Blog Archives
Game 40: Boston Bruins at New Jersey Devils
Game Time: 7:30 PM
TV: NBCSN
Radio: 970 AM
Match-Up
The New Jersey Devils (15-14-10) will play host to the Boston Bruins (25-9-4) tonight for third and final meeting of the season. This is the second game between these teams in the last week. Last Thursday, the Devils shipped up to Boston in a game that saw the Devils throw everything but the kitchen sink at Tuukka Rask, but he stopped all 40 shots. Jaromir Jagr would score in his debut as a Bruin, and the Devils would fall 1-0. These are two teams headed in different directions, as Boston is fighting to win the Northeast Division, and New Jersey is fighting to keep its playoffs hopes alive.
Lightning Strikes Twice in the Shootout; Win 5-4 Over the Devils
Three Stars of the Game:
3rd Star: Alex Killorn (1 goal, 1 assist)
2nd Star: Andy Greene (1 goal, 1 assist)
1st Star: Steven Stamkos (2 goals, 1 assist)
Stephen Gionta, Alexei Ponikarovsky, and Bryce Salvador all made their returns from injury, but it wasn’t enough as the Devils (15-11-8) dropped another tough one in the shootout Friday night to the Tampa Bay Lightning (15-18-1). The offense wasn’t the problem this time, it was the defensive play. The Devils scored in almost every way they could, scoring goals at even strength, on the power play, shorthanded, and even on a penalty shot, but couldn’t put one past Mathieu Garon during the shootout. The Devils are now 2 – 6 this year in the shootout, a huge drop-off from their shootout success last year.
Three Questions with Pierre McGuire
Back in December of 2011, I got the chance to chat with Ken Daneyko. The interview was interesting as I didn’t ask him the usual questions he gets as a former Stanley Cup Champion. There was no hockey involved in the questions, at all. I wanted to get him to open up so that Devils Army could get to know him better.
Earlier this week, NHL on NBC Analyst, and former NHL Head Coach, Pierre McGuire was at the AmeriHealth Pavilion to take part in a photo shoot for (201) Magazine. I got the chance to ask Pierre a few questions about what his last meal on Earth would be, what’s “now playing” on his iPod, and how he relaxes after a hard day.
If you can’t see the video above, you can watch it here.
Game Preview – Game 53: Your New Jersey Devils @ New York Rangers
New Jersey Devils (30-19-3, 63 points) vs New York Rangers (33-12-5, 71 points)
7:00 PM EST
TV: MSG+ 2
Radio: WFAN 660 AM
Matchup:
Tonight will be the third of six matchups between the Atlantic Division rivals, and the first of three to be played at Madison Square Garden. So far this season, the Devils and Rangers each have collected a win. The last game between the two was last Tuesday which saw the Devils tie the game in the closing seconds and take the win in a shootout.
Devils Looking For First Five-Game Winning Streak This Season:
The Devils find themselves 4-0-0 since the All-Star break and have tied their highest winning streak this season at four games. Three of the four wins have come across Atlantic Division rivals who are above the Devils in the standings. The Devils have been on an offensive surge since the All-Star break outscoring their opponents 20-12. Ilya Kovalchuk, who was named this past week’s number two star throughout the NHL, has four goals and seven assists in the first four matchups of the unofficial second-half of the season.
Looking at upcoming games, the Devils really need to pull out wins if they wish to continue climbing the standings. Future games consist of: at Rangers, vs Blues, vs Panthers, vs Sabres, and vs Ducks. The toughest of the next few games will be the Rangers and the Blues, two of the top six teams in the entire league. Despite St. Louis not being in the same conference as the Devils, a win against them on Thursday will be great momentum to carry the Devils through the rest of the season.
In order to secure a “W” tonight, the Devils defense needs to pick up. The main problem lately for the D is not being able to clear rebounds from in front of the net. This has been a concern in the games against the Rangers last Tuesday, Montreal and Philadelphia. Three of the four Flyers goals came from not being able to clear a rebound from in front. The defense appeared better in Sunday’s game against Pittsburgh, but the Devils have to make sure that they don’t get too comfortable on this winning streak.
Projected Devils Lineup:
Parise (C) – Elias (A) – Kovalchuk (A)
Sykora – Zubrus- Clarkson
Ponikarovsky- Henrique- Bernier
Boulton – Josefson- Janssen
Greene- Fayne
Salvador- Volchenkov
Taormina – Foster
Brodeur
Hedberg
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The Latest on the New York Rangers:
The Rangers are also coming off a big win against Philadelphia this past weekend. Sunday saw the Blue Shirts take a 5-2 win over their Winter Classic opponents. Star goaltender Henrik Lundqvist stopped 21 shots for his fourth straight win as the Rangers continue to show that they are a force to be reckoned with atop the standings.
