N.Y. Rangers vs. N.J. Devils; Battle Of The Hudson - Game One

From the desks of:  RAISE GRESCHER WITH THE GREATS  and  THE BRICK CITY DEMONS

2013-2014

BATTLE OF THE HUDSON

 

TONIGHT

 

NEW YORK RANGERS

vs.

NEW JERSEY DEVILS

From

THE ROCK

Brick City, New Jersey

 

 

 

NEW YORK RANGERS: With Callahan And Nash Sidelined, This Is Brad Richard's And Derek Stepan's Team Now.

We can't even start to truly find out how heavily a new system, adjusting to a new coach, and opening on the west coast weighed on the Rangers.  While a return back east garnered a well played all-around victory over the Capitals, not having Rick Nash and Ryan Callahan moving forward fails to lend any clarity to the Rangers early plight.  Carl Hagelin has yet to hit the ice as well.

Ryan Callahan continues to catch one bad break after another.  He missed camp stemming from off-season shoulder surgery, took a puck to the mouth against the Kings, and then suffered a broken thumb against the Caps, all the while, still literally doing everything for the Blueshirts.

Next on the forward lines are J.T. Miller and Taylor Pyatt.  Feel free to contribute at any time boys.

The Rangers are currently headlined by some good news, but mostly bad news.  In the early going, Alain Vigneault apparently has improved the power play.  The Rangers rank 13th overall - uncharted territory under Tortorella.  After five games, they have scored on the power play in three games, and have been shut down twice, and are 4 for 20 overall.  The now injured Ryan Callahan had two goals, Brad Richards and Marc Staal each have one.  On the other side of the coin, the Blueshirts rank 21st on the penalty kill, something they did exceedingly well under Torts.

If it's not one thing, it's another with this team.  Brad Richards is so far playing with marked improvement, however, Marc Staal's game is suffering after starting out strongly in the first two games of the season.  Coach Vigneault took away Staal's tradition partner against the Caps, and will most likely pair Dan Girardi and Ryan McDonagh on the top line again tonight against the Devils.

Entering tonight's game, the Rangers are likely to only dress five skaters who've scored a goal this season.  At least Brad Richards has four of them.  Otherwise, they rank 28th in the league in scoring, with still no sign of Chris Kreider.  Derek Stepan has yet to score a goal, but still leads the team with five assists.  So, his game seems to be coming along after holding out and missing camp.  The Rangers are battling attrition as well as the competition, so the time has come upon Stepan to take a larger leadership role and help stabilize the team.

Defensively, they rank a putrid 29th, however, enter tonight's game on the heels of a shutout victory over Washington.  Their goals against average is still inflated due to a 9-2 drubbing suffered against the Sharks, followed by a 6-0 wipeout against the Ducks.  Outside of the those two games, the Rangers have scored ten goals, and allowed ten goals.

The Rangers aren't home yet, but playing in Jersey is the next best thing - maybe not.  We'll find out later tonight.


NEW JERSEY DEVILS: Situation Getting Hot For Coach DeBoer And His Faltering Demons.

Maybe the new Devils owners can do something to prevent the next Brian Gionta, Zach Parise, David Clarkson or Ilya Kovalchuk from leaving town, although Kovalchuk's exit was unique, if not odd,  because he left a large sum of money on the table.  But these are certainly the most recent and frustrating departures that have slowly brought down the Devils.  This was a team that just two seasons ago played for a Stanley Cup, and is now in full blown transition.  Today, the Devils remain the lone team in Hockey not to have won a game this season.

The "old guard" is still led by the team's all-time scoring leader Patrick Elias.  While Travis Zajac, Bryce Salvador, Andy Greene and Dainius Zubrus are the remaining elders of the clan.  The group of players complimenting them is where I start to question (sacrilege, I know)) Lou Lamoriello's  direction from this point forward.

They are currently led in points by thirty-six year old defenseman Marek Zidlicky.  That already smells like trouble.   Forty-one year old Jaromir Jagr is presently averaging 17:03 minutes in October, but what about February?  Although Michael Ryder has two goals, he's thirty-three years old - not that old by any stretch.  He scored sixteen goals in forty-six games last season, which seemed promising, but can he be a 30-goal scorer for the Devils like he was for the Habs and Dallas?

