Frozen Fiend

Grand Rereopening

2010-02-28T15:49:00.003-06:00

Good news from Tom Gulitti, David Clarkson should be returning to the lineup on Tuesday. To celebrate ClarksonNation has built a new bank. We eagerly await our emporer-god to cash some checks, make some deposits, and bail out the Devils from their preolympic recession.

D Is For Doc

2010-02-08T02:41:00.004-06:00

I've heard that some fans don't like Doc Emrick on NBC. Understandable, especially since he has to work with Pierre (didn't I make a good point, Edzo?) McGuire. But to get a true appreciation for Doc, you have to observe him in his natural setting:

Now how often on NBC hockey coverage does somebody sing a Sesame Street song? Yeah, Doc, I don't know where Chico was going with that either. My only guess is that the shot went top shelf where you hide the cookies?

Not that NBC is all bad. Games on the peacock are the only ones I get in HD, so they got that going for them.

Oh, and nice assist by that new guy wearing 17. I hear he's pretty good.

"Merry Christmas!” Indeed!

2009-12-22T03:24:00.003-06:00

WOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

That is all.

Missing the Party

2009-11-18T13:17:00.002-06:00

I can't believe it. When were you planning on telling me? I just found out that you are having a Viewing Party for tomorrow nights game against the Predators. I have other obligations and it's too late to do anything about it. You're almost as bad as my family who would call to see if I'm coming over to Grandpa's house for Thanksgiving dinner after they already carved the turkey. Now I don't want to hear your excuses, I've heard them all before. "We didn't think you would want to drive the 800 miles. I lost my phone so I didn't have your number. I thought so and so told you. It's not you, it's us."

I'm not bitter though. I sincerely hope you have a fabulous party and everyone enjoys themselves. Just raise a toast to me, who won't even be able to catch the game on Center Ice as I'll be stuck in the second row of section 105.

No, Mr. Lamoriello, Thank You

2009-11-10T02:27:00.002-06:00

My sincerest congratulations to Lou Lamoriello for being inducted into the Hockey Hall Of Fame.
Just in case you haven't seen or read these yet, here are some links:
Conference call
Induction speech
Spotlight by Tom Gulitti
Brodeur's thoughts

Lou Lamoriello is so humble and classy that he thanks everybody from Gary Bettman to his parents to the fans. Well as a fan, I just want to say, thank you. No matter if I'm going to a game at the friendly confines of the old CAA or the Prudential Center, a more neutral place like Hershey, or even hostile territory like Philadelphia, I can don a red, black, and white sweater with the NJ on the crest with pride.

Can It Still Be Called a Clarkaround?

2009-09-01T22:09:00.002-05:00

Last year the Ookies made a very bold prediction:

It’ll be kickstarted by a coast-to-coast wraparound goal against the
Hurricanes. Mark our words. (Seriously, the Devils play the Canes on January 6.
You can mark it on your calendar in pen: Clarkson will get the goal of the year
in that game.)

So I went to the archives to see how that turned out. Not very well I'm afraid. Clarkson did not score a goal at all. The only marks he got on the score sheet were a 2:00 hooking penalty and a secondary assist on a too little/too late goal. I couldn't just leave it at that so I decided to watch every goal that Clarkson scored last season (regular and postseason) on nhl.tv and take some notes.

Let's toss out the statbities:
When in the game was Clarkson scoring: 10 goals in the 1rst period, 5 in the 2nd, 4 in the 3rd, 0 in OT.

How was he scoring: Slap shots-3, wrist shots-7 *, deflections-5, garbage(knocking in loose pucks/rebounds in and around the crease)-4, wraparounds-0.

That's right ladies and gents, there was not a single Clarkaround scored at all last season. I can assure you that it wasn't because there were not any attempts. If my memory serves me correctly, I think somebody (Zubrus?) scored a goal off of a rebound from a Clarkaround attempt. I can also assure you that Clarkson did not score anything that would fall in the "goal of the year" category. But what would be David's best goal of the year? After careful consideration, I would say it was this one:

Just kidding, that would be filed under: easiest goal. I'm the only one who would have wiffed on that gift. But now, without any further adieu, I give you my countdown of Clarksons top five goals of the 2008-09 season.

#5 - 11/15/08 vs Washington

#4 - 4/21/09 vs Carolina

#3 - 2/15/09 vs San Jose

#2 - 10/22/08 vs Dallas

#1 -12/17/08 vs Buffalo (GWG)

*I counted this controversial goal as a wrister even though it was fanned on.

Hat tip to John Fischer for his review of the previews that sent me to the quoted Interchangeable Parts Blog archive.

Braaaaaains

2009-08-14T01:55:00.002-05:00

To pass the time during the hockeyless summer I have been playing a lot of video games. The newest game that I have become addicted to is Call of Duty: World at War. When it comes to bang for your buck, this game ranks in my top three. There is the single player campaign, cooperative campaign (play through the missions with others online or split screen, and many different kinds of online team based games (team death match, capture the flag, domination, etc.). It's your basic first person shooter set in the WWII era but the sick bastards at Activision included another type of game play that should be illegal in 34 states, Zombie Mode. I don't want to sound like I am bashing the game, in fact, this is a huge compliment. This is the first video game that has actually scared me. Between the night time setting, crazy glowing zombie eyes, and the perfectly matched background music, the zombie mode is just plain eerie. You start off in a room/building with all of the windows boarded up and your objective is to hold off the zombies for as long as you can.

Video Games Call of Duty World at War Zombies

XBox 360 Playstation 3 Nintendo Wii

Notice how the player in the video keeps frantically running back and forth to all of the windows. The very first time that I played zombie mode, I was at home by myself and playing solo. I actually jumped in my seat and probably screamed like a little girl when I turned from a window to see a zombie right behind me.

This mode also has multi player so that you can play with up to three other people, but it doesn't reduce the eerie factor by much. No matter how well you all play as a team, sooner or later, they are going to get you. The claw-like tally marks that appear at the bottom left of the screen tell you what round you are on. Each round the number of zombies increases and they get faster and tougher to ~~kill~~ stop.

Mad props to the programmers of Call of Duty. Zombie mode may only be a "mini game", but it's still ten times better/scarier than any other zombie type game I've ever played.

Next Stop: Tampa Bay

2009-07-22T14:08:00.004-05:00

Ex-Devil David Hale is moving on to his fourth NHL team in as many seasons. The Devils traded him to Calgary on February 27, 2007. He finished off that season and the next in Calgary before signing as a free agent in the summer of 2008 with the Phoenix Coyotes. Yesterday, he was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Talk about playing four corners

David Hale was never a fan favorite but his story is an interesting one. He was the Devils first round draft pick (22nd overall) in 2000. Back then, many were comparing him to Scott Stevens. Like most Devils' prospects, David would not turn pro right away but instead continued his development at the University of North Dakota. He would play there with his older brother, Ryan, a dream their mother got to see before passing away after a battle with breast cancer.
David's story of adversity does not end there. After losing the 2001 NCAA Championship to Boston College, he ran into health problems.

David was diagnosed with a condition called IgA nephropathy, a disorder
caused by deposits of a protein in the kidneys that interfere with their ability
to filter bodily wastes. Although there is no cure for the disease, proper rest
and diet can help minimize its effects.
“To this day, I still don’t fully
understand it,” David says. “It really acts up when I get run down and don’t
take care of my body as well as I should. I run a fever and get lightheaded.
It’s not that bad. I’ve gotten used to it. It recurs every once in a
while.”
The condition bothered David throughout much of the 2001-2002 season
and forced him to miss an entire series at one point.

Hale made the leap to the NHL for the 2003-2004 season playing 65 games for the New Jersey Devils aquiring only 4 assists, but a career best +12 +/- rating, and 72 penalty minutes. Due to the lockout, David would play the following season in Albany. Unfortunately, symptoms of his liver disease would resurface and cut his season short. He would start the 2005-2006 season in Albany as a result but eventually was called back up to the Devils. David has stayed in the NHL ever since except for a brief reconditioning assignment during the 2006-2007 season after missing 14 games to an eye injury. He never lived up to the high expectations though and was traded along with a 5th round pick to aquire a third round pick ending his career in New Jersey. Probably the most memorable thing about his time as a Devil for me though, was the great picture I took of him during a preseason game in Hershey.

Hale didn't produce much offensively in Calgary (2 assists in 69 games) but had a career year offensively with the Yotes last season (3 goals, 6 assists in 48 games). However, his +/- rating was a career worst -11. Well, at least he finally scored his first NHL goal, that's good, right?

Welcome to Burgerama

2009-07-21T00:32:00.004-05:00

Word on the ~~streets~~ web today is that Sergei Fedorov is headed back to his native land and thinks that his NHL career is over. Fast food chains in America may now find it difficult to get good help.

Update: I see Fanhouse already beat me to it.

That Dog Just Can't Take It

2009-07-14T22:23:00.006-05:00

Remember those old Looney Toons with Foghorn Leghorn? That mean rooster would smack the dog and then take off running and the dog would go chasing him. Then when the dog got to the end of his leash he would get jerked back violently.

Well, kids, be very careful when you are moving your laptop computer off of the coffee table when it is plugged in. If you happen to be standing on the power cord the computer may be violently jerked out of your hands as you lift up. This could cause it to crash back down to earth.

Besides the display, the thing still works. It does have a connection on the back for a secondary monitor so I can still use it, but that kind of defeats the purpose of, you know, having a laptop.

Because I Can

2009-07-04T02:29:00.005-05:00

I ran across this while surfing:

I had no idea that there was a video for this song. If you are lucky you might catch Hum's most popular song, "Stars" once in a blue moon, but in my opinion, that's only one of many of their great songs. Check out all of the related videos.

How did I miss that?

2009-07-02T04:27:00.002-05:00

I can't say that I will miss Jay Leno on the Tonight Show. I might have watched him maybe 12 times during his reign, but I wish somebody would have let me know that he was going to have a very special guest on his last show.

Wow. She still has it all, good looks, great voice, and no restraining order against me. Thank you, Canada. Sarah is so awesome that I forgive you for Nickleback.

Not Breaking News

2009-07-01T14:56:00.002-05:00

To get my hockey fix this summer I started a new Be-A-Pro game on NHL 09. Here's a few moves that the simulated Devils made during this offseason. Remember, this is a video game that I'm talking about.

First off, they retained both Gionta and Oduya.

John Madden signs a two year deal with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Then they make a big trade with...wait for it...the Calgary Flames. The Devils get Warren Peters, Dustin Boyd, and Rhett Warrener. Going the other way is Jay Pandolfo, Thomas Pihlman, and Trevor Letowski.

Think that's wacky? Well I must have missed it but somehow Crosby ended up on the Blues.

Ah, I love video games.

Frisby Bowl II Final Standings

2009-06-15T11:51:00.002-05:00

Now that the playoffs are over it's time to announce our winner.

Our second runner up is... *Drum roll* ...Grrrreg! Congratulations on third place.

The runner up is...*Drum roll* ...Schnookie! Hey, second place isn't bad.

And the winner of Frisby Bowl II is...

...and we'll find out after these messages. Don't change that channel.

Welcome back. Without further adieu, the winner is...

*fumbles with envelope*

...kms2! Congratulations!

Final results for everybody can be found here. A special thanks to all of our contestants. I hope to see you all again next year. Now go enjoy your summer.

Once upon a time...

2009-05-30T19:12:00.002-05:00

...there used to be Quest For The Cup before a Stanley Cup Finals game. Tonight, there was Wheel Of Fortune. And right now Pierre McMonster is yelling something. Why do I suddenly have the urge to play Hot Shots Golf instead of watching this game?

2009 Playoff Picks: The Finals

2009-05-29T13:53:00.002-05:00

This is a complete coin toss for me. Both teams stormed through the conference finals. One team has had an extra day of rest but I don't expect that to be a factor. So, I guess the question will be, who do I want to win? Do I want to see the Red Wings repeat...again? Do I want to see Hossa eat crow? Do I want to see the over marketing of a certain player increase exponentially? Yeah, I don't want to see that hype machine get any bigger. I'm going to go with Detroit in seven.

On a related note, Frisby Bowl II is nearing it's conclusion. I'm not going to do any number crunching to see who still has a chance to win and who doesn't. All I know is that I don't have a chance, but at least it looks like I'm doing better than last year.

2009 Playoff Picks: Third Round

2009-05-17T13:57:00.002-05:00

Pittsburgh vs Carolina
It almost seems as if this year's Stanley Cup Finals are supposed to be a rematch of last year. But, as Dan Kelley said, the Carolina Hurricanes don't seem to know what is supposed to happen in the 2009 playoffs.
Hurricanes in 7

Detroit vs Chicago
I'll go on record to say that I'll be cheering for Chicago. But as much as I would like to see the Blackhawks win this series, I'm not betting on it. I picked against Detroit in the first two rounds and it burnt me both times.
Red Wings in 6

Speaking of earlier rounds, let's breakdown how terrible my picks have been so far:

First round (3 out of 8)
(1) - Correct series winner and length
(2) - Correct series winner

Second round (2 out of 4)
(1) - Correct series winner and length
(1) - Correct series winner

2009 Playoff Picks: Second Round

2009-04-29T18:57:00.003-05:00

Boston vs Carolina
After quickly dispatching Montreal, the Bruins have been resting while the Canes were busy playing an epic seven game series. Will the still fresh adrenaline from a last minute series win carry the Canes past a possibly now cold Bruins? I think so.
Hurricanes in 7

Washington vs Pittsburgh
The Caps got off to really slow start in the last series but eventually won in seven games. The Pens offense is significantly better than the Rangers though. This is the only match up where neither contestant previously had a sweep. Ironically, I predict this to be over the fastest.
Penguins in 5

Detroit vs Anaheim
Like the Bruins, the Red Wings have been sitting awhile. The Ducks just upset the NHL's best regular season team. Will I call it the same way as Bruins/Canes? Yes, yes I will.
Ducks in 7

Vancouver vs Chicago
Difficult for me to call. Wait, haven't we seen a Luongo vs Khabibulin match up before? If we have, it would have been the Eastern Conference but I don't remember it. But I remember that Nikolai had success in the East, so this time I'll go with Roberto in the West.
Canucks in 6

Now before you go to Vegas with these picks, you may want take a gander at my first round picks:

Boston vs Montreal: Bruins in 4
SWISH!!! Count it!

