New Jersey Devils: Newark Needs Kovalchuk Of Old

From the desk of:   THE BRICK CITY DEMONS


NEW JERSEY DEVILS - With Zach Parise Gone To Be Wild, Who Will Fan The Fires Of Newark Now?

Patrick Elias' Swan Song?

How is New Jersey going to get back to the finals?  That's a devil of a question.  I've been forecasting the Devils' demise for a couple of years now.   Yet they earned 102 points last season, defeated the Eastern Conference regular season champs, and competed for a Stanley Cup.  But was Adam Henrique's goal in Game 6 of last season's Eastern Conference final the Devils last hurrah?  Because after celebrating that goal, they had nothing left.


Martin Brodeur, the NHL's soon to be forty-one year old, all-time, multi category leader for goalies, is, well..., forty-years old.  Was last season his final hurrah?  In fifty nine starts, Brodeur was 31-21 last season.  His .908 Save% ranked below his career average.  His 2.41 GAA was certainly not his highest.  Brodeur's work load is clearly on the way down.  But in a compressed forty eight game schedule, how many games should he start?  Marty's history says he will have another solid season.  Even though Johan Hedberg is ancient in his own right at thirty nine years old, he proved he is no slouch between the pipes.  Between these two geezers, the Devils should have flexibility in net and enough potassium and zinc to get through a season.  They will both benefit from having a good defense in front of them.


What of the Devils other Renaissance Man?  Last year Patrick Elias matched his highest point total (78) since he tallied 81 points during the 2003-2004 season.  His twenty six goals were his second most over the last seven years.  Patrick Elias will now turn thirty seven years old in April.  He will also be a free agent after the season.  Will the 2013 season be his swan song?  The answer should be yes.  But then, look at Marty.


Patrick Elias rewrote the Devils offensive records:

* Holds record for most points in a single season - 96
* Devils all-time playoffs leader in goals, assists, points;  45-80-125
* Devils all-time regular season leader in goals - 361
* Devils all-time regular season leader in assists - 440
* Devils all-time regular season leader in points - 894


He and Martin Brodeur will surely be the next Devils greats to have their numbers retired, and their jerseys lifted to the rafters........ if they ever retire!  But if last season was the hypothetical question, then the answer should surely be - Why should they?  Unfortunately for Devils fans, Patrick Elias' goal count will not change the new condition of the Devils.


Without Zack Parise, the Devils scoring ability has been severely depleted.  All sticks quite literally now point to their ridiculo-million dollar forward, Ilya Kovalchuk, who, through his own devise, recently made fans question his commitment to the New Jersey Devils.  He is here now.  But will he score goals....lots of them?  Last season his total finally started creeping back near his earlier career numbers.  For seven seasons between 2002-2003 and 2009-1010, Ilya Kovalchuk averaged forty four goals a year.  Over that span, he eclipsed forty goals a season six times, and fifty goals twice.  Last year's thirty seven goals was a step in the right direction.  But the Devils need the Kovalchuk of just three years ago to partly compensate for the departure of Zach Parise and Petr Sykora.  Kovalchuk is still only twenty-nine years of age.  That is a good thing.  But they need the former younger Atlanta sniper of old.


I think Adam Henrique is a marvelous player.  But the Devils must first wait till he fully recovers from off-season thumb surgery.  Then maybe the Devils can hope to get more than sixteen goals from him.  Travis Zajac, recently signed to a big money deal, missed most of last season.  The Devils need for him to contribute a respectable number of goals.  If he can get back to his twenty to twenty five goal form, that would sure go a long way towards getting his team from Point-A to the playoffs.


I hold a small notion that as David Clarkson goes, so go the Devils.  Last season was a career year for him, as he scored thirty goals, which was thirteen more than his previous regular season high of seventeen.  Somewhere between ten and thirty goals, lies Clarkson's upcoming season assuming he stays healthy.  Can he duplicate a thirty goal season?  I think the Devils will be happy with twenty, and ecstatic with twenty five.  But they need at least fifteen goals from their twenty eight year old center.  They can not afford to have Clarkson disappear the way he did at times throughout the playoffs.  He needs to be a nightly force.., when he is not in the box, that is.


After that, the Devils utilize the neutral zone like a nursery for potential goals.  Once again, they will rely more on a system than they will on one individual not named Kovalchuk.  Thing is, the Devils, Lou Lamoriello, and Coach DeBoer all know how to make it work.