Goals will certainly come at a premium this season.  So far in seven games, the Devils have scored thirteen times for a 1.8 goal per game average, and are a woeful 2 for 22 on the power play for a rate of 9.1% efficiency.

But so far scoring isn't New Jersey's biggest problem - it's their defense that looks extremely un-devilish this season.  Adam Larsson and Peter Harold can't seem to do anything right.  Having allowed twenty-six goals to date, or 3.7 per game, the Devils are uncharacteristically ranked 26th this season in goals against.  The have allowed the second most in the Eastern Conference, and rank third worst behind Edmonton and Florida in the entire NHL.

While the Devils are still in search of their first victory, goalie Martin Brodeur is still stuck on #669.  Devils fans no doubt would like for both to achieve a victory against the Rangers tonight at The Rock.




Mike.BTB

N.J. Devils ~ All The Kings Men Have Devils Pinned

From the desk of:   THE BRICK CITY DEMONS

2011-2012

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE

STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS

Kings Lead Series 3-0

I  -  LAK 2; NJD 1*

II  -  LAK 2; NJD 1*

III  -  LAK 4; NJD 0

* overtime

GAME FOUR ~ WEDNESDAY

NEW JERSEY DEVILS

vs.

Los Angeles Kings

From

Some West Coast Arena

SoCal

NEW JERSEY DEVILS:  After Game Three Victory,

L.A. Kings Poised To Lift Lord Stanley's Cup.

Devils' Flame Reduced to a A Mere Flicker.

Into The City Of Angels

Can't Afford a Second let Down in The Rock

Kings Slay Devils In Overtime

East Coast; West Coast; both coasts have been hell for the Devils.  They only managed one goal in each of the first two games in Newark.  In Game Three out in L.A., they had none.  The Kings?  They scored four.  For the series, the Kings now have eight goals, to the Devils two.  New Jersey can point directly at Jonathan Quick for most of their woes, because they actually have had quality chances.  But in a word, Kings' goalie, Jonathan Quick, has had New Jersey - bedeviled.

Whether the Devils managed too few shots like in Game One, or, almost doubled their shots on goal in Game Two, or fell somewhere in between like in Game Three, has not interested Jonathan Quick the slightest bit.  Neither has stopping the Devils in overtime for that matter, twice.


At the other end, after L.A.'s first goal and no whistle, for Martin Brodeur, there was only aggravation. Then after L.A.'s fourth and last goal, there was dejection.  The look on Coach Peter DeBoer's face was that of consternation.  And for the New Jersey Devils, they now face elimination.  History by the way, is not on Brick City's side.


Looking back, the Kings' long layoff between the Western Conference Finals, and Game One versus the Devils, didn't seem to bother L.A. much.  There was no rust.  As a matter of fact, travelling from the west coast to the east, didn't seem to bother them much either.  Nor did travelling back cross-country again for Game Three.  Afterall, New Jersey was making the flight for the first time.  Regardless, it seems as if nothing bothers the Kings right now.


Here's a weird stat - As the Devils' scoring has now taken a steep down turn from one to zero, their power play opportunities have gone up with each passing game.  New Jersey was 0-2 in Game One; 0-4 in Game Two; and 0-6 in Game Three.  That's 0-12 in the series.  Anyone will tell you, they needed to do better.  L.A. scored the first two power play goals of the series in Game Three.  Otherwise, the Kings have won the first two games at even-strength.  And it's not like the Devils have spent an inordinate amount of time on the penalty kill.  They've only committed five penalties all series.


The point is, the Devils have simply been getting out-played by Los Angeles, and it's happening five-on-five.  New Jersey's fore check hasn't been as effective as it was in the previous two rounds, and  their crisp passing isn't so crisp anymore.  While you can argue the teams played fairly evenly in the first two games, and the Devils might have been shorted a break or two, the Kings still thoroughly out-everything'd the Devils in Game Three.  And that's bad news considering the Devils are a long way from home.  If they should slip, if only slightly again in Game Four, that means there will be no Hockey this Saturday in Newark, or L.A., or anywhere.  It means the Kings' players will be taking the Cup on an unusual tour of places of the winning players choosing.