Washington vs New York: Capitals in 5
Right winner, too few games.

New Jersey vs Carolina: Devils in 7
Oh, sooooo close. *wipes away tear*

Pittsburgh vs Philadelphia: Flyers in 6
Right amount of games, wrong winner.

San Jose vs Anaheim: Sharks in 6
See previous series prediction.

Detroit vs Columbus: Blue Jackets in 6
I receive no points, everyone is dumber for having read it, and may God have mercy on my soul.

Vancouver vs St. Louis: Blues in 7
See previous series prediction.

Chicago vs Calgary: Blackhawks in 5
Close again, right winner and just one game off.

I'm Not Kicking...

2009-04-28T21:43:00.003-05:00

...a guy when he's down.

I watched the Devils as they shook hands at the end of tonight's game. I think the whole lot of them looked even more disappointed than I was.

This was a great series, probably the best of the first round. It was an evenly matched, hard fought, and yet clean series. Nobody was suspended and only one play, a certain goal, made the internet rounds to dispute it's validity. For that, I applaud both teams.

If anything, this season was an interesting one for the Devils. A few records were broken, a couple of younger guys had tremendous seasons, a couple of vets had one of the best seasons of their career, and the Devils had a winning record when a certain veteran missed half of the season with an injury. Hopefully these are positives that can carry over into next season.

For the rest of this post season though, GO CANES!

2009 Playoff Picks: First Round

2009-04-14T19:16:00.003-05:00

Boston vs Montreal
The Canadiens barely made the playoffs. They are also celebrating their 100th season. You can't make 100 without a zero.
Bruins in 4

Washington vs New York
After a strong start the Rangers almost fell off of the map. Torts and Avery give them enough of a spike to still make the playoffs. They'll do slightly better than the Canadiens.
Capitals in 5

New Jersey vs Carolina
The Canes pwned the Devils this season. The Devils needed a backup goalie and kink in the boards on the last game of the season to avoid a sweep. All the games were close though and the Devils claim to be motivated from last year's first round exit. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt.
Devils in 7

Pittsburgh vs Philadelphia
The season shows Penguins went 4-2-0 but the Flyers went 2-2-2. Those two extra wins by Pit came early in the season via overtime and a shootout. Should be a great series. Philly has the revenge factor though, so I'll say:
Flyers in 6

San Jose vs Anaheim
Another good first round division rivalry. The Sharks had a stumble at the end while the Ducks turned it up a bit. Not enough by either of them to cause an upset. The postseason series goes the same as the regular season:
Sharks in 6

Detroit vs Columbus
I really, really, really want to pick an upset here. The season series was close enough for me.
Blue Jackets in 6

Vancouver vs St. Louis
The Canucks had enough overtime losses to win the division. That's not enough for me to make them favorites here. However, the goaltending matchup is Chris Mason vs Luongo. But look at those special teams.
Blues in 7

Chicago vs Calgary
The Blackhawks get home ice because they had more OT/SO losses. They were not against Calgary though.
Blackhawks in 5

Frisby Bowl II

2009-04-12T11:12:00.004-05:00

The Stanley Cup Playoffs are just around the corner and you know what that means, it's time for the second annual Frisby Bowl!

What is Frisby Bowl? It's a simple confidence pool. Just rank the 16 playoff teams with the team that you think will get the most wins (win The Cup) @ 16 down to the team that you think will get the least amount of wins (swept in the first round) @ 1. After every NHL playoff game you get points based on where you ranked the winner. There's no drafting, no lineup setting, no trading. Just rank the the teams once and check back at the end of the playoffs to see how you did. Clear as mud? Click here for a better explanation.

When you are ready to make your picks click here. Deadline to submit your picks is 7:15pm EDT on Wednesday April 15, 2009.

Click here to see the results of last year's pool.

Update:
Picks are no longer being accepted. I've taken all of the picks submitted and here is how they averaged out:
16-Bos-13.76
15-SJS-13.72
14-Det-13.12
13-Pit-10.84
12-Was-10.56
11-Chi-10.36
10-NJD-9.84
9-Van-9.76
8-Car-8.2
7-Phi-7.56
6-Cgy-7.08
5-Ana-5.4
4-CBJ-4.86
3-NYR-4.32
2-STL-3.92
1-Mtl-2.88

I have taken these average picks and added them to the pool as, The Average Irregular.

To follow the standings in Frisby Bowl II click here.

Need A Rest...My Ass!

2009-04-07T21:58:00.003-05:00

I agree with the thoughts that Marty needs to sit, but not because he needs a rest. He missed half of the freaking season fer chrissakes. He needs to sit because he has sucked ass. According to TG, the fourth goal was bad, but what about the first and third? The first goal there was no screen, no deflection, not a perfect shot into the corner of the net, no excuse. The third goal was a bad rebound. I don't care that the guy is the all-time leader in wins. He hasn't looked like it recently.

Oh, I also said not to bring back Elias too early, but they did and he had a setback and where is he now? Back being day-to-day.

Not to be totally negative; I will give the impotent power play props for not doing the opposing team's penalty killers any favors by firing shots so hard and so wide that they clear the zone on their own.

Disclaimer: I'm piss drunk, as in pissed off and drunk. But I doubt that I will feel any different when I wake up in the morning.

Update: Isn't there an old saying that goes something like, "I'll be sober in the morning but you'll still be ugly."?

Well I'm sobered up now and just watched the highlights of last night's game, those goals against are still ugly. I'd check to see if I burned my Broduer sweater last night, but right now I don't care. Hell it was 15 years old anyways. (Am I just joking? Maybe. Maybe not.)

White, Colin Freaking White!

2009-03-25T18:24:00.005-05:00

Many moons ago, Todd McFarlane brought his famous comic book, Spawn, to life in an HBO animated series. McFarlane is a huge hockey fan and as such named some of his characters after hockey players. One of those characters was a mob boss named Tony Twist. While it may have brought Todd a little bit of trouble, it helped create one my favorite scenes in the animated series. Our "hero", Spawn, is trying to find out who kidnapped his wife's daughter. He find a snitch, known only as "The Mouth" and hangs him over the edge of a tall building. The Mouth exclaims, "It was Twist! Tony [expletive] Twist!". Since then, every time I see a Devils #5 sweater going to the penalty box, miss a defensive assignment, or not keep the puck in the offensive zone , I have to exclaim, "White, Colin [expletive] White!". For some reason, he's one of the very few Devils that I haven't warmed up to. I may have even smiled a couple of years ago when I posted the following statistic: New Jerseys record when he (Colin White) is out of the lineup, 10-2-1 with 4 shutouts.

A few days ago, Tom Gulitti posted the same kind of statistic for this year's version of the Devils: The Devils are 3-4 this season in games that White has missed. Add the three games since then and the Devils are 4-6. What a difference a couple of years make, eh? I may have to start showing him some more respect.

As of this posting, there is still no timetable for White's return. The Devils have lost two in a row for the first time since January and the penalty kill has sucked BIG TIME (understatement of the season)! Well if Bat Boy is as important to the Devils success as that 4-6 record shows, then the Devils should not rush him back any time soon. The playoffs are too close to be rushing anybody back and risking a setback. As far as I'm concerned, that includes Elias too. If it means I have to watch a couple of more losses this week, so be it. I would much rather watch the Devils make it past the second round of the playoffs.

Stay Classy, Montreal.

2009-03-14T21:57:00.002-05:00

The phrase "stay classy" is most often used sarcastically on the internet. However, that is not the way I am using it tonight. The Montreal Canadiens reportedly had a sellout crowd of 21,273 tonight. Even though the home team lost the game, the crowd still gave a standing ovation to the visiting team's (New Jersey Devils) netminder, Montreal native Martin Brodeur. Via Fire & Ice:

Brodeur pumped both his fists as the final siren sounded and was mobbed by his teammates. The sellout crowd of 21,273 gave him a long and loud standing ovation. Brodeur raised his stick to salute them and then headed off the ice as his teammates lined up on either side of him to form an aisle.

The fans gave Brodeur another loud ovation when he came back onto the ice when he was named the game's first star.

As you may have heard, the Devils win gave Brodeur win 551 in his career, tying Patrick Roy's record. You won't have to search the internets long to find debates going on over who is the better goaltender. It didn't matter to the Montreal crowd though. Brodeur tied the record, and even though he plays for New Jersey, he's still one of their own and they showed their respect. And for that, I must humbly and genuinely say, stay classy, Montreal, stay classy.

Zach Sets New Parise Record

2009-03-03T22:03:00.002-06:00

A couple of years ago, JP Parise did an interview with Steve Cangialosi. Of course the bulk of the interview was centered around JP's son, Zach Parise. When Steve asks JP about the most points he scored in a season, JP responds, "I don't think this record is going to last very long."

JP was correct, less than 24 months after that interview, Zach surpassed JP's 75 points in a season. On February 28, 2009; Zach scored two goals against the Florida Panthers, earning points 75 and 76 of the season. The record breaking goal was so great, it even made NHL.com's 5 best Zach goal's of the season:

Harvey

2009-02-27T22:45:00.004-06:00

I was just as excited as the next Devils fan to see Martin Brodeur back in net for the Devils on Thursday. I was also extremely thrilled to see him get a shutout in his first game back. I was on cloud nine, in fact,I was still smiling on my way to work this morning. I think a couple of people got a little carried away though. Sure the windows have been cleaned and the seats covered in fresh linens, but as The Wolf would say,

"Well, let's not start suckin' each other's dicks quite yet."

Don't forget that the tainted car still needs to get to the junkyard. Maybe I'm just a cynic, but the same Devils team that defeated the Western Conference's last place team 4-0 was the same team that lost 0-4 to the worst team in the league just five days earlier. Hey, a little confidence is one thing, but as the old sports cliche goes, "let's just take it one game at a time." Afterall, I still remember what happened to the last team that got too far ahead of itself.

January 2009 Statbitties

2009-02-02T20:11:00.002-06:00

Here are some Devils stats* from the January 2009 portion of the 2008-09 season with some comparisons to the first half of the season in brackets[]:

14 games played, 11 wins, 3 losses, 0 overtime/shootout losses for 22 points.
48 goals for (3.429 per game [up from 2.917]) and 31 goals against (2.214 per game [down from 2.583]).

5 games at home, 4-1-0 (3.400 gf/g [3.211], 2.600 ga/g [2.579])
9 games on the road, 7-2-0 (3.444 gf/g [2.588], 2.000 ga/g [2.588])

11 games finished in regulation (8 wins, 3 losses)
3 at home (2-1)
8 away (6-2)

3 games finished in overtime (3-0)
2 at home (2-0)
1 away (1-0)

0 games decided by gimick

The Devils scored the first goal of the game 9 times and were 8-1-0 (4.000 gf/g [4.158], 1.889 ga/g [2.632])
2 times at home (2-0-0)
7 times away (6-1-0)

The Devils did not score first 5 times and were 3-2-0 (2.400 gf/g [1.529], 2.800 ga/g [2.529])
3 times at home (2-1-0)
2 times away (1-1-0)

Record against Atlantic Division: 2-0-0 (3.500 gf/g [2.786], 2.000 ga/g [2.786])
Home: 1-0-0

0 games scoring first

1-0-0 when opponent (Pittsburgh) scored first
Road: 1-0-0

1-0-0 when scoring first

0 games opponent (Islanders) scored first

Record against the rest of the East: 7-2-0 (3.333 gf/g [3.000], 2.333 ga/g [2.556])
Home: 4-1-0

2-0-0 when scoring first

2-1-0 when opponent scores first
Away: 3-1-0

3-0-0 when scoring first

0-1-0 when opponent scores first

Record against the Western Conference: 4-1-0 (3.600 gf/g [2.600], 2.00 ga/g [2.400])
Home: 0 games played

Away: 4-1-0

3-1-0 when scoring first

1-0-0 when opponent scores first

My thoughts: 11-3-0!!! WOOOOOOOOOO!!! Queue up the Jeffersons theme song. Congrats to Parise for his All-Star appearance. Congrats to Langenbrunner for being the NHL's player of the month. And last but certainly not least, a hearty congrats to Mike "Doc" Emrick for his 2008 Foster Hewitt Award and the nice little pregame ceremony.

*Assuming my spreadsheet is correct.
**Goal totals and averages do not include the extra "goal" awarded in the shootout. Oh wait, there were no shootouts in January, WOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

Long Distance Dedication Part III

2009-01-08T21:18:00.002-06:00

The key lyric:

a humiliating kick in the crotch.

