Blog Archives
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.
Game Preview – Game 21: Your New Jersey Devils vs New York Islanders
New Jersey Devils (11-8-1, 23 points) vs New York Islanders (5-10-4, 14 points)
3:00 PM EST
TV: MSG Plus 2
Radio: WFAN 660 AM
Matchup:
Today’s black Friday matchup will see the Devils and Islanders meet for the first of six meetings this season, as well as the first game of a home-and-home series. The Devils won the season series last year, 4-2-0. Two of those four wins came in overtime.
Devils vs Blue Jackets Recap:
On Wednesday, the Devils hosted the Columbus Blue Jackets at Prudential Center and were able to secure their seventh win in 10 games.
Dainius Zubrus scored the only Devils goal in regulation, and Ilya Kovalchuk & Zach Parise scored in the shootout to give the Devils their 11th win of the season. Last year, the Devils didn’t get win number 11 until game 42 of the season.
Martin Brodeur also kept the Devils in the game by making 35 saves on the night.
The Devils, now 11-8-1 on the season, are now tied for third place in the Atlantic Division with cross-Hudson rivals, the New York Rangers.
Palmieri sent to Albany (AHL):
Yesterday was not a Happy Thanksgiving for Nick Palmieri who was informed that he was being sent to the Albany Devils of the AHL.
Palmieri’s play this season has not been up to par with his play last season. Last season, Palmieri had nine goals, eight assists and a plus-9 in 43 games.
So far this season, Palmieri only has three goals, three assists and is a minus-5 in 19 games played.
Palmieri didn’t play Monday against the Panthers and played just over eight minutes on the fourth line in the Devils win over Columbus Wednesday.
Palmieri’s demotion comes when Eric Boulton is also in Albany on a conditioning stint. It also means that Mattias Tedenby can expect some more ice-time as he still looks for his first goal of the season.
Against the Islanders:
All-time the Devils are 74-80-20-1 when playing the Islanders and 29-47-12-0 when playing at the Nassau Coliseum.
Patrik Elias is the all-time leading scorer for the Devils against the Islanders with 74 points (30 goals, 44 assists) in 71 games played.
Zach Parise has 33 points (17 goals, 16 assists) in 36 career games against the Islanders.
Johan Hedberg is 6-6-2 in his career against the Islanders with a 3.02 GAA
Projected Devils Lineup:
Parise – Henrique – Kovalchuk
Sykora - Elias - Zubrus
Tedenby - Carter – Clarkson
Pelley - Sestito – Janssen
Greene – Larsson
Tallinder - Fayne
Volchenkov – Salvador
Hedberg
Brodeur
——————–
Islanders’ Bad Luck Continues:
The New York Islanders found themselves down 1-0 early to the Philadelphia Flyers Wednesday night, but were able to score three unanswered goals to take a 3-1 lead.
However, a subpar performance from goaltender Rick DiPietro saw the Flyers tie the game and win it in overtime.
The Islanders find themselves on a three game losing streak, and have dropped the last 13 of 16.
Random Islanders Stats:
The Islanders have given up a goal on their opponent’s first shot of the game in each of their last two games and a total of five times this season. They are 0-3-2 when this happens this season.
The Islanders are 4-1-2 when scoring first and 1-9-2 when allowing the game’s first goal.
To coincide with the Devils’ third period problems, the Isles have been outscored 15-1 in the final frame over their last seven games, including three empty net goals. So far this season, the Islanders have been outscored 26-8 in the third period.
Projected Islanders Lineup:
Moulson – Tavares – Parenteau
Grabner – Nielsen – Okposo
Martin – Bailey – Niederreiter
Haley – Reasoner – Ullstrom
Streit – Staios
Macdonald – Hamonic
Mottau – Jurcina
Montoya
DiPietro
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Game Preview – Game 17: Your New Jersey Devils @ Buffalo Sabres
New Jersey Devils (8-7-1, 17 points) @ Buffalo Sabres (11-6-0, 22 points)
7:30 PM EST
TV: Versus
Radio: WFAN 660 AM
Matchup:
The Devils get their first look of the season at the Buffalo Sabres tonight. This will be the first of four meetings between the two clubs.
