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Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Myth Busted

I'm glad to see we don't listen to facts. We snapped the OT curse. 3-2 victory on Goals by Parise, Gionta and Zajac. Once again I'll say its playoffs anything can happen. This Devils team is deep and can accomplish a lot. A few stupid penalties but, we overcame that as our penalty kill looked like one of the past. I will definitely take Zajac out of the dog house. He stepped up and came through when it counted. The team still needs to remain physical but smart. Stay calm play with poise and definitely do not take any retaliation penalties. Carolina is being chippy and it cost them last game with the penalties they received. Let them keep taking their stupid penalties and play a smart tight game. As we see now Cam Ward is not a God, he has his 15 minutes of fame. Ours is much more steady then that. Let's Go Devils!

People are scoring that need to score. Tonight we need to see a goal from Elias and Rolston. Two people we need to step up, I'll also take any unsung heroes tonight as well.

Tonight Game 4

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Series at 1-1

http://blogs.msg.com/gameon/2009/04/18/devils-fighting-the-law-of-averages/

Before you take a look at what I have to say you can take a look at Stan "Ranger Fan" Fischler's little blog. He makes some valid points but lacks many others. And he probably isn't allowed to say a few things that I will gladly speak about. I have faith in this devils team even some in the league doubt. We played part of the season without key guys. MAIN one Martin Brodeur. Guess what we wound up with a franchise record. We also missed Rolston, Greene and a few other players for stints and sill succeeded. If Jamie can't play the team will step up. Maybe Carolina has had our number but that was THEN and this is NOW. You can look at what has happened and use that to determine what will be. However, this is playoffs nothing is always how it seems. Who thought the Rangers would be up 2-0. Or maybe the ducks shutting down the Sharks. Bottom line is there is no predictability.

I strongly disagree with Madden playing sub-par. That line has been one of the strongest and also creating a lot of turnovers. Here are a few facts that Mr. Fischler didn't mention. The refs missed a lot of calls. I know its the playoffs but cheap shots and dirty plays they have to control. I know a team has to overcome "refs" and the players can't make excuses but I can. And this entire season the refs have been horrible, both sides of the puck. They have not been consistent and they have not been fair. Let the teams play and control any unsportsman like conduct. Jamie was body slammed during the game, literally picked up and thrown to the ice, nothing was called. The hit on Gionta was intentional and should have been at least a double minor. Another few things, the devils won a lot more faceoffs even against Brindamour. Thats a huge plus as it obviously helps with possession.

Now if you want to talk about people stepping up I agree with Rolston. He is supposed to have one of the hardest shots in the league take them. Take any shot you can get, you never know. Especially against a goaltender like ward. The more pucks you throw at him the better chance something will bite. We still controlled a lot of the game, we stepped up our physical game as well. Guys like Mottau and Salvador have stepped up there game.

DOG HOUSE: I'm going to start a little thing called the dog house after the games. After last game the dog house player is Tzajac. He had way to many turn overs and looked flat, not to mention the stupid penalty he took. Offensive zone forecheck, hooking? Skate a little faster and you won't need to make up for foot work with a little one to the wrist.

The Devils had a minor set back in game 2 but are not in trouble. I think that for anyone to think that is absolutely ridiculous. The series is tied at 1 and the devils have been playing strong. I still believe this is our year. Lets go Devils!

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Hurricane? It didn't even rain!

Welcome back Devils! This is the team that won 51 games. Many highlights, but one of the largest was only allowing 19 shots on goal. Our defense controlled the puck and we brought it out under control.

Besides Mottau's opening goal, I have to say that Jamie's goal was probably the biggest. I don't want to down play any of the other goals, however Langenbrunner's goal was 29 seconds after Ray Whitney's. This goal illustrates our persistence to be in control and not giving up momentum. As soon as Carolina felt they could have a chance, the response from the Devils is exactly what we need for contention.