That's the way every Devils player not named Rupp or Weekes should feel tonight.

Strictly Prohibited?

2009-01-05T18:45:00.005-06:00

Take a gander at the following circular and see if you can tell me what is wrong with it. Well, besides the fact that HDTV's are about 20% cheaper than they were last year when I bought mine.

Ah yes, what better way to sell high definition televisions than with sports? And what better sport is there in HD than ice hockey? Who could resist watching #18 of the New Jersey Devils deliver bone crushing hits in 1080p? Wait...is that a Devil? The color matches but the logo is missing. I'm sure of one thing though, the guy falling to the ice definitely plays for Atlanta.

Statbitties!

2009-01-03T18:20:00.004-06:00

Here are some Devils stats^* from the 2008 portion of the 2008-09 season:

36 games played, 21 wins, 12 losses, 3 overtime/shootout losses for 45 pts.
105 goals for (2.917 per game) and 93 goals against (2.583 per game).

19 games at home, 11-7-1 (3.211 gf/g, 2.579 ga/g).
17 games on the road, 10-5-2 (2.588 gf/g, 2.588 ga/g).

25 games finished in regulation (13 wins, 12 losses)
15 at home (8-7)
10 away (5-5)

6 games finished in overtime (4-2)
0 at home (0-0)
6 away (4-2)

5 games decided by gimick (4-1)
4 at home (3-1)
1 away (1-0)

The Devils scored the first goal of the game 19 times and were 15-2-2 (4.158 gf/g, 2.632 ga/g).
12 times at home and were 9-2-1.
7 times on the road and were 6-0-1.

The Devils did not score first 17 times and were 6-10-1 (1.529 gf/g, 2.529 ga/g).
7 times at home, 2-5-0.
10 times on the road, 4-5-1

Record against Atlantic Division: 8-5-1 (2.786 gf/g, 2.786 ga/g)
Home 5-3-0 (3.250 gf/g, 2.875 ga/g)

4-2-0 when scoring first

1-1-0 when not scoring first
Away 3-2-1 (2.167 gf/g, 2.667 ga/g)

1-0-0 when scoring first

2-2-1 when not scoring first

Record against rest of Eastern Conference: 11-5-2 (3.000 gf/g, 2.556 ga/g)
Home 5-3-1 (3.222 gf/g, 2.667 ga/g)

4-0-1 when scoring first

1-3-0 when not scoring first
Away 6-2-1 (2.778 gf/g, 2.444 ga/g)

4-0-1 when scoring first

2-2-0 when not scoring first

Record against Western Conference: 2-3-0 (2.600 gf/g, 2.400 ga/g)
Home 1-1-0 (3.000 gf/g, 1.000 ga/g)

1-0-0 when scorng first

0-1-0 when not scoring first
Away 1-2-0 (2.333 gf/g, 3.333 ga/g)

1-0-0 when scoring first

0-2-0 when not scoring first

My thoughts: I find it interesting that a game has yet to be decided in overtime at home. I also think it's very interesting that the Devils goals against per game only changes by .1 goals depending on if they score first or not. Yet the goals for per game drops by almost 2.5 goals when they don't score first. Does that mean that it's the other teams that are switching to the trap when they score first? Does that mean that the Devils stick to their game plan whether or not they score first?

^*Assuming my spreadsheet is correct.
^**Goal totals and averages do not include the extra "goal" awarded in the shootout.

And then it was Monday

2008-11-24T18:05:00.004-06:00

I guess the good news though, is that is only a three day work week. But boy, what a Sunday yesterday was for a Jets and Devils fan.

It all got started around noon for those of us on Central Time. The New York Jets were down in Nashville to face the undefeated Tennessee Titans and it was being televised in my area. The Jets were up 7-0 after the first quarter, 10-3 after the second, and 20-3 after the third. Then the fourth quarter started. The Titans started off with a field goal to make it 20-6. Two touchdowns could tie it up. I started to get nervous. Then Leon Washington busts out his 61 yard run for a touchdown to put the Jets up 27-6. I breathe a sigh of relief. But then it takes the Titans only 4 plays in a span of 1:24 to answer with their own touchdown to make it 27-13. I started to get nervous again but thanks to some dropped passes and pass interference penalties by Tennesse, the Jets not only hung on, but scored another touchdown to give the Titans their first loss of the season.

Well that was awesome, and by the time it was over I only had an hour to wait until the Devils game started. Only an hour, more than enough time to think about how bad the Devils were going to suck and kill my buzz. The first sign that it could happen was that I was only going to get the Tampa Bay feed. The Devils tried to ease my mind by taking a 2-0 lead into the first intermission. That's nice and all but I'm still nervous. By the middle of the 2nd the Devils are up by 5-0 and have chased Kolzig out of the net. Then the next thing you know, bam! Bam! Bam! Three unanswered goals by the Lighting and they are back to trailing by only two goals going into the third. The optimism well has now run dry. I prepare myself for a failure of epic proportions. Fortunately, Dainius Zubrus and the Devils did not let that happen. Zubes netted two more goals to bring his total to four in the game setting a personal record. Not only that, but that made him the first player of this season to score four in a game. I have no idea if Kevin Weekes knew any of this or not, but all of the patting on the back he gave to Zubrus during the on ice post game celebration was reminiscent of Brodeur's 500th win.

Still hayseed enough to say

2008-11-19T20:31:00.009-06:00

I currently live about a two hour drive from Nashville, and a three hour drive from St. Louis. There's a place across the Ohio River in southern Indiana called Evansville where they are just as far away from NHL hockey as I am, but the travel time might be reversed. Well when I first moved out here, one of the first things that I looked for was a skatepark (be patient, I'll get to the hockey part in a minute). I found one nice indoor park in Evansville at a place called Swonders.

Yes, it looks like somebody built a skatepark in a section of a concourse in a hockey arena. The really cool part though, is that is kind of what they did. On the other side of the wall to the right is in fact, a hockey rink. It's like my two favorite things all rolled into one. Swonders just got better though, they now have their own minor (very minor) league hockey team, the IceMen.

The only thing that bothered me though, was the local coverage:

Keep in mind though, this is the same channel that a few years ago reported that the Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Houston[sic] Oilers for the Stanley Cup. Not to mention that I can't even begin to try to type out how they pronounced "Brind'Amour". Is fighting really what all those people went to see? Well that's what Mike Chesney (by the way, I've never seen him on the news before) and some random player said, but I didn't see any interviews with fans. Fortunately, the morning crew had a little bit more hockey insight and enthusiasm, too bad they are Pennsylvania team fans. At least their normal sportscaster put some real effort into it.

They Must Be Crazy

2008-11-13T18:44:00.004-06:00

That's the only reason that I can see why somebody would voluntarily want to be the person whose job it is to use their body to block frozen pieces of rubber that may be traveling at over 100 mph. SI has posted 52 photos of the masks worn by these crazy men in the NHL this year. Well, here are a few of my observations:

Kiprusoff's mask reminds me of the red skeletons that you just temporarily knock down to a pile of bones on Castlevania for the NES.

McElhinney's mask makes me think of just one word, TOASTY!

Does Evgeni Nabokov watch Frisky Dingo?

Turco's mask looks like Bowser on steroids.

Kari Lehtonen must be an anime fan, but I don't recognize the characters.

The back of Peter Budaj's mask is awesome. What is that anyways, a cross between Flanders and Ryu?

Is that Aslan playing a guitar on the side of Pekka Rinne's mask?

Bad luck? No comment.

Patrick Lalime's artist must have forgotten what Marvin the Martian's helmet looks like. It looks more like something the Senators would wear, ooh wait.

Pascal Leclaire obviously loves his Captain Crunch.

UPDATE: Maali informs me that Lehtonen is not an anime fan. it's yuna and rikku from final fantasy. But after closer inspection, I'm not so sure it's not The Bride and O-Ren Ishii from Kill Bill. But that's all trivial considering Kari is wearing a KINGS logo on his chin!

You can dance if you want to.

2008-11-05T22:41:00.004-06:00

I'm not sure why Martin Brodeur got the win over Atlanta instead of Kevin Weekes, after all, Weekes had more ice time and stopped more shots. What even bothered me more though was that Weekes, who normally looks like the happiest guy in the arena after a Devils win, barely showed any emotion. Perhaps he was as shocked as us fans that Marty was pulling himself out of a game that the Devils were not losing by 42 goals. Well no matter, tonight he played a full game in which he earned his first win of the season, and some of that emotion of his shown through when Langenbrunner scored the winner in the shootout.

Like Chico said, go ahead and celebrate, Kevin, you've earned it.

Yesterday I got so scared...

2008-11-04T18:25:00.005-06:00

...I shivered like a child.

I'm sure that you have heard by now, the first man crush of my hockey fan career is going to have surgery on Thursday to repair a torn distal biceps tendon. The early prognosis is that he will miss 3-4 months. That's going to be the longest period of time without Broduer that we have ever seen since he became a regular in the Devils lineup. There have been a lot of clamoring from fans that Marty needs to play fewer games because he looks wore out in playoffs. Well, be careful what you wish for...

Now, there's a lot of fans blaming it on the new mask. Add to that all of the attention the goaltending record books. But some claim that it was bound to happen, after all, so far in his career he has only missed at the most six consecutive games due to injury. Us New Jersey Devils fans are a spoiled bunch. Don't know what you got until it's gone and all.

Even more interesting is that some nonDevil fans say that Marty was just a product of the system, but now people are voting on if the Devils will now miss the playoffs. I'd call this ironic, or hypocrisy, or an oxymoron, or some some other word that I don't yet, but if you look at the shots on goal for the last two games, it's obvious that the Devils play a different game when Marty is not in net. That is what really worries me the most.

The Devils now have an excuse to suck. Sure, they have claimed "no excuses" in post game interviews, but their just talking the the talk, not walking the walk. Well, except maybe for one, Zach Parise. This could be a time for a changing of the guard as far as the face of the franchise goes. It wouldn't surprise me at all if Parise is the new Captain by February. Zach keeps giving it his all and I can only hope the rest of the team will follow his lead through these trying times.

For now, I will try to stay positive. I have faith in Weekes and Clemmenson. Now is your time to shine guys, make the best of it. And to the rest of the team:

Happy Halloween

2008-10-31T17:37:00.003-05:00

I actually got the idea to take this photo last week when my girlfriend was breaking out Halloween decorations. However, with the recent string of injuries to the Devils, it seems even more appropriate. Get well soon, Andy.

Happy No Hockey Sunday

2008-10-26T11:00:00.002-05:00

I guess today is a great day to do something constructive. Like sitting back and watching football, or playing NHL09. Maybe even curl up on the couch with good ~~book~~ CBA and catch up on some reading. It could also be a good time to look over your fantasy rosters and decide if you still have the patience to keep any underachievers around (I'm looking at you, Jordan Staal).

Friday With Frisby (part I?)

2008-10-18T18:27:00.005-05:00

I never did make it to a game at the Rawk last season, so as soon as the 2008-09 season schedule was announced, I started making plans. It's always interesting to meet people that you interact with over the Internet, so I sent an email to the two lovely ladies at Interchangeable Parts to see if they would be interested in going with me to the home opener. Fortunately for me, they said yes. I then called my usual exchange fan host to see if she wanted to go and perhaps procure the tickets. The stars must have been aligned because she also agreed. The last thing to do was request for vacation time, which was granted. Things were going too smoothly, "the Devils must be destined to lose" kept playing through my mind.

The journey of 873 miles begins with packing up the truck. For some reason I waited until after work on Friday October 3rd to do that. That only took about an hour, and then I headed east, stopping about midnight for a three hour power nap somewhere in West Virginia. The majority of my family and friends live in Maryland, so that's where primary destination was. I spent the week there visiting and chowing down as many crab cakes and cheese steaks as humanly possible. I also managed to get some footage to prove to myself that I'm still not too old to ride a skateboard. Before I knew it, it was Friday October 10th and time to head to New Jersey. Despite a traffic circle and an imaginary road on google maps, I was able to find Stately IPB Manor.

We went, we saw, the Devils conquered.

The good news is that Pookie and Schnookie are just as congenial and funny in person as they are online. The oft mentioned Boomer is also a delight to meet and shame on the ookies for keeping her locked in the basement (or was it the attic?). In case you missed it, the ookies did announce that we would be there, and plans were made for bloggers and commenters alike to meet during first intermission at the giant puck. Fret not if you missed us though, Friday with Frisby Part II is in the works.

Noooooooo!!!

2008-07-30T20:22:00.006-05:00

It's that time of the year again, time for the X-games. The X-games have started to fall off of the face the Earth and proof of that is that even though they are going on right now as I type, they are not being televised. It seems that they are waiting for the finals of all the events. Even worse, they were contemplating ditching the skateboard vert competition. WTF !?!

Fortunately, the athletes were able to save the vert competition.
Granted, it is true that vert ramps are pretty rare and your average everyday run-of-the-mill skateboarder doesn't have one to ride, but I think that's what makes it so spectacular. I myself have to drive at least two hours just to find a skatepark with a vert ramp, even more to find one that is being sessioned. And that is why I love to see what guys like Bob Burnquist, Bucky Lasek, and Rune Glifberg are pulling these days.

In other news, Jake Brown the guy who fell over 40 feet in last years big air competiton, is coming back again for more this year.

Congratulations, it's a two year contract.