Devils Fall to Bruins:
It’s never easy playing the defending Stanley Cup Champions, but the Devils stayed on par with the Bruins for most of the night.
The Devils rallied from two third period deficits with Nick Palmieri scoring the Devils second and third goals giving him his first career two-goal game.
Johan Hedberg, who got the start in the front game of back-to-back games, had his moments in net, but had a couple flubs allowing soft goals to the Bruins.
The Devils came out firing with less than a minute left to play putting several scoring chances on net, but could not get the puck past Tim Thomas. The final score saw the Devils come up just short, 4-3.
Kovalchuk to Play Tonight:
Ilya Kovalchuk has been inserted back into the Devils lineup and will once again play right wing on a line with Devils captain, Zach Parise, and Adam Henrique. Kovalchuk, who has missed the last five games due to a groin injury, told the media this morning that he is excited to be back on the ice and was excited to see the powerplay unit score a goal. “We’re on fire now,” he said.
With Kovalchuk coming back into the lineup, someone must be scratched. For tonight, Coach DeBoer has elected to scratch struggling winger, Mattias Tedenby. Tedenby is looking at it in a positive light saying that it will allow him to save energy and when he gets the chance, he’s going to “go for it.” DeBoer hopes that resting Tedenby will light a spark in Tedenby’s play.
Against the Bruins:
All-time the Devils are 45-40-16-0 against the Sabres, and are 21-20-9-0 when playing in Buffalo.
Patrik Elias & Ilya Kovalchuk both have 31 points in their careers against the Sabres. Elias has 7 goals and 24 assists, while Kovalchuk has 19 goals and 12 assists. Kovalchuk, however, only has two points in four games against the Sabres since joining the Devils in February of 2010.
Dainius Zubrus has only one point (an assist) in 15 games against his former club while playing for the Devils. Tonight will mark a milestone in Zubrus’ NHL career as he plays in game number 1,000.
Martin Brodeur is 30-16-7 in his career against the Sabres with an impressive 2.17 goals against average.
Projected Devils Lineup:
Parise – Henrique – Kovalchuk
Sykora - Elias - Zubrus
Palmieri - Carter – Clarkson
Zharkov - Mills - Janssen
Greene – Larsson
Tallinder - Fayne
Volchenkov – Salvador
Brodeur
Hedberg
——————–
No Miller? No Problem:
After being hit by Boston Bruins forward Milan Lucic on Saturday, Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller was diagnosed with a concussion putting him on the shelf for an unknown amount of time.
Usually, seeing your star goaltender go down with a concussion isn’t a good sign, but Sabres fans aren’t worried at all. In net, the Sabres will have Jhonas Enroth which is a blessing in disguise. Enroth is playing better than any goaltender in the league currently. Enroth is 6-0-0 so far this season and has not lost a game in regulation since November 24 2010, in which he only gave up one goal against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Enroth is also 13-0-1 in his last 14 decisions.
Lindy’s Longevity:
Lindy Ruff was named head coach of the Buffalo Sabres in July of 1997. Since then, there have been 164 coaching changes in the NHL (the Devils have 13 of them with 9 different head coaches).
Ruff is the second-longest tenured coach in the four major professional sports leagues. Ahead of him is Gregg Popovich, coach of the San Antonio Spurs since 1996.
Projected Sabres Lineup:
Vanek – Roy – Pominville
Leino – Adam – Stafford
Kaleta – Gaustad – Gerbe
Eliss – McCormick – Boyes
Leopold – Regehr
Weber – Sekera
Ehrhoff – Gragnani
Enroth
MacIntyre
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Game Preview – Game 16: Your New Jersey Devils @ The BruCrew
New Jersey Devils (8-6-1, 17 points) @ Boston Bruins (8-7-0, 16 points)
7:00 PM EST
TV: MSG Plus 2
Radio: WFAN 660 AM
Matchup:
Tonight marks the first of four games, and first of two in Boston, between the Devils and the Bruins. Last year, the Bruins took the season series 3-1. The Devils beat the Bruins in the final game of the season in a game which meant nothing for either side and saw the Bruins rest some key players, including Tim Thomas (who was 3-0 against the Devils last year).
