Monthly Archives: April 2012
ECSF Game 1 Recap: Some OT and some controversy; Devils drop Game 1
Three stars of the game:
3rd star: Zach Parise (Goal, assist)
2nd star: James van Riemsdyk (Goal)
1st star: Danny Briere (2 goals)
The Devils were fresh off their dramatic Game 7 double-overtime win late Thursday night (and into Friday morning) while the Flyers had about a week off since knocking off the Penguins in their first round series. The long layoff for the Flyers initially worked against them, as the Devils got off to a tremendous start. They dominated the Flyers for much of the opening period, and were outshooting them, 11-0 at one point in the period. It took all of 3:16 to open the scoring. Flyers rookie Matt Read coughed the puck up to Patrik Elias behind the Flyers’ net and Elias centered to Zach Parise, and Parise beat Ilya Bryzgalov between the pads. Bryzgalov, however, made strong saves on Patrik Elias’ quick shot from the slot, a chance by Travis Zajac and a shot by Petr Sykora on the newly formed third line. The Devils failed on their only power play of the period, although it did generate four shots on goal. They outshot Philly, 15-6 in the first period, but were unable to score a second goal. Another bright spot for the Devils in the first period was that they killed off both Flyers’ power plays after struggling in the first round against Florida.
Just Say No To Orange!
Our boys play the Flyers on Thursday and Sunday of next week at The Rock. There is no doubt that these games will be sold out. There is also no doubt that there will be a fair share of Flyers fans at these games. Being only 90 miles apart, it’s a short trip up the turnpike to see some road hockey and Flyers fans have been known to travel well. But there’s one thing they need to get in…tickets. This is where you guys come in. There’s 2 objectives you all have:
1. If you haven’t already purchased tickets to the games next week, what are you waiting for? Seriously. Here….click this! And if you have them already, can’t wait to see you guys there.
2. THIS IS THE IMPORTANT ONE!!! If by some chance, you cannot make a game and you need to resell or give away your tickets, make sure they go to a Devils fan!! These games will sell out quick and maybe someone you know who was shut out of getting tickets and would love to go! Do NOT sell them if they plan on wearing orange to the game. Their team only plays 90 miles away. If they want to see them, they can make the hour and a half ride down in their building. There is even a Facebook group where Devils fans buy and sell tickets to each other at face value. They immediately delete any posts that ask for more than face value of the ticket. Check that place out too.
The Rock is OUR HOUSE!! Those that were fortunate to have been there for all 3 games know how loud our arena got. It was the loudest I personally have heard it since Game 2 against the same Flyers in 2010. We brought it BIG TIME last round. Now let’s bring it even more this round. We are ALL incredibly passionate and we love our team just as much as Flyers fans do. Will they be in our house more than Panthers fans were? Yes. We cannot stop that completely. And they will be boisterous as well. But you can do your part to “Say No To Orange”. Plus you’re helping out a fellow Devils fan. And you’ll feel better about that inside.
Stanley Cup Playoffs – Game #1 Preview – New Jersey Devils vs. Philadelphia Flyers
Stanley Cup Playoffs
New Jersey Devils vs. Philadelphia Flyers
3:00 PM E.T.
TV: NBC, CBC, RDS
Radio: Bloomberg 1130AM or SiriusXM 92
Well, the Devils have made it to Round 2 for the first time since 2007. If you don’t think this is a big deal, well, I don’t know what to say to you other than, it is! We not only broke the one and done curse, but we also won back to back games in the playoffs for the first time in five years. For this group of players, especially one Zach Parise, this is huge right now.
ECQF Game 7 Recap: All hell breaks loose in double-overtime
Three stars of the game:
3rd star: Jose Theodore (Panthers – 33 saves)
2nd star: Martin Brodeur (43 saves)
1st star: Adam Henrique (2 goals, including game-winning double-overtime goal)
Stanley Cup Playoffs – Game #7 Preview – New Jersey Devils vs. Florida Panthers
Stanley Cup Playoffs
New Jersey Devils vs. Florida Panthers
8:30 PM E.T.
TV: MSG Plus (HD), NHLN-US, NBCSN (JIP), TSN, RDSI, FS-F
Radio: WFAN 660 or SiriusXM 212
Well, here we are again folks. Another elimination game, but this time in a Game 7 and this time, for BOTH teams. It is all on the line tonight, which means that everything will have to be brought to the table. There will be no more excuses and no more chances after tonight as one team WILL be going home. So let’s hope that the Devils can build off the momentum from Tuesday’s thrilling overtime victory in Game 6.
ECQF Game 6 Recap: Devils, Zajac claw their way to Game 7
(headline by @Bcallow_74)
Three stars of the game:
3rd star: Steve Bernier (Goal)
2nd star: Sean Bergenheim (Goal)
1st star: Travis Zajac (Overtime goal, assist)
The playoffs are not for the faint of heart. There can be a roller-coaster of emotions within minutes. That could be said for tonight’s Game 6 between the Devils and Panthers. The home team put on a dominating performance for much of Game 6, but an old friend, who was an unscheduled starter, Scott Clemmensen, made it a closer game than perhaps it should have been. The Devils, though sloppy at times, played a passionate and desperate Game 6, and got a clutch goal from Travis Zajac 5:39 into the first overtime to win 3-2 and send the series back to Florida for a win-or-go-home Game 7 on Thursday night.
Hockey, Rats, and Bowties… What?
Serendipity. No, I don’t mean a dessert stop across the river or a John Cusack movie. Literally, it’s a happy accident, two seeming unrelated things that combined into one funny occurrence – and that, Devils fans, is what happened to me recently.