The bright side for the Devils going into tonight’s game is the Rangers’ powerplay has only converted twice in its last 44 chances, and haven’t scored on a 5-on-4 situation in over a month.
Defenseman Steve Eminger (shoulder) could be medically cleared to play tonight. If he does, expect rookie Stu Bickel to lose his roster spot.
Projected Rangers Lineup:
Hagelin – Stepan – Gaborik
Dubinsky – Richards (A) – Callahan (C)
Fedotenko – Boyle - Prust
Rupp – Anisimov – Mitchell
McDonagh – Girardi
Del Zotto – Stralman
Staal (A) – Bickel
Lundqvist
Biron
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There will be a viewing party tonight at Texas-Arizona in Hoboken, NJ hosted by the Devils Army Generals. There will be trivia, giveaways, food & drink specials and more! Click here to visit the Facebook Event!
Follow the Devils Army Generals on Facebook and on Twitter for more in-depth coverage of Jersey’s Team.
Game Preview – Game 48: Your New Jersey Devils vs Buffalo Sabres
New Jersey Devils (26-19-2, 54 points) vs Buffalo Sabres (19-25-5, 43 points)
7:00 PM EST
TV: MSG+
Radio: WFAN 660 AM
Matchup:
Tonight marks the third of four matchups between the Devils and Sabres this season. Currently the Devils lead the season series 2-0-0 after defeating the Sabres in Buffalo, 5-3 on November 16, and most recently 3-1 on December 28 at Prudential Center.
Devils Playoff Chances:
Currently finding themselves sitting in 7th in the Eastern Conference standings, the New Jersey Devils appear to be doing just enough to get them qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs at season’s end. The problem is, the Devils find themselves 2-6-1 so far this season against the conference’s top four teams. After back-to-back 4-1 losses against the Boston Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers, the Devils find themselves 1-2-0 in the midst of a six-game homestand. Tonight’s game marks the last for the Devils going into the All-Star Break. The Devils NEED the win tonight psychologically.
Keys to Winning:
Obviously, the main key to win is to score more goals than the Sabres tonight. The problem is, both teams thrive on the same situation. The Devils seem to play their best hockey when on the PK, and the Sabres have more success while having the man advantage. The problem is, the Sabres find themselves at league average on the powerplay, tied for 14th in the league with a 18.7% success rate. The Devils, second in the league in PK with a 89.2% success rate, gave up nine powerplay goals over the first 35 games of the season. Unfortunately, the PK has given up the same amount of goals in the last 12 games. It’s a tough situation. You know your team is best when shorthanded, and you do lead the league in SHG’s with 11 while no other team has double digits. Stay out of the box.
Devils Stat Leaders:
Points – Patrik Elias, 45
Goals – Ilya Kovalchuk, 19
Assists – Patrik Elias, 28
Projected Devils Lineup:
Parise (C) – Henrique – Kovalchuk (A)
Sykora – Elias (A) – Zubrus
Ponikarovsky – Josefson – Clarkson
Boulton – Carter – Harrold
Salvador – Fayne
Taormina – Larsson
Volchenkov – Foster
Brodeur
Hedberg
*Scratches – Janssen, Mills
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The Latest on the Buffalo Sabres:
The Sabres are looking to turn things around on the road tonight as they step onto the ice at Prudential Center. Saturday Night in St. Louis, Buffalo lost its 12th straight game on the road, and fifth loss in a row overall. The Sabres’ recent struggles has dropped them in the standings, and they can currently be found tied for last in the East with Carolina. During their current five-game losing streak, the Sabres have been outscored 23-7. Overall this season, the Sabres are 8-15-0 on the road.
Sabres Stats Leaders:
Points – Jason Pominville, 47
Goals – Thomas Vanek, 19
Assists – Jason Pominville, 30
Projected Sabres Lineup:
Vanek – Adam – Pominville
Boyes- Leino – Stafford
Gerbe – Hecht – Kaleta
Ellis – Roy – McCormick
Sekera – Myers
Leopold – Weber
Finley – Gragnani
Miller
Enroth
Follow the Devils Army Generals on Facebook and on Twitter for more in-depth coverage of Jersey’s Team.