Devils Win Again in Shootout:
In their last game, the New Jersey Devils looked to be heading for another loss. The Devils found themselves down 2-0 in the second period, until Petr Sykora snapped a shot off a faceoff to pull the Devils within one. Ryan Carter then deflected a shot with just over a minute left in the second period to tie the score.
The Devils held on and Johan Hedberg made remarkable save after remarkable save to force the game into OT and a shootout.
The Devils sent out Zach Parise, Adam Henrique and Patrik Elias in the shootout with Parise scoring. However, Alex Ovechkin scored for the Washington Capitals, so a fourth round was needed. The fourth shooter was chosen by Assistant Coach Adam Oates, and it was David Clarkson. Clarkson was able to put the puck past Capitals goaltender Michael Neuvirth giving the Devils the extra point and the win.
Will Ilya Kovalchuk Play Tonight?:
I wish I could tell you either yes or no.
After injuring his groin in the Devils’ 4-3 win over Philadelphia two weeks ago, Ilya Kovalchuk started participating in full-team practices with the Devils. He was skating as an extra forward with Rod Pelley. During this morning’s skate, Kovalchuk was skating as an extra forward again, BUT was a part of the first powerplay unit when the team ran through powerplay drills.
Originally, Head Coach Peter DeBoer, who officially confirmed the injury to Kovalchuk is a groin injury, said that Kovalchuk would NOT play tonight. However, he will now let Kovalchuk participate in the pre-game warmup.
DeBoer had an idea to use Kovalchuk in only powerplay instances tonight, but felt that Kovalchuk would get stiff while sitting on the bench in between powerplay opportunities.
Odds are Kovalchuk will be scratched again tonight, but it will be a game time decision.
Against the Bruins:
All-time the Devils are 41-44-15-2 against the Bruins, and are 19-23-8-2 when playing in Boston.
Patrik Elias is the all-time leading scorer for the Devils against the Bruins with 39 points (21 goals, 18 assists) in 50 games played.
Ilya Kovalchuk, however, has the most career points against the Bruins with 40 points (22 goals, 18 assists) in 37 games played.
Johan Hedberg is 4-8-2 in his career against the Bruins with a 2.93 GAA.
Projected Devils Lineup:
Parise – Henrique – Palmieri
Sykora - Elias - Zubrus
Tedenby - Carter – Clarkson
Zharkov - Mills - Janssen
Greene – Larsson
Tallinder - Fayne
Volchenkov – Salvador
Hedberg
Brodeur
——————–
Lucic Not Suspended:
The talk of the NHL world this past weekend was whether or not Bruins forward Milan Lucic was going to get suspended for his hit on Buffalo Sabres’ goaltender Ryan Miller. Miller left the game and was later diagnosed with a concussion.
Lucic met with Brendan Shanahan on Monday to discuss disciplinary actions, but the decision was made not to suspend him. Shanahan felt that there wasn’t evidence of the hit being outstandingly bad that warranted a suspension.
Many in the NHL and fans were angry with Shanahan’s decision and believe that if an injury occurs on the play, there should be a suspension.
Seguin earns NHL First Star of the Week:
The Bruins hot offense has been sparked by NHL sophomore, Tyler Seguin.
Seguin, the second overall draft pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, has scored seven goals in his last four games.
He currently has the league’s top plus/minus at +14, is tied for second in the league in goals (11) and tied for fourth in the NHL in points (20).
Projected Bruins Lineup:
Marchand – Seguin – Bergeron
Lucic – Krejci – Horton
Thornton – Campbell – Caron
Peverly – Kelly – Hamill
Chara – Boychuk
Corvo – Seidenberg
Ference – McQuaid
Thomas
Rask
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Game Preview – Game 12: Atlantapeg Thrashjets @ Your New Jersey Devils
Winnipeg Jets (5-6-1) @ New Jersey Devils (5-5-1)
7:00 PM EDT
TV: MSG Plus 2
Radio: WFAN 660 AM
Matchup:
This is the first of four matchups between the Devils and the Jets this season. Last season, the Devils took three of four from the then, Atlanta Thrashers.
