd Rd. Pick), Patrice Cormier (C/Canada-2008 2nd Rd. Pick) and Mattias Teneby (RW/Sweden-2008 1st Rd. Pick).
- Scott Clemmensen can't be blamed for the past two losses. He has only allowed one goal in each of the past two games and has stopped 39-of-41 shots in the two games.
- Coach Sutter finally split up the top 2 lines late in the game last night. Elias was centering Parise and Rolston late in the game. Let us hope that he goes back to the way things were before the two shut-outs and maybe moving Rolston to the wing with Parise and Zajac.

Missed Chances Cost Devils in 2-0 Loss to Bruins

2008-12-23T22:26:00.002-05:00

Well, it was not as if the Devils did not have their chances in their 2-0 loss to the Boston Bruins. Elias had the best chance of the night as he had a wide open net, but Tim Thomas made a huge save diving across to stop the puck. Brian Rolston and Colin White both hit posts in the game as well.

The top seeded Bruins came in yo the game winners of 20 of their last 23 games and had the #1 defense and #1 offense in the NHL. As a Devils fan, I can walk away knowing that despite what the scoreboard says, we were just as good if not better than the Bruins tonight. The Devils offense showed they could create scoring chances against the best defense in the league and they limited the Bruins to one rebound goal early in the third period, and we don't even have Marty Broduer in net.

These two teams seem to be mirror images of each other, 12 forwards who are all solid two-way hockey players and no real big name players among them. The defense are a mixture of solid veterans and guys who move the puck well. The differences are the Bruins have two solid goalies, but are either one a true #1 that can carry team deep in the playoffs while the Devils have Clemmensen now but we have the greatest goalie of all time waiting in the wings. The Devils on the other hand are missing that big name defenseman who can do it all, as in the Bruins Zedeno Chara. This is something the Devils need to address come the trade deadline and also the 3rd line needs to click and provide some more offense if the Devils want to beat the deeper teams like the Bruins and Flyers.

But all in all this was a tough start to a tough week, next up the Pens on Friday and then the Rangers on Saturday. So let us all tell Santa to bring us two wins this weekend, that's all I want for Christmas.

Everyone have a great holiday!

Notes:
- Despite the loss, the Devils are now 12-3-1 in their last 16 games.
- This was only the second time this season the Devils have been shut-out, compared to last year where the Devils had been shut-out seven times by Christmas.
- Salvador missed his third game with an upper body injury, while John Madden finally returned to the line-up and seemed to play on of his better games of late.

Devils Blow Another Lead Late

2008-12-22T20:42:00.002-05:00

For the sixth time this season the New Jersey Devils blew a lead late in the 3rd period as Jordan Lupul scored 4:44 remaining in the third period to tie the score at 2-2.The Devils would eventually go on to win the game in the shoot-out, but once again in the process they gave away another point to their opponents in the process.

#1: October 18th, Alexander Semin of Washington scores with 5:11 remaining in the 3rd to tie the game at 3-3. Devils eventually won the game in the shoot-out.

#2: November 5th, Martin ST. Louis of Tampa scores with 3:20 remaining to tie the score at 3-3. Devils won 4-3 in the shoot-out.

#3: November 15th, Alex Ovechkin of Washington scores with 1-second left to tie the score at 5-5. Devils eventually won in shoot-out 6-5.

#4: November 26th, Up 2-0 on Florida, Jay Bouwmeester scores with 2:20 left and then David Booth scores with 8-seconds remaining to tie the game. The Devils eventually won 3-2 in OT on a Johnny Oduya goal.

#5: December 12th, Up 5-1 on the Rangers the Devils let the Rangers come back and eventually tie the game on a Ryan Callahan goal with 8:42 remaining. The Devils would score three more goals to win 8-5, but oooohhhh the ulcers it caused us Devils fans.

#6: December 21st, Lupul of Philly scored with 4:44 remaining to tie the game at 2-2. The Devils won the game in the shoot-out 3-2.

The Good thing is the Devils have comeback to win these game and get the two points, but this could be a concern with tough games late in the year and really scary come playoff time. There are two ways to looking at this, the Devils are 14-1 when taking a lead into the 3rd period this season but on the other hand more than one-third of the time they eventually blow that lead.

Game Notes:
- Bryce Salvador and John Madden both missed the past two games, Salvador has an upper body injury and the extent of the injury is still unknown. Madden is still ill with the flu, or as I said could it be something more. Probably not, just me putting some crazy ideas in your heads.
- Rolston-Holik_Clarkson scored again as Rolston got the second goal of the game to give the Devils a 2-0 lead. The line has 3G-2A over the past three games and seem like they be starting to gain some chemistry.
-After winning 7 of 8 games the Lowell Devils have gone south as they are on a current seven game winless streak. The offense has sputtered as they have only scored 11 goals in the past seven games, being shutout twice.

Power-Play / Penalty Starting To Figure It Out

2008-12-20T17:19:00.002-05:00

Well Devil fans, I can admit when I was wrong. I believed that the Devils power-play would struggle once they sent Salmela down to Lowell, but instead they have caught fire. The power-play is 6-for-15 (40.0%) in past 5 games and 8-for-24 (23.53%) in the past 10 games.

So what has been the key? Well the Devils finally figured it out that the power-play should not run from the point men, but their two best players Parise and Elias. The combo has combined for 5G-9A on the power-play in the past ten games and Elias and Parise have garnered two of the three possible points on all but one power-play goal. In fact the last power-play goal not seeing Elias and Parise's names next to it on the score sheet was ten games ago when Gionta scored against Florida.

You can see Parise and Elias floating along the right side boards just looking for openings from the wing or feeding Parise down low on the side of the net. This has left the point men open for quality shooting lanes or to sneak in like Oduya did in last nights 5-1 win over Ottawa. Too much emphasis early on Langenbrunner and Rolston to shoot, caused this team to be pressured at the points and take away shooting lanes and also taking the puck out of the Devils two best scorers.

Hey, let us not forget the penalty kill. In the same time the Devils have killed off 38-of-43 (88.37) chances and 18-of-20 (90.0%) in the last five games. This has been just a pure team effort all around, taking away passing lanes, clearing pucks in front and most of all getting the puck out the zone with strong hard clear (No wimpy clears as my friend says).

Let's hope the Devils don't change their style of play and stick with the formula that has been working lately!

Notes:
- Madden did not play last night against Ottawa, due to an illness, or was it something else? Is he on his way out? Rupp is a capable 4th line center, so maybe? Madden and Pandolfo have seemed to be relegated to the 4th line and penalty kill opportunities. That is a lot of money to pay for 4th line players (5.75M to be exact for those two players).

Devils Offense Gets Back On Track ; Rangers Lose Out on Sundin

2008-12-18T20:50:00.003-05:00

Before we start on last nights game, lets all grab a tissue and give it a Ranger fan you know. The poor Rangers couldn't find a way to shed cap space and lost out on trying to be the Yankees of the NHL by buying Sundin for their services. Sundin made it official, he has signed with the Vancouver Canucks. Hey who knows maybe they will go after Forsberg now or don't be surprised if Shanahan ends up a Ranger. They will find someone to buy off, too bad for them unlike baseball there is salary cap in the NHL.

Now to the Devils, who got back on track with their offensive game as they downed the Sabres 5-3. The Devils got goals from Zajac, Salvador, a power-play goal from Parise, Clarkson and Rolston. The new line of Rolston-Holik-Clarkson scored the two third period goals and as a unit seemed to get better as the game went on.

Early on I saw the Devils get back to the formula of soft dumps into the corners and a hard pressuring fore-check, not allowing the Sabres defense to get an easy clear. You could see the Devils get the puck and looked to push the puck up the ice and there were several long passes to lead the offensive rush out of their own end. That is what has made these Devils successful on the offensive end this year.

Rolston, who still seems not at 100%, scored his first goal since returning from his ankle injury and Clarkson netted his 6th goal of the year to seal the victory. Both goals came from Clarkson taking the puck to the net. This line seems to have better possibilities of creating offense and coming up a formula for success, rather than Rolston playing with Madden and Pandolfo. Let us not forget that Holik, though signed to be our fourth line center, was a top 2 centerman last year for the Thrashers.

I also want to give a shout out to Travis Zajac. This is someone who couldn't even score an open net early in the year and now has 8 goals, which is tied for 3rd on the team. He is beginning to make me a believer out of me that he may be a top 2 centerman after all.

Now the Devils come home for four games through Christmas, but it will not be easy an the games could be some offensive affairs as the Senators, Flyers, Bruins and Pens come to town.

Devils Lose To Lolely Leafs in Skills Competition

2008-12-16T21:28:00.002-05:00

Ughhhhhh! You know I wrote an entire article for tonight's game, but I erased it all. The Devils have simply gotten away from the offense that produced eight goals against the Rangers and had scored 42 goals in the 10 games before these last two pathetic loses.