Just a Thought: The Devils are Creating a New Identity
We all love to sit and discuss the nuances of the game. The critics and cynics pick apart a bad pass, a bad save or a great PK that turned around the New Jersey Devils’ play. I’d like to step back and see the bigger picture that is forming. With coaching changes four times in the past three years, a slew of injuries, players leaving and a lot of young guys coming in, it is hard to say that the Devils have had a solid identity.
The players are coming together as a team under Peter DeBoer and are creating a new Devils’ identity. They are sustaining increased pressure on the forecheck (as seen by all the SHGs) and an offense that takes chances. We also can see that the players trust their coach. Parise has been quoted saying, “We would run through a wall for him.” Their coach has a mutual respect and has returned it with positive comments about his players.
Team chemistry is one element we don’t always use to describe the organization. We see across the NHL that teams sometimes have cliques or stand alone players. We also see how much this disrupts team chemistry. With pairings like Elias/Sykora, the Henrique line and the fact that the Devils have 7 players with more than 10 goals; I don’t believe they have any issues with chemistry. The players have built off of their coach’s attitude and are coming together as a team, Jersey’s team.
State Of The Devils Army Generals – One Year
Mr. Vanderbeek, Mr. Lamoriello, Mr. Krezwick, members of the third floor, my fellow Generals.
Today, I have the honor (which I gave myself) of reporting to you on the State of the Generals.
It’s hard to believe that the Devils Generals program has been around for over a year now. It seems like it was just yesterday that we were all in a room, not quite sure of what we were doing there or what to expect from the awesome opportunity that was being given to us. As the Generals program was something no other sports franchise had done, we were all new to this. However, every person in that room was excited.
It was no surprise (okay, maybe it was a bit surprising) that the team, after a 9-22-5 start to last season, began a 22-5 run on the day our Generals Twitter account was created and finished the season 27-13. They were as excited about this as we were!
From the launch of Mission Control on February 16th of last year, right up to our latest giveaway on Twitter and everything we have done in between, it has all been a tremendous, and sometimes surprising, success.
My fellow Devils fans, I blog before you today to report that the state of our program is strong.
I’d like to briefly review our first year and then talk a little bit about what can be expected from us going forward.
As with any great, original idea, there have been some bumps in the road during our first year. We don’t always see eye to eye on every issue. We have seen some people go, and there have been some new people added.
What we all agree on is that we are all fans, and we want to be the voice of other fans who can’t be in Mission Control with us. We all bring the voice of the fan, as a whole, to the team.
Make no mistake, if you ever bring an idea to us, whether it’s through Twitter, Facebook, this blog, or in person, it will be brought to the team. We are always listening and are always looking for new ways to improve the fan experience.
Our first successful project was the start of the #Devils1stGoal guesses on Twitter (something I can proudly say I started… with a little help from the Islanders and their first goal guess idea).
Through the first goal guess contest on Twitter, we have gone from a handful of guesses a game to over 200 guesses for each game. The correct guessers have gone from receiving shoutouts, to getting some cool prizes, including game tickets!
We’ve sent prizes out to all corners of the US. It’s only a matter of time before we send out prizes to some members of the Devils Army overseas, fans that interact with us on a daily basis.
We have put together and hosted quite a few viewing parties throughout New Jersey during our first year, the latest one being at Simko’s Grill in Brielle last weekend. They have all been quite successful, with each one growing as we’ve gone along. Special guests have included Ken Daneyko, Jim Dowd, Grant Marshall and others.
We’ve had some great giveaways at these events and as they grow, so to will the giveaways, prizes, and guests.
Our next viewing party will take place on February 7th at Texas-Arizona in Hoboken. We then return to Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza in Edison on February 27th for our second viewing party at that location this season.
These viewing parties are only successful if fans attend and enjoy them. Everyone is welcome to attend any of the viewing parties and, as always, is free to suggest a location and bring ideas and suggestions to us.
This blog has grown tremendously since our first post. You can find game previews, recaps, player profiles, and stories on breaking news. We have conducted interviews with WFAN statistician JohnCarl Ziegler, the Zam Crew, the Diablos 122, Ken Daneyko and others. Oh, I almost forgot… there was also the time General Chrissy Baptista got to interview Zach Parise.
Our Devils Generals Facebook page has also grown quickly, with 618 likes as of today.
We have set up Satellite Mission Control at the Digital Zone behind section 17 at The Rock. At every home game, you can find a few of the Generals manning the Twitter and Facebook accounts from there. Anyone is welcome to come and see what we do at any time.
During our first year, we have been written about in ESPN, Huffington Post, ClickZ, Simply Zesty, NY Times, USA Today and many others. A recent article in the Sports Business Journal highlighted how Mission Control has brought in a new kind of revenue for the team.