If Ilya Kovalchuck is playing hurt, no one on the Devils is saying.  But he remains without a goal in this series.  As does the Devils' Captain, Zach Parise, Dainius Zubrus, and Travis Zajac- meaning, the Devils first line.  First line, or even the new Fourth Line of Carter, Bernier, and Gionta aside, the fact is, regular season thirty-goal scorers, Patrick Elias and David Clarkson, still remain silent in the night.  The Devils' best player at the moment is rookie center, Adam Henrique.

I don't know how the Devils can pull this off.  History says they can't.  While we are at it, let's give full credit to Los Angeles for overwhelming the Devils thus far.  We all know the Devils can't win three times in Game Four alone.  They can only play, and win, one at a time.  And we all know who needs to finally show up in order for them to turn this around too.  But again, credit the Kings for making those same players disappear.




Mike.BTB

N.J. Devils ~ Can't Afford a Second Let Down In The Rock

from the desk of:   THE BRICK CITY DEMONS

Kings Slay Devils In Overtime

Marty's Revenge

Stanley Cup Finals

GAME TWO ~ SATURDAY

Los Angeles Kings

vs.

NEW JERSEY DEVILS

From

THE ROCK

Brick City, Newark

Kings Lead Series 1-0

I -  L.A. 2; NJD 1*

*OT

NEW JERSEY DEVILS:  More Forecheck; More Pitchforks!

A Much More Complete, And Pointed Effort Needed In Game Two.

Can it be that after just one game, the Devils are in a bad spot?  They dropped the first game in each series to get here though.  So how much trouble can they really be in?


After playing three incomplete periods during regulation in Game One, then getting ice-capaded by L.A. in overtime for a crushing loss, The Devils can ill afford to go down 0-2 in this series, especially going away, not to mention flying cross country after travelling by bus for over a month now.  Strange hotel beds can make you lose sleep.  Flying cross country, dehydration, lack of sleep, all matter.  So yeah, the Devils better cover everything, and do anything to win Game Two at home.


I though after "too"much time off between games, the Kings would be the sloppier, more rusty team on the ice Wednesday night.  Hardly.  They sandwiched New Jersey's score with the first and last goals of the game.  But L.A. thought they were indeed sloppy.  Then again, so did the Devils.  Both teams dictated play in ten minute stretches, until overtime that is.


First off, the Devils will have to generate more shots.  They only managed eighteen shots on goal to the Kings' twenty-five.  Both team's power plays were non issues with only three penalties called all game.  So that means, the Devils need to get back to skating four strong lines at even strength.  And last game, I noticed the Kings gave Adam Henrique a lot of room to move around.  For the Devils, there might be something to that.


Ryan Carter had three shots on his line, and Zach Parise has three shots on goal playing on his line.  And that's your best of the best.  Alex Volchenko's goal was more the product on a lucky deflection off a Kings' skater.  So clearly, the Devils will need to do much more than they managed in Game One.  Ilya Kovalchuk, Patrick Elias, Dainius Zubrus, and Travis Zajac, all only managed one shot each.  And that will need to change.  But they'll have to do it by increasing their speed.  New Jersey appeared to be a slower team than Los Angeles Wednesday night.


It's hard to knock the game Martin Brodeur had in Game One.  It was actually quite remarkable.  He faced twenty-two regulation time shots, and allowed the one goal to Colin Frasier, midway through the first period.  And then came overtime where he faced three shots before allowing the game winner.  Just remember that Anze Kopitar skated in on an unmolested break-away when he fired the winning shot passed Brodeur.


Game One came in waves.  Only problem for New Jersey was that L.A. caught the last one of the night.


New Jersey threw their body around plenty enough.  But they lost the game's face-off battle.  And over large portions of the game, they lost their forecheck as well.  That's what they need to get back to most.  And I think L.A.'s speed caught the Devils off guard too.  So I think New Jersey will come out skating faster in Game Two as well.





Mike.BTB

N.J. Devils ~ Kings Slay Devils in OT

From the desk of:   THE BRICK CITY DEMONS

2011 - 2012

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE

STANLEY CUP FINALS

GAME ONE

Los Angeles Kings

vs.

NEW JERSEY DEVILS

From

THE ROCK

Brick City, Newark

FINAL:

Kings 2

Devils 1
OVERTIME

NEW JERSEY DEVILS:  Bedeviled in Game One.