Yes Devils, you give us a little offense and us fans want to see it coming from the hard work ethic and pressing fore check. So they better get their S**T together before tomorrow nights game at Buffalo.

Notes:
- The Devils are healthy, well accept for Brodeur, as Andy Greene is with the team on road and may be in the line-up tomorrow at Buffalo.
- Sundin is down to two teams either the Rangers or Vancouver, he will decide on Thursday. The Rangers still need to make cap space to sign Sundin. One option going around is that they will need to trade Prucha and send a forward to the minors. If the Rangers cannot move anybody by Wednesday, it looks as if Sundin will be going to Vancouver. Vancouver offered him a two year contract at 10M a year. (LETS HOPE THAT BIG LUG HEADS WEST)

Let Down After Victory Over Rangers

2008-12-15T22:06:00.000-05:00

Well I think most of us saw it coming, the Devils finally beat the Rangers and in process scored eight goals against Lundquvist and the next night they lose to the struggling Sabres. The Devils seemed to not have the same passion to win the battles along the boards and in the corners in the 4-2 loss to the Sabres.

The Devils failure once again, was on the penalty kill as they controlled the Sabres at full strength, but gave up two power-play goals in only two chances against. Before the two power-play goals the Devils had killed off seventeen straight penalties. What was mind boggling to me the entire night was the Devils did not get one power-play opportunity. In the new NHL, how a team could not receive one power-play chance is mind boggling, but shows the Devils were going into the corners and taking the puck to the net where mos penalties are called.

The Sabres seem the Devils fit, as they shut-out the Devils in their first meeting. It was the only time the Devils have been shut-out all year. In the loss Bobby Holik scored his first goal since returning to the Devils. This week in practice, Holik-Clarkson-Rolston have been playing together. Rolston has not scored a point since returning to the line-up and he has seemed to have no chemistry with Madden and Pandolfo. This move may see Holik's line to see more time and move the Madden line to the fourth line, which could even make it more of a possibility that you may see Madden moved for a defenseman or a center with more scoring talents.

Notes:
- Just so you Devil fans can get all pissed off at how the New York teams like the Yankees, Mets and Rangers try to buy a championship. The Rangers are trying to move salary to sign Sundin. Rumors have it that they may move Rosival to Dallas for Sean Avery. Yes I am not kidding you. The Rangers will then send Avery to the AHL, giving them the salary cap room to sign Sundin and have the option to bring Avery back after he is mentally cleared to return to the NHL. (WHAT WON'T THESE TEAMS DO TO TRY AND WIN.....I KNOW THEY ARE PISSED ALL THEY HAVE IT 1994 AND WE HAVE THREE CUPS SINCE THEN.)

FINALLY!!!!!!!!

2008-12-12T21:36:00.000-05:00

All I can say is thank god the game is over, my stomach couldn't take it anymore. My stomach felt like it did in overtime of Game 6 of the 2000 Stanley Cup Finals.

After blowing a four goal lead, of course this all happened after I texted my friend to gloat how easy this was, but its' the Rangers and it is never easy and this little homo traitor Gomez made a good effort to disappoint Devil fans again.

What stood out for me and seems to be the difference in this team is Parise is now a dominant player and he showed it gaining four assists on the night as he now has 33 pts on the year. This little guy just creates offense. Second is Elias has gained chemistry with Zubrus and Gionta and are a line teams are proving they cannot stop. What a difference two scoring lines that get a ton of minutes and play solid defense can make. Elias (1G-2A), Gionta (1G-3A), Zubrus (1G-2A).

Also the hits some of the "D" put on some of the Rangers. Salvador and White threw their bodies around and if it wasn't for a period where the Devils thought they could relax and sit on a 5-1 lead the Rangers would of never made the comeback they did.

The Devils character, play of their top two lines, depth and overall team defense is showing me that this team may be one of the best in the east. If they can stay healthy, players like Madden-Rolston-Pandolfo-Rupp-Holik-Clarkson can turn their game up and find some chemistry, and if they can fill some holes of defense via a trade this team has a chance to be playing late in the playoffs.

Notes:
- One sour note was Zajac did not play in the 3rd period and after he scored two goals in the game 3 goals in the last 2 games. Hopefully he will be okay and able to play tomorrow at Buffalo.
- Devils put Petr Vrana on waivers and if no one picks him up him will play the remainder of the season down in Lowell, so it is unlikely he would be recalled if Zajac is injured.

Devils Open Home Stand With Win Over Pens

2008-12-11T21:06:00.000-05:00

The Devils returned after a road trip that saw them go 4-1-0 looking to continue their winning ways. They opened the home stand with the Pens, who were responsible for their only loss in the last eight games.

Scott Clemmensen continued to prove himself as he stopped the Pens leading the Devils to a convincing 4-1 win. The Devils got goals by Zajac, Parise, Zubrus and an empty-netter by Elias to finish off pretty boy Sidney Crosby and his teammates.
-
Coach Sutter continued to keep the top 2 lines together and the Madden-Pandolfo-Rolston line stayed together, but they seemed very out of sync and created barely any offense at all. At the beginning of year most Devil fans expected Madden to be the one re-signed and not to be on the trade block, while Gionta would not be re-signed and probably traded. Well it is appearing the opposite may be true, Gionta is coming on and is 3rd on the team with 21 points (7G-14A) and Madden remains one of only two forwards to be at a negative plus-minus (-4) and have only scored 8 points (3G-5A). With these poor numbers, the penalty kill has been struggling with Madden and Sutter is now not using Madden to check the other teams best line anymore. So Does Madden and his 3-million cap hit pack their bags?

I have always been a fan of Madden, but the Devils under Sutter are changing the way they play the game and are becoming more competitive in the new NHL, so is it wrong to bring in a center who can play with Rolston and someone else? Players like Horton (FLA) and Antropov (TOR) are available and provide more offense than Madden does. Or maybe Holik becomes the 3rd line center and Rupp the fourth line center? Before we rush to judgement, lets give this line a a few more games to gel before we send Madden out of town.

Notes:
- Anssi Salmela has three goals since being sent to Lowell and now has 7 pts in 14 games and is making a real push to be recalled soon. As I stated, the Devils power-play would struggle once they sent Salmela down. In that time they have one power-play goal and that was a 4-on-3 OT goal by Parise. They are a combined 1-11 (9.09%). LETS JUST SAY IT IS UGLY!
- Leblond was sent back to Lowell and Rupp should return to the line-up and we may even see him playing on the third line with Madden and Rolston.
- Andy Greene is skating with the team and may be able to return sometime next week.

Same Old Song, Elias and Parise Save the Day

2008-12-07T10:39:00.001-05:00

You have to admit as a Devils fan the best part of this season is seeing the emergence of Zach Parise and the re-emergence of Patrick Elias as elite players in the league. Even playing with line-mates who are average NHL scoring threats, Parise and Elias are always creating offense for the Devils at always at the most critical moments. Last night once again it was a great pass from Elias that set-up Parise for the overtime game-winner to beat the Montreal Canadians and give the Devils seven wins in their last games.

The goals was Parise's 15th of the year has him tied for 3rd in the league and his 28pts. has him ranked 14th in the league for points. In his four year career Parise has 22 game winning goals and is still on pace to break the Devils single season record in points with 95.

Elias already has 10 goals and 14 assists and for a player who has been paid as one of the top NHL players, over the past three seasons he has only averaged 19 goals and 37 assists a season. At this pace Elias would be back to scoring the way he did during the years of dominance from 2000-2004, averaging 34 goals and 46 assists.

Most of all is the way he and Parise make everyone around them better. Now if they would only let Parise and Elias be the quarterbacks on the power-play from the wings instead of always the point men, maybe we would score a power-play goal.

Let us not forgot the play of Scotty Clemmensen! As I said before, the way he was playing in the pre-season was great but he has started to get a better feel for the game as of late. And last night you could see the biggest difference in his game, (HIS LATERAL MOVEMENT). His ability to move from post to post is getting better every game and he is making some old time kick saves that make me think of my street hockey days.

Pieces are coming together, but changes still need to be made. Maybe it is time for Madden to go? Is Pandolfo a fourth-liner now? Will they be able to score as much as we need them with Rolston on their wing? What is Holik's role? Is Zubrus the answer at center with Elias and Gionta or do the Devils need to find someone else and put his as the third line center?

Notes:
- Barry Tallackson cleared waivers and is playing at Lowell now.
- Since his four goal game four games ago, Zubrus only has 1pt. in his last four games and only ha 4 shots while he had 8 shots on goal in his four goal game.
-Since Salmela has been sent down the DEVILS defenseman have NO goals and just 2 assists in the past three games.