2008-07-28T21:56:00.005-05:00

About two weeks ago, I posted about Rich Peverley. Ten days later, The Forechecker mentions Peverley in his post about the Predators playoff hopes for the upcoming season. I guess I should have checked the Preds official website before leaving a comment but apparently on that same day they signed Rich to a two year contract. Coinciding with that news is also an interview. Be sure to watch all of the video highlights. The quick give and go with Erat is especially sweet, nothing a goaltender can do about that one.

Something's Missing

2008-07-24T17:51:00.006-05:00

I have been holding off on giving my opinion about the free agent aquisitions of Brian Rolston and Bobby Holik because I needed some time to let it sink in and think about it. Short and sweet, I like both signings because Rolston adds some much needed offense and Holik helps take some of the defensive load off of Madden. But I can not help but think that something is still missing...a leader. Something that was confirmed by watching the 2003 Championship DVD and reading Jamie Langenbrunner's Q&A this week.

In 2003 the Devils had both Scott Stevens and Joe Nieuwendyk. They were two different kinds of leaders but leaders none the same. In the video Jeff Friesen says that he thinks Scotty was going to throw a skate at him. During the Eastern Conference Finals Joe goes down with a back injury. Pat Burns response to the rest of the team was, "You've got a guy that's played 17 years in the NHL with a couple of Stanley Cups and a Conn Smyth trophy, and he's in there bawling his eyes out because he can't be out there helping you guys out."

From Jamie's Q&A:

You've played with great leaders like Scott Stevens and Joe Nieuwendyk. What aspects of their games have helped you be a good leader?
Dave
New Jersey

The way they treated people and the way they went about their business... seeing that from those guys was a great learning experience for me. I try to take the best of what I saw from them and use as much as I can in my own demeanor. You can't duplicate the presence of a Scotty Stevens. He didn't say a whole lot, but his leadership came through in the way he came to work every day. Joe, on the other hand, was a guy that would say the right things at the right time. More importantly, he treated every player as an equal and with a lot of respect. He made every guy feel like he was a part of the team, even a kid that had just been called up from the minors.

Don't get me wrong, I really like Langenbrunner (even enough to buy his jersey last summer) but he doesn't get veins popping out of his forehead and scares his teammates. Zach Parise is someone that fans look forward to being a future captain but the post game interview he gave after the final game this year is not inspiring fear in anybody. Zach has a tremendous work ethic though and will lead by example. Brent Sutter certainly hates to lose, but he's the coach. He can froth out the mouth all he wants but he's not actually down in the trenches with the players.

I hope I'm wrong, there are a lot of new faces on the team after all. Maybe this group of guys don't need to have a teammate that scares the crap out of them. Maybe just the thought of disappointing each other will be enough. Maybe... but I think the next Scott Stevens needs to present himself. Could that person be Corrente?

Obligatory video:

I couldn't find Somethings Missing by the Lemonheads, so here is a dedication to Ray Emery instead.

Who is that guy?

2008-07-15T20:47:00.004-05:00

I wandered onto Martle's blog today and noticed his list of restricted free agents. Perusing down the list I came across the name, Rich Peverley (14). He doesn't look like much in the point total(5g-5a-10pts), but then again, he only played in 33 games. Not to mention he was only getting an average of only 10:19 time on ice per game. I was fairly impressed by what I saw of him so I did a little more digging on him today. Down in Milwaukee he was getting over one point per game. The player notes say:

* Has recorded his first two playoff points/assists in back-to-back games, including one on Radek Bonk's game-tying goal at 19:16 of the third period in Game Five, sending the contest to overtime.
* Notched his first career playoff point/assist in Game Four, tallying on Shea Weber's goal.

* Made his playoff debut in Game One, and won a game-high 86% of the face-offs he took (6-of-7).

That's a pretty nice faceoff percentage. TSN.ca no longer has scouting reports so I'm wondering what the dirt on this guy could be. TSN lists him as W/C (winger/center) and with Radulov jettisoning back to Russia you would think that the Predators would be locking up this guy. Too bad Lou already dumped $2.5 on Holik and is getting close to the cap, otherwise I might be asking him to give an offer sheet to this guy.

Rock and a Hard Place

2008-07-14T19:21:00.006-05:00

The rock being the New Jersey Devils and the hard place being the Nashville Predators. I am a fan of both teams. I have been a Devils fan ever since I found out that they had a team back around 1989-90. I had just moved out of the sticks and to a place that had cable.I was flipping through the channels and when I got to ESPN they were showing a hockey game between the New Jersey Devils and the Pittsburgh Penguins. I was born in New Jersey so it just seemed right to root for them. Back then though, I was living in a small town in Maryland and the only way I could follow them was the few games that ESPN and HTS (Home Team Sports, the sports channel for the Washington/Baltimore area) showed and game recaps in the newspaper. Then came the 94 run to the ECF and therefore more games televised and my eventual distaste for the Rangers. The next year came and I spent a couple of months wondering why the hell I couldn't find any hockey because I was oblivious to the labor dispute. Eventually hockey showed up and the Devils made their way to the Stanley Cup Finals amidst rumors of relocation to Nashville, Tennessee. The Devils went on to win the Cup and stayed in New Jersey. Nine years and two Cups later, it was I who ended up moving the great distance.

I'm sure that it was because of those rumors though that after Nashville was awarded an expansion team that I followed their progress, not to mention that they they also picked up the backup goaltender for the Devils, Mike Dunham in the expansion draft. Year after year they kept getting better and better, building mostly from within and not spending huge bucks on free agents. In that respect, they were reminding me a lot of my beloved Devils. And then they did something that I had never heard of before, they were going to raise ticket prices but refund the difference if the Preds didn't make the playoffs.

I wasn't planning on becoming a Predators fan but I already had the connection and when I moved, Nashville was the closest hockey city. I had planned on going down there to catch a hockey game just for the fun of it, but for whatever reasons (money, fear of the unknown) waited until January 19, 2006 when the Devils came to town to finally go. That's right, my first experience in Nashville was as a rival fan, all alone, something I wouldn't do in Philadelphia. There was some good natured booing and taunting but the locals were friendly, even pointing me in the right direction to go out for a smoke during intermission. They welcomed me to Nashville and asked me how I liked the town and how long I was down for. When I told them that I had just moved to the area they suggested that I should come down more often. When the postseason came around, I obliged them. The atmosphere was so awesome that I not only went to one playoff game, I went to two.

So here I find myself, a fan of two teams. My first love is one that is killing hockey. My second is one that doesn't deserve to have a hockey team.
Hey at least Greg Wyshynski is fighting the good fight. But oh, wait:

I suppose that speaks volumes about where those franchises have gone in the last decade, and where the Predators haven't.

They should trade his ass to a complete no-man's land for hockey. Some city that barely can hold on to its franchise. A city like ... uh, scratch that.

Hey at least I can turn to Mike Chen. But oh, wait:

That being said, if I was forced to move two teams, it’d be Florida and New Jersey.

Well I guess somebody has to be a fan of the red headed (and mustard) step children of the league, and I guess that person is me.

Meatloaf

2008-07-01T18:19:00.003-05:00

I guess it's already time for me to work out my mixed feelings. Lou was able to sign two of the three pending UFA's that I referred to in my last post, Bryce Salvador and Jay Pandolfo.

At some point last week I came to the realization that Pando might not be a Devil next season. The last few years Jay has started gaining more and more attention as one of the best defensive forwards in the league. I thought a team that was desperate for defense might offer JP some insane contract that he just couldn't refuse. I somehow got the right rum/beer combination in me that I actually thought the Devils would be better off without him. After all, it would be a waste a money to match this hypothetical offer for a 33 year old third line player who just suffered a major injury and wasn't the same after coming back from said injury. Eventually the buzz wore off though. I remembered how Pandolfo was leading the team in scoring before that injury. I started thinking that maybe coach Sutter's brand of hockey is a perfect fit for JP and that it was bringing out the scoring touch in him that he had in college. And after a full summer to recoup, what's to say that he won't be as good next season as he was at the start of the last. I started getting nervous and the closer it got to noon today the more nervous I became. But JP proved once again why he's winning so many awards in New Jersey by signing a three year deal with out even testing the UFA waters.

At the trade deadline the Devils acquired Bryce Salvador from the Blues for seldom used pugilist Cam Janssen. With the patchwork defense that the Devils were using, it was nice to see a solid veteran presence on the blue line. Due to an injury though, we never really got to see much of Bryce, at least not enough for me to form a strong opinion about him. However, from what I have read from Blues fans though, they were pretty high on him. And with eight D-men already the Devils staff must have saw something they liked to acquire him. Honestly, a feel a little better knowing he's going to be around for a few more years because rookie defensemen make me nervous. Bryce also signed before becoming a UFA so it seems that he is also drinking the Kool-aid, which I think is a good sign.

On to Sergie Brylin. Just look at all those years that he has been a Devil. The Devils without Sarge is like rum without Coke. It just doesn't seem right. Unfortunately though, it looks like we might have to get used to it:

“We had a sit-down sort of meeting and spent a considerable amount of time on all different types of alternatives and where he is as of today and the best scenario and what can and can’t be done and it was a conclusion it was in both (sides) best interest to see what he could do for his future,” Lamoriello said. “It’s no different than we’ve done in other cases with players of his status.”

The majority of comments from the blogosphere and hockey forums indicate that New Jersey fans want Brylin to retire and therefore end his career as a Devil and only a Devil. It's quite a romantic notion but I think that it is a little selfish. Sure, the door is still open for Brylin to sign a two-way contract (or minor league contract) and follow Grant Marshall's lead. It would be nice to see him down in Lowell mentoring the young players (specifically Russians) coming in, but would it really be so wrong for him to continue his NHL career for a couple/few more years on a different NHL team? I don't think so. Heck, I'd love to see him come down to Nashville. Reunite with Arnott, play with fellow countryman, Radulov. Bring that 3-time Stanley Cup experience to a young team. Well, as long as he doesn't go to a division rival, I'll be rooting for Sarge where ever he plays.

In case you didn't 'get' the title of the post:

Long Distance Dedication Part II

2008-06-30T23:53:00.003-05:00

Well here we are with the Free Agency Frenzy about ready to start tomorrow. It has not always been kind to Devil fans with fan favorites heading out to Anaheim, New York, and other places. I have mixed emotions about the three pending UFA's this year. I don't know what to say, so I will just let Local H say it:

Frisby Bowl I

2008-06-07T19:47:00.003-05:00

And the winner is...

*drumroll*

Andrew !!!

Congratulations, the Sharks didn't do well in the playoffs, but at least you still earned some bragging rights. Pookie of Interchangeable Parts Blog wins the silver and Heather B. of Top Shelf Cookies wins the bronze.

Here's a look at the final standings (rank, participant, pts):

1. Andrew - 1886
2. Pookie - 1874
3. Heather B. - 1800
4. Katebits - 1786
5. Meg - 1774
6. Schnookie - 1768
7. Patty (in Dallas) - 1764
8. Caitlin - 1756
9. Amy - 1738
10. KG - 1710
11. Sparky - 1678
12. Josh - 1676
13. kms2 - 1666
14. Seth - 1656
15. alix - 1638
16. zot - 1626
17. Boomer - 1586
18. Your's truly (Frisby) - 1520
19. Jen - 1366

Thanks to everybody who participated. I hope you all enjoyed the playoffs and will enjoy the summer. I'd also like to congratulate the Detroit Red Wings on winning the Stanley Cup.

Welcome To Hell

2008-02-27T17:23:00.002-06:00

Don't worry, Bryce Salvador, it's just a saying (unless you are a coach). With all of the trade talk that was going around I am very pleased with what Lou did this year. I was a little worried that my mancrush of the season, David Clarkson, would end up being traded. I was even worried that somebody like Holik might be brought back. Instead, Lou traded away the rarely used enforcer Cam Janssen and in return got a dependable defensive defenseman.

I have read some grumblings from Devil fans who think Lou has lost his touch because he didn't bring in a top six forward. Well riddle me this, Batman, what did Lou have to give up in return? Nothing he didn't want to hold on to. Sure, Clarkson and Greene have made some mistakes but they are indeed rookies after all, and I don't see them getting exchanged for a top six forward. Lou kept the draft picks, the few talented prospects in the system, and kept the core together. The Devils got off to a rough start in the season but now currently sit atop the Eastern Conference. Why mess with the chemistry now?

So welcome to the Devils, Bryce Salvador, I'm happy to have you aboard.

And to Cam, I can't say I'm sorry to see you go, but I still wish you the best of luck in St. Louis.

Long Distance Dedication

2008-01-24T20:50:00.000-06:00

This is to the Devils:

Thank you for spanking the Flyers the other night. I appreciate it, I really do. However, what happened tonight against the Canadiens was just...well words can't describe.

No, it's not all right.

Speechless

2007-11-20T17:56:00.000-06:00

That's what the first quarter of Devils hockey has done to me, made me speechless. However, after three games in four nights and now four days off I think I might be able to finally put some thoughts together.

The season started off on a sour note with word that Langenbrunner would require surgery and miss a couple of months and then White takes a puck to the eye in practice and has yet to return. No problem though because the new head coach, Brent Sutter, said he was going to turn this team into a forechecking puck possession team. Not only that, but our new backup goaltender, Kevin Weekes, was going to be playing quite a few more games than Scott Clemmenson did last year.