Congratulations to Bryce Salvador for being named new Captain of the Devils.

2013

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE

REGULAR SEASON OPENER

 

New Jersey Devils

vs.

Long Island/Brooklyn Islanders

FROM

Uniondale, Long Island

 

 

Mike.BTB

N.J. Devils ~ Marty Brodeur Has Newark California Dreamin'

From the desk of:   THE BRICK CITY DEMONS

GAME FIVE FINAL

L.A. KINGS    1

N.J. DEVILS   2

NEW JERSEY DEVILS:  Headed Back to the City of Angels With Pitchforks Held High!


The fore-check, Zach Parise, and a power play goal all in one package.  It didn't take two and a half periods this time.  It took a little more than half of the first period to get on the board this time.  The Devils had scored the all important first goal of the night.  It was Zach Parise's first point of the Finals.  And it was also New Jersey's first power play goal of the series after fifteen fruitless chances...., Finally.

But through the first period, L.A. continued to out shoot the Devils.  Their shooting spilled over into the second period, and a little over three minutes in, the Kings' Justin Williams scored to tie the game at one.

The shots on goal favored the Kings twelve to six by the midway point of the period.  But that mattered not to Bryce Salvador.  He wristed one from up top, with David Clarkson in Jonathan Quick's way.  That puck found net at the 9:05 mark to put the Devils back ahead again.

Mark Fayne probably had his named mentioned for the first time since playing the Rangers when he assisted on Salvador's goal, which by the way, were two more points for New Jersey's defensemen.  But soon after scoring, Fayne then committed an ill-timed delay of game penalty.  During the PK, Martin Brodeur was needed to stop a puck off Doughty's stick right at New Jersey's doorstep.  Then a Kings' goal was dis-allowed due to a high stick.  And luckily for Mark Fayne, a crisis narrowly avoided.

The Devils continued to carry play through the rest of the second period.  At one point, Ryan Carter found himself with a nice opportunity and put a shot off Quick's mask.  But just as New Jersey was exerting control, Bryce Salvador got called for a high stick, putting L.A. on the power play with less than two minutes to go.  Martin Brodeur was excellent in holding off the Kings until the horn signaled the end of the second period.


The Kings out shot the Devils in the third period again.  And for the game, they out-shot New Jersey by a 26-19 margin.  Martin Brodeur made twenty-five saves on twenty-six shots, just as I said he would have to after Game Four:

"How much more can the renaissance men offer?  Are they crafty enough to win three more games?  Can Martin Brodeur hold back another seventy-five shots?  That's what it will take.  It's certainly another way of looking at things, isn't it?"

Well, make that twenty-five saves down, and fifty more to go.  Martin Brodeur has gotten the Devils half way to another Cup.  The Kings might be a game closer to glory, but in the grand scheme of things, what is winning two consecutive games really about?  We're not talking about four or three wins anymore.  It just two now.  And all you really have to worry about is the next one.  For now, that's all that matters..., again.

The third Battle in Newark is done.  This time Brick City prevailed.  The Kings have been repelled.  And the Devils are once again dancing around the fire with pitchforks held high.

Another battle in the City of Angels awaits.


SLAP SHOT:  I have but one question.  Can it be that Adam Larsson has no place in this series?  Coach DeBoer has made him a healthy scratch for all five games during the finals.  I realize he is a rookie.  But I think he can help the Devils.  Then again, it is hard to argue with New Jersey's defensive play so far, not to mantion, the continued defensive scoring should be complimented for producing points.



Mike.BTB

N.J. Devils ~ Defending Newark From Kings and Elimination

From the desk of:   THE BRICK CITY DEMONS

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE

Stanley Cup Finals

Kings Lead Series 3-1

I  -  LAK 2; NJD 1*

II  -  LAK 2; NJD 1*

III  -  LAK 4; NJD 0

IV -  NJD 3; LAK 1

* overtime

GAME FIVE

Los Angeles Kings

vs.

NEW JERSEY DEVILS

From

THE ROCK

Brick City, Newark

NEW JERSEY DEVILS:  Game Four's Counter-Offensive In Los Angeles Brings the Battle for Lord Stanley's Cup

Back to Newark.