In the opening game of the Stanley Cup Finals, New Jersey was reminded what it's like to get scored on early, and having to play from behind.  The Kings came barrelling in on the forecheck and got deep in the Devils' zone, where Jordan Nolan gained possession of the puck behind net.  He found and passed to centerman Colin Fraser positioned at the edge of the right circle, who one-timed a shot passed Brodeur for a 1-0 Los Angeles lead, midway through the first.


The Kings owned the first period battle of the face-offs by a 12-5 count.  But overall, shots on goal were limited in the first period to five apiece.  Only problem was, Broduer let one get by too early.  With 2:15 left, Bryce Salvador had the Devils' best chance on net.  But no goal.  So, off went the Devils into the first intermission trailing by a 1-0 score.


L.A. committed one penalty which they successfully killed off.


The Kings came into the second period like they entered the first; aggressively.  They were the ones taking taking shots over the first half of the second, and were throwing the body more often, again, like in the first period.  The Devils showed they were getting their legs back over the latter half of the first period however.  But the trend didn't seem to be continuing in the second.


With 7:18 left in the second, Marty challenged a shot from point, and won, to kept it a 1-0 game.


New Jersey put L.A. on the power play after committing their first penalty, and even managed a short-handed opportunity by Zach Parise.  They successfully killed off penalty.  At 4:28, they finally managed their first shot on goal of the second period.  Dainius Zubrus had a great look but got stoned by Jonathan Quick on the shot.  Then...


Score at 1:12 - Patrick Elias tied the game off a big rebound/deflection left by Jonathan Quick following Anton Volchenkov's shot from the top of the left circle.


Over the first five minutes of the third period, this time New Jersey was carrying the play.  Zach Parise had a goal waived off after he forced a puck in net with his hand.  But the point is, the Devils were forcing the issue now.  Ryan Carter had another good look against Jonathan Quick, but was stopped with thirteen minutes to go.  But neither team managed much else during regulation.


Into overtime they went.  At 8:47, the Kings scored and the crowd in The Rock crumbled once Anze Kopitar scored.  He juked, and deeked, as he came in on Brodeur virtually unmolested, and scored the Game One winner.


Kings lead the series, one game, to none.




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.Y. Rangers ~ Grudge Match; Game Four

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

Battle of the Hudson

Game Four ~ Grudge Match

2011-2012

NHL STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS

EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS

Rangers Lead Series 2-1

I  -  NYR 3; NJD 0

II  -  NJD 3; NYR 2

III  -  NYR 3; NJD 0

TONIGHT

GAME FOUR

NEW YORK RANGERS

vs.

NEW JERSEY DEVILS

From

THE ROCK

Brick City - Newark

The King Lays Siege to Newark in Game Three

Rangers vs. Devils; Game Three at The Rock

Coach Torts Versus The Media

Devils Pounce On Blueshirts in Game Two

King Henrik Puts The Devils On Ice

Rangers Versus Devils ~ Eastern Conference Finals

NEW YORK RANGERS:

Tonight, We Dance Around The Fire!

The deeper these playoffs have gone, the longer Ranger Fans wait for their forward lines to dominate a game for a change, instead of looking to their goalie for miracles.  Well, that's what I've been doing.  In the mean time, the Rangers have three pairs of defensemen who've been contributing an overwhelming portion of the team's offense.  And the Devils?   They have done everything they've needed to do in order to get plenty of shots on Lundqvist.  But Broadway's liege has stopped them cold, as he's done to all comers in these playoffs.

That almost seems secondary now.  The real battle has just begun.  While the Media kept badgering Coach Torts to talk, he quietly compiled his own list of gripes against the Devils, but never aired them out; until Sunday that is.  He's been refusing to delve into any kind of outward exchange with the opposing coach or the Media.  Conversely, Peter DeBoer and Marty Brodeur continued to air out their grievances in public.  Now, finally, by speaking out Sunday, Coach Torts finally gave everyone what they wanted ~ a grudge match.

In response to Peter DeBoer's "head-hunter" barb regarding Brandon Prust, Coach showed up at his media session Sunday armed with accusations the Devils were setting picks on their power play opportunities, he voiced displeasure with Zach Parise's hit on Michael Del Zotto, and likewise expressed his annoyance with Dainius Zubrus' hit on Anton Stralman.  Coach was going to keep all that in-house, and between him and the League.  But the cat is out of the bag now.