Devils Sneak Past Flyers:
A lot happened in Thursday’s game against the Flyers that could make any Devils fan angry. Especially Danny Briere’s shootout move which angered some NHL fans.
The Devils found themselves down 2-0 in the second period, but retaliated quickly after Philly scored their second goal. Zach Parise scored with a quick backhand to pull the Devils within one. Not only was this goal important for the entire team, but it gave the Parise, Henriqure, Kovalchuk line some energy. This proved as minutes later, Ilya Kovalchuk stole a pass and fed it to Adam Henrique for Henrique’s first career NHL goal.
The Devils then found themselves down early in the third period after a penalty shot was awarded to Maxime Talbot. With just over six minutes left in the game, great pressure by the Devils and Patrik Elias, especially, allowed the surging David Clarkson to score and send the game into overtime.
Elias and Parise scored for the Devils in the shootout giving the team a huge win, but not before some controversy with Flyers’ Danny Briere’s shootout move. It appeared that Briere came to a complete stop along with the puck, which is a no-no. Rules state that the puck must maintain a forward motion at all time. From certain replays it appears that the puck does indeed move backwards after Briere stops. The referees reviewed it and called it a goal. It will be interesting to see what happens from here on out.
The Devils’ Curse:
Two of the Devils key centermen, Travis Zajac and Jacob Josefson, are currently out with injuries making the middle of the Devils lineup a bit lacking.
Martin Brodeur missed about three weeks with a sore shoulder. When he returned, he seemed a little off of his game. Even going as far as to say that his shoulder hurt Thursday morning, and he doesn’t know if the shoulder will ever be 100%.
Now, Andy Greene was a last minute scratch on Thursday night due to a lower body injury that Head Coach Pete DeBoer said that Greene had been playing with for a while.
And just when it seemed like it couldn’t get any worse. Ilya Kovalchuk appeared to have pulled a muscle while skating late in the third period. During this morning’s skate, Kovalchuk was skating with Parise and Henrique but left the ice early. Not looking good, but could be a game time decision.
AND THEN, after leading the Devils to a win over the Flyers, Johan Hedberg said he suffered a back injury during the game. He says he feels much better now, though.
Against the Jets/Thrashers:
All time the Devils are 26-10-8-0 when playing the Jets/Thrashers and are 12-6-4-0 when playing in New Jersey.
Patrik Elias has the most points as a Devil against the Jets with 34 points (14 goals, 20 assists).
Dainius Zubrus also has 34 points in his career against the Jets also with 14 goals and 20 assists.
Ilya Kovalchuk has four goals and one assist in five games played against his former club.
Projected Devils Lineup:
Parise – Henrique – Clarkson
Sykora – Elias – Zubrus
Tedenby – Carter – Palmieri
Pelley – Mills – Janssen
Salvador – Larsson
Tallinder – Fayne
Fraser – Volchenkov
Brodeur
Hedberg
——————–
Jets Catch Devils’ Curse
If you thought the New Jersey Devils had it bad with injuries, the Winnipeg Jets will laugh in your face. The Jets blueline is struggling at the moment missing key components of the Jets defense, including backup goaltender Chris Mason. Here are the Jets injuries coming into tonight’s game.
Tobias Entrom (upper body)
Ron Hainsey (upper body)
Chris Mason (groin)
Mark Stuart (upper body)
Randy Jones (right foot)
The Jets are also without forward Eric Fehr due to a shoulder injury.
To offset the missing players, the Jets have called up Paul Postma, Brett Festerling and Mark Flood from the St. John’s IceCaps from the American Hockey League.
Jets Against Devils:
The Jets (not the Atlanta franchise, but the old Jets who are now Phoenix) were 20-8-7-0 when facing the Devils in the regular season, including 8-5-4-0 when playing in New Jersey.
Since this franchise used to be the Atlanta Thrashers, the leading scorer against the Devils, now plays for the Devils. Ilya Kovalchuk had 15 goals and 9 assists against the Devils.
Now the leading scorer against the Devils is Nik Antropov with 18 points (9 goals, 9 assists) in 29 games against the Devils.
Jets goaltender Ondrej Pavelec is 2-2-1 with a 2.61 goals against average all time against the Devils.