How much more can the renaissance men offer?  Are they crafty enough to win three more games?  Can Martin Brodeur hold back another seventy-five shots?  That's what it will take.  It's certainly another way of looking at things, isn't it?  Martin Brodeur, along with Petr Sykora and Patrick Elias, are the last horsemen of the old Stanley Cup winning Devils.

Martin Brodeur looks up to the task.  But that doesn't rule out Jonathan Quick being better.  And Quick just needs to be better in one game.  Not three.

Coach DeBoer knows this, and reactivated Petr Sykora.  And who can blame him?  The Devils needed more scoring.  Say this for Coach DeBoer, he's been pro-active throughout these playoffs.  Did his move to reinstate Sykora help?  Sykora was plus-one, with one shot on goal.  So the jury is still out.

But I do not think it is a coincidence that Patrick Elias scored his fifth goal of the playoffs, and the Devils won.  I also do not think it was a coincidence, that Dave Clarkson registered a point, and the Devils won.  Likewise, with Ilya Kovalchuck's eighth goal of the playoffs.  If Kovalchuck is indeed hurt, he is still trying.

The Carter-Bernier-Gionta line has been quiet.  The Devils rode their backs for a few games.  So it's not like you can just stop expecting them to come through now.  And the Devils are also still waiting for Zach Parise to erupt.  Beyond a shadow of a doubt however, Adam Henrique continues to be the Devils' best player through this series.  He scored his fourth goal of the playoffs, and the Devils' second goal of Game Four, in the third period.  Without Henrique, where would the Devils be?  Certainly not in the Finals.

Adam Henrique's goal was the Devil's response to Los Angeles tying the game on Drew Doughty's power play goal at 8:56 in the third which negated Patrick Elias' score exactly one minute earlier.   Adam's goal turned out to be yet another game winner for Henrique during these playoffs.

The Devils are still spitting into the wind when it comes to the power play.  They are now 0 for 15 this series, while L.A. seemingly has their power play working now, as they have scored three times in the last two games on the man advantage.  That does not bode well for the Devils at all.  Not if they plan to win three games it doesn't.  The Devils can't realistically expect Martin Brodeur out-play that stat.

The Devils have proven this much during the series, they can defend Los Angeles for prolonged periods of play.  And finally in Game Four, they proved to themselves, they can score goals again.  They had to wait till the third period for the goals to come.  But throughout these NHL playoffs, three goals has proven to be good enough to win.

While the Devils keep waiting for a couple of their top scorers, to score..., more, in the mean time, the defensemen have been contributing their share of points.  Volchenkov, if you remember, scored in Game One.  Marek Zidlicky added an assist in Game Two, and most recently in Game Four, Bryce Salvador picked up two assists, and Andy Greene one.

If you're going put yourself behind 3-1 in the series, I guess heading back to Newark is the next best place to be.  And so, the Devils will try and hold home ice Saturday night.  They showed a lot of fight in Game Four.  There is still some fire burning in the Devils.  Saturday night, they dance again in Brick City.

Mike.BTB

N.J. Devils ~ Coach DeBoer Putting Rangers Through Hell

From the desks of:   RAISE GRESCH WITH THE GREATS  &  THE BRICK CITY DEMONS

GAME FOUR FINAL

N.Y. Rangers   1

N.J. Devils       4

NEW JERSEY DEVILS:  DeBoer's Demons

Playing With Pitchforks High!

NEW YORK RANGERS GET BURNT IN DEVILS' PLAYGROUND

Battle of the Coaches Heats Up ~ Coach Tortorella and Coach DeBoer moved their series feud from the press room to the benches.  The two engaged in a heated third period exchange, which rumor has it, turned personal in nature. 
Both coaches declined to comment after the game.

Game Four Preview; GRUDGE MATCH, and links to all my Eastern Conference Finals posts.


The Devils beat Philadelphia, primarily because the Flyers were terribly undisciplined and because the Devils wouldn't allow themselves to succumb to their level.  Coach DeBoer constantly implored his team to look the other way in the face of any Flyers' transgressions.  They all listened, and after Game Four against the New York Rangers Monday night, New Jersey is again, clearly the more composed and competent team on the ice.


The Rangers put the Devils on the Power Play another six times in Game Four, although New Jersey only scored once.  But for the Rangers, you can't establish a tempo, or flow, and in the Blueshirts case - grind, or mount any kind of offense when you're consistently killing penalties.  Now, here's the worst part of that.  If Blueshirts fans think staying out of the penalty box alone will help the Rangers, WE are all sadly mistaken.  For a team who's forte used to be playing at even strength, the Rangers have scored a mere two goals throughout these four games while playing five on five hockey.