What John Tortorella worked so hard to avoid in these playoffs is now front and center.  Damn if you do, and Damned if you don't, Coach.  The Media wanted it, and now they got it.  The inner beast in Coach has been summoned upon the instigation of a one, Coach Peter DeBoer.  Brilliant!  Remember, I like Caoch DeBoer.  But going forward, whether this becomes his folly remains to be seen.

Game Three ended with both teams feeling a little ill-tempered too.  Upon the final horn to end regulation, a scrum ensued surrounding Brandon Prust.  That won't happen in Game Four.  Brendan Shanahan suspended Prust one game for his elbow the back of Alex Volchenkov's head.  That doesn't mean the bad blood between these teams won't spill over tonight.  We'll see, as we have ill will between teams, dirty hits and other questionable player infractions to ponder, and two coaches finally engaged in a full blown war of words.

But what Coach DeBoer is trying so hard to accomplish in the now, still does not compare with what Coach Torts started working on back in October.   Coach Torts made it his business to make sure Henrik Lundqvist was fresh (fresher) for these playoffs, than in years and playoffs past.  Coach made the reluctant King sit for twenty-one games during the regular season.   They signed Marty Biron precisely to get that accomplished.   Henrik Lundqvist started 62 regular season games this season; his lowest total in six years.  If you don't think there a correlation between Coach Torts' plan and the fact Henrik Lundqvist shut out the Devils twice now in this third round series, you're stoned.

Outside of Chris Kreider, Coach Torts long ago ensured Henrik Lunqvist would be the freshest guy on the ice in Game Four tonight.  That fact continues to go unspoken.  Instead, the Media continues to prod Coach Torts for their columns.  If they just look at his methods and moves over a full season, and not just casually show up in April or May, they'd know full well Coach Torts is in full control of his team and his faculties, and has all his bases covered.  Which points directly to the reason why he treats the Media the way he does.

Instead, it is the Devils who seem rattled.  Their Coach and goalie are the chirpy ones.  On the ice, the Devils are proving to be the chippy ones as well.  And Zach Parise shuns the Media?  Those are the signs of a frustrated team.  Whether or not the Devils really have a sympathetic media on their side remains to be seen.  Coach DeBeor is trying his damnedest.  But Coach Torts seems well prepared to take them both on regardless.

The Rangers can make life very miserable for the Devils tonight.  The Devils know that, and are acting like it.  But if they do have any temerity to them, which I think they do, the Devils will salvage a game at home tonight and tie the series.  The odds say if they keep doing what they've been doing, eventually, some shots will find the net.  If only Henrik Lundqvist wasn't so well preserved by a coach who many think acts and behaves like a troglodyte.  Well, so far the Grunts lead this series two games to one.

But not so fast.  The Rangers are asking for trouble if they let the Devils hang around.  Especially if they are going to put New Jersey on the PP another five times.  Or let the Devils outplay them two out of three periods again.  Or let them take over thirty shots against Henrik Lundqvist again.  All that aside, the Rangers still came out in Game Three and played a much darker shade of Blue.  In order to secure another two wins against the Devils, they'll have to get even darker.  For the Devils will not go quietly into the night.

Tonight, everyone dances around the fire.

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 ~ Dancing Off To Philly

From the desk of:   THE BRICK CITY DEMONS

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE  ~  2012 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS

Eastern Conference Semi Final Round

Devils Lead Series 3-1

I  -  PHI 4; NJD 3

II  -  NJD 4; PHI 1

III  -  NJD 4; PHI 3

IV  -  NJD 4; PHI 2

III overtime

Game Five

NEW JERSEY DEVILS
vs.

Philadelphia Flyers

From

The Land of Bad Cheese Steaks

PHILADELPHIA

NEW JERSEY DEVILS:  Look What The Devils Did to the Flyers..., Again!   Can Advance to Conference Finals With Win Tonight.

Dancing Near The Fire; Game Four
No Sympathy Needed; Series Tied


That's three wins over the Flyers in a row.  After snatching victory in overtime of Game Three, this time the Devils started out down 2-0 in the first period after taking yet more penalties, and allowing a short-handed goal to Claude Giroux.  But here's all the difference.  After committing their second penalty at 11:43 of the first period, in which Giroux made them pay, the Devils didn't commit a single penalty the rest of the game.

