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 ~ Renaissance Men

From the desk of:   THE BRICK CITY DEMONS

The Battle of I-95 is On ~ Bring on the Flyers!

NEW JERSEY DEVILS:  Ain't No Sunshine In Florida!

Panthers Fall in Double Overtime.

Rookie Saves Marty and the Devs.

ROUND ONE

GAME SEVEN FINAL:

New Jersey Devils   3

Florida Panthers      2

2 O.T.

Look what the Devils did to the Panthers..., again! For the second consecutive game, and facing elimination for the second consecutive time, the New Jersey Devils snatched destiny away from a resilient Florida club, and pulled off back to back overtime victories to advance to the Eastern Conference semi-finals where they will face their un-brotherly neighbors to the south; the Philadelphia Flyers.


In Game Six, it was the relatively inexperienced Steve Bernier who got New Jersey's night started right, until Travis Zajac was able to seal the deal in overtime.  Needing another hero in Game Seven, Adam Henrique showed up to get all the Devils' main cast of demons off the hook.


Adam Henrique, the rookie center, stepped up and delivered his undisciplined band of Devils a step closer towards the promised land ice.  Why were the Devils in trouble in the first place?  Because they continued to stab themselves in the foot by accumulating whistles, and there-by kept letting Florida get back up after putting them down early.


In the third period, New Jersey's omens began to reappear.  They let yet another lead get away from them.  Following their series trend, New Jersey reverted to putting themselves in the box.  And Florida made them pay.  With three PP opportunities in the game, Florida cashed in twice during the final period of regulation.  Their first goal came at the 5:02 mark, when Stephen Weiss slapped a puck past Martin Brodeuer.  Then the Panthers scored a second time on Marcel Goc's wrist shot to tie the game at two apiece with less than five minutes left in the regulation.


The lead New Jersey lost came about when Adam Henrique put his team ahead with an early first period goal.  Then Stephan Gionta made it a two goal game half way through the second period.


Florida peppered Martin Brodeur with twelve shots in the first overtime session.  New Jersey took nine shots.  But another twenty minutes had elapsed without a score.  New Jersey and Florida needed a second overtime to decide who would advance to play the Flyers.


Inside the eighty-third minute of Game Seven, the Devils' fore check forced a turnover in Florida's zone.  Devils' rookie Adam Henrique snatched a chipped puck out of the air, placed it on the ice, and wristed the game winning shot passed Jose Theodore.


Overall, Marty Brodeur faced forty-five shots.  At even strength, he was 37/37 on the night, and also stopped one short-handed opportunity.  The Devils wound up surviving Round One in spite of continually putting themselves on the penalty kill.  But heading in the next series against the Flyers, the biggest concern for Devil fans would be which Marty Brodeur will show up; as the first round was marred by too many peeks and valleys in his play.


It's off to Philadelphia now for the series opener on Sunday afternoon.

STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS  ~  EASTERN CONFERENCE SEMI FINALS

SUNDAY

GAME ONE

NEW JERSEY DEVILS

vs.

Philadelphia Flyers

From

Broad Street

PHILLY

* Graffiti - Devil's Playground; Bushwick, Brooklyn

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