Mission Control was also selected as a finalist for the PRWeek “Arts, Entertainment & Media Campaign of the Year” award.
Now, what we have planned going forward.
Besides our planned and yet-to-be-planned viewing parties (we’ll be setting up playoff ones, of course), our next big event is our road trip to Long Island. This will be the first time the Generals get a group of the Devils Army together for a road game. If it’s as successful as we think it will be (there are only a few tickets left!), then others will definitely be planned.
We have some other exclusive interviews lined up. As our JohnCarl Ziegler and Zam Crew interviews have shown, we’ll be bringing you some things you’re not likely to find anywhere else. We enjoy giving you a look at some of the people who may be overlooked, but make game day a great experience.
We will also be at the AHL All-Star weekend for some updates!
Being at the AHL All-Star game, along with bringing some of our viewing parties to south Jersey, are some of the ways the Generals are bringing an awareness to everything our state, along with our hockey team, has to offer.
The Generals come from all over the state (and some from out-of-state). While we are all New Jersey Devils fans and this program concentrates on the team and what we can do to bring all of the fans closer together, we’re also committed to highlighting the great things the organization does throughout New Jersey.
You’ll find us talking about other events at Prudential Center. You’ll probably also find us posting about events that we feel are important to the city of Newark and the State of New Jersey.
We look forward to many more years of interacting with the best fans in the world and, more importantly, we look forward to hearing from you as to what we can do to make things even better!
LET’S GO DEVILS!
Game Preview – Game 42: Your New Jersey Devils vs Calgary Flames
New Jersey Devils (23-16-2, 48 points) vs Calgary Flames (19-19-5, 43 points)
9:30 PM EST
TV: MSG+ 2
Radio: WFAN 660 AM
Matchup:
Tonight mark’s the one and only time that the New Jersey Devils and the Calgary Flames will battle this season. The two teams last met in November of 2010 which saw the game end in a 2-1 shootout win for the Devils.
What a Difference a Year Makes:
Saturday marked the one year mark since the Devils traded their Captain, Jamie Langenbrunner, to the Dallas Stars. It seemed ever since that move, the Devils horrific season seemed to turn around despite missing the playoffs for the first time since the 95-96 season.
The Devils win on Saturday over Pittsburgh, which saw Ilya Kovalchuk score his 15th goal of the season which puts him in a tie for the team-lead with David Clarkson, put them at 48 points so far this season. This is impressively better as the Devils had only 22 points at the halfway point of last season.
This season so far, the Devils have seven players with double digit goal totals. Some of the skaters are surprises including David Clarkson, who has already surpassed his scoring from last season. Other surprises include Petr Sykora, who made the team out of training camp, and rookie Adam Henrique.
The Devils currently find themselves sixth in the Eastern Conference standings. They are two points out of fifth, four out of fourth (currently held by the Flyers), and eight behind the Rangers for first in the division and the East.
Projected Devils Lineup:
Parise (C) – Henrique – Kovalchuk (A)
Sykora – Elias (A) – Zubrus
Palmieri – Zalewski – Clarkson
Boulton – Carter – Tedenby
Salvador – Larsson
Taormina – Foster
Tallinder – Fayne
Brodeur
Hedberg
Scratches: Zajac, Josefson, Janssen
——————–
The Latest on the Calgary Flames:
The Flames are coming off a bounce-back win against the Minnesota Wild on Saturday after they were embarrassed by the Boston Bruins on Thursday night, 9-0.
The game against the Wild saw important career milestones get reached. Going into the third period the Flames and Wild were scoreless until Lance Bouma was able to beat Niklas Backstrom for his first National Hockey League Goal. This goal started a rally which saw Jarome Iginla score, the eventual game winner, as well as Curtis Glencross. Iginla’s goal was his 500th career NHL goal. What makes this mighty impressive is all the goals were scored with the same team, the Calgary Flames.
Iginla has shown no signs of stopping either, as he is currently on pace to score 30+ goals again in what would be his 11th consecutive season.
Flames Stats Leaders:
Points – Jarome Iginla, 33
Goals – Curtis Glencross, 17
Assists – Olli Jokinen, 21
Projected Flames Lineup:
Stempniak – Backlund – Bouma
Byron – Jones – Comeau
Brostopolous – Horak – Jackman
Bouwmeester – Butler
Brodie – Sarich
Wilson – Babstache
Kiprusoff
Irving
Follow the Devils Army Generals on Facebook and on Twitter for more in-depth coverage of Jersey’s Team.