Late in the first period, Mike Rupp authored the Rangers' best offensive rush of the evening; Ruslan Fedotenko's goal aside.  Rupp's attempt didn't get past Martin Brodeur, but he did draw a penalty.  And for a change, that wasn't a bad proposition.  Unlike the regular season, the Rangers have actually been somewhat successful on the Power Play these playoffs.  They are four for eleven this series.  And we all know they didn't have a near 40% success rate during the season.  But unlike the Rangers were doing, the Devils only put the Rangers on the power play this one time.


Let's be clear.  Mike Rupp was the Rangers' best forward Monday night, right up until he wiped out Peter Harrold behind the net, took a swipe at Anton Volchenkov, then punched Martin Brodeur in the chest.  When a melee ensued, Steve Bernier came charging in towards Mike Rupp.  But Bernier made a mistake by leaving his feet and lunging at Rupp.  So, Mike Rupp wiped him out in mid-air too.


That's it.  That's the extent of the Rangers speakable effort from Monday.


While New Jersey's Forwards were busy skating circles around the Rangers and accumulating eight points, the Ranger Forwards looked like they were skating in sand.  Zach Parise scored twice and assisted once.  Travis Zajac scored his sixth goal of the playoffs.  Ponikarovsky, Clarkson, and Zubrus all assisted on those goals.  Then you can figure in contributions they got from their defensemen.  Bryce Salvador's scored the opening salvo of the evening, and they got an assist from Adam Henrique.


The Rangers' blueliners?  Michael Del Zotto had perhaps his worst game of the playoffs.  And Ryan McDonagh can't be tangling with Adam Henrique like that.  The Devils will take that trade off every time.  Especially now, since the Rangers' defensemen represent so much of the Blueshirts' offense.  Which brings us right back to Mike Rupp.


Mike Rupp was indeed the Rangers best forward Monday night, even as he walked through the tunnel on his way to the locker room.  So what does that say?  The same thing I said yesterday.  I'm still waiting for a Rangers' forward line to dominate a game, like Parise-Zajac-Zubrus did in Game Four, and not having us pray for another Lundqvist miracle.


But John Tortorella's usage of Mike Rupp represented everything that went wrong for the Flyers last round against the Devils.  As a matter of fact, Coach Torts' usage of a number of players showed that some old grudges never went away.  But Peter DeBoer and the Devils, just aren't going there.  Or that's what they would have you believe.  They've successfully fought their battles so far through the Media, inside the Rangers zone, and now from the corners of the bench.  Coach DeBoer even snuck in a goon too.  However, the Devils consistently posted four goals a night against Philly because the Flyers played exactly the way the Rangers did Monday night, over an entire series.  So with the Rangers mirroring something from that series, the Devils wound up posting four goals against the Rangers as well.


As the series heads back to the Garden Wednesday night, even I, a self-admitted Torts Grunt, believes he needs to come up with a better plan than the one he unleashed Monday night.  There was something a little desperate looking about Game Four's decisions and efforts, considering it was the Rangers who held a 2-1 series lead, and not the other way around.  Nor in Game Four did the Rangers resemble the team who made adjustments after games two and three of the previous two series.  This lot looked more than just a little bit lost.


After the game, Coach Torts said his team needs to possess the puck more.  That means our forcheck isn't working.  Martin Brodeur's ability to make a long stretch pass to the blue line has something to do with that.  The Devils' quickness and accurate passing has been another factor hampering the Blueshirt forcheck.  And without the puck, that means the Rangers aren't spending much time in the Devils' zone.  Game Four ended with both goalies facing twenty-nine shots each.  But the Rangers shots came in late period flurries, and not through anything sustained like the Devils have created for themselves.


Nothing is lost for the Rangers.  Not by a long shot.  For Blue leaning Fans like myself, the series boils down to them imposing their will upon the Devils.  But Peter DeBoer and the Devils have proven beyond a shadow of a doubt, the Rangers better do it smartly.  Reducing the game to alternative hockey will not help the Rangers.  In Game Four, the Devils also proved they can be patient enough to negate many of the Rangers blocked shots.  For Monday night, the Devils managed twenty-nine shots against Henrik, while the Rangers and Devils were tied with only six blocked shots each by the midway point of the third period.