Elias and Parise Lead Devils to Victory

2008-12-05T21:27:00.000-05:00

After I saw the Devils just dominating the Flyers early in the 3rd period and out shooting 10-1 but still tied at 1-1, I was just waiting for the wheels to fall off. Well they did as yet again the Devils gave up a power-play goal, but Elias fixed the Devils flat tire and scored a late goal and the eventual game winner in overtime to help the Devils to victory. As much as I am excited about the two points a few things I am still very concerned about:

1) Though the Devils hold a 4-5-1 record in the division, two wins have come against the weak Islanders and the other two victories (Pens and Flyers) were both in overtime, which still gave up at least a point to these teams. Even worse against the Flyers, Pens and Rangers they have been outscored 14-24 and are only 2-25 on the Power Play (8%) and they have given up 10 goals in 32 chances on their Penalty Kill (68.75%). There is the difference between the Devils and these three teams and that leads me to my next point.

2) The Devils rank 27th on the Power play and 27th on Penalty kill, they have scored 11 power play goals and given up 22, for a minus-11 differential. Only Atlanta at minus-11 and Columbus at minus-14 are worse. The Penguins are plus-3, Flyers plus-7 and the Rangers are plus-10. This is where the fate of the Devils season lies, they need to change this number and fast. Changes need to be made, they are so desperate they are playing five forwards on the top power-play unit. Guess what, 0-for-3 last night and Chico went as far as stating the Devils first power play was their best penalty kill of the season. Remember I said it, Salmela could be the difference maker. OH wait he is helping Lowell with their power-play.

Down on the Farm:
- The Lowell Devils are 7-1-1 in their past 9 games.
- Goalie Jeff Frazee has now won six straight games and is 6-1-1 on the season with and ranks fourth in the AHL with a 2.12 GAA.
- In his two games since being sent down, Anssi Salmela has 1G-1A and is plus-1 with six shots on goal.
- Former Ranger farmhand Chad Wiseman has scored in six straight games and has 15 pts. in 13 games (7G-8A). Wiseman played 5 games with the Rangers over three season in the organization, scoring 1G-1A in those games.
- Alexander Vasyunov now leads the team with eight goals.
- Matt Halischuk is rehabbing his knee from surgery and is expected to return this year to play, as the knee was not as bad as originally diagnosed.

Stupid Devils Leadership Make Suprise Move Sending Salmella to Lowell

2008-12-03T13:36:00.000-05:00

In one of the most shocking moves yet by the Devils, they sent rookie defenseman Ansi Salmela to Lowell and journeyman Jay Leach has been recalled. Salmela has been an exciting player to watch since his return from a earlier stint at Lowell. Salmela has been on of the key guys on the power-play providing a shot first attitude and now the Devils bring Jay Leach back, who played solid replacing Mike Mottau during his suspension.

This move makes no sense and the only logical answer I can come up with is that they wanted some bigger defenseman to play against the Flyers, Canadians and Rangers forwards. And that Salmela was the only one who would not have to clear waivers.

But for all purposes this is just a dumb stupid move and if they feel they need to make a change on defense and bring another big defenseman to the mix then trade Mike Mottau and get the likes of a Jay Bouwmeester or Mattius Ohlund. But do not send our only real offensive defenseman down to the minors. DUMB, DUMB, DUMB, DUMB!

Prediction Devils power-play over the next four games will score maybe one or two goals!

Old Pieces to a New Puzzle

2008-12-02T20:32:00.000-05:00

At the start of the season the roles of Brian Rolston, Bobby Holik, John Madden and Jay Pandolfo were pretty much set in stone. Holik would be a fourth line center and take some ket face-offs and probably play with two big wingers (Zubrus, Clarkson or Rupp). Rolston was to be on the top line with Elias and Gionta, while Madden and Pandolfo would be side by side checking the other teams best line.

Now as the Devils are seeming to near complete health, Coach Sutter has made the right move and say that the Elias-Zubrus-Gionta line will stay together as well Parise-Zajac-Langenbrunner, so where do the returning players fit in?

Here is our choices for the two best options:
OPTION 1: LINE 1: Parise-Zajac-Rolston / Line 2: Elias-Zubrus-Gionta / Line 3: Pandolfo-Madden-Langenbrunner / Line 4: Rupp-Holik-Clarkson
(Rolston would provide more punch and make Parise and Zajac better than they already are and it would get the struggling Langebrunner off the line and put him with Pandolfo-Madden, whom it has a history playing with. Langebrunner would also provide some more offense to the Pandolfo-Madden tandem. And lastly the Elias line stays in tact, while you have a big strong fourth line that can bang bodies and score some goals.)

OPTION 2: Line 1: Parise-Zajac-Langebrunner / Line 2: Elias-Zubrus-Gionta / Line 3: Pandolfo-Madden-Clarkson / Line 4: Rupp-Holik-Rolston
(Not as good as the first option, but keeps the top two lines together and provides balance throughout the line-up. Also opens the option for LOU to go out and trade for another winger who can score to replace Rupp to give the Devils three lines that can produce offense.)

Notes:
- Devils recalled Leblond, mostly to maybe play against the Flyers because as always there will be fights and hopefully he knocks out one of the (Bleeps) from Philadelphia. Hey if we are lucky maybe Bobby Clarke himself will come back and get his ass kicked by Leblond.
- Devils sent Vrana to Lowell to get some playing time. With everyone coming back from injuries he will get some needed playing time down there.
- Several teams are looking to trade, but the salary cap is standing in their way. Washington is looking to unload Nylander, Atlanta well is looking to move nearly anyone on the roster, Buffalo is looking to move Afiniganov and his 3.3M salary, Rangers would like to get rid of Prucha, Hurricanes want to make some moves and well it won't be long before Burke will be shopping the entire Toronto roster.

DEVILS FALL TO PENS AND BACK TO REALITY

2008-11-30T10:03:00.001-05:00

Simply put, the Devils five game win streak was against the least of the eastern conference and now with a tougher schedule the Devils seem that they may be over-matched against the likes of the Pens, Flyers, Canadians and Rangers.

Last nights 4-1 loss to the Pens may be the start of a tough stretch. The Devils defense was harassed by the Pens fore-check all night and did not were not allowed a clean breakout all night. On offense the Devils crashed the net and worked hard down low in their five game win streak, last night we saw none of that from the Devils offense.

Only time will tell but this could be a tough stretch unless the return of Holik, Madden and Rolston help bolster our line-up.

Notes and Thoughts:
- Mike Mottau has not played the way he did last season and at times has been a liability. Bryce Salvador and Colin White are solid defensive defenseman, but are not shutdown defenseman. This is the Devils biggest weakness as they will need to pursue a top line shut down defenseman in the likes of Stevens. That would allow them to have three solid pairings Martin-?, White-Oduya, Salvador-Salmella with Greene or Mattau as the seventh defenseman.

Lowell Following in Devils Footsteps

2008-11-29T18:34:00.000-05:00

The Lowell Devils have been on a winning streak just like their senior counterparts. The Lowell Devils have won four straight games and stand at 8-7-3 (19pts.). The Devils turn around on defense has been the difference as over the first 14 games they gave up 51 goals, averging 3.64 GAA per game. Over the past four games they have only allowed 5 goals, 1.25 GAA. Since being recalled from Trenton, goalie Jeff Frazee is 3-1-1 with a 1.73 GAA, 1 shoutout and a .944 save percentage. The 21 yera old from Edina, Minnesota was the Devils second choice (38th overall) in the 2005 entry draft.

Jon DiSalvatore leads the Devils in points with 19 (5G-14A) and is tied for the team lead in goals with Matt Halischuk, Alexander Vasyunov (Devils 2nd choice / 58th overall in 2006 draft) and Patrick Davis. Nicholas Bergfors, who has struggled to score at the NHL level has 11pts (4G-7A) in 9 games at Lowell and leads the team with 4 power-play goals.

Top defensive prospects Tyler Eckford leads all Lowell defensman with 10pts (1G-9A) and Matthew Corrente has 2G-4A, plus-2 rating and second on the team with 56 penalty minutes.

We will continue to keep up with the Lowell Devils this season.

10 Things Devils Fans Can Be Thankful For

2008-11-28T08:15:00.001-05:00

Well Devils fans after some shaky times the past few months, we have a lot to be thankful for at this time of year:
1) The Devils are on a 5-game winning streak after the season seemed to be going in the shitter.
2) The Devils escaped with two points after blowing a 2-0 lead late to the Florida Panthers.
3) Rolston, Holik, Madden and Greene all should be returning to the line-up sometime in the near future.
4) Zach Parise is becoming one of the most dominant players in the game, the type of player we have not had since Elias in 2000-2001.
5) Gionta is on a five game goal scoring streak.
6) Elias-Zubrus-Gionta is turning out to be a dominant line.
7) The Devils penalty kill ha snot given up a power-play goal in three straight games.
8) The farm system is filled with soon to be NHL players in Hallischuk, Corrente, Eckford, Zharkov and Bergfors.
9) Ansi Salmela is an actual offensive defenseman who is becoming more and more comfortable at the point on the power-play.
10) The Devils are 13th in offense (2.90 GPG) compared to last season where the finished 27th (2.42 GPG).