The preseason sounded great. I didn't get to see any games but from what I was reading this was a different team. Martin Brodeur didn't even play until the fourth game. The Devils finished the preseason 4-2-0 with 19 goals for and 10 goals against. Needless to say, I was itching to watch this "new" Devils hockey.

The 2007-08 season started off on a sour note, losing to the Tampa Bay Lightning by a score of 3-1, but I (along with most Devil fans) were impressed by what we saw. We saw a lot of things that we liked and were exclaiming,"Who are these guys and what have they done with our Devils!?!"

The first six games the Devils went .500 but us fans were not concerned. We didn't just win games against the Thrashers and Penguins, we won by scores of 6-5 and 5-4 respectively. This was an exciting team to watch, sure we were being scored on more than we were used to, but we were also scoring more than we were used to. Kevin Weekes had already started a game, which the Devils won 4-1 against the Panthers. It looked like things were going in the right direction. We were starting off the the season on a nine game road trip and were playing .500 hockey, but we liked what we saw. But then something bad started to happen. We lost three in a row, two of which were shutouts. The Devils ended the season opening nine game road trip with a 3-5-1 record with 21 goals scored and 30 goals against.

Devils fans were still optimistic, we were getting ready for a new season in the new arena in Newark, New Jersey. The Prudential Center a.k.a "The Rock" would certainly bring inspiriation to this new looking team, right? Wrong. Opening night was a 4-1 loss to the Ottawa Senators. Chris Neil would go down in the trivia books as the first person to score in the new building. Four nights later though, the Devils would defeat the Tampaa Bay Lightning by a score of 6-1. Jay Pandolfo goes down as the first player to score a hat-trick in the new building. A couple of days later the Devils would defeat the Toronto Maple Leafs by a score of 3-2. From there it has been one hell of a rollercoaster ride.

The next home game we watched as the Devils lost 5-0 to the Pittsburgh Penguins. A few nights later responded by defeating the Flyers by a score of 4-1. The rollercoaster ride would continue with l-w-l-l-w. With Broduer chasing 500 career wins, he started all 3 games in a 3-games-in-4-nights span finally getting the win against the Flyers. The win would mean much more though because the Devils would score six goals. Having only scored six goals in the previous four games, that was quite an accomplishment.

So here we are now, 20 games played with an 8-10-2 record and a total of 48 goals scored, 56 goals against, and being shutout five times. Kevin Weekes has started only three games going 2-0-1 with a 2.09 GAA and .930 Sv%. The most surprising stats: Jay Pandolfo, last year's Selke finalist, is the Devils goal scoring leader with 7 goals. Karel Rachunek leads the +/- with a +10. Not so surprising: Zach Parise leads the team with 18 points (6 goals, 12 assists).

Some Devils fans have started to panic. Others have not. The biggest complaints I have heard from fans is inconsistent effort by the players and the constant line juggling by Brent Sutter. Not only are lines changed from game to game, but also period to period and even shift to shift. I'm not giving up though, Langenbrunner has returned and even scored on his first shift of the season, hopefully a good sign of things to come. Elias has gotten off to a really slow start but that's not unusual. Zubrus has also started putting pucks in the net. Madden and Pandolfo also scoring goals are a good thing. So basically, file me under: have not.

Clarkson Watch

2007-10-07T15:58:00.000-05:00

David Clarkson did a little bit of everything in Saturday nights game against the Panthers. The stats only show that he had one assist but there was a lot more to the story than that. This time he logged twice as many minutes than in game one and played on almost every line. David got the assist when playing with Madden and Pandolfo, a couple of shots on goal when playing with Elias and Zubrus, and created the screen for Mottau's goal while playing with Zajac and Parise. Clarkson was delivering hits, taking hits, even drew a penalty. I could go on and on, but I will just let you watch. (look for #23)^*

*Clarkson apparently has no number preference. This year he is wearing #23 (Scott who?) and when playing with the big club last year was wearing #27. While playing with the Kitchener Rangers he wore #17.

2007-08 First Impression

2007-10-05T17:06:00.000-05:00

If you look at the box score from the Devils first game of the season, you may think that it was just a terrible game for the Devils. Ok, yes, it is always nice to win but I still saw a lot of positives in that game. Just don't tell Louie Lams that I said that. This is the Devils afterall, all that counts is winning. While I normally agree with that statement, here are the things that kept me from breaking another Sherwood over the couch.

1. David Clarkson - I just can't get enough of this guy. He only logged seven minutes and I can't understand why he didn't get more. He took the term 'crashing the net' a little too literally and had a goal disallowed because he was in the net before the puck was. Towards the end of the game he knocked a defender into goaltender Holmqvist which set off a little scrum. Chris Gratton did what he was supposed to do and challenged Clarkson to a fight that did not last very long. Cam who?

2. The Parise-Zajac-Gionta line - These guys combined for the only goal by the Devils that counted. The surprising thing was that it was not some pretty tic-tac-toe passing play. It was a hard working, dig in the corner for the puck and just get it on net kind of play. Zajac was the one who got the puck, dished it to Parise who skated with it out in front. While falling down he sent a backhander towards the net that Gionta deflected in. If this line stays together, wow, just wow.

3. The forechecking - Sutter says the team is still committed to defense and what he means is that if the other team doesn't have the puck, they can't score. Last year you would have seen a Devil dump the puck and retreat, but last night they kept going after it. There was actually some sustained pressure in the offensive zone and Holmqvist is the only reason the Lightning won. Torts needs to take him (and the left goalpost)out for a really nice steak dinner.

4. The new guys on defense - Rachunek and Vishnevski actually have a pretty nice shot from the point. Combined, they hit less shin pads in a whole game than Rafalski did in a period. They helped keep the puck inside the offensive zone and were able to pass from D to D without going offsides.

The only thing I didn't like was that the Devils were not able to maintain the intensity they had in the first period through the whole game. We will see if they can do it tomorrow night against the Panthers.

Devils Season Preview

2007-09-18T18:28:00.000-05:00

Fantasy Leagues have started so the real thing can't be too far away. It's almost that time again, NHL hockey time. I'm sure you have read all of the offseason news. Gomez, Rafalski, Lukowich, Rasmussen, Dowd, and *cough* Clemmensen have left town. Langenbrunner, White, and *cough* Janssen will miss some time. Hey at least Brylin, Parise, Martin, and *cough* Marshall signed new deals. Coming in we have Zubrus, Rachunek, Weekes and some other guys I don't feel like looking up. But their names don't matter any way because this a fantasy preview. I feel I can do this now because I have already drafted all four of the teams that I am going to have this year so I won't be giving out insider information to my rivals.

When it comes to the first round, even if your league is twenty teams deep, the only Devil to choose would be Martin Broduer. He's a pretty safe bet when it comes to getting goaltending stats. Marty has been around awhile though, so of course, you already knew that.

So where do the forwards go? First, I would probably take Patrik Elias. His numbers last year were far below the pace he set at the end of the 2006 season but he is due for a big year. I don't see the loss of Gomez being a factor to Elias. If anything, it may even help. Sutter also ripped the 'C' off of his chest and we may get to see if that was a burden that was holding him back last year.

The next forward that I would take would be Brian Gionta. He set a new record in Devils scoring but his numbers slumped last year due to, that's right, groin injuries. Rumor has it that with Langenbrunner's recent groin surgery that Sutter is trying Gionta on the wing with Parise and Zajac. If that doesn't work out there is still Elias and Zubrus.

Zach Parise is the next forward to go. He almost doubled the output of his freshman year and there is absolutely no reason to believe that he will not exceed those numbers this coming year. The kid doesn't know the meaning of the word quit. There seems to be natural chemistry between him and Zajac and the injury to Langenbrunner opens the door. Could there be a better linemate for these two? I'm sure Sutter will find out, but more on that later.

We don't have much of an idea how Zubrus fits in to the picture so I'm going put him fourth. The obvious first place for him to play is centering for Elias and Gionta in the so called 'first scoring line'. Last year was a career year for him but how will he do wearing a Devils sweater? There is no reason to think he won't score fifty points with quite a few on the PP, so if your league is deep enough you may want grab him if you have a bench position to fill.

Well if Zach's numbers are going to increase then surely Zajac's will too, right? Well for now, I would just put him on your watch list. He still has a lot to learn about faceoffs so if your league uses faceoff stats, you might want to look for a different center.

Speaking of the watch list, there are other names to look out for. David Clarkson was called up for a few games last year and looks ready to make the show. Many compare him to Randy McKay but I see more of an Arnott in him. David probably has the best chance to fill in for Langs on the Zajac line. Another player who could also crack into that spot is Nicklas Bergfors but I haven't seen enough of him to be able to speculate. All I know is that he just scored two goals tonight against the Flyers.

Moving on to defense, Paul Martin is probably the only Devil worth drafting. He is being put into a tough situation with the loss of Rafalski but you never know how that could turn out. Will it bring out the best in him and will he finally live up to the hype or will he bust? I wish I could confidently say that he will have a career year but I can't. He showed moments of brilliance last year and let's hope Sutter finds a way for us to see more of those this year.

The only other defenseman to keep your eye on is Andy Greene. Once enough cap space was cleared last year, Andy was brought up and he never went back down. He's won both offensive and defensive defenenseman awards in the CCHA and more than likely will fill Paul Martin's old role as the number two offensive defenseman.

The Good And Bad Of Big Air.

2007-08-04T14:43:00.000-05:00

X-Games 13 started off with a bang this week. Skateboard Big Air is a fairly new event to the games, introduced in 2004. This year was the first time it was held indoors, inside the Staples Center. Bob Burnquist was thrilled to have the event moved indoors. When you are flying across a 70ft gap and then catching about 20ft of air out of a 25ft quarter pipe, taking out the wind factor is a big advantage, not to mention a little more safe. However there is nothing safe about this event, particularly the quarter pipe. The basic principle is to go straight up and straight back down on the Z-axis. Lateral movement on the X-axis is fine and adds more style. Any movent on the Y-axis though can be very dangerous. Too far forward and you can hang up on the deck or land on the top of the deck. Too far back and you may miss the transition all together and hit the flat bottom. Unfortunately, that's exactly what happened to Jake Brown.

From a spectator's point of view, this is an awesome event. I look forward to it every year. The athletes that compete must have a set of brass balls the size of cantelopes. The fact that Jake was able to walk away from that is amazing. The story does not end there. Bob Burnquist still had yet to take his final run. He must have nerves of steel because he dropped in switchstance, did a switch backside 180 ollie over the gap, and then a huge frontside 540 on the quarterpipe.

Update: They just announced Jake Brown's status. His only injuries were a lung contusion, and a fractured wrist. He has scheduled to have surgery on the wrist next week.

Out with the old...

2007-07-26T17:20:00.000-05:00

This hat has served me well for many years. All good things must come to an end though.

...in with the new.

Ah, I do enjoy the smell of nice new clean hat.

Pubescent Anomalistic Retaliation Chelonian

2007-07-13T17:21:00.000-05:00

The zany girls of Interchangeable Parts have created a sister-blog, Boxworthy's Babblings. This blog chronicles the adventures of Zach Parise and Boxworthy as they plot their revenge for any perceived wrongdoings against them. Inspired, yours truly did an illustration of Zach and his turtle-of-affairs. Pookie not only published it, she paid me handsomely for it (in solid gold IPB ingots)! You can see it for yourself here.

I'm sure Todd McFarlane will be calling me sometime soon.

Note to Zach Parise: We kid because we love.

Three Men Enter, Three Men Leave

2007-07-05T21:03:00.000-05:00

Brad Lukowich is the third player to leave New Jersey via free agency. However we have restocked with a few players. Enter Dainius Zubrus, Karel Rachunek, and Kevin Weekes. It's not exactly even, considering we lost one forward and two defenseman and gained one forward, one defenseman, and one goalie, but let's take a look at these guys.

Before I moved to Kentucky I was living in Maryland. The local sports channel was HTS, the home for the Baltimore Orioles, the Baltimore Blast, and the Washington Capitals. I got to see a lot of Zubrus and I am very excited to see him play for the Devils. When I first saw this year's free agent list he was one of the players on my wishlist. He is a fantastic center who can also play on the wing. At 6'-4" and 225 lbs he's a big guy with good hands. Any Devils fans wishing for Arnott, forget it, Zubrus is better.

Does any body remember what happened in the 2002 playoffs? The Devils lost to Carolina in six games in the first round. The Hurricanes went on to the Stanley Cup finals but lost to Detroit. In net for them was none other than Kevin Weekes. No matter where he has played he has seemed to have the Devils number. We don't have to worry about that any more, he is now on our side. His experience should make Lou, or whoever our next coach is, confident enough to let Marty get more rest this season.

Last, but not least, who is this Karel Rachunek? He is a former Ranger, and even though we played against him eight times last season, I really can't remember any thing about him. Well when it comes to defensemen, that's probably a good thing. This is what the TSN scouting report says about it him:

Shows great poise and rarely gets caught out of position. Has a decent point shot and will put up more points as he learns to use it more. Owns the size NHL scouts look for.

Sounds great, doesn't it? But more importantly, what do all of these players lack? They all have yet to win a Stanley Cup. Those other players that left, they all already had at least two rings, they had nothing left to play for. These three new players though, they do have something to play for. They want to win, and win it all. That is what we categorize as intangibles that players bring to a team. This is why I'm excited to see the 2007-08 season get underway.