The team played as that, a team. Everyone contributed with blocked shots, great passing, aggressiveness and almost 40 shots on goal. O and one more thing, Our top 3 scorers all got a tally!

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Hold the broom!

Today's final W of regular season prevented being swept for the season series against the Carolina Hurricanes. Another 3-2 Win.(seems like a habit is forming) Goals by Clarkson, Zach and Zubrus were the deciding factors in today's game.

If you saw the game you could make an argument that today's win was possibly by accident. Well not at all, but the first 2 goals were definitely odd. For a team that has been possibly doubting situations and feeling like things can't go their way, those two weird bounces were right in the Devils favor. Today was a strong game and shows a lot especially when we will be seeing Carolina again by mid-week. Today was a confidence booster. If we think about it, we are actually in the best situation we have been in the past few weeks. The team we will be facing we just beat in regulation. Our defense kept the shots down. I'd say if we can be in control and stay out of the penalty box I like our odds.

Onward to the post-season.

Ottawa Post Game

Sorry for the delay. Been busy. Recap
Devils 3 Sens 2: Determined by Shoot Out

With 1 minute left in regulation you could feel the hearts of all the Devils fans drop to the floor. We had the lead solid game and just like that another game we couldn't put away in regulation.

However, the Shannahan shoot out goal gave everyone a sigh of relief. Why haven't we used him sooner. Its to late in the season for this phenomena to be used now. Just keep this in mind for the 3 we send to center ice next year in all our shoot outs.

Marty looked like the confident net minder we all know and love. Making two solid saves in the one on one battle to help elevate the team to the franchise record of 50 Wins.

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Devils @ Ottawa Preview

I decided to make this a little more fun. Here is highlights from the last meeting between these to teams courtesy of NHL.com.



As its been said before: With one point tonight we can clinch another division. It would be our 3rd in 4 years. The line to look out for tonight is Jamie, Zach and Travis. Last game at the Sens. Jamie had 2 goals. Lets get Zach a few tonight and maybe a few assists. Currently he has 93 points. With only 2 games left it looks unlikely for a 100 point player. But he still is 5th in the league in points and 3rd in goals. (At this current moment)

Quick Stat: For everyone who still doesn't like Oduya. He is Plus 21, #6 on the roster. He also has one of the fewest penalty minutes on the team. He is a strong skater, makes minor mistakes. I'd say he has a lot of potential.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

What do you say?

I think that I can't do any justice by saying something. Toronto 4 Devils 1. We were a team for the first 10 minutes and then we looked like "mites on ice". This is sour moment for all Devils fans. We try to forget the past or learn from it but currently it seems that we like to repeat history!

2 Games left get it together. That was such a poor showing, not to mention embarrassing. Saturdays game will be the true test. Carolina is the hottest team right now and what we do against them will have a strong indication as to what the playoffs bring.

Sunday, April 5, 2009

A Duel to the End.

Devils 3 vs Sabres 2:

A few good duels during this game. First off, nice regulation win. This game means a lot under great pressure we held our own and came out on top. Some points to build on: (Daneyko made similar points in his post game) We finally won more face-offs, which means we stayed on offense a lot more. They were taking the body of the other players and being more physical. I know they didn't hear it from me but they were throwing pucks on net. Clarkson's goal was a great example of just turning and shooting. Parise's deflection was another example of throwing pucks on net and seeing what happens.
To sum up a few other points:
• Marty playing to his game (35 saves)
• Controlled Rebounds
• Break-Outs under pressure

Special Feature: I have to comment specifically on Our Captain. Jamie Langenbrunner has stepped it up again in more ways than 1. Other then him making plays, shots on goal and scoring. I have to say that I love that he is getting angry and coming to the rescue. Being the captain he has to set a precedent. Parise was mauled after a small collision with Miller but Langenbrunner came in to defend him. This is one thing we drastically lacked last year's post season. Keep this up and protect each other.

Saturday, April 4, 2009

A shot of relief?