The Devils stayed out of the box, and therefore were able to press on with offensive opportunities.  They consistently kept play in Philly's end, and kept taking shots at Ilya Bryzgalov all night; forty-two to be exact.


If the Devils were busy in Philly's end, that means Martin Brodeur was facing minimal shots on goal in his end.  The Flyers managed twenty-two shots against Marty.  He stopped twenty.  But from the midway point of the first period on, he denied the Flyers on all attempts.


Another game, different heroes.  That's the way this Devils' team has been.  Petr Sykora was the first to step up Sunday.  He scored a minute and a half after Giroux's goal in the first.  Sykora's power play goal definitely reset the game.  With two minutes left before the first intermission, trade deadline pick-up, Marek Zidlicki tied the game at two all with his first of the playoffs.  Zidlicki also assisted on Sykora's previous goal.


The second period stayed scoreless until Dainius Zubrus took assists from Adam Henrique and Petr Sykora, and scored his second goal of the playoffs.  It turned out to be the game winner.  But in the third period, Dainius Zubrus made sure.  With fifteen seconds left in regulation, he scored the Devils' game sealing fourth goal en route to a 4-2 final in Game Four.


Once again, the number FOUR seems to be the magic number working for the Devils.  And so, they will be skating for their fourth victory of the series tonight.  They'll try to wrap things up on enemy ice; in Philadelphia.  The Devils have three chances to win one in order to advance into the Eastern Conference championship round against the winner of the Washington Capitals/New York Rangers series.


"Pleased to meet you....  Hope you guess my name!"




* Devils Playground graffiti;Buskwick
Mike.BTB

N.J. Devils ~ Sticking Themselves With Own Pitchforks

From the desk of:   THE BRICK CITY DEMONS

2011-2012

Stanley Cup Playoffs

Quarter Finals Round

Florida Panthers

vs.

NEW JERSEY DEVILS

Florida Panthers Lead Series 2-1

Game One - New Jersey Devils  3;  Florida Panthers  2

Game Two - Florida Panthers  4;  New Jersey Devils  2

Game Three - Florida Panthers 4;  New Jersey Devils  3

Devils vs Panthers Series Preview

NEW JERSEY DEVILS:  Quick!  How Many Devils Can You Fit in the Penalty Box?


The Devils got off to a great start in the series' opening game against the #3-Florida Panthers.  Three first period goals by Patrick Elias; Dainius Zubrus; and Ryan Carter kind of reinforced what I was feeling heading into the series.  Even as the Panthers clawed back with two second period goals, watching on TV,  I never felt the final outcome was under threat.  The teams played a scoreless third period, as the Devils went on to win by a 3-2 final score.


Martin Brodeur won the 100th NHL playoff game of his career.  And Patrick Elias in particular, scored one of the prettiest, not to mention one of the craftiest goals I've ever seen.  For that one particular play, he almost looked Gretzky-like in how he slowed the play down to a crawl.  For Brodeur's part, he made 24 saves off 26 shots on goal.


Game Two was a much different story.  But not if you talk to a Panther player.  They'd tell you they just picked up where they left off.  A first period goal, followed by two second period goals had the Devils behind 3-0 heading into the second intermission.


Whatever Coach DeBoer may have told his players in the locker room almost worked.  The Devils opened the third period with Tavis Zajac's goal a mere 0:48 into the period.  Roughly a minute and a half later, Ilya Kovalchuck made it a one goal game.  But that's all they'd get.  With but a second left on the clock, Florida scored into an empty net making the final 4-2; tying the series at a game apiece.


Martin Brodeur followed up his 100th NHL playoff win by allowing three goals on just twenty-three shots on net for the loss.


The series shifted to Newark for Game Three.  Playing back at The Rock, the Devils seemingly found their way again.  Thirty-three seconds into the game, Zach Parise finally found net for his first goal of the series.  And visiting Florida fell instantly behind.  Three minutes later, Stephen Gionta made it a two goal Devils' lead.  And for good measure, Patrick Elias scored a power play goal at the 6:16 mark to make it a 3-0 game.


Florida's goalie; Jose Theodore; earned a well deserved hook.  In came Scott Clemmensen for the Panthers.


During the back end of the first period, as they have all series, Florida's power play went to work on the Devils.  Two goals; one in the sixteenth minute, and a second inside the nineteenth minute; made this a one goal game going into intermission.