Good Luck and Good Riddance

2007-07-02T21:20:00.000-05:00

By now you may have already heard that the two biggest free agents on the Devils roster have signed lucrative deals elsewhere. Brian Rafalski agreed to a five-year, $30 million deal with the Detroit Red Wings. Scott Gomez signed a seven-year deal worth $51.5 million with the New York Rangers.

Rafalski went undrafted and was playing in Europe when the Devils invited him to training camp in 1999. He turned plenty of heads and made the team. He has been with the Devils ever since, drinking plenty of the Kool-Aid. This year he stated that he wanted to remain a Devil and told his agent to do whatever it takes to get the deal done. Needless to say that Devils fans everywhere were shocked (some were even glad, but not this blogger) to hear he signed with the Red Wings. Brian was born in Dearborn, Michigan and grew up watching the Red Wings. On his new deal Brian had this to say:

"It was a difficult decision leaving New Jersey, the only team I've known, but I'm coming home to play for the team I grew up watching. To have this opportunity, is a dream."

I'm 99.9% positive that had it been anybody but the Red Wings making that kind of offer, Rafalski would have stayed in New Jersey. Sincerely Brian, I wish you the best of luck.

Gomez was the New Jersey Devils' 1st round choice (27th overall) in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft. He spent one more year in the WHL and made the Devils team in the 1999-2000 season when he won the Calder Trophy for rookie of the year. He has been with the Devils ever since but refused to even sip the Kool-Aid. With the Devils tight up against the Cap, Scott took the team to arbitration and was awarded a $5 million dollar contract that really pinned Lou's cap space to the wall. Some of the after effects were that the Devils had to play quite a few games with 17 or fewer skaters because of injures and no cap room for a call-up. Lou took a chance and kept the team together but was rewarded by Gomez with only 13 goals and 47 assists for 60 points, his worst production since the 2002-03 season. For the Devils, this is addition by subtraction. Poor Ranger fans will be stuck for seven years screaming at their televisions, "Why did you pass the puck, AGAIN! SHOOT YOU SONUVABITCH!"

Good riddance Poomez.

Sellout, with me, oh yeah!

2007-06-12T22:52:00.000-05:00

If there was any doubt in your mind at all before, put it to rest. Tony Hawk has officially sold out. There is no shortage of talented BMX riders out there, so why on Earth would somebody want to put a skateboarder's name a bike? Why would a skateboarder agree to it? Sure the animosity that used to exist between the factions of skateboarders, rollerbladers, and bikers has disappeared. We all had to band together for the sake of extreme sports. We had to cooperate with each other to get parks built all around the world. This marketing scheme makes no sense what so ever though, except to make some dollars - the very definition of selling out.

Hell No, We Won't Go!

2007-05-26T12:05:00.000-05:00

Every time there is news about a team being sold, hockey fans start overloading the 'net' with shouts of,
"Hamilton!"
"Winnipeg!"
"Kansas City!"
"Houston!"
and the list goes on...

Don't get too excited yet people, believe it or not, there are hockey fans in Nashville and they want their team to stay. The movement has already begun. Pred-Joe is letting his fellow fans know that there is hope. Brian Hogue has started an online petition. Even the corporate sponsers are jumping in. A new website http://savethepreds.com/ is already under construction.

Why does a Devils fan care? Because I am a hockey fan. If you look at the "about me" section you would see that I now currently reside in Kentucky. Nashville is not too far away and I like to take in a few games every year. When the company I was working for went bankrupt, I was courted by a few different companies. The proximity to Nashville was one of the things that helped me decide to take the job in Kentucky. If the Predators do not stay the next closest hockey city is St. Louis, but just the drive there would take longer than the actual game.

Good luck Predator fans, you have my support.

Update:
There is a new website http://www.savethepredators.com/ and a fan rally is tentatively scheduled for June 16 at the ~~Gaylord Entertainment Center, Nashville Arena,~~ Sommet Center.

Two Minutes, Delay of Game

2007-05-21T19:43:00.000-05:00

It has been a while since I have last played hockey, about a year and a half actually. Yesterday I did get to play a little defense though. I was sitting on my couch waiting for the overtime of the Detroit/Anaheim game to start when my girlfriend comes running inside screaming. She was outside doing some gardening when she spotted a rope hanging from the gutter. When she went closer to inspect it she realized it was not a rope. It was a snake. Me, being the manly man that I am, went outside to investigate. I guess it had fell from the gutter and was on the ground with a dead bird sticking out of it's mouth. I must of scared it because it let go of the bird and started slithering towards the house. I hate snakes and the last thing I wanted was that thing to go in to my house. I had to think quickly. I ran into the garage and grabbed my trusty Sherwood (I keep it in the garage so I won't break it if a Devils game goes awry). I tried to persuade it to head towards the backyard but it found a small hole in the side of the house. Quickly I used the blade of my stick to pin it against the brick. After holding it there for what seemed like an eternity, it backed out of the hole. I gave it a quick backhand like I was clearing the zone (or pitchforked it as Doc would say) that sent it into the backyard. As if on a two on one breakaway, I rushed towards it and did a little forehand pass farther in to the backyard. At the end of my backyard is a line of miscellaneous shrubbery. Beyond that is a marshy ditch about six feet deep and twelve feet wide, and then there is the corn field. I thought to myself, "If I can get him over to the corn field, I won't have to worry about him any more."

I took my time, scooped the blade of my stick under his body and fired a wrist shot up and over the ditch and in to the corn field. The shot went far to the left and if I really were a defenseman trying to clear the zone, it would surely have been a delay of game penalty.

When all was said and done, I went back into the house and the OT had already started. It took only a couple of minutes for the Ducks to score and win the game. I googled "Kentucky snakes" and found a website that helps you identify snakes. It looks to me like I had an encounter with a Rat Snake.

Help, please!

2007-05-14T21:07:00.000-05:00

I am fairly new to the blogosphere. I started off by reading Stan Fischler then through browsing I found Mike Chen and from his site found many great hockey blogs. I started this blog because I couldn't find any New Jersey Devils blogs and I figured that there was a void that I could fill. As you can see by my links on the sidebar, I did find some wonderful blogs that focused on the Devils, but there is another sport and team that I hold dear, and that would be the New York Jets of the NFL. Unfortunately, as a renter, I am stuck with what is available. I have Dishnetwork and that allows me the Center Ice package but it does not offer the Sunday Ticket package. Surely there must be some Jets blogs out there that can fill me in on what I don't get to see. I bring this up because this is what I read today from Dan Leberfeld:

So if you expect me to tell you about who looked good this past weekend at
the Jets mini-camp, I'm not going to do it.

Well that does nothing to get me psyched for the upcoming season. Don't get me wrong, first and foremost I am a hockey fan and I will still cover the Devils, but if anybody can provide me with links to Jets blogs or other coverage please do so, I would greatly appreciate it.

Then There Were Four

2007-05-09T18:16:00.000-05:00

By now it should be obvious that you should never wager any money based on my picks. After two rounds I have only correctly picked seven winners out of a possible twelve. That is not going to stop me from making more predictions though.

First, let's wrap up round two.
Sabres in five - The Rangers put up a little bit more of a fight than I expected and stretched it out to a six game series. This battle of New York was not without it's controversies though. Perhaps reaping the most rewards from it is Stan Fischler. His blog has probably received more traffic and comments in the last two weeks than it has all year.

Devils in six - Ugh! [poors a shot of Captain]
[pours another shot of Captain]

Sharks in six - After watching the Sharks defeat the Predators, I really thought they were going to be the team to beat out west. The Wings had a few injuries and normally it's not good when Sharks smell blood. I guess they must have had stuffy noses.

Ducks in five - Well, at least I nailed one series. I actually feel bad for Luongo. I couldn't believe that last goal went in. The good news is, at least from what I have read on the 'net', that he is not being made into the goat.

On to the Conference Finals:

Ottawa vs Buffalo - Is it just me, or have the Sens defense looked ridiculously awesome. You hear about Emery giving away rebounds but the opposing offenses were not able to do anything with them. That's just the shots getting through, Volchenkov alone has blocked 2,561 shots so far in the playoffs. Talk about smelling blood, they put both the Devils and Penguins away in five games. Sure, the Sabres have yet to unleash their full potential, but I fear if they do, it may be too little too late. Senators in six.

Anaheim vs Detroit - You would think that the loss of Mathieu Schneider has to be a huge blow to the Red Wings, but that did not stop them from closing out the Sharks with a shutout. I would like for Scott Neidermeyer to help his brother Rob get his name on The Cup, but I don't think it is going to happen this year. Red Wings in seven.

Grab A Fork...

2007-05-05T22:20:00.000-05:00

...and stick it in the Devils, because they are done.

I wish I could blame it on officiating, one certain play, or a specific player, but the truth is, the Devils were simply defeated by a better team.

Greg over at Hockey Rants had a hard time picking which team to root for when his team was knocked out in the first round. For me, it's easy, I always pick the team that knocked out the Devils (unless it is an Atlantic Division rival). "Why?", you may ask, because I don't like being the losers of the losers. Last year, nobody could talk trash on the Devils except for the the Hurricanes. That's because nobody else could beat the Hurricanes, they were the Stanley Cup Champions. So until the 2007-08 season starts, I am an Ottawa Senators fan.

Now, if you will excuse me, I'm going to drown my sorrows in that bottle of Captain.

Round Two Predictions

2007-04-25T19:17:00.000-05:00

Buffalo Sabres vs NY Rangers - Don't be surprised if you see the Sabres play the trap. They know that the Rangers have two dangerous lines and a good goaltender, so they may want shut them down and wait for their chances instead of playing a run and gun game. The Rangers will probably win a game but the Sabres should take the series. Sabres in 5

New Jersey Devils vs Ottawa Senators - These are not the same teams that played against each other in 2003 so let's stop talking about that, mmmkay? The Sens slaughtered the Devils 8-1 early in the season but the Devils were able to win the other three games despite injuries to key players. The EGG line seems to have returned to form and so has Broduer. The Sens proved they know how to defend by eliminating the young stars on the Penguins in five games so they will make it difficult on Gomez and Parise. Devils in 6

San Jose Sharks vs Detroit Red Wings - The Wings were only slightly better than the Predators, and the Sharks took care of them in only five games. The Sharks look hungry and the Wings are bleeding. Sharks in 6

Anaheim Ducks vs Vancouver Canucks - The Ducks look even mightier now that they dropped that adjective from their name. Luongo stole game 7 from the Stars and will probably steal a game from the Ducks. Ducks in 5

Round One Wrap-up

2007-04-24T21:55:00.000-05:00

Let's see how my predictions went in round one.

Isles in 7 - I wasn't even close. Victor Kozlov and company did put up a small fight, but were dispatched in five games.

Devils in 6 - I nailed this series. I was nervous when Tampa Bay took a 2-1 lead, but thankfully Parise and company pulled off 3 straight wins.

Rangers in 7 - Whiskey Tango Foxtrot! The Trashers forgot to show up and got swept, but at least I was right about the winner.

Ottawa in 5 - I nailed this one too, even though I didn't know Sid had a broken foot.

Detroit in 5 - The Flames took 1 game longer to eliminate than I expected, no thanks to Friesen.

Anaheim in 4 - Another series that took 1 game longer I thought.

Dallas in 6 - The Stars came close, forcing a game 7 after going down 3-1. I wouldn't blame this lost series on Turco.

Nashville in 6 - I was totally wrong on this series. The Preds completely lost their discipline and the series, in only 5 games.

My First Round Predictions

2007-04-12T18:34:00.000-05:00

It may seem a little late to be giving predictions, but I have already made them on SportsFilter, so it's all good. I'll try to ellaborate a little bit more here.

Eastern Conference (because that is what I know)

Buffalo vs NY Islanders - Isles in seven.
I picked the Islanders to be a dark horse team at the beginning of the season. They overhauled the front office in the offseason and made Garth Snow the GM. Garth played with these guys, so he probably knew better than anybody else what kind of players to bring in. He is also a party animal so that had to change the atmosphere. The Islanders did not disappoint me and snuck into the playoffs. Buffalo won the President's trophy, which has been a curse over the last few years, so I expect to see an upset in this series.

New Jersey vs Tampa Bay - Devils in six.
Ok, on SpoFi I did call Lightning in six, but that was, shall we say, reverse psychology. Honestly, I believe the Devils should win this series and I'll take the Devils winning over me winning a pool any day. TB may have won the season series, but they are a one trick pony. In a seven game series, TB probably will win a couple of games, but the Devils will be able to adjust to whatever the Lighting throws at them. Of course, that all depends on the EGG line staying healthy and the Devils being disciplined.

Atlanta vs NY Rangers - Rangers in seven.
I think this will be a good series. It should be the kind of hockey that the NHL wants the nonfans to see to try to convert them. Lots of back and forth action and scoring chances. Atlanta only got the third seed because they won their division, so these teams are more evenly matched than it appears. During the regular season the Thrashers only had one more win than the Rangers. The difference will be the goaltenders and I have to give the edge to Lundqvist.

Ottawa vs Pittsburgh - Senators in five.
I gave the snark, "sorry Bettman" because we know that Gary is trying to sell Crosby to the U.S. fans. Ottawa as a team has so much more playoff experience than Pittsburgh and that will make a HUGE difference. Sure there is some scattered experience in the Penguins, but not as a team.