The third period was supposed to be the Rangers' period.  That's how the first three games played out.  The Rangers have outscored the Devils 6-1 in the third period this series.  But not this time.  It is Coach Tortorella's turn to make adjustments now.  The series might only be tied, but after Game Four's performance, Coach DeBeor holds a distinct edge.


The Rangers can not continue to rely on their defensemen for scoring, nor the wily machinations of their Head Coach.  At some point, and it better be soon, the Forward Lines need to start taking control of these games or else the Devils will be playing for a Stanley Cup.


But these are the Rangers, and they prefer to do things the hard way.  They've been in worse positions than this.   After all, we are only headed into Game Five tied at two apiece.  The Rangers have dug down deep before.  They'll know how to dig in again.  But can they?  Or has their system reached it Law of Diminished Returns?


In any case, Coach Torts is right - it starts with possessing the puck.

The Battle of the Hudson Continues...

2011-2012

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE - STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS
EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS

SERIES TIED 2-2

I  -  NYR 3; NJD 0

II  -  NJD 3; NYR 2

III  -  NYR 3; NJD 0

IV  -  NJD 4; NYR 1

GAME FIVE ~ WEDNESDAY

NEW JERSEY DEVILS

vs.

NEW YORK RANGERS

From

MADISON SQUARE GARDEN

33rd Street at 7th Avenue

NYC

*Devil's Playground ~ Bushwick Urban Art, BK
Mike.BTB

N.J. Devils ~ The Renaissance Men Dismantle Philly

From the desk of:   THE BRICK CITY DEMONS

NEXT!

Devils Set Broad Street Bully Dreams on Fire

NEW JERSEY DEVILS:  After Nine Years,

The Devils Are Going BACK..., to the Conference Finals!

Philly Cheese Steaks Fall to Brick City Demons in Five Games.

I - PHI 4; NJD 3

II - NJD 4; PHI 1

III - NJD 4; PHI 3

IV - NJD 4; PHI 2

GAME V FINAL:

New Jersey Devils     3

Philadelphia Flyers   1

Can we call it a sweep?  Not a clean one, but a sweep none the less?

Philly was able to advance past Pittsburgh because both teams were more that willing to throw Hockey in the back seat and just try to beat each other up.  That plays right into Philly's hands.  Their style of attack first also seems to work best against PITT as well.  Pittsburgh just lost all their composure.  Good job by Philly.  But against the Devils, they were forced to play hockey all game.

And after completely disassembling the Philadelphia Flyers over the course of the last four games, the New Jersey Devils are going to the Eastern Conference Finals.  They left their turnpike rivals behind in pieces.  It was a methodical dismantling.  Not a Philly style beat down.

Playing without the suspended Claude Giroux, the Devils still let Philly get on the board first..., again.  Max Talbot stepped in to fill Philly's void with a goal at the 7:18 mark of the first period.  The Devils answered that goal post haste.  Within two minutes, Bryce Salvador struck net with his second of the playoffs, and a tie, off feeds from Henrique and Kovalchuck.

The dormant stick of David Clarkson arose in this clinching game, to also net his second goal of the series.  Scoring unassisted at the 9:27 mark of the first, he gave the Devils and Marty Brodeur a lead they'd never relinquish.  It would be Dave Clarkson's second game winning goal against Philadelphia.  It also resulted from Ilya Bryzgalov's biggest mistake of the night.

Ilya Kovalchuck made Philly's comeback even more improbable when he scored his fifth goal of the playoffs at the 5:00 mark of the third period, on a power play off feeds from Henrique, Adam's second of the game, and Zubrus.

With 2:00 minutes-plus to go, the Flyers finally rid their net of Ilya Bryzgalov for the extra skater.  Marty Brodeur denied a Hartnell shot with 1:29 left.  At 1:07 the Devils got a clear.  At 0:47, they got another.  At 0:31, the Devils had an empty net goal waived off due to an offsides.

Philly took one last shot against Marty with 0:07 left and were denied again.  And that's how this series ends.  Martin Brodeur, the forty year old, made twenty-seven saves in all, on twenty-eight Philly shots on goal.

The Devils played their most disciplined hockey over these last two games.  They committed one penalty in all of Game Five, after limiting themselves to two early penalties in Game Four. 