Devils Scorch Lightning as Zubrus Lights Lamp Four Times

2008-11-24T16:48:00.000-05:00

The Devils seemed to follow the game plan from my last post to a "T" as they scorched the Lightning from start to finish for a 7-3 victory. Zubrus scored four times and the line of Elias-Zubrus-Gionta combined four 5 goals and 4 assists on the afternoon. They now have accounted for 12 goals and 13 assists over the last five games. And it is becoming clearer that Sutter and the coaching staff would make a huge mistake by breaking up this tandem when Rolston returns as the chemistry of this line is something the Devils have been searching for since Arnott and Sykora were shipped off.

Also, I said that Salmela was about to break out and he did with two assists in the game. The second one was a great individual play at the blueline on a delayed penalty that led to Parise scoring his 13 goal of the year. And the defense as a whole continued to add points as they accounted for 5 assists on the game and except for a short time in the second period played a stellar defensive game by shutting down the Lighting stars.

The Devils can make it five in a row with a win on Wednesday at Florida and we could see the likes of Holik, Madden, Rolston, Mottau back in the line-up by sometime next week.

Notes:
- Jon DiSalvatore was named AHL player of week with 2G-5A . He has been the best forward for the Lowell Devils all year and may be the next to be recalled if any injuries occur again.
- Gionta has now scored in four straight games.
- Parise broke his five game goal scoring drought with his goal against Tampa.

Four Reasons Why The Devils May Be Coming Together

2008-11-23T10:38:00.000-05:00

The Devils are now on a three game winning streak, which looking at the opponents (FLA, WAS and NYI) may not seem that impressive yet considering all of the injuries it is coming at the right time. The Rangers and Penguins are taking off in the division and the Flyers you know will be there, so the Devils can ill afford to fall behind too far and after falling to .500 they have won three straight. So what has changed that has seemed to set the Devils in the right direction:

1) Elias, Zuburs and Gionta. The Devils have found a strong second combo that can put the puck in the net. At times these three have cycled the puck down low very much like the Elias-Arnott-Sykora line did. And it is clear that Elias is at his best when his line has players who can create and they work as a unit. Over the past four games this line has accounted for 7 Goals and 9 Assists for 16 Points. Elias leads the way with (4G-4A) and Gionta has scored in three straight games. Big question is what will Sutter do with Rolston when he returns since these three are gaining more and more chemistry.

2) Parise, Parise, Parise. Now he has not scored in four games and people are all worried, don't be. In those four games he has 5 points (0G-5A) and has created offense and has had numerous scoring chances that he has not cashed in on. Parise is becoming the superstar that this team needs and he has made Zajac better and has garnered the attention of teams allowing Elias and his linemates to create. Parise is stuck on 12 goals, but now has 23 points overall and is on pace for 99points, which would break Elias's team record of 96 pts. from 2000-2001.

3) Salmela's shoot first attitude rubbing off. Any Devils fan can see that in his second stint with the Devils Ansi Salmela is a different player and a creative offensive player from the defensive position. We may not see the end to end rushes up the ice and points may not be there yet but they will come in time and may come in bunches. The most impressive thing we have seen is Salmela wants the big slapshot from the point and other Devils defenseman have followed suit. No more weak wrist-shots that get blocked, thank god! The other night Mike Emerick even said that Oduya and Salmela was having a shooting contest as the pounded slapper after slapper towards the net. Think about it over the last four games Salvador and Martin have scored on hard slap shots, Oduya has 3 assists two off deflected pucks off slapshots and Colin White had a slapshot deflected!

4) Reality has set in. The Devils finally woke up and figured it out, Marty Brodeur was not going to back anytime soon. So they decided to change and not let there season go in the shitter cause one player was injured. And as I said before, this could and should make this team better. The belief that they can win without relying on Brodeur and forcing players to earn their paychecks. And over the past four games Elias, Parise, Gionta, Langenbrunner, Zajac, Oduya, Martin, Clarkson and Salmela all deserve a little raise.

Notes:
- With a tough stretch coming up in December, the need to get at least three of four points over the next two games in Florida is important.
- Madden may miss both games in Florida as will Mottau who got suspended for two games by the NHL for his hit on Nielsen of the Islanders.
- Parise is on pace for 99 points, while Zajac 60pts, Langenbrunner 43 points for a total of 202 pts. In 2000 Arnott scored 56 pts, Sykora 68 pts, Elias 72 pts which equalled 196 pts.
- Two players will be recalled to replace Madden and Mottau from Lowell. Good chance Devils could call up Tyler Eckford or Jay Leach on defense and either Zharkov or DiSalvatore for a spot on the fourth line winger. Leblond and Bergfors were returned to Lowell.

Devils Finally Go On the Offensive

2008-11-17T13:55:00.000-05:00

Well for any Devils fan who watched Saturday's game against the Capitals saw a Devils team that finally found the back of the net and had numerous great scoring chances. Even with that it took a shoot-out for the Devils to break their winless streak, but than again no one said it would come easy.

The most impressive part of the Devils offense was where there opportunities were coming. Most of the Devils goals came with clear shots from the high slot and not from the along the boards or the from the point. Clarkson, Langenbrunner and Gionta all scored from the high slot and their were other chances from their that did not result in goals.

With all the injuries, spotty offense and two ugly losses to the Rangers, their have been some positives. Zack Parise has 20pts. in 17 games, Zajac can find the back of the net but he has 11 assists to lead the team and has been getting better each game, Elias now has 7 goals and could you imagine if he had a real center to play with, Clarkson is 3rd on the team with 4 goals despite being with a new line every night and on defense Oduya, Greene and Salmella have been great. Escpecially Oduya who leads the Devils defenseman in points with eight and Greene had 6pts. in 6 games before getting hurt, and Salmella is about ready to break-out.

On the negative side, the Devils best defensive players (Madden, Pandolfo, Salvador and Martin) are a combines minus-14. Only one other regular, David Clarkson at minus-2, is playing at a negative rating.

The Devils have an opportunity to get healthy and get some wins as they play the worst of the conference over the next four games, Florida (twice), Tampa Bay Lightining and the rival Islanders. After that they have a tough six-game stretch that could determine their season as they play the Penguins (twice), Flyers, Rangers, Sabres and the Canadians.

Notes:
- Rolston is not skating yet, so his return is questionable. Holik should be looking to return around Thanksgiving or just before. Greene will still be out to just before Christmas.
- Lowell is feeling the effects of the Devils injuries as they are winless in their last seven. With Halischuk out (knee surgery), Bergfors (still with Devils), Salmella (back with Devils) and Clemmensen (up with Devils) they are feeling a bit shortrhanded.
- Barry Tallackson is back with the Devils after a heart surgery and then a five game rehab stint with the Lowell Devils. He is still aways off from getting on the ice with the Devils at the NHL level. Hopefully we will see him in the line-up as he can be a positive 4th liner for the Devils.
- Lamiriello is showing interest in Khabibulin (CHI), Roloson (EDM) and Kolzig (TAMPA) to take over in goal. This may put a damper on the Devils looking to add a center or defenseman.

Capital Punishment

2008-11-14T21:28:00.000-05:00

The New Jersey Devils who's season started out with such promise continued their endless fall with a 3-1 loss to the Capitals. Once again it seemed that the Devils did not have the offensive firepower upfront to match yet another teams forwards speed and offensive creativity. Alex Ovenchkin had an assist and scored an empty net goal to clinch the game for the Capitals.

Despite playing solid defense and getting another strong performance in net from Clemmensen, the Devils offense has continued to sputter as teams have begun to focus their efforts on stopping Parise. Since Broduers injury the Devils are now 1-5-0 and have only scored more than two goals once, the only game they won. Their 1.60 Goals For per game is only the tip of the iceberg as the real problem has been their powerplay which has scored 1 goal in their last 20 chances, over the span of the past six games. The penalty kill has killed them as well giving up 7 goals in the last 22 chances over that same six game span.

In all despite the injuries, it may be time for the Devils to make a move before the season is lost and a goalie is not what they need, as it seems like Clemmensen has continued his strong play from the preseason and may be seeing more action between the pipes than Weekes. The Devils need to add a play-making centerman and top 4 defenseman.

On defense it is clear that Martin, Salvador, White will stay and Greene and Salmela seem to give the Devils some offense and a decent third pairing. That leaves Oduya and Mottau able to be on the move, but White could be moved for a player like Bouwmeester.

On the forward lines, Zajac-Parise make a good pair but could benefit from adding Rolston to the line and moving Langenbrunner with Madden-Pandolfo, Holik-Rupp-Clarkson make a strong fourth line and that leaves Elias to be paired with a new center and either Gionta or Zubrus on the wing. So as expected Gionta or Zubrus could be on the move.

