Monthly Archives: February 2011

With the Devils finishing off the month of February with a record of 11-1-1, it’s obvious to fans that the team has picked up the pace. But being that tomorrow marks the beginning of March and the winding down of the regular season, the team needs our support more than ever. This Wednesday, March 2, the Devils are playing the Tampa Bay Lightning, the team who caused an upset for Devils fans last Friday night. That upset, however, took place in Tampa Bay, where the Devils did not have the full support of the Devils Army. Let’s show them that we are behind them 100% of the way this week!

The Devils are offering two different ticket specials this week that Devils Army should most definitely take advantage of, especially because we NEED to fill the Rock this week. Wednesday night is College Night (http://bit.ly/fgmNt5) and the team is offering discounted tickets to college students. Friday night is “Guys Night Out”, (http://bit.ly/h3gf2X) a promotion the team offers for groups which includes a hot dog and a beer or soda.  “Guys Night Out” isn’t just for the guys! My girlfriends and I have used this offer several times in the past; it’s a great way to get discounted tickets and food!

This week, it is crucial that we show as much support to our team as we can. Let’s fill the Rock and rally behind our team and let it be known that Devils Army is here!

Going into their first meeting of the season with the Tampa Bay Lightning, the New Jersey Devils were 10-29-2, a game that could mark the turning point of this season.

January 9, 2011 – The Devils hosted the Lightning at Prudential Center. After losing their first four games to start off the year of 2011, the Devils were posed and ready to turn things around. The Devils found themselves down 1-0, and 2-1 early. The Devils found a spark and scored four unanswered goals, and ended up beating the Lightning 6-3. This offensive burst had the fans at Prudential Center rocking and optimistic of this teams great potential.

January 14, 2011 -The Devils hopped a plane and traveled to Tampa Bay, where they completed a home-and-home series sweep of the Lightning, with a 5-2 victory days later.

This brings us to tonight. February 25, 2011.

The Devils have gone 16-1-2 since that first game against Tampa Bay on January 9, and now find themselves at 26-30-4,  on a streak that has gotten fans to talk about that P-Word again… “playoffs.” After all, the team is now only nine points out of the eigth seed. The Devils have not seen single digits since early December.

Fans thought the winning streak would be over when net-minder, Martin Brodeur, went down with a knee injury, but Johan Hedberg has stepped up winning seven-straight, including two shut-outs, since taking over for Brodeur. Hedberg will get the start again Tonight in Tampa Bay.

Devils Army, Rise up! Rock Your Red Tonight! Show everyone that you believe! It doesn’t matter if  you’re watching the game at home, watching the game at the St. Pete Time’s Forum, or attending the TweetUp at Port 44 Brew Pub in Newark.

If you plan on attending the TweetUp and need directions, click here.

“One Game at a Time.”

This is the first of a series of posts by the Devils Army Generals talking about their best Devils memory

It’s the day after Christmas and there is a blizzard hitting north Jersey. But, the Devils are playing that night so what’s a fan supposed to do? A lot of people watched from home, but over 5,000 die-hard fans made the trip through the blizzard to watch their beloved Devils. I was one of them. The snow was starting to fall late that afternoon and driving was not an option in the crazy weather… so we walked to the train. I had gotten a new hat and fleece gloves for Christmas the night before, I was all set! We walked a mile against the snow and wind (this was the killer!) to the Journal Square Path station. My clothes were soaked, covered in snow, face red and toes numb. I went straight to the heat lamps to thaw out. We got into Newark early, settled into our usual bar stools at Arena Lounge and dripped all over the floor as we watched the snow pile up outside.

Soon it was game time, so we joined the few brave souls hiking down Mulberry Street to Prudential Center. The Devils were having a really rough first half of the season and it continued that night with a 4-1 loss against Toronto. Rod Pelley had the only goal and Hedberg had to come in to relieve Marty in the third period after letting in 3 goals on 14 shots.

As a reward for making the trip out, the Devils allowed everyone to move into the lower level seats after the first period. This was quite the upgrade from section 211! Kovalchuk got into a little scuffle, something that doesn’t happen very often. Plus, it’s always nice to see the boys in action up close every once in a while.

By the time the game ended, two to three feet of snow had collected outside and we had to brave the trip back. The only cars on the road were stuck and the only way home was to walk that mile from the train. I walked in snow up to my thighs (it’s tough being 5 feet tall!) and did my best to not walk into buried fire hydrants and fall in hidden potholes. Curbs however, were tough to avoid.

There is something about snow that really adds to the hockey game experience. It just feels, right. A 4-1 loss against the Maple Leafs may not seem worth the trouble, but this is my team and I’m here to support them. This wasn’t my first game out in a blizzard and it won’t be my last. But maybe next time I’ll hire a sherpa!