Western Conference
Detroit in 5
Anaheim in 4
Dallas in 6
Nashville in 6

Post Request #2

2007-04-10T21:06:00.000-05:00

Sorry to any potential readers I may have for the delay. This blogging thing is a little tougher than I thought. It's hard to come up with new ideas and things to write about. So if it seems like it has been awhile since I have written anything, just do what ninja and rocketman did, ask me my thoughts about something.

Today, rocketman wants to know my take on the firing of coach Claude Julien. I was not that surprised. The team was underperforming, and I don't agree with the injury excuse. The Devils pride themselves on their system and find the right players to fit in that system. David Clarkson fit, even Rodney Pelley and Thomas Pihlman fit. No, they are not as skilled as Gionta, Madden, and Elias but they were given roles to fill that were within reasonable expectations. The problem was not with these "replacement players" the problem was with the regulars. The effort was just not there.

Some compare this firing to the 2000 campaign when Robby Ftorek was fired and Larry Robinson was promoted. In fact, it is quite the opposite. Back then they had a hard ass coach replaced by a nice guy, this year it was out with the nice guy and in with the hard ass. Julien was nice to a fault. You could hear it in his interviews. Stan Fischler would ask him after a loss what went wrong. His response was always something to the effect of, "well you can't point fingers, it wasn't one person or one play, things just didn't work out for us."

Sorry Claude, but I have to call, "Bullshit!"

Claude may have been just talking nice to the camera, but I don't get the feeling he was much different in the lockerroom. If players are not backchecking or are coughing the puck up, then by all means, something needs to be said to them.

Others speculate that Julien's system was too conservative. I can believe that. I've seen too many pucks drift to an empty point that somebody had vacated to get back to a defensive stance in the neutral zone. I've seen defensemen skating with speed that could have driven to the net but just chip the puck in. The offense was suffering badly, there was no sustained pressure.

If all of these trends continued, there was no way the Devils could succeed in the playoffs. I think Lou made the right decision. If there was anything wrong with it, it's that it was too late.

You Never Get A Second Chance To Make A First Impression

2007-04-01T10:29:00.000-05:00

David Clarkson does not need a second chance. Devils' fans every where were impressed by the 23 year old Toronto native. The Devils had a couple of injuries early in the month of March and tried to play with a short roster, but the injury bug started going through the lineup like the flu. Gionta aggrivated a groin pull (the most common injury this month) and was placed on the long term injury reserve. This cleared up some cap space to allow Clarkson to make his NHL debut on March 14 versus Carolina. Players started getting healthy and returning to the lineup so David was sent back down to Lowell on March 30.

In seven NHL games Clarkson scored three goals (two on the power play, one game winning) and one assist. In plus/minus he was a -1 and had six penalty minutes. Two of those minutes was a roughing call he took while standing up for Broduer when a player took some extra whacks after Marty had the puck covered. Clarkson also drew a couple of penalties, the most prominent in my mind was when he was about to have a clear breakaway and the only thing an opposing player could do was to trip David up in the neutral zone. Overall, I think he's a pretty good player, ready for a fulltime job in the NHL. He's another one of those undrafted gems that the Devils seem to have an uncanny ability to find.

"This comparison may be blasphemous, but damn if Clarkson doesn’t remind of Claude Lemieux." - Trendon Lynch

"talking about the sheer awesomeness of David Clarkson. Why hasn’t this guy made the team sooner? He’s purely amazing." - Patricia Greuter

"David Clarkson was certainly impressive, looking and playing like a young Randy McKay in the games he's played in; acclimating himself well with the team and even fitting in when played on the top lines." - John Fischer

"Clarkson -- tenacious and tough – has a scoring touch, which was proven again with a timely goal after Florida had jumped into a 2-0 lead" - Stan Fischler

Just Because You Are A Character...

2007-03-29T21:46:00.000-05:00

...that does not mean you have character.

You may hear that GM Lou Lamoriello likes to find character players, but what exactly does that mean? I think in this case "character" refers to definition #6.
6 : moral excellence and firmness

Players that give thier all no matter how much (or how little) ice time they get. Players that will play the system for the benefit of the team. Players that play for and look out for each other. Players that want to win and hate to lose. Players that never give up despite being down two goals. Players like Zach Parise.

Last night, the Devils lost 4-3 to the Buffalo Sabres. They were down 4-2 but the Devils did not give up and Zach scored with only 1.1 seconds left (2 seconds after review). He raised his arms to celebrate but then looked up at the score board. Realizing it was too late to matter, the smile left his face and he dropped his arms back down. His teammates came by for the traditional group hug but Zach just skated back to the bench with only a pat on the back from Gomez.

J.P. Parise, Zach's father, was there for the game and was kind enough to be interviewed during the second intermission.

I believe the record JP refers to was the 1972-73 season when he scored 27 goals and 48 assists for 75 points. So far this season, Zach has 31 goals and 28 assists for 59 points with 5 games remaining.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.

2007-03-22T17:07:00.000-05:00

I have been back in the bluegrass state since Sunday but there hasn't been much to report. As the Devils go, so do I, so it's been a rough week. I have been too depressed to even upload the photos I took at the games I went to last week. One of my excuses is that I was using a new camera and do not fully understand how the damn thing works. All of the pictures came out dark so I have to run them one at a time through the picture editing software.

On a scale of 1-10 I would rate the trip a 4.

I'll start with the bad:
The Devils game that I attended was a 3-0 loss to the freaking Penguins of all teams. A loss I can deal with, but being shutout was pretty hard to take. There was nothing to celebrate and no excuse to do a shot of rum.

I was originally planning to go down to Maryland on Friday to meet some old friends but that nice snow storm that came up the coast cancelled those plans.

Before heading across the river to the Big Apple on Saturday, I turned on the TV and watched the Devils get spanked 7-2 by the Hurricanes.

I was psyched to be able to go to MSG and enjoy a good hockey game with no emotional investment. A bunch of hockey player impersonaters showed up wearing Bruins uniforms and got spanked 7-0.

The Good:
I did get to watch on television a Devils team plagued by groin pulls, defeat the 'Canes by a score of 3-2.

While in New York City, I had one of the best Rueben sandwiches that I have ever had.

I went to a NHL arena (MSG) that I have never been to before (4 down, 26 to go).

I got to meet a couple SportsFilter members that I have never met before.

The Ugly: Eric Rasmussen sustained an upper body injury during Tuesday's 2-1 loss to Toronto. The Devils couldn't find the net in that game, and when they did, they hit iron instead of twine.

The Devils have scored 184 goals this season. 57 of those goals were scored by players who are out of the lineup tonight with injuries. That makes 30.9% of the scoring. On the power play, the Devils have scored 57 goals, 18 of those were scored by those same injured players (31.5%).

Ooh-eeh-ah-choo!

2007-03-12T17:01:00.000-05:00

My friends and I started making plans for my upcoming trip to the New York area a couple of months ago. One of my friends is a Rangers fan and the other is a Bruins fan, so we decided the Bruins/Rangers game would be the game we would go to. Of course, I'm not making the trip without also taking in a Devils game and the most convenient game to go to was Wednesday' s Penguins/Devils game. Back then, Pittsburgh was not even the playoff picture and Sid the Kid was receiving a lot of flack for yapping at the zebras and flopping to the ice when some one coughed in his general direction. Basically, besides the thrill of going to game and heckling Crosby, there was not much to look forward to.

But that was then, and this is now.

The Penguins now resemble more of a contender than Chilly Willy. Since January 13, 2007 the Penguins are one of the hottest teams in the league, having won 19 games, lost only 4 in regulation and lost 3 after regulation. Not only are they sitting fifth place in the Eastern Conference, but they are getting dangerously close to the Devils, behind by eight points with a game in hand. From the games I have watched, it seems Sidney Crosby has also learned to stay on his feet.

The Devils have not exactly been slouching either. At one time it looked like the Buffalo Sabres were going to run away with the conference but New Jersey has closed the gap to one point (though the Sabres do have a game in hand). The Devils helped their own cause last week by defeating the Sabres in regulation and the Penguins in the shootout. Now is not the time to let up though. The way the the playoffs are set up, the best seed a team can place if it does not win it's division is fourth, the last spot for home ice advantage.

Well, Wednesday's game turns out to be a big game after all. Hopefully the Devils will be as psyched as I am.

Crazy stat of the day: Colin White (a.k.a. Bat Boy) is questionable for Wednesday's game. New Jerseys record when he is out of the lineup, 10-2-1 with 4 shutouts.

Bleeding Benjamins Batman

2007-03-09T20:01:00.000-06:00

During Devils broadcasts lately I have been hearing a lot of "what could be Team X's last game at Continental Airlines Arena."

That's because the new arena, the Prudential Center, is well under construction and is planned to be ready in time for the Devils to start the 2007-08 season. At newjerseydevils.com there is even a Prudential Center link. The page has links to recent news, contsruction photos, and even a web cam that overlooks the construction site. At one time it would even let you control the camera. You could pan, zoom in, zoom out, and all that good stuff. Sometimes I would go on there and some internet user was zooming in to various cars on the street or other building windows (it was not me, I swear), so I guess that's why camera control is no longer an option.

Well, yesterday I noticed a new link, the brochure. Warning to fans who plan on going to games next year: Sit down and put down any beverages. On pages 31-32 are the new seating/pricing charts. $200 ($150 for the season) for a lower level seat at center ice or any seat all the way around up against the glass. Currently at the CAA, the highest price for any seat is $90. However, that's just list price. What I want to know is how much it will be after ticketmaster and the other distributors add thier fees. More importantly, how much are they going to charge me for a beer?

Attendance has always been an issue, so how will this raise in ticket prices effect sales? Did I mention that the new arena is in Newark, NJ? That city does not exactly have the best reputation. A friend of mine, who lives in North Jersey, told me she knows a few people that have already said they are not renewing their season tickets. The Star Ledger even has an article about the price hike and a season ticket holder. "A home large-screen TV costs a lot less than a season of Devils games now," he said.

Let's face it sports fans, it is a business and owners are in it to make money. I'm guessing that Jeff Vanderbeek is trying to draw in the corporate business from Newark. He did leave some affordable seats for us Average Joes in the upper section, and supposedly there is not going to be a bad seat in the house. From the SL article: "But common fans get better sightlines, more bathrooms, better food and wider concourses. The great irony is everyone says these buildings are for the fat cats, but the average fans really get their money's worth."

I like to try to get as close to the ice as I can (as you may have noticed from my game log pictures) and for me, the most expensive tickets are still less than my travel costs. I will still probably go to two games a year (3 if they make it to the finals), but any desire I had to move back to NJ and get season tickets is now gone (unless there is a company out there willing to highly overpay a self taught CAD designer).

Brain Teaser Part I

2007-03-06T16:56:00.000-06:00

The question: Who is the only player to win two Stanley Cups with one team, and in between those, won a Stanley Cup with another team?
(Highlight text to reveal clues)
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Clue #1: The player is now retired.

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Clue #2: The player has won a total of 4 cups (three different teams).

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Clue #3: He is the kind of player you hate, unless he is on your team.

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Answer: (push play)

Since ninja asked...

2007-03-05T20:49:00.000-06:00

I was not going to post anything about the Cam Janssen hit here because I can't go anywhere on the net without running into it and it seems to bring all of the asshats out of the woodwork. However, my comment on Raking Leafs got to be so long that I figured I might as well.

I think the only thing Cam is guilty of is poor judgement. Yes it was a late hit (but not as late as the some of the media want you to believe as they count the seconds during the slow motion replay) and Kaberle was in a prone position close to the boards. Why was there not a penalty? Because those are the two worst officials I have ever seen. There were many bad calls and non calls on both sides of the puck in that game.

Cam is definitely not the smartest tool in the shed, but he knows what his role on the team is, and he thought he was doing it. I don't believe for a second that he had any intent to really injure Kaberle. He was just looking to knock down any body wearing blue and white. It looked to me like he did leave his feet, and that is the biggest complaint I have about the way he checks. He has been doing that all year (apparently he is not the only one) and I'm surprised it took this long for it to get noticed. As far as the head hunting accusations, it looks to me like Kaberle sees Janssen at the last second and flinches (ducks). Does that make it OK? No it does not, at the very least, it is still boarding.

As far as the cries for Cam's expulsion, if you remember he was sent down to Lowell. He was brought back up because players were taking liberties on Broduer. Skating through the crease, knocking his foot out from under him or knocking into his stick and even his helmet. Who else is there to protect Marty or any Devils player? Now that Hale is gone, only Rupp and White , who are not much of a fighter or that intimidating. So, if not for the other goons in the league then Cam would have never even been in that game. If you want to get rid of one, you have to get rid of them all.

When it comes to the three game suspension, is that just? I'm not sure, considering that Bertuzi still has a job and Moore's career has ended, the three game suspension seems to be inline with NHL standards. It could have been up to ten games and you would not have heard a complaint out of me. However, the way the league takes care of business is a whole other story.

Now for the asshats, those who are calling for some one to take out Brodeur, Gionta, or Elias to see how the Devils like it. Do you remember the Domi/Neidermeyer incident? I know I sure do. So there was a Leafs' goon taking out a Devils' star player. My point? We could go on and on, downward spiralling, taking an eye for eye until the only players left on the respective teams are minor league players or no players at all. That kind of thinking is flat out moronic. No one sent Janssen out on a mission to take out Kaberle, the only person responsible is Cam himself.