At 2:18 of the second period, this game was tied.  At that point, Coach DeBoer signaled for his goalie to head towards the bench.  Martin Brodeur's night was through after just twenty-two minutes and eighteen seconds of play.  Johan Hedberg would finish the game.  At 6:34, he allowed Florida's fourth goal of the evening on yet another power play opportunity.


Both goalies have struggled.  And they both earned well deserved hooks Tuesday night.  You may even call the effect on the game, and series, a wash.  Instead, the prevailing factor in this series has been the Panthers' efficiency on the power play.  For the series, Florida has six goals with the man advantage in ten opportunities.  In Game Three, they scored three times in three chances.  The Devils only have two goals in eleven chances all series.  And there's your difference.


Otherwise, the Devils' best chances to score in Game Three came when they had (at the time) a tying goal waived off for goalie interference at 1:28 of the 2nd period.  And then over the final minute, when they pulled Hedberg from net, in a hellish attempt to tie.  But they fell short.  Florida's Scott Clemmensen held on, and with seven seconds left, literally snatched the Devils' last chance out of the air.


The Devils now trail in this series two games to one.  And Coach DeBoer has an interesting decision to make for Game Four.  Does he reinsert Martin Brodeur, or, turn the game over to Johan Hedberg, whom they have plenty of confidence in?  What's more, the Devils just need to stay away from taking so many penalties.  They've been playing winning hockey at even strength.  But now they are behind in the series.





Mike.BTB

N.J. Devils ~ GAME ONE; Stanley Cup Playoffs

From the desk of:   THE BRICK CITY DEMONS

2011-2012

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE

STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS

Quarter Final Round:

GAME ONE

#6 - NEW JERSEY DEVILS

vs.

#3 - Florida Panthers

From,

Sunny and Too Hot

FLORIDA

NEW JERSEY DEVILS:  Panthers in for a Hell of a Time.


Is this the last Dance With the Devils?  Too many players are gone from those Stanley Cup seasons.  Some remain.  But this is by and large a different team than those.  Once these playoffs are done for the Newark Demons, there will be another summer contemplating Martin Brodeur's retirement, and Zach Parise's inevitable free agency.  And lest we forget, this team just missed making the playoffs last season for the first time in a long time.  So, no, these are not the traditional Devils at all.


But they certainly aren't the Devils of last season either; the team that went through two coaches and neither one of them is here today.  Lou Lamoriello builds winners.  But no coach is safe working for Lou Lamoriello.  The Devils' long-time GM may have struck upon a good one with Peter Deboer though.  Peter DeBoer stepped in and tinkered around with his over abundance of wingers, and molded a mix of veteran Devils with new young blue liners, and created a #6 seeded team while playing in a ridiculously tough Atlantic Division.


In addition to Coach DeBoer facing his former team, this is a very favorable match-up for New Jersey. And Coach DeBoer might very well have the pulse of both.  The Florida Panthers earned the #3 seed by winning the Southern Division.  So the Devils will be headed to Florida for Game One of their quarter-final playoff series Friday night.


The Florida Panthers purged many players after last season in exchange for a pack of younger hungrier cats.  And low and behold, here they are.  But if Florida's rising April temperatures don't melt the Panthers chances of advancing, the Devils have a bunch of forwards that will surely set them aflame.


Zach Parise, Ilya Kovalchuck, and David Clarkson, all have thirty goals or more.  Then bring in the old vet Patrick Elias with his twenty-six goals.  Add Petr Sykora, and Dainius Zubrus, and what you have are two lines worth of frequent scorers.  But beyond them, there's little else.


The x-factor in any Stanley Cup run, of course, is the goalie. The Devils still have Martin Brodeur; the all-time NHL wins leader, between the pipes.  There were times this season he looked every bit of his thirty-nine years of age.  But, if the way he played over the second half of the season is any indication, then he's still capable of taking any team on the magic carpet ride.  He should be fairly fresh heading into these playoffs.  For a goalie accustomed to starting nearly every game over his career, Brodeur started in sixty-one games this past season.  And for the fourteenth time in his Devils' career, he surpassed thirty wins in a season.


Florida might be young, eager, and skilled, but the Devils will prove too much for them.  As a matter of fact, I can see Coach Deboer and the Devils orchestrating a complete undressing of the Panthers over the series.





Mike.BTB