Walking down Mulberry Street

Face Off

Hedberg in for Marty

Here it is folks!  The first ever Devils Live Blog run by the Devils Army Generals!  Enjoy!
Click Here

Well, Devils Army, we’re starting to get believers.  On Friday night it was Henrik Lundqvist and on Saturday it was Hurricanes coach Paul Maurice.  Now there is a chance of making another believer, the Dallas Stars.  The “Why Not?” Tour (credit: Sherry Ross) marches into The Big D tonight riding a six-game winning streak as part of the hard to ignore 15-1-2 run the Devils have been on since Game 41.  (Full disclosure:  Had to look up what the run has gone to.  That’s a good sign that we keep winning and I’m losing track!).

This will be the first time the team will be facing former captain Jamie Langenbrunner. We all are thankful for Jamie’s contributions to this team during his time here. We probably wouldn’t have won the 2003 Stanley Cup without him. But this is a new Devils team, a driven Devils team, and you’re either with us or you’re against us!  And, sorry Jamie, but you’re (now) against us.  The Stars will be missing their best player, Brad Richards, to a concussion suffered a few weeks ago.  Add that to the trade of James Neal and Matt Niskanen yesterday to the Penguins for Alex Goligoski, and the questionable status of Nicklas Grossman on their blue line…you may say that the stars are aligning in the Devils favor tonight (pun absolutely, incredibly, unequivocally intended ).

Before this amazing run, the highlight of the Devils season was the first 10 minutes of Opening Night against this same Dallas Stars team. The team and the fans were running on a high of getting Kovy in the offseason and in those first 10 minutes there was a goal by Zajac and Parise and Kovalchuk rang one off the post.  The entire line that everyone was pumped about almost each got a goal in the first 10 minutes. We were all salivating!!  Since that post shot, the Devils went into a tailspin losing that game in OT and then, well, we know the rest.

They say everything’s  bigger in Texas.  So let’s make this streak even bigger tonight!  Make it 16-1-2.  Can’t be done you say?  Well….why not?

Ilya Kovalchuk vs. Dallas

For the past two weeks, we have been taking it “One Game At A Time”.  Well, tonight is another game, and just like the ones before, it’s just as important.  But let’s face it, this is the Rangers!  This means so much more for the Devils Army.  It’s been an uncanny year for the Devils fans, and I’m sure we’ve all heard it from our friends who are fans of the team from MSG.  Well – now it’s time for them to hear us!

It’s time for them to hear that we will not go down without a fight and we WILL be heard in this NY-metro region as well as throughout the NHL.  There will be Rangers fans here tonight,  and there is NO excuse for them to be louder and more pumped up than us.  We all know the Devils are on an amazing run lately, but the Rangers have won two in a row after a six-game losing streak.  They also played last night;  the Rangers are ripe for the picking.  Our team  can’t do it without the help of us, the fans.  Let’s get The Rock absolutely rockin’ (pun intended).  When we want to, we can be the loudest arena in the league.  Let’s prove to our closest neighbors that this is OUR house and we OWN this place.

RISE UP!

Ilya Kovalchuk - Click on picture to read preview on NewJerseyDevils.com

“One Game At A Time” – This has been the motto for us since this ridiculous run has started.  And, last night’s game against Carolina was another example of focusing at the task in front of you.  The Devils emerged from a tight- checking game with a 3-2 victory, gaining valuable points against one of the teams they are chasing.

The Devils controlled most of the first period with a lot of attack time in the Carolina end.  The ‘Canes came back in the last five minutes, but couldn’t get one past a solid Johan Hedberg.  In the second, it was just as tight before Ilya Kovalchuk took over and turned Joe Corvo inside out with a dazzling puckhandling display and – using Nick Palmieri as a screen – ripped it past Cam Ward for a 1-0 Devils lead.  With that goal, Kovy extended his points streak to 8 games (6g, 4a). He also has 18 points in the last 16 games, when this run began. Coincidence? I think not.

In the third period, we attacked quickly with goals from the equally red-hot Brian Rolston and Patrik Elias.  Patty’s goal wowed the crowd at The Rock, dangling around Jamie McBain and slipping the puck past Ward on the far post gave the Devils a quick 3-0 lead.

The Hurricanes made it interesting with 11 minutes left by scoring to make it, 3-1.  The pressure then came fast and hard as the Canes seemed to be in the Devils zone consistently for the next six minutes, including two power plays, but Moose and the D held strong and didn’t allow another goal until a relatively meaningless one with three seconds to go.

WATCH GAME HIGHLIGHTS HERE

This is another notch on the belt towards potentially the greatest regular-season comeback ever.  This game is over, now as Jay-Z would say “Onto the Next One!”  And that next one is a biggie.  The arch-rival New York Rangers come to The Rock after losing six of their last seven, while the Devils have been as hot, if not hotter, than any team in the NHL.  Hopefully the boys in red won’t fall into a trap and slip up against their biggest rival.  Then again, Devils fans know so much about a trap, don’t we?

Ilya Kovalchuk celebrates a goal vs. Carolina.