But in the end the Devils could look for a goalie if Clemmensen and Weekes are not getting the job done and if they find out Brodeur may be out longer than expected.

Well anything to help my ulcer I am getting from watching these games.

Just Flat Out Ugly, as Devils fall to 1-4-0 Since Brodeur Injury

2008-11-12T21:21:00.000-05:00

I have no words to comment on how disgusted I am at watching the Devils lose once again to the Rangers. As if the Rangers needed any help, the referees gave the Rangers numerous opportunities on the power-play including two five-on-three's. And on both five-on-three's the Rangers scored. And most of all it is stomach turning to see all the Ranger fans being allowed into the arena. Devils fans need to step up and buy all the tickets to the Ranger games or any fan wearing a Rangers jersey should thrown the fuck out and have his ass beaten in an alley in downtown Newark.

But worse is the Devils are 1-4-0, with only a shootout win, since Brodeur went down. They have only been able to score 7 goals in four games. Mr. Lamiriello better get his move on and find some new players for this team. He better start with getting rid of all those soft players. We need players with an edge, like Parise, to lead this team. And right now there are very few players like that, mostly we have a bunch of soft pussies with no creativity.

Injuries Continue to Add Up

2008-11-11T13:47:00.000-05:00

This past weekend while the Devils lost back-to-back games and Zach Parise was the only player who could put the puck in the net, my family and good friend were visiting Canada and the Hockey Hall of Fame. In a post later this week I will have some pictures and go over what a great trip it is and why all hockey fans should make it a point to get there.

Besides the two losses, where both goalies Weekes and Clemmensen, played well enough to keep the Devils in the game, the injuries just kept on coming. The newest additions are Paul Martin who was put on IR today and Gionta and Salvador had to miss Sunday's game against Edmonton after leaving the previous game against Detroit with injuries. Gionta and Salvador should return soon than later to the line-up and I would expect them both to be in the line-up against the Rangers tomorrow night.

Theses injuries add onto Rolston, Holik, Greene and Leblond who are all still out and may not be back for another few weeks. And of course the injury to Brodeur, who underwent successful surgery on his elbow tendon and is expected to miss three to four months.

The injuries have not been limited to the NHL club. Matt Hallischuk, the Devils top prospect, will be out four to six weeks after successful arthroscopic surgery on his knee. Hallischuk had 5G-3A in 8 games at Lowell this season and had an assist in his NHL debut.

In all my years as a Devils fan, I have never seen so many injuries at one time and especially to so many key players. Despite the injuries and a total of seven rookies making their debuts this season (Hallischuk, Vrana, Bergfors, Leblond, Davis, Salmella, Leach) the Devils remain above .500 and in second place in the division.

Some players have shown they have the ability to step-up and other have showed they are not ready, here is our list of our uppers and downers:

Salmella, Parise, Oduya, Weekes, Clemmensen - UPPERS

Vrana, Bergfors, Langenbrunner, Clarkson, Rupp, Elias - DOWNERS

Weekes Crashes Lighting Hopes In Shootout

2008-11-05T21:46:00.000-05:00

Tonight was the first night of many to come over the next few months that the New Jersey Devils leaned on Kevin Weekes in goal to get them a victory. Weekes stopped 24 of 27 shots and then 2 of 3 in the shootout to lead the Devils to a 4-3 shootout victory.

After a goal by Lecalavier in the shootout, Weekes stopped Jokinen and Prospal to win the shootout. After Parise's backhand hit the crossbar, Elias and Langenbrunner scored, beating Lighting goalie Mike Smith low on the glove side to complete the shootout victory.

While falling behind 1-0 on a first period goal by Jokinen, the Devils offense continued to stall. Finally after more than four and half periods a goal by Clarkson off the right wing tied the game 1-1and broke the scoreless drought. Then two-minutes and fourty-second later Elias scored a power-play goal to give the Devils a 2-1 lead.

The third period saw the Devils penalty kill fail once again. A penalty by Petr Vrana led to a Jokinen's second goal of the game to tie the score at 2-2. Then after a Pandolfo goal to take back the lead, Brookbank was called for delay of game when he flipped a backhand into the stands with no Lighting player within 50-feet. Brookbank's mistake led to a St. Louis goal with 3:20 remaining in the game. The Lighting finished 2-for-3 on the power-play and now have given up 13 power-play goals on the season compared to the 7 they have scored on the power-play.

Patrick Elias and Danius Zubrus made huge impact on the game and both players finished with two-points on the night. Zubrus now has 7 pts. (2G-5A) in his last six games.The win makes the Devils 2-1-2 in their last five games and now visit the Stanley Cup Champions on Saturday and then the Edmonton Oilers at home on Sunday before the Rangers come to town next Wednesday.

Notes:
- Rolston has begun to skate on his own, but no time table has been set for his return.
- For the second game in-a-row, Bergfors was benched in the 3rd period limiting his ice-time. Rookie line-mate, Petr Vrana has not scored a point in his 7 games since his goal in his debut at Washington.
- Paul Martin missed his second game with what has been called upper body soreness.
- Devils are now 6-1-0 when they out-shoot their opponents.

Devils Take An Unexpected Look Into the Future

2008-11-05T18:28:00.000-05:00

For years Devils fans have always wondered what life would be like without Martin Brodeur in goal. We as fans have been blessed knowing that every year we have maybe the greatest goalie ever between the pipes and sometimes we may have even been spoiled. Devils fans, reporters and NHL insiders have always wondered why the Devils have not drafted or groomed a goalie to eventually replace Brodeur after he retires, well the future is now here and with no young goalie to replace him we as fans now know what many other NHL fans go through every year.

Brodeur's injury came as a surprise and was diagnosed as a bruised elbow, but clearly watching the action live you could see that it was worse than first diagnosed. The rock of this organization will now have surgery on Thursday and will look to return to game action in three to four months. The Devils will now rely on Kevin Weekes, with Scott Clemmensen as his backup, to hold the fort for what will likely be 40 to upwards of 55 games. Clearly it was stated by Lou Lamiriello that the Devils will not pursue a goalie and Kevin Weekes will be the man.

So Devil fans the future is here, so where does this organization go and how to do they handle this setback? Now more than ever the pressure will be on Coach Sutter's shoulders. A coach who was brought in to lead this team through a transition into the new NHL and bring more accountability of the players and bring the best out of them. Is he the leader we expected, when he was hired? But which players will be he be counting on:

1) Kevin Weekes: After barely playing the past few seasons can he be an adequate NHL goalie again? He will not be Brodeur, but Devil fans will be surprised and keep us above water.

2) Elias / Zajac / Gionta / Langenbrunner: The Devils will give up a few more goals and these players will need to be productive not in spurts, but every night.

3) Rolston / Holik / Martin / Greene: The return of these veterans players will give the Devils a healthy line-up and definitely a better defensive club and more leadership on the ice with these four guys in the line-up.

4) Vrana / Bergfors / Salmella: Can these three guys rookies make a greater impact, especially offensively, to make up for the loss of the injured veterans and can they push for playing time even when the vets return.

5) Special Teams: Most important will be the special teams. The Devils have struggled to score goals on the power play and even worse has been the penalty kill. They will need to win the special teams battle every night to win games as they will not have Brodeur to steal games for them night in and night out.

So fans, remain calm during these tough times. This may make the Devils a better team in the end. It will make players more accountable and they will be asked to do more knowing that there is no safety net back between the pipes. Some nights may be ugly, but be patient and we will see if the Devils mature over the next 40 games.

Injuries Pile Up as Devils Slice Past Thrashers

2008-11-03T11:38:00.000-05:00

The New Jersey Devils injuries have continued to pile up and before Saturday's game it was known that Andy Greene, who led all Devils defenseman in points with 6 points, will miss a month with a broken hand. Then the worst of the worst happened as Brodeur left half-way through the game with what is being called a bruised elbow. The severity of the injury is not known, but watching the action live Brodeur threw his glove arm up to try and make a glove slave seeming to make a sharp jerking action. Brodeur was unable to move the arm and eventually was removed from the game for back-up goalie Kevin Weekes.

As for the game the Devils offense continued to click as they scored 6 goals against the Thrashers, including five second period goals for a 6-1 win. The Devils have now scored 21 goals in the past five games but have only posted a 2-2-1 mark in that span. One big reason for the offensive success over the past five games has been the defense who has accumulated 18 points (1G-17A) in the past five games, while in the first five games they combined for only 4 points (1G-3A).

Nicholas Bergfors started off the scoring, making him the fourth Devils rookie forward this season to score a point in their first game of the season. Bergfors sent a puck from the end boards that trickled through the Thrashers goalie to give the Devils a 1-0 lead. The lead would remain until the second period where the Devils scored five goals by Elias, Gionta, Pandolfo and two by Parise. Parise's two goals ties a New Jersey Devils record of scoring a goal in six straight games and his nine goals overall have him tied for second in league behind Buffalo's Thomas Vanek, who the Devils will see tonight.