Projected Jets Lineup:
Ladd – Little – Wellwood
Kane – Antropov – Burmistrov
Mcardle – Stapleton – Wheeler
Glass – Slater – Thoburn
Postma – Byfuglien
Festerling – Bogosian
Oduya – Flood
Pavelec
Mason
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Game Preview – Game 11: Your New Jersey Devils @ Broad Street Bullies
New Jersey Devils (4-5-1) @ Philadelphia Flyers (7-4-1)
7:00 PM EDT
TV: MSG Plus
Radio: WFAN 660 AM
Matchup:
This marks the second of six games between the two clubs this season. The Flyers and Devils last played on October 8 which was the Devils home opener, which saw the Flyers ruin the night by shutting out the Devils, 3-0.
Last Game Recap:
Wednesday night’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs saw a lot of back and forth action. The Leafs would score, and then the Devils would tie it up. Unfortunately, Joffrey Lupul would lead the Leafs with a hat trick in the second period, giving them the 5-3 win.
The big story of the game was the return of Martin Brodeur in goal. Brodeur had missed nearly three weeks while recovering from a sore shoulder. It is no lie that Brodeur appeared to be rusty in his return, but did produce a highlight reel save on Leafs forward Phil Kessel. The save was almost the same move that Brodeur injured his shoulder on. Afterwards, Brodeur said his shoulder felt fine.
Elias sets Devils Record:
With his 93rd career powerplay goal on Wednesday night, Patrik Elias passed John MacLean and is now the franchise record holder for most powerplay goals. When asked about breaking the record, Elias told the media that it’s “not important at all if it happens in a loss.”
Not only was that goal Elias’ 93rd career powerplay goal, it also saw Adam Larsson’s first career NHL point. Larsson got the primary assist as he fed the puck beautifully to Elias.
Elias felt bad for not collecting the puck for Larsson as a souvenir. Here’s a picture of the puck.
Against the Flyers:
All-time the Devils are 87-70-18-0 in 54 games played against the Philadelphia Flyers
When playing in Philadelphia, the Devils are 32-45-11-0 against the Flyers.
Patrik Elias is the residential Flyer killer, with 70 points (32 goals, 38 assists) in 70 career games.
Projected Devils Lineup:
Kovalchuk – Parise – Sykora
Elias - Zubrus – Clarkson
Tedenby - Henrique - Palmieri
Mills – Carter – Janssen
Greene – Larsson
Tallinder - Fayne
Volchenkov – Salvador
Hedberg
Brodeur
——————–
Flyers Goaltending:
Ilya Bryzgalov was signed to be the Flyers number one goaltender. But things seemed iffy for the Flyers between the pipes when both Bryzgalov and backup Sergei Bobrovsky gave up a combined nine goals against the Winnipeg Jets. After that, Bryzgalov told the media he had “lost his way.”
The Flyers even announced on Monday morning that Bryzgalov was not going to talk to the media except in postgame (only if he played). However, the club is informed that it violated the league’s media policy and soon the media ban was lifted. Goalies can continue to talk to the media on a daily basis, but they will have a time limit.
All seems to be right with the number one right now as he has only allowed three goals in back-to-back wins.
Hot Flyers:
Look out for Scott Hartnell, who has scored five goals in five games, and has collected 10 points in that span.
Projected Flyers Lineup:
Hartnell – Giroux – Jagr
van Riemsdyk – Couturier – Voracek
Simmonds – Talbot – Nodl
Rinaldo – Holmstrom – Shelley
Timonen – Coburn
Lilja – Meszaros
Gustafsson – Carle
Bryzgalov
Bobrovsky
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Game Preview – Game 10: Toronto St. Patricks @ Your New Jersey Devils
TV: MSG Plus
Radio: WFAN 660 AM
Matchup:
Tonight is the first of four games between the Devils and the Maple Leafs this season. Last year, the Devils were 2-2 against the Leafs, with one of the wins coming in overtime. The Devils were outscored 10-8 in the season series.
Home Ice Advantage?:
The Devils will return home to the Prudential Center tonight to take on the Maple Leafs, and I bet they’re glad to be home. The Devils dropped three of four on the road, collecting their only win against the Kings last Tuesday. They were outscored 12-8 on the trip.