Not just one shot but a few. Goals by Shannahan and Pandolfo gave this team some of their fire back. I think its a safe insinuation that we're all relieved. There are some good points about the game even with letting up 4 goals on 21 shots. First off we kept the shots to under 30 again. We haven't seen that in 7 or 8 games. Another good point is the constant pressure we kept up in the second period. We finally were winning face offs and we were able to keep the puck in the offensive zone. The pinching of the defensemen was a key for this to happen. I'll take a breakaway goal by an opposing team every now and then if it means we are being more aggressive.

For a Nice look at the recap of last night check out the story on devils.nhl.com. Shannahan had some good things to say.

But in short I'm glad to see a W on the board. We are still 6 ahead of Philly and right now that is more then enough to build on. I'm glad to see Clemenson recalled but
not at the expense of another injured player. Get better Weekes.

Goodluck in Buffalo! Go Devils!

Friday, April 3, 2009

To Honor or not to Honor?

Here is an interesting question. Will tonights honoring Brodeur help or hurt the team? At first I thought that tonight's honoring of Martin's 552 career wins was not the right time. There was pressure and a need to win when Marty came back. So close to the record it had to be made. But as soon as that win happened the emotional let down seem to plague the team. So my initial thought tonight was not a good idea because it brings back this emotional feeling of success when the focus needs to be on the cup!

However, now I hope that tonight is actually quite different. After 6 straight losses and the team wondering what is going wrong; I pray that tonight is a nice distraction for everyone. Let's Celebrate this amazing accomplishment and then move forward to the Cup. Forget about the previous losses. They really don't matter in regards to the standings. Let's focus on the small things like crisp passes and controlling the puck. Break out of the defensive zone with a desire for something more then a shot on goal. Bring it out under control and good things will happen. TAKE SHOTS! Just throw them on net and see what happens, We don't always need the goals to look pretty. We just need Goals! Goodluck tonight, enjoy the record, but then forget about it. Make the record complete by making this season OUR SEASON for the Cup!

Preview on tonights Game: http://devils.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=Preview&seas=20082009>ype=2&gnum=1158

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Devils vs Penguins Recap (Game 77)

Devils 1 Penguins 6

First off I want to clarify what Chico said. He meant that tonight he hopes was rock bottom and they can put this game in the past and move forward. Even with this huge loss there were some positives that the devils need to look at. It was nice to see Pandolfo, Madden, Shannahan play as well as they did. Even with the dry spell of points from Parise, Langenbrunner, Zajac are still working hard and making plays. I still feel that we need to carry the puck into the offensive zone under control so that we can maintain offensive pressure.

Defensively, just play! Stop thinking. We were really strong defensively especially when clemenson was in net, we had to be. Even though clemenson was solid he couldn't handle the puck the same way marty can. So to make up for it the defense would clear out any loose pucks. A few times that resulted in solid break outs and offensive scoring chances. We need to forget that Marty is in net, and stop being lazy with clearing the puck and backchecking. Move the puck under control the same way we were in Marty's first 10 games back! The Fans still believe and we all KNOW in our HEARTS that this is our year!

LETS GO DEVILS!

Devils vs Penguins

Half way through the second and it's already a rough game. However in all the turmoil and the large deficit we need to see the good in what the devils are doing this game. Some great offensive chances and at least they snapped a 6 period scoreless streak. They are playing much better then the score reflects. Finally the devils are being more aggressive. They have to against a team like the penguins because it shakes them up. The Pens have so many cry babies that you need to get under there skin!Like Chico said "hopefully they hit rock bottom". I think they have.

Not to mention the refs are still the worst ever. I have never seen so much favoritism towards one hockey team until this season. The refs absolutely love the penguins. Lets first off say the penalties to Madden and Rupp were not penalties at all. O and Crosby blatantly kicked the puck into the net. That was his obvious intention I don't care how you look at it. The replay was so obvious and Toronto did nothing.

More after the game...