The Devils will face a tough Buffalo team without Brodeur between the pipes as he has been ruled out. Buffalo comes into tonight's contest leading the league with a 2.09 GAA, top goalie Ryan Miller who has a 1.82 GAA to lead the league as well. Their penalty kill ranks 3rd in the league killing off 9 out of every 10 chances which has helped them to a 7-2-2 record. The Devils will look to shut down Vakek who has scored 11 of the Sabres 34 goals this year.

Notes:
- Salmella and Clemmensen have been recalled from Lowell for tonight's game, while Matt Halischuk was sent back to Lowell after playing his first NHL last week against Toronto.
- An MRI and X-rays on Brodeur's elbow were done on Sunday, but we may not know the severity of the injury as the NHL has implemented new standards that do not make teams accountable to disclose all facts about a players injury.
-

Devils Fall to Leafs in Shootout

2008-10-30T12:54:00.000-04:00

The Devils defense after the starting the season giving up 9 goals in the first six games, now over the last three the light behind Brodeur has been lighting up like a christmas tree. The last three games have seen the Devils give up 14 goals against. Last night the visiting Leafs tore through the Devils defense for 5 goals and pestering the Devils net 48 shots. As it has been the problem in the two games against the Flyers, the Devils allowed the Leafs to crash the front of the net and scramble around the crease in front of Brodeur.

The Devils started off to a great start with a 2-0 lead after the first period, despite being outshot 13 to 7 by the Leafs. David Clarkson deflected a Mike Mottau shot from the point to get the scoring started. Then later in the period, Danius Zubrus scored off a loose puck in the crease that deflected off his knee and in the net. Rookie Matt Halischuk started the play, by forcing a turnover in the corner and then getting the puck to Andy Greene at the point. Greene then slid a pass to Gionta who came off the bench for Halischuk and took the puck to the net and banged two shots off Toskala's pads and then the second shot rebounded off Zubrus for the goal.

The Devils seemed to get complacent after the second goal and took it into the 2nd period. The Leafs scored three goals in the first seven minutes of the 2nd period t take a 3-2 lead. The Devils grabbed the lead back with goals by Jamie Langenbrunner and of all players Colin White to take a 4-3 lead heading into the 3rd period.

The lead would stay until half-way through the 3rd period when the Leafs scored two goals in a 1:10 period to take a 5-4 lead, including their third power-play goal of the game. Zach Parise would tie the game up under a minute later with his 7th goal of the season. The game ended a 5-5 tie and then the Devils who led the shootout after a Patrick Elias goal, could not finish the Leafs again as Gionta and Langenbrunner missed and Hagmann and Kaberle beat the Brodeur to win the shootout.

Notes:

- Andy Greene has been playing great since being inserted for Salmela. Greene has 6 points (1G-5A) and plus-4 +/- rating in his six games, including three assists last night. Hopefully we will see him more on the point of the power-play.

-

Left Bloody on the Streets of Philadelphia

2008-10-28T10:48:00.000-04:00

After a 5-0 win over the Dallas Stars last Wednesday, Devil fans were flying high and seeing that we could maybe make it through a stretch without Rolston and Holik. Then a desperate and angry 0-3-3 Flyers were next for a home-and-home over the weekend. What preceded was a good old fashioned whipping, as the Flyers won a 6-3 blowout at "The Rock" and a 3-2 OT loss Saturday in Philadelphia.

In the two games the Flyers and Devils combined for six fights and numerous bone crushing hits over the two games. The Flyers big strong and offensively talented forwards controlled and pushed the Devils defense around all weekend. The Flyers continually pounded the Devils defenseman and forwards every chance they got, which forced the Devils into being out of position, losing puck battles along the boards and allowing the big forwards of the Flyers to get to the net.

The Flyers top six forwards dominated the Devils defense charging the net, especially the trio of Jeff Carter (6'3"-200), Mike Knuble (6'3"-230) and Scott Hartnell (6'2"-210), who combined for seven of the nine Flyers goals on the weekend. Before this past weekend the trio has scored five goals in the teams first six games, four of which were scored by Carter. Add in Mike Richards, Simon Gagne and Jordan Lupul and the Flyers top six forwards dominated the games and controlled the puck nearly the entire time.

The Devils got off to a quick start with a goal by Travis Zajac 45-seconds into the game, but then Jeff Carter responded 45-seconds later to tie the game and the Flyers seemed to control the weekend from then on. Zach Parise once again provided all the offense for the Devils. Parise contributed on four of the Devils five goals over the two games, accounting for four points (2G-2A). Parise now has 11 points in the first 8 games and part of the reason is the development of Travis Zajac who is second on the team with six points (1G-5A).

While Zajac and Parise have continued to impress, other players have struggled. Patrick Elias who scored two goals in the first two games, has not scored since Rolston went down and has only accounted for 3 assists since the Rolston injury. The Devils also lost Jamie Langenbrunner, who left half-way through the 6-3 loss to the Flyers after being hit from behind and into the boards by a Flyers player. Langenbrunner had struggled on the line with Parise and Zajac as he only had 1G-2A in the first seven games of the year.

The losses this weekend leave the Devils now at 5-2-1, but are 2-2-1 against their divisional opponents. They have a 3.00 GAA against divisional opponents and a 1.00 GAA against the rest of the league. With yet another injury to a top forward and Rolston and Holik put on IR, the Devils have called up Matt Hallischuk and Nicholas Bergfors from Lowell.

Team Notes:
- Devils play 9 of their next 11 games at home and 11 of their next 14 games are against non-divisional opponents.
- Matt Hallischuk and Nicholas Bergfors have been called up for Wednesday's game vs. Toronto. Hallischuk and Bergfors are tied for the team lead in points at Lowell. Halischuk has 5G-3A and Bergfors has 2G-6A. The question will be if we will see either on in the line-up or are they called up under and emergency status only? It would be a shame to bring them up and not see what they can do at the NHL level. If either player can stick and prove to be a NHL caliber player it may make a player like Brian Gionta and his salary available for a trade. Hallischuk will wear #10 and Bergfors #18.
- Matt Corrente the Devils first round pick in 2006 scored his first goal of the season with the Lowell Devils in heir 4-2 win over the Springfield Falcons on saturday night.

Devils Run Over Stars and Avery

2008-10-22T21:26:00.000-04:00

Sean Avery! A name that makes the nicest Devils fans want to beat the living pulp out of the first person they can find. In his long awaited return after his circus antics in last seasons playoffs with the Rangers, the so called hockey player returned tonight to the "Rock" as a Dallas Star. The Devils preceded to run over the Dallas Stars and their new antagonizer, winning 5-0.

The Devils got on the board early as Jamie Langenbrunner started the scoring 1:59 into the game. Langenbrunner came out from behind the net and backhanded a shot that went through Stars goalie Marty Turco. Then half way through the first period David Clarkson received a penalty trying to drop the gloves with Avery. Showing his true colors, Avery would not drop the gloves the whole night as he was hit around at every turn and by every one wearing a Devils jersey.

In the second period John Madden took care of putting the game away by himself as he scored two goals to extend the Devils lead to 3-0 after two periods. Madden was fed by Paul Martin on a short two-on-one as he beat Turco on the glove side. Just over a minute later Madden scored again as Salvador shot the puck on Turco who left a rebound out in front of him. Madden beat two Dallas defenders and slid the puck right inside the post from the goal line for his 3rd goal of the season. The goal sent Turco to the bench for the remainder of the night.

The Devils finished off the third period and game by doing what they have done so well this season, controlling the puck and getting pucks to the net. Zach Parise scored his team leading 4th goal of the season off a rebound on an Andy Greene shot from the left wing. David Clarkson capped off the scoring as he found a loose puck just inside the blue line and stick-handled around a defender to get to the center of the ice. Clarkson then sent a scorching slap shot by Turco's replacement, Tobias Stephan, low on the blocker side.

With the win the Devils move to 5-1-0 on the season and Brodeur moves closer to breaking Patrick Roy's career wins record and Terry Sawchuk's career shut-out mark. The Devils now head into a weekend home-and-home series with the struggling Flyers, starting on Friday at the "ROCK".

Notes:
- Parise now leads the team with 7 pts in 6 games (4G-3A).
- Rookie winger Letourneau-Leblond did not have a fight tonight, but he did get on the score sheet with an assist on Clarkson's third period goal.
- Andy Greene had two assists on the night and now has 3 pts in 3 games, including the lone goal from a Devils Defenseman.
- Travis Zajac's parents were in attendance and they saw him get two assists on the night. They may not be staying long as they have two other sons who play college hockey (Darcy-Jr.-North Dakota) (Kelly-Fr.-Union College-NY).