What an amazing climb back to the Conference Finals for the Devils.  They never could recover from their horrific start to the 2010-2011 season, and thus missed the playoffs last season under a combination of John MacLean and Jacques LeMaire as Head Coach.  Of course we know LeMaire got them close, but alas no cigar.

I even said prior to their turning things around last season, that being as they will most likely lose Zach Parise to free agency, they should have traded him and finally closed the door on an era.  I also thought Kovalchuck's contract was literally and financially dancing with the devil.  Look at me now.  The Devils have been solid, consistent, and formidable all season.  Reinvesting in the back line with a pair of young draft picks like Adam Henrique and Adam Larsson, then picking up Zidlicki at the deadline have kept Devils' own defensive standards up to snuff this season.

As a Rangers Fan, this haunts me.  It's almost as if this is being set up to be Marty's Revenge for 1994.  But of course, the Rangers would have to win their series first, and that is another story.

The Devils.... The Mickey Mouse organization... are headed back to the Conference finals for the first time since their Stanly Cup winning 2002-2003 season.  Nine years later, Martin Brodeur and Patrick Elias return.  The renaissance men are back indeed.

After last season, Peter DeBeor was named head Coach by Lou Lamoriello and has since reintroduced the New Jersey Devils upon the National Hockey League.  His team will enjoy an extra day off or two.  In Marty's case, that might be just fine.  But here come the Devils!  Peter DeBoer's Devils.

Be afraid.  Be very afraid.





Mike.BTB

N.J. Devils ~ No Sympathy Needed; Series Tied

From the desk of: THE BRICK CITY DEMONS

2011-2012

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE  ~  STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS

Eastern Conference Semi-Finals

 

Philadelphia Flyers

vs.

NEW JERSEY DEVILS

SERIES TIED 1-1

I -  PHI  4;  NJD 3

II  -  NJD 4;  PHI 1

III - Thursday

NEW JERSEY DEVILS:  The Newark Demons Follow-Up Game One's Frustrating Loss With Formidable Game Two Effort.


Zach Parise's first period score in Game One went for not.  Midway through the second period, Marty and the Devils gave up two goals within thirty four seconds of each other.  The first was Daniel Briere's sixth goal of the playoffs.  Then Van Riemsdyke followed with his first.  Philly's fireworks didn't stop there.  Claude Giroux scored on a power play at the 4:19 mark of the third period.  That was Giroux's seventh goal of the playoffs.


In the face of all the Flyers' firepower, the Devils seemed resilient.   I'll give them that.  At the 11:22 mark of the second period, Travis Zajac tied the game at two while on a power play.  And after Giroux's goal, Petr Sykora tied the game for the Devils again half way through the third.  That's the way it stayed through the rest of regulation.


Now for the real story.  After peppering Ilya Bryzgalov with fifteen shots in the first period, Philly shut the Devil's attack down.  All they managed were three shots on goal in the second period, and four more in the fourth.  And once again, the Devils killed themselves by taking too many penalties.  They put Philadelphia on a man-advantage six times in all to include once in overtime.  But Philly only cashed-in once.  But all that time on the penalty kill meant less time attacking the offensive zone.


And we learned something else along the way.  What we didn't know in Game One, we found out as they headed into Game Two.  Ilya Kovalchuck was playing hurt and would not play in Game Two.  Ilya played 21:00 minutes and failed to take one shot on goal.


As for the rest of Game One, resiliency only got the Devils so far.  After regulation time, they needed to draw on a little luck too.  But even luck wasn't enough.  After getting Daniel Briere's apparent game winning goal overturned due to a kicked puck across the goal line, the Devils proved they were destined to lose Game One regardless, as Daniel Briere followed up and scored against Brodeur again, only this time the goal counted.  Devils lose by a 4-3 final.


Martin Brodeur faced thirty-six shots in all, but let four get by for a Game One loss.


Most thought an even bigger loss awaited the Devils in Game Two.  In addition to being down 1-0, and playing on the road, the Devils had to skate without Ilya Kovalchuck, and no one on the outside world really knew why.  It was one of those darned lower body injuries or something only Coach Bill Belichick could appreciate.