In a nutshell, I do not condone Janssen's hit on Kaberle. I believe Cam should have turned away because Kaberle had gotten rid of the puck and was in dangerous proximity to the boards. Some kind of punishment for the hit was in order, and Cam recieved both a suspension and a fine. I wish Kaberle a speedy recovery and Toronto the best of luck as they battle for a playoff spot.

Be There Or Be Square

2007-03-04T22:13:00.000-06:00

The game tickets and airline tickets have been purchased and vacation time has been scheduled. I will be at Continental Airlines Arena on March 14 to see the Penguins vs Devils (section 114, row 8). I will also be going inside Madison Square Gardens for the first time in my life on March 17 to see the Bruins vs Rangers. In honor of this occasion, I am adding a new sidebar item, Game Log, where I will have links to the pics.

Brothers In Arms

2007-02-27T16:25:00.000-06:00

If you asked me today who is my favorite Devils player, I would say Zach Parise. If you asked me, who is my favorite Devil of all time, then I would say Scott Niedermeyer. Usually, I like to jump on the stupid-overpaid-players-bandwagon when a player holds out, but I had to make an exception for #27. When Scotty and Jason Arnott held out I said, "Arnott can go to hell, but pay Nieds what ever he is asking for."

Arnott had the benefit of playing with Elias and Sykora, but I knew then that Neidermeyer was the real deal. Lou must have agreed with me some what, because he eventually traded Arnott but Neidermeyer hung around long enough to help New Jersey win a third Stanley Cup. It was a bitter sweet win for Scotty though. On his way to getting his third ring, he had to defeat his younger brother Rob in the finals. Not only that, after that last horn blew, Scott had to look his brother in the eye and shake his hand. Two years later, Scott became a free agent and signed with Anaheim, the team his brother still played for, even though Lou was offering him more money and the Captain's 'C'. Broduer writes in his book, In The Crease, that there was more to it than that. Apparently, Scott had grown tired of negotiating with Lou, but that didn't stop LL from going out and aquiring some other players to make sure that situation didn't happen again.

Bloodline #1:
You have heard of Jay Pandolfo, right? He has been a Devil his entire NHL career and just recently has finally started getting the credit he deserves from the rest of the hockey world. His senior year at Boston U, he posted 38 goals and 29 assists in 39 games. Those are great offensive numbers but he plays a different role in New Jersey. If you don't know what that role is, just ask Jaromir Jagr. Jay Pandolfo has two Stanley Cup rings (2000 & 2003).

The real question is, have you heard of Mike Pandolfo? He is Jay's younger brother who also played at Boston U. Mike averaged just over a point per game his senior year and recieved an award for best defensive forward. The Buffalo Sabres drafted Mike in the 3rd round, 77th overall in 1998. His only NHL experience is three games for the Columbus Blue Jackets during the 2003-2004 season. Lou signed him in the Fall of 2006 and so far he has been splitting time between the ECHL Titans, and the AHL Devils.

Bloodline #2
Last year Brian Gionta, the little giant that could, set a Devils franchise record for the most goals in a season (48). Brian was star player for Boston College and won numerous awards. However, listed at 5'-7", GM's passed on him until Lou plucked him up in the 3rd round (82nd overall) of the 1998 draft. His battles with Zdeno Chara are always entertaining, and Brian never backs down. You can normally find him parked in front of the opposing teams goalie creating a screen or waiting to making a deflection or knock in a rebound. Brian has one Stanley Cup ring (2003).

Stephen Gionta is Brian's younger brother by four years. Stephen also played for Boston College but did not put up the numbers that Brian did. Stephen went undrafted and started his pro career in the AHL on an amatuer tryout contract. He is currently playing for the Lowell Devils and so far in 47 games played, has 5 goals and 7 assists.

Bloodline#3
Zach Parise put up good offensive numbers in college at the University of North Dakota. Lou wasted no time drafting this young stud in the 1rst round (17th overall) of the 2003 draft. Zach really showed his stuff at the 2004 World Junior Championships helping team USA win a gold medal and was named the tournament MVP. He is playing great his sophmore year and has already surpassed his offensive output from last year. I was so impressed by Zach in the first few games of the season that I quickly picked him up off of the waiver wire in my fantasy league. He carried the Devils on his back (with the help of Marty) early in the season while rest of the team was having a hard time scoring. He even has the missing teeth to prove it. Zach is waiting for a Stanley Cup ring.

Jordan Parise is a totally different kind of player, he is a goalie. The older brother of Zach, by two years, he is North Dakota's all-time leader in GAA and is second in victories and shutouts. Jordan is playing this year in Lowell and so far has an 11-9-1 record, 3.01 GAA and .904 SP. At 24 years old, he should be in his prime by the time (gasp) Marty Brodeur retires.

Oh, How The Mighty Have Fallen

2007-02-24T11:53:00.000-06:00

I have been a regular reader of Mike Chen's blog for a couple of months now. There is something a tad bit disturbing though on there. It seems Mr. Chen is participating in something called the "Crappy Player Pick 'Em". I imagine that is exactly what it sounds like, but that is not what disturbs me. It's a player on that list, specifically, Jeff Friesen. For Devils fans, it may be hard to imagine, but the numbers don't lie. Jeff's career has been going downhill since he was traded from New Jersey to Washington. Even he if fades out into hockey obscurity, he will always be remebered by both Devils and Senator fans. Here is my tribute to who I consider the MVP of the 2003 Eastern Conference Finals:

Looking For Lou's Head

2007-02-22T17:43:00.000-06:00

There has been a lot of rumbling about Loophole Lou on the net lately. The discontent centers around Richard Matvichuk's salary. Richard had back surgery during the offseason and the Devils' General Manager, Lou Lamoriello, placed him on Long Term Injury Reserve. This is important because we are now in the second season of a salary capped NHL. One of the reasons for the salary cap was to create parity. The cap is set at an amount every team can afford so they all have equal chances to 'buy' the same amount of talent. Injuries are part of the game and the drafters of the new Collective Bargaining Agreement were smart enough to allow exceptions to the cap so teams can afford to replace injured players. This exception allowed Lou to bring in other players while Matvichuk is out. Well what happens when that injured player is healthy enough to play? According to the CBA, the team has to get back under the cap before they can reactivate the now healthy player. The CBA however, does not spell out a time table for getting under the cap and reactivating the player. The conspiracy theorists (Devils haters) are saying Lou is taking advantage of this loophole to keep Matvichuk and the players replacing him until the playoffs when the salary cap does not count, thus giving the Devils more depth and an advantage over the other playoff teams. Is it a coincidence that the ones making the most noise over this are Buffalo and Toronto fans? The Sabres and Leafs are also benefiting from the injury allowance. So what is the difference? Perhaps it is that those two teams actually want to put their injured players back on the ice as soon as they are healthy. They do not want to spend money on replacement players and then figure how to get rid of them to get back under the cap. Is that not their prerogative as it is Lou's to not use a healthy defenseman? Matvichuk surely would have been better to use against the Penguins than Mark Fraser, who took a bad penalty that allowed Crosby to score on the ensuing power play. So what is the real beef? I think those GMs are chomping at the bit, waiting for Lou to put RM (or one of the other Devils' gems) on waivers so they can pluck him up for themselves.

The Game, The Whole Game...

2007-02-18T19:45:00.000-06:00

...and nothing but the game. That's my philosophy, even though to watch a game to it's end can be painful (like the 8-1 drubbing by the Senators). This started off as a superstition, back in the pre-center ice days. I was living in Maryland so there was only a few Devils' games I got to watch in a season. Mostly just Flyers vs Devils and Rangers vs Devils on ESPN and the Capitals vs Devils on Home Team Sports (the local sports station for the Baltimore/Washington area). It seemed like the few times that I didn't get home in time to see the beginning or left before the end that the Devils would lose. So I started taping the game when I knew I would not be able to watch the whole thing live. It seemed that every time I waited to watch the whole taped game in one sitting the Devils would win.

Friday's game versus the Penguins was one of those games that I wanted to turn off after the first period. Pittsburg was up 3-0 after the first 20 minutes but I forced my self to keep watching. Rafalski got the Devils on the board in the second period but Crosby wasted no time scoring another goal to take back the Penguins 3 goal lead. Elias scored a few minutes later to be answered again by Ruutu. The Devils started the third period trailing 5-2. Parise and Zajac each scored a goal and the Devils were able to stop the Pens from scoring. New Jersey got quite a few chances in the final minutes of the game but Pittsburg held on to win the game 5-4. It did not look good for the Devils after the first period but they did make a game of it, an exciting game, reinforcing the notion that you should watch the whole game.

Mad props:
To John Madden who came back after receiving 11 stitches in his face. He was sporting a new metal face cage to protect the wound. Mad Dog said he prefered the metal cage over the plastic cage/visor combination because the metal cage does not fog up.

To Sidney Crosbey for staying on his feet the whole game. He did not do anything I could consider diving, which is more than I could say for Jamie Langenbrunner.

To the Devils who responded to Friday's loss by defeating the Islanders on Saturdy by a score of 2-0. Marty Broduer got his 11th shutout of the season tying his personal record. Unfortunately, the last five times the Devils got a shutout, they lost their next game. Let's hope that streak ends on Tuesday.

The Voice

2007-02-11T21:31:00.000-06:00

Congratulations to Doc Emrick for his New York Emmy Award nomination, ON-CAMERA TALENT: Sports Play-by-Play. Devils fans know how great Doc is, but unfortunately the rest of the hockey world knows too. VS hired Mike to do play-by-play for them forcing us to occasionally suffer through Steve Cangialosi. Say it with me, Steve, "face off, face off, face off".

Wikipedia has a few Doc quotes but here is one from this past week, when Johny Oduya was involved in shoving match behind the net with an Islander player:
"Let's see if they are any penalties or if it will just be ruled a misunderstanding."

Doc's uncanny ability is not just limited to what he sees happening on the ice but he also brings out the best in Chico Resch. One point in the game when a goaltender played the puck, Doc used the term alert to describe the goalie. Chico chimes in with, "I hope you never describe a goalie as not being alert."
Of course, this sets off an entertaining segway that you just have to have been there to enjoy. Normally, this type of interaction ends with Doc reminding Chico that he is no longer a member of the goaltenders union , or something along those lines.

When it comes to hockey, Doc is the best in the business.

A trade, a call up, and a shootout.

2007-02-07T10:50:00.000-06:00

In an unexpected move, the Rangers make a trade with the Kings sending Sean Avery to Broadway. That same day, GM Lou Lamoriello calls up enforcer Cam Janssen. The stage was set for Tuesday's Atlantic Division matchup.

At 13:12 of the first period, Gionta, on the ice at Lundqvist's feet, tries to whack the defenseman's stick off up off of the puck. He misses the stick and instead catches him in the face and receives a 4:00 double minor for high sticking. 31 seconds into the Ranger's PP, John Madden picks off a pass and starts to break up the ice when he is hooked by Rozsival. During the ensuing 4 on 4 action, Elias passes the puck up to Gomez who skates up the left side into the offensive zone. Gomez then cuts through the center and drops a pass to Paul Martin who fires the puck past Lundqvist for his second goal of the season. Still 4 on 4, the Rangers get into the offensive zone, Avery cycles with Nylander, Nylander passes to Rachunek at the point as Rozsival's penalty expires. Rachunek one-times the puck past Broduer for what officially counts as a PP goal. The hockey game continues in typical Devils fashion until 18:18 of the second period when Devils' defenseman Johnny Oduya skates deep into the offensive zone and drops a pass to Langenbrunner. Jamie sends a centering pass right to Parise who takes the shot. The puck hits Lundqvist but trickles over the line. During the intermission, a humble Oduya gives all the credit to his teammates.Early in the third period Jagr ties it up by taking the puck behind the net and banking it in off of Marty. Minutes later with the Devils on the PP, Travis Zajac gets a pefect opportunity with a wide open net but his stick disentegrates as if it shot by one of Marvin the martian's ray guns. This, of course, sends Chico Resch and the Doc into a rant about composite versus wood sticks. As the third period is winding down, Prucha comes skating along the boards into the offensive zone with his head down. The name of the truck that runs him over is Brad Lukowich. We head into overtime and the Devils get the first good chance when Parise passes to Gionta who takes the shot and is robbed by Lundqvist. The Rangers get the next scoring chance, but Rachunk hits the post, however, Paul Martin takes a hooking penalty on the play. The Rangers take plenty of shots on the PP but everything either goes wide of the net, over the net, or blocked by a defenseman. The overtime ends and we go to a shootout. The Devils elect to shoot second. Nylander goes first, skating in really slow. He gets Broduer to go gown and dekes to the left but can't get the shot over Marty's pad. Gionta is up first for the Devils. He skates in, dekes, and beats Lundqvist with a high backhand. Next up for the Rangers is Shanahan. He skates in and fires a shot that goes over the net and hits the glass. Now it's Brylin's turn. He skates in, fakes a shot, then fires a low shot that Lundqvist stops. All the pressure is now on Cullen. He skates in, does some twitching, then fires a shot that Marty stops with the blocker. With that, the game is over, Devils win 3-2.

So how did the two "new" players do? Avery had a fairly good game logging 17:36 minutes of ice time, 2 PIMs, and 1 assist. Janssen logged 1:53 minutes in the first then kept the bench warm for the rest of the game. The bigger story for the Devils though, was the offensive production from the defense.

Trivia question of the night: Who has scored the most career goals against Marty Broduer?

Answer: Eric Lindros with 15 goals.