The Devils find themselves 2-1-1 at home this season. Their last game at Prudential Center was on October 21 against the San Jose Sharks which resulted in a 3-2 loss in a shootout.
As pointed out on Speaking of the Devils, “The Devils play play four of their next five at Prudential Center (they play in Philly tomorrow), but play 15 out of their next 21 games on the road.”
Devils Injury Update:
Martin Brodeur has confirmed that he is starting in goal tonight for the New Jersey Devils, after missing six games with a sore shoulder.
Travis Zajac made a visit to Devils practice on Monday. Zajac told reporters that he has started skating on his own in Winnipeg, but there is still no timetable for his return. If going by the first indication, the original prediction for Zajac’s return would be in the middle of the month.
Jacob Josefson is still recovering from surgery to repair his broken right clavicle. He’s still expected to miss three-to-four months.
Eric Boulton has resumed practicing with the team after hurting his hand in a fight on October 21 in the game against San Jose.
Against the Maple Leafs:
All-time the Devils are 36-35-15-1 against the Maple Leafs. They are 21-12-9-1 when playing in New Jersey.
Ilya Kovalchuk has the most career points against the Leafs, 16 goals and 19 assists.
Patrik Elias has the most points against the Leafs as a Devil with 13 goals and 16 assists.
Martin Brodeur is 20-17-9 in his career against the Leafs, with a 2.53 goals against average.
Projected Devils Lineup:
Parise – Henrique – Kovalchuk
Sykora - Elias - Zubrus
Tedenby - Carter – Clarkson
Palmieri – Mills – Janssen
Greene – Larsson
Tallinder - Fayne
Volchenkov – Salvador
Brodeur
Hedberg
——————–
Why was Phil Kessel Chosen Last in the All Star Draft?:
Maple Leafs forward Phil Kessel is getting the last laugh at the fact he was drafted last in last year’s All Star Fantasy Draft. Kessel led the league in October with a league best 10 goals and 18 points, earning him the Player of the Month award. With Kessel’s hot start, the Maple Leafs find themselves first in the Northeast Division with 15 points.
Reim-Time:
Leafs goaltender James Reimer has missed the last several games while recovering from whiplash. He has been practicing with the Leafs for a couple of days now, and has been labeled by Leafs coach Ron Wilson as a game-time decision.
Projected Maple Leafs Lineup:
Lupol – Connolly – Kessel
MacArthur – Grabovski – Kulemin
Frattin – Bozak – Lombardi
Dupuis – Steckel – Brown
Gunnarsson – Phaneuf
Liles – Komisarek
Gardiner – Schenn
Gustavsson
Reimer
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Game Preview – Game 8: Your New Jersey Devils @ Winnipeg Jets Version 1.0
New Jersey Devils (4-2-1) @ Phoenix Coyotes (3-3-2)
10:00 PM EDT
TV: MSG Plus
Radio: WFAN 660 AM
Matchup:
Tonight is the only game between the Devils and the Coyotes this season. The two teams last met on December 16, 2010 at Prudential Center. That game saw Ilya Kovalchuk score a pair of goals and Martin Brodeur stop all shots, leading the Devils to a 3-0 win.
Devils @ Kings Recap:
In their last game against the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday, the New Jersey Devils played a complete team game. Passing was tape-to-tape and it appeared that the team was having fun out on the ice.
Dainius Zubrus led the team’s efforts with a pair of goals in the matchup, leading the Devils to a 3-0 victory. Patrik Elias also scored, assisted by Petr Sykora. It appears that not only did Elias and Sykora find their old chemistry again, but Zubrus appears to be the Arnott-style player they needed on the line with them.
Johan Hedberg was completely outstanding again, stopping all shots fired at him. This shutout was Hedbergs 18th career shutout and he now improves to 4-1-1 on the season as Martin Brodeur continues to recover from a shoulder injury.
Zach Parise also played his first game as a center this season, in between Ilya Kovalchuk and Nick Palmieri. The line did not produce any points in the game; however, Parise did have a 64% face-off percentage. Not too bad for his first game.