You see, the Devils digital marketing director @WillCarafello decided to a wear a bowtie for good luck to Game 4 of the Devils playoff series against the Florida Panthers. I’ve been informed it was more likely that Mrs. Carafello made this executive decision, but what a choice it was because on that Thursday night last week Will’s bowtie saw the Devils blank the Panthers four nothing. I had told him on the concourse of the Prudential Center before the puck dropped that if we won I would also don the bowtie of luck for Game 6. Being a man of my word, my bowtie made the trip to the Rock last night.
In a completely unrelated storyline the now infamous President of the Panthers, Mr. @PanthersYormark, decided to get into some internet altercations with several Devils fans after accusing the Devils Army of throwing rats in Florida. One of these fans was a Devils General (@cj255devs) who he told to “get off twitter” and he went calling out other members of the Devils Army – which include the now heavily followed and suite connoisseur @LaurenAshley07. For more information about that story, check out NJ.com’s article on it.
I truly believe that the Devils showed who the classier organization is throughout this whole interaction. And it’s only natural that the old-fashion classy gentlemen showed up in bowties.
Ahh, sweet serendipity arrives! The happy accident that Will and I planned on wearing bowties for good luck at the same time we needed to show a little extra class. So when you’re thinking about a silly rallying point for Game 7 and beyond we’re encouraging everyone to class it up. Come out to the Devils Viewing Party at the Rock with a bowtie and a jersey, and stay classy New Jersey.
Stanley Cup Playoffs – Game #6 Preview – Florida Panthers vs. New Jersey Devils
Stanley Cup Playoffs
Florida Panthers vs. New Jersey Devils
7:30 PM E.T.
TV: MSG Plus (HD), NBCSN, TSN, RDS
Radio: Bloomberg 1130AM or SiriusXM 92
Here we are, Game 6 of this series and the Devils are down 3-2. This is a game of necessities for New Jersey as there is NO tomorrow should they lose tonight. So with that said, the Devils NEED to do everything in their power to win this game. They need to skate hard, crash the net and they need to put the “biscuit in the basket”.
ECQF Game 5 Recap: Devils on brink of elimination after shutout loss
I won’t waste time with a clever headline or three stars after this game. We know what happened. The Devils got outplayed by the home team and simply didn’t do enough to score goals on a goaltender who had a very fragile confidence after shaking outings in Games 1 and 3. They didn’t test Jose Theodore enough and now they’re on the brink of having their season end on Tuesday in New Jersey. What went wrong? That’s what I’ll attempt to do coming up.
Stanley Cup Playoffs Game #5 Preview – Florida Panthers vs. New Jersey Devils
Stanley Cup Playoffs
New Jersey Devils vs. Florida Panthers
6:30 PM E.T.
TV: MSG Plus (HD), NHLN-US, TSN, RDS, SUN (HD)
Radio: WFAN 660 or SiriusXM 92
In a crucial game 5 with the series tied 2-2, tonight’s game will determine if the Devils head back to the Prudential Center in game 6 looking to close out the series, or only play to stay alive for one more game. The Devils realize the importance of this game and as Ilya Kovalchuk stated, its a “huge game for both teams and I think that will be the deciding game in the series.” This under the radar first round playoff matchup is now set to a best of 3 series, with 2 of the 3 possible games remaining to be skated in Florida. The Bank Atlantic Center will be loud, as it was in games 1 and 2, but the Devils have been a solid road team all year and will not be intimidated.
Leading up to tonight, this series has been so up and down, back and forth, for both teams. Multiple seemingly insurmountable leads have been blown, goaltending has been inconsistent on both sides, and as a result the momentum has gone just like the series: back and forth. However, the momentum factor is definitely in the Devils hands right now. Coming off of a dominating 4-0 win in front of a sell out crowd in New Jersey, the Devils are feeling good about their play right now. Game 4 was the best 60 minute effort the Devils have had in this series, and if they are going to have any success against the gritty Florida Panthers in game 5, another 60 minute effort is key. Fortunate for the Devils and their fans’ sake, they were treated to a game of vintage Marty Brodeur goaltending, as he broke the NHL’s playoff record for most shutouts, picking up his 24th. Additionally, the Devils must stay out of the penalty box. Although they were able to kill off all 6 Florida power plays in game 4, led by Kris Versteeg, they have a dangerous power play unit that has been successful in this series. The #1 ranked PK that the Devils bring has not been up to par with its success during the regular season, but they hope to carry over their PK efforts in game 4 over to tonight.
On the other side of the rink, things are not as set in stone in terms of goaltending as they are in New Jersey, with Brodeur set to play in his 178th straight playoff game. Kevin Dineen once again has to make the call on whether to go back to Scott Clemmensen or Jose Theodore. Clemmensen was the hero in game 3 after Theodore had surrendered a 3-0 lead in the first six minutes, but the Devils were eventually able to score on him in game 4. Theodore was the starter for most of the regular season, but has looked extremely vulnerable early in this series. There are indications that Theodore will be back in net tonight, but Dineen has not officially announced the starter. The Devils will not make any lineup changes, and will go with the same group that they have gone with since the start of the series. Jason Garrison, a key component of Florida’s powerplay, is questionable tonight after not playing in game 4. The Devils are trying to win back to back playoff games for the first time since 2007 against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Panthers’ projected lineup:
Fleischmann – Weiss – Versteeg
Bergenheim – Goc – Samuelsson
Wolski – Matthias – Upshall
Sturm – Madden – Kopecky
Garrison (questionable) – Campbell
Kulikov – Weaver
Jovanovski – Gudbranson
Theodore
Clemmensen
Devils’ projected lineup:
Parise – Zajac – Kovalchuk
Sykora – Elias – Zubrus
Ponikarovsky – Henrique – Clarkson
Carter – S. Gionta – Bernier
Greene – Fayne
Salvador – Zidlicky
Volchenkov – Harrold
Brodeur
Hedberg