After just 2:53 into Game Two, luck didn't seem to be on the Devils side again.  An early score by Matt Read put the Devils instantly behind.  But even playing without Ilya Kovalchuck, the Devils still out-shot Philly in the first period thirteen shots to nine.  In the second, New Jersey really clamped down and only allowed the Flyers to get off two shots all period.  And in the third period, the Devils limited Philly to single digit shots again.  New Jersey however, out-shot Philly in each period during Game Two.  But they were still behind 1-0 through two sessions.


In the third period, all the Devils' work started to pay off.  At 3:08, Adam Larsson scored his first of the playoffs.  Eight minutes later, David Clarkson finally joined the playoff scoring for New Jersey and netted the go-ahead goal.  Then three minutes later, Travis Zajac cashed-in on his fifth goal of the playoffs.  It just goes to show what the Devils can do when they're not spending time in the box.


To seal the deal, you guessed it - inside the third minute, the Devils put Philly on the power play.  On the ensuing PK, Bryce Salvador received the puck from Adam Henrique in the Devils defensive end, and flicked it up ice to clear, but watched it continue bouncing into an empty Flyers' net.


The Devils hampered and slowed down the Flyers' high powered offense and limited them to twenty shots all game.  Save for the opening Flyers goal at three minutes into the game, Martin Brodeur, and the Devils as a whole, followed up a frustrating loss in Game One, with a rather formidable effort; especially on the defensive end; in Game Two.



New Jersey played without the services of their own high-powered sniper.  Devils win a gut-check game.  We now have ourselves a series.  Like I said, it's about time David Clarkson joined in on the scoring.  Now if Patrick Elias can join in as well.......maybe...


New Jersey gets one back on the road.  Now it's on to The Rock for a pair.




Mike.BTB

N.J. Devils ~ 30th Season of Hell On Ice

GAME ONE; 2011-2012 Season: vs. Philadelphia Flyers. 
From: The Rock, Newark, N.J.

N.J. DEVILS

30th Anniversary Season

NEW JERSEY DEVILS:   Good Team; Bad Team.  The Club From Newark Battles Its Demons.


Here comes the Mickey Mouse Club.  I was watching MSG Vault today and a special on the Devils.  Wayne Gretzky characterized the New Jersey Devils as a Mickey Mouse organization after a game in which the Edmonton Oilers mercilessly beat the Devils in a 1983 game by a 13-4 final score.


Thirty years into their New Jersey history, that isn't the case now..., is it?


Last season was the ultimate season of  - WHAT IF..?  What if Zach Parisi hadn't been lost for the season?  What if Ilya Kovalchuck hadn't forgotten how to score?  What if the Devils hadn't gotten off to that horrific start?  As horrific as their first half was, they played with fury after the break and almost salvaged a playoff spot.


This season comes replete with it's own - What If's.  What if they hadn't lost Travis Zajac for this season?  What If Marty Brodeur breaks down?  What if they start as badly again as they did last season?  What if Parisi and Kovalchuck don't get enough help playing on two different lines?  What if no one steps up and makes a name for themselves on defense?


The Devils have a new coach this season; Peter DeBoer.  The what-ifs are all his problem now.  This time Lou Lamoriello went out of the organization for his choice.  John MacLean didn't work out and Lou used the Jacques LeMaire card for the last time.  So Big Lou tabbed the former Florida Panthers head coach.  But then again, coaching issues are nothing new to the Devils.


One of Coach DeBoer's problems this season will be the Devils lack of a true center.  Patrick Elias will man that position by necessity.  But who exactly do the Devils think they are playing at center after Elias?  Who?


The bigger problem is the Devils suffer from a wholly unbalanced gang of Forwards.  But somehow, between Elias and Kovalchuck and others, they made it work in the second half of the season and incredibly only lost three games down the stretch.


The Devils surge was incredible actually.  But what really made it possible was a band of over-achieving Defensemen.  Bryce Salvador and Andy Greene are the known.  But the Devils are putting an awful lot of stock into kid-Adam Larsson.  If he and Henrik Tallinder can't add up to four reliable blue-liners,the Devils will have huge problems that will make their forward situation pall in comparison.


The 2010-2011 season was a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde campaign.  Which team will show up early this season?  And which team will finish the season?  Or will one just dominate them?


The Devils should never be taken lightly; ever.  But they are far from their glory days now.  There are still members of those days still here; but few.  There's still a Hall of Fame goalie in net.  But a  frustrating chase for the eighth or seventh spot come April of next year, starts now.






Mike.BTB