Is there a Doctor in the House? (Holik and Rolston out of line-up)

2008-10-21T12:06:00.001-04:00

The Devils top two free agent signings of the off-season will not be in the line-up anytime in the near future. Rolston injured his ankle in the Atlanta game and Holik left the Washington game with what they called a broken pinkie finger.

Holik will be out 3 to 4 weeks after having surgery to repair the broken finger. With the injury to Holik the Devils have called up Pierre-Luc Letrourneau-Leblond from Lowell. The 6-2 210lb Letrourneau-Leblond, will play left wing on a line centered by Mike Rupp and David Clarkson on right wing. At 22 years of age Letrourneau-Leblond is the youngest Devil to make their NHL appearance this season (Vrana 23, Salmella 24). In 4 games this season at Lowell he has accumulated 32 minutes in penalties. Do not expect the rookie to put the puck in the net, but he will hit a few guys around and throw some fists.

MRI and X-Rays on Brian Rolston were clean but no timetable has been set for his return. Rolston signed a 4-year deal this off-season with the Devils and his and Holik's presence is important to the Devils success this season. Rookie Petr Vrana will continue to play on the top line with Zubrus and Elias for the time being.

Notes:
Letourneau-Leblond was called up because he fits on the fourth line and fills the toughness and size lost with Holik out of the line-up. But was he the best call-up at this time? The Devils struggling for offense may be better served by calling up Jon DiSalvatore (1G-6A), veteran center Pascal Rheaume or even possibly winger Nicholas Bergfors (1G-5A). All of whom have NHL experience or saw time with the Devils late into the pre-season.

Parise Leads Devils Over Caps in Shootout

2008-10-19T13:38:00.000-04:00

The Devils continued their winning ways last night against the Washington Capitals, with a 4-3 shootout victory. Parise led the way with a goal and assistant and capped off the night by scoring the lone shootout goal as he roofed a backhander over the glove of Caps goalie Brent Johnson.

With Rolston out for a undisclosed amount of time with an severe ankle injury, the Devils scored a season high three goals in the game. Rolston's replacement, Petr Vrana, scored the first goal of the game and of his career. The Devils won the face-off and Johnny Oduya fed Patrick Elias along the boards whose wrist-shot was deflected by Vrana that tied the score at 1-1. The assist by Elias gave him 365 as a New Jersey Devil, passing Scott Neidermeyer for the team career leader in assists.

The Devils down 2-1 entering the 3rd period, were able to put pressure on the Caps and finally tied the score at 2-2 when Zach Parise scored a power-play goal with 9:26 remaining. Just over a minute later the Devils got the lead as Zach Parise fed the point and Andy Greene scored on a one-timer.

The Caps would come back and tie the game as Alexander Semin scored his second goal of the game. Semin flung a shot from along the boards that deflected off of Mike Mottau in the crease and past Brodeur. The Devils controlled the 3rd period and over-time as they out-shot the Caps 14-7 and had most of the good scoring chances.

Zach Parise would lead the shoot-out off and scored the lone goal. Brodeur then stopped Nylander, Semin and Ovechkin to preserve the 4-3 shoot-out victory. The Devils move to 4-1-0 on the season and now will play six of their next seven at home.

Devils Notes:
- Either Parise or Elias have either scored or assisted on all but one goal for the Devils this season. Parise (3G-2A-5Pts) / Elias (2G-2A-4Pts).
- Bobby Holik left the game last night and did not return as he broke his pinkie finger. With the injuries to both big free-agent signings the Devils are now back to the same roster as last year.
- Lowell Devils are now 2-1-1 on the season after splitting a home-and-home series with the Manchester Monarchs. John DiSalvatore still leads the team with (1G-6A-7Pts).
- Ansi Salmella was sent down to Lowell and recorded an assist in the two games this weekend and played at a -2 +/-.
- The start time for the Devils Oct. 25th game at Philadelphia has been changed to 4:00pm due to the World Series.

The Devils Went Down to Georgia (Shutout Thrashers 1-0)

2008-10-17T10:09:00.000-04:00

Coming back to ice after their first loss of the season on Monday against the Rangers, the Devils went down to Georgia and defeated the Atlanta Thrashers 1-0. The win and shutout brought Brodeur closer to two records he should eventually surpass this season. Brodeur is now 10 wins shy from tying Patrick Roy's career win total of 551 and 6 shutouts away from Bernie Parent's career mark of 103 shutouts.

Brodeur was the show stopper again making great saves early to keep the game knotted at zero. The Devils defense has proven early not to be a problem at all as they have been able to clear all the rebounds in front of Brodeur and limit the scoring chances against. So far this season the Devils have only allowed one even-strength goal, a Brandon Dubinsky's knuckle ball shot that Brodeur fanned on with his glove.

On the other side of the ice, the offense has seemed to get worse with every game with limited chances and it seemed that clearly the power play and Brian Rolston at center have not worked so far this season. Coach Sutter desperate for offense split up the lines midway through the second period, which seemed to turn the game in the Devils favor as they were able to pressure the Thrashers down low and around the net.

The big move came by moving Zubrus to center Elias and Rolston. Zubrus seemed comfortable and more energized than last season, as he created some great opportunities for his wingers. He was able to work the puck down low and set-up Brian Rolston in the corner for the lone Devils goal of the night. Zubrus fed Rolston down in the right corner on the power-play and Rolston did the rest of the work. Taking it the net and scoring on a second rebound chance. The goal would be Rolston's first since returning to the Devils. Later in the third period, Rolston would go down sliding into the boards and seemed to hurt his knee or ankle as he was helped off the ice and limped to the locker room. It is still unsure of the severity of the injury, but Devil fans I would not expect to see him out on the ice for a few games or more.

The Devils improve to 3-1-0 on the season despite the pathetic offense they have shown. They now have scored 6 goals on the year in four games and have not scored more than 2 goals in a game. Will we see some changes up-front? Will we see the Devils trade for a true play-making center? We will see in time, but it is coming quite clear that the Devils will need to find scoring if they want to have a chance to win the cup.

Devilish Nightmare

2008-10-14T13:13:00.000-04:00

Last night the nightmare of all nightmares continued for Devils fans as the Rangers posted a 4-1 victory at Madison Square Garden. The Rangers are now 12-1-1 over the past two regular seasons and playoffs against the Devils.

What has become even more disturbing and troubling is the lack of offense the Devils have been able to put up during those 14 games. In the past 14 games against the Rangers, the Devils have scored 21 goals an average of 1.50 goals-per-game. The power-play has been even more disturbing scoring 6 goals in 54 chances for a 11.1%, while the Rangers have scored 11 power-play goals in that time for an average of 23.9%.

This domination of our cross-river rivals has all Devils fans disturbed and worried. Despite their 2-1-0 start, the Devils have seen some of their old troubles coming to the surface. The power-play has only scored one goal in 11 opportunities so far and four of the five goals-against have been of the power-play variety. The Devils have only killed off 71.4% of their penalty kills. Even despite averaging 35 shots-per-game they have only scored 5 goals, a shooting percentage of 4.85%. Only one other team in the NHL averaging over 30 shots per game is averaging under 2.67 GF/per game (Anaheim 1.50 G/per Game).

Last night the Devils lone minutes where they were able to dominated the play was when they took the body. During the latter minutes of the second period they did not let the smaller faster Rangers play the puck control game they feel comfortable playing by a strong forecheck and eventually John Madden scored the lone Devils goal of the game.

The Devils will need to iron out how they plan to get more goals, opportunities and power-play success in the coming weeks if they want to be a contender for the cup.

Lowell Devils Finding Back of Net Early in Season

2008-10-13T13:27:00.000-04:00

The New Jersey Devils have always seemed to have trouble finding the back of the net. That problem has seemed to trickle down to the Devils AHL team in Lowell in recent years.

Over the past three season, the Lowell Devils have not finished better than 24th the league in goals-for and last season finished last netting a mere 183 goals. Each of the past two season there have been two 20-plus goal scorers. Two of those players are with the Devils right now, Clarkson (20 goals in 06-07) and Vrana (20 goals in 07-08). One of the other players is Barry Tallackson (22 goals in 07-08) who has been up and down with the Devils and probably would have made the team this year if it was not for emergency heart surgery. In fact, Petr Vrana is the only player to eclipsed the 50 point mark over the past two seasons (20G-41A-61PT).

After missing the playoffs each of the last three seasons, the Lowell Devils are looking forward to a better season both on offense and in the standings. Thus far the Lowell Devils are 1-0-1 and have netted 9 goals in their first two games this season. With a much more talented roster than in the past few seasons, rookie prospect Matt Halischuk and Vladmir Zharkov have scored 6 of the teams 9 goals. Halischuk tied a team record when he scored five points (4G-1A) in the 6-4 win over Worcester in the teams home opener.