Game Preview – Game 41: Your New Jersey Devils vs Pittsburgh Penguins
New Jersey Devils (22-16-2, 46 points) vs Pittsburgh Penguins (21-14-4, 46 points)
7:00 PM EST
TV: MSG+
Radio: 970 AM WNYM
Matchup:
This will be the third of six meetings between the Devils and the Penguins this season. Pittsburgh won the first game, which was played in Pittsburgh, 4-1. The Devils were able to secure a win against Pittsburgh at Prudential Center on the last day of 2011 by a score of 3-1.
Devils De-claw Panthers:
Last night’s game between the Devils and Panthers did not seem like a hockey game until the third period. It seemed to resemble a tennis matchup early on. Adam Henrique gave the Devils an early 1-0 lead, but the Panthers were able to tie it just under four minutes later. Mr. 1,000, Patrik Elias, was able to give the Devils an early lead in the second period, scoring just 36 seconds into the period. Yet, the Panthers struck again just over two minutes later to tie the game, again.
It seemed as if it was going to be one of those games, again. The Devils blowing leads, and when it appeared that Florida had something to prove, coming out firing in the third period, I did not have a good feeling in the pit of my stomach.
Just seconds after the Devils Army Generals asked on Twitter who would score the game winning goal for the Devils, we had a goalvalchuk. Kovalchuk’s 13th of the season gave the Devils a 3-2 lead, which was enough for the eventual win. Kovalchuk scored a shorthanded empty netter for his 14th of the season, and Captain Zach Parise also scored an empty netter for his 14th of the season as well.
Palmieri Re-Called:
The New Jersey Devils have announced that right wing Nick Palmieri has been re-called from Albany of the AHL, and places Anton Volchenkov on injured reserve, retroactive to December 31.
This season with New Jersey, Palmieri has four goals and three assists in 23 games played. He has been sent down to Albany twice so far this season. In Albany, Palmieri has three goals and one assist in 15 games.
As for Volchenkov, he has missed three straight games after suffering a lower body injury against Pittsburgh on New Year’s Eve.
Where to Watch the Game:
The Devils Army Generals will be hosting a viewing party tonight at Simko’s Grill in Brielle, NJ. There will be giveaways, drink specials, photo-ops, and an appearance by Devils alum, and Stanley Cup Champion… Jim Dowd!
Be sure to check the event on Facebook, by clicking here, for more details!
Projected Devils Lineup:
Parise (C) – Henrique – Kovalchuk (A)
Sykora – Elias (A) – Zubrus
Tedenby – Zalewski – Clarkson
Boulton – Carter – Palmieri
Salvador – Larsson
Taormina – Foster
Tallinder – Fayne
Brodeur
Hedberg
Scratches: Zajac, Josefson, Janssen
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The Latest on the Pittsburgh Penguins:
Just last week, the Penguins were on the verge of tying the New York Rangers on-top of the Atlantic Division standings, after being prevented by the Philadelphia Flyers, the New Jersey Devils also gave them a loss on New Year’s Eve.
Last night, the Rangers gave the Penguins their season’s worst winless streak of three games, all of which have been against division rivals. After losing at home last night in Pittsburgh, the Penguins will come out strong to make sure they don’t lose back-to-back games at CONSOL Enery Center. Despite the Penguins going up against future hall of famer Martin Brodeur, who has been playing spectacularly against the Penguins recently going 3-1-1, the Devils have yet to win at the Penguins’ new home, 0-3-1.
On the injury front, the Penguins saw Pascal Dupuis (lower body), Steve Sullivan (illness), Richard Park (foot), Paul Martin (lower body) and Zbynek Michalek (undisclosed) all return to the lineup for the Penguins’ game against the Rangers last night. However, just when it seemed all was starting to right itself, the Penguins may be without center Jordan Staal.
With just under five minutes left in the game, Staal and Rangers forward Mike Rupp collided at center ice in what appears to have been knee-to-knee contact. Staal was in obvious pain, but eventually stood and made his way off the ice. Penguins Head Coach Dan Bylsma had no update on Staal’s condition at the end of last night’s game and he is listed as questionable for tonight’s game against the Devils.
Projected Penguins Lineup:
Kunitz – Malkin – Neal
Dupuis – Staal – Kennedy
Sullivan – Park – Cooke
Adams – Vitale – McDonald
Orpik – Niskanen
Martin – Michalek
Lovejoy – Engelland
Fleury
Johnson
Follow the Devils Army Generals on Facebook and on Twitter for more in-depth coverage of Jersey’s Team.