Besides Zharkov and Halischuk, who you could see in NJ in the next year, the Lowell Devils will also count on Nicholas Bergfors. Bergfors, the Devils 1st Round pick in 2005, is looking to bounce back after an injury plagued 07-08 campaign. Bergfors has already posted 5 points this season (1G-4A) and is off to a good start for a player who never scored more than 17 goals or 40pts in his professional career.

The Devils have also gotten production from Jon Disalvatore (1G-4A), who saw time in the pre-season with the Devils. The San Jose Sharks 4th round selection in 2000 has averaged 22 goals a season in his five year AHL career.

Along with other top prospects on defense Matthew Corrente and Tyler Eckford, the Lowell Devils enter this season more talented and younger than they have in the past few seasons. With a roster that is finally filled with players who we could see in NJ or the NHL in the near future, the Lowell Devils should have no problem winning games and putting the puck in the net this season.

2008-10-12T10:53:00.000-04:00

The Devils pounded 49 shots on Pens goalie Marc-Andre Fleury last night, outshooting the Pens 39-7 after the first period. Despite the lopsided shots the Devils needed an over-time goal by Zach Parise to come away with the two-points. The Devils now have won their first two games by the score of 2-1 against division rivals.

In a first period that saw the Pens come out strong and out skate the Devils, Brodeur and the defense held tight until the defending Eastern Conference Champions scored on their first power-play of the night. Evgani Malkin's shot from the point slipped through the crease where Miroslav Satan sitting off the left post swept the puck home into the open net to give the Pens 1-0 lead.

That lead held late into the 3rd period despite the Devils controlling the play. Using their size and strenght to wear down the Pens and pin them down in their own end, Elias was finally able to put the puck behind the Pens goalie. With 2:30 remaining in the regulation, Elias centered a pass that went right off Hal Gill's skate right past Fluery.

The Devils kept the pressure on all through over-time when Travis Zajac's long flip pass from his own end led Zach Parise perfectly down the left wing allowing him to put the puck over the right glove of Fleury for the game winner with :38 seconds remaining in over-time.

The Devils now look to make it three-for-three against division rivals when they head to MSG on monday to face off against the 4-0 Rangers.

Team Notes:

- The Devils have not given up an even-strength goal so far this season.

- Rolston, Elias and Parise had 24 shots in the game. Then Pens only had 15 as a team.

- The Devils have started the season 1-10 on the power-play.

- The NJ Devils have only scored 4 goals in their first two games, the Lowell Devils have scored 9 goals. Four alone by rookie Matt Halischuk in a 6-4 win over Worcester.

DEVILS START SEASON WITH 2-1 WIN OVER ISLES

2008-10-10T22:01:00.000-04:00

The New Jersey Devils opened the 2008-2009 season with a 2-1 victory tonight against the New York Islanders at "The Rock". Patrick Elias scored the game winner at 29-seconds of the 2nd period while crashing and into the Isles goalie Joey McDonald off a Brian Gionta shot from the right circle.

The Devils controlled the play for most of the first period pinning the Isles in their zone and using an aggressive forecheck that was consistent by all four lines. The Isles were the first to get onto the scoreboard, despite the Devils efforts. Just seconds into a power-play, a Doug Weight centering pass deflected off Paul Martin and through Brodeur. Brodeur and the Devils would not allow anything else the entire night as they did a great job at limiting the Isles offensively. Most evident was on the penalty kill, where the Devils forward pairs of Madden-Pandolfo and Elias-Rolston controlled the play and never let the Isles set-up after the first power-play as they finished the night 1 for 5 on the power-play.

The Devils responded three-minutes later with a power-play goal of their own. A Paul Martin shot from the left point deflected off Clarkson and right to Parise who dumped the puck into an open net. The Devils power-play who last season was almost pathetic showed good signs from both units, Brian Rolston stood out at the point shooting every opportunity he could get. Rookie "D" Ansi Salmela started his first NHL game and played the point along with Rolston on the power-play.

Last season the Devils earned a mere 10pts. out of a possible 32 against their two NY rivals.A wind tonight along with a 3-0-1 pre-season record against the Rangers and Isles maybe is the start of the Devils reclaiming hockey dominance in the NY Metro area.

The Devils fly to Pittsburgh where they will play the Penguins and a much more high powered offense than what they saw tonight. (Game 7pm; MSG-Plus2)

TWO ROOKIES MAKE TEAM

2008-10-09T11:10:00.000-04:00

The Devils announced their 23-man roster today and their were no real surprises as the Devils had appeared to be set from the get go. Two rookies did make the team in Annsi Salmela (D - #28) and Petr Vrana (C - #22).

Salmela played in every pre-season game and made enough of an impression that he will more than likely be one of the top 6 D-men come opening night. The 24 year old free-agent from Finland will hopefully be the next in free-agent gold for the Devils. Salmela brings a good shot from the point which is something the Devils have missed on the PP since the departure of Jason Arnott. Over the past two years he has scored 27 goals with 28 assists in 112 games playing in Finland. Questions remain if he can move the puck fast enough and play tough enough in the defensive zone to stick in the line-up, but he could develop quickly and be a missing part on the back end the Devils desperately need.

Coming off his best season as a professional (20G-41A at Lowell last season), Petr Vrana came into training camp and was able to put some points on the board. The 23-year old Czech born player was taken by the Devils in the 2nd Round of the 2003 draft and he has finally emerged as someone who can help at the NHL level. At 5'10" and 174lbs., he is not an impressive figure and his biggest challenge will be if he can play bigger than his size, much in the likes of a Zach Parise and Brian Gionta. Do not expect him to see much time in the line-up, but to be used as the extra forward. We could see him in there when injuries occur or when the Devils play some faster teams, when we could see him put on the wing beside Czech counterpart Bobby Holik.

In some other roster news and surprises that came about in the pre-season:

1. Kevin Weekes will be the back-up to Brodeur and rightly so. Scott Clemmensen was sent down to Lowell and will play down there at least to start the season. Clemmensen played well during the pre-season, so much so that in the end if the Devils needed to they could move Weekes, but it is very unlikely.

2. Rookie "D" Matthew Corrente (1st Round pick in 2006) will start the season down in Lowell along with fellow prospect Matt Halischuk (46G-79A-125PTS the past two season in the OHL), Nicklas Bergfors (1st Round in 2005) and Vladimir Zharkov (3rd Round pick in 2006).

3. Rod Pelley will start the season at Lowell as well, as Bobby Holik takes over his role of last year and his departure makes room for the more offensive minded Petr Vrana on the roster.

Who will move to the head of the class?

2008-10-02T10:46:00.000-04:00

When I look back at the Devils history, ever time we have won the Stanley Cup we have had some young players step up and become superstars or above average NHL players:

1994-1995: Marty Brodeur was in his second year and we all know what he has done in his career, Scott Neidermeyer in his 3rd year scored 11 pts. in 20 playoff games, Guerin in his 3rd year was third on the team in goals, Brian Rolston as a rookie scored 18pts. in 40 games and Sergie Bryin scored 14pts. in 26 games.

1999-2000: Scott Gomez in his rookie year led the team with 51 assists and second on the team with 70pts., Brian Rafalski in his rookie season was second among Devils defensman with 32pts., and John Madden in his first full season scored 16 goals and was great on the penalty kill.

2002-2003: Brian Gionta in his first full-season netted 12 goals, let us not forgt Mike Rupp who did not produce much but came up big in Game 7 (4pts. in 4 playoff games) and newcomer veterans Jamie Langenbrunner and Jeff Friesen each netted 20-plus goals.

So where are our young guns that need to come through this year if we have any chance of making the playoffs?

Zach Parise, in his 3rd year needs to be the leader on offense and have another 30-plus goal season.

Travis Zajac, is someone who we have waited to blossom into the number two center he has been tabbed as. We wil need to see 50-plus points from him this year if we are to drink from the cup.

David Clarkson, like John Madden in 2000 he needs to stop worrying about dropping the gloves and pissing people off and get to the net and help make the Madden-Pandolfo line a line that can put the puck in the net. Anything less than 15 goals is a dissapointment.

Paul Martin, he will never be Scott Neidermeyer but he can be a Brian Rafalski. He needs to be the leader on the powerplay and the shut-down defenseman we have lacked since Neidermeyer and Rafalski ventured west.

Andy Greene, dubbed as the next Brian Rafalski he has shown flashes but is still young in his development. He has played great this preseason and seems to feel comfortable in the Devils system. Eiether him or Salmella will need to become an important factor on defense this season.

The Devils need to take a longer look at players like Salmella, Corrente and Halischuk. These are three players who can play in the NHL and Corrente and Halischuk will probably start the season at Lowell, while Salmella has been given every opportunity to make the team. His great shot from the point and potential to move the puck quickly is an advantage we would like to have but his weakness in his own end may see him start at Lowell or head back overseas.

We will see, but hopefully our youth will prevail us to our 4th Cup.