Devils Claim Carter off Waivers:
On Wednesday, the Devils claimed center Ryan Carter off of waivers from the Florida Panthers. Carter has no points, six penalty minutes and is a -1, so far this season.
Carter had been playing with the Florida Panthers for the first seven games this season. He was acquired by the Panthers last year from Carolina. Coach DeBoer had the opportunity to work with him in Florida and is excited for what Carter can bring to the Devils.
Over his career, Carter has played 189 games and has 14 goals & 21 assists. He has previously played for Florida, Carolina and Anaheim.
Carter is participating in the morning skate at Jobing.Com Arena in Phoenix this morning wearing number 20. He is centering Mills and Janssen, meaning Rod Pelley is the extra forward.
Interesting Trivia: Carter got his first two NHL goals on February 8, 2008 in a 2-1 Anaheim win over the New Jersey Devils, scoring both on Martin Brodeur.
Against the Coyotes:
All-time the Devils are 18-29-7-0 in 54 games played against the Phoenix Coyotes/Winnipeg Jets.
Patrik Elias has the most points in his career, among active Devils with 15 points (6 goals, 9 assists) in 18 games played against the Coyotes.
John MacLean has the most career points, among any Devils player, with 20 points (13 goals, 7 assists).
Johan Hedberg is 3-5-1 against the Coyotes in his career, sporting a 3.54 GAA.
Projected Devils Lineup:
Kovalchuk – Parise – Palmieri
Sykora - Elias - Zubrus
Tedenby - Henrique - Clarkson
Mills-Carter-Janssen
Greene – Larsson
Tallinder - Fayne
Volchenkov – Salvador
Hedberg
Kinkaid
——————–
Coyotes Coming Off A Loss:
Coyotes captain, Shane Doan, reached the 300-goal milestone in front of hometown Phoenix on Tuesday in a game against the Dallas Stars. The third period goal would give the ‘Yotes a 2-1 lead, but they could not hang on as they fell 3-2 in a shootout. Upon collecting his 300th goal, Doan now joins only Scott Mellanby as players to score 300 goals, but never score a hat trick.
Lucky Alternate Jersey?:
The Coyotes will wear their alternate black jerseys every Thursday and Friday home game this season. Currently this season, they’re 0-1-0 while wearing the jersey, but they will look to turn that around tonight. Last season, the Coyotes were 8-5-1 while wearing the jerseys and have put up a total of 21-8-2 since debuting the jersey for the 2008-2009 season.
Projected Coyotes Lineup:
Whitney-Langkow-Doan
Boedker-Hanzal-Vrbata
Pyatt-Gordon-Korpikoski
Torres-Nokelainen-Bissonnette
Yandle-Morris
Ekman-Larsson – Aucoin
Schlemko-Klesla
Smith
LaBarbera
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.
Game Preview – Game 7: Your New Jersey Devils @ Southland Monarchs
New Jersey Devils (3-2-1) @ Los Angeles Kings (5-1-1)
10:30 PM EDT
TV: MSG Plus
Radio: WFAN 660 AM
Matchup:
Tonight marks the second and final matchup between the Kings and the Devils this season. The two clubs met at Prudential Center on October 13, which resulted in the Devils winning 2-1 in a shootout.
Devils News:
After dropping a second straight game Saturday against the Pittsburgh Penguins, the New Jersey Devils look to get back on the winning side.
Fans are worried about the team’s performance due to injuries to Jacob Josefson (broken clavicle), Travis Zajac (torn achilles) and Martin Brodeur (sore shoulder). They’re even going as far as to compare this season to last season already. With the Devils record being 3-2-1 through six games, they already have a better record then they did at this point last year. The Devils did not win it’s third game until their 11th game last season on October 29, and did not win their fourth game until game 14 on November 3. Last season, on October 25, the Devils were 2-7-1.
With the absence of two key centers, Devils Coach Peter DeBoer made a drastic change during the team’s practice yesterday. In Saturday’s game, you saw Parise, Elias, and Sykora playing together as well as Kovalchuk, Zubrus, Palmieri. DeBoer switched things up by swapping Parise and Zubrus. I know you’re thinking, “Wait, there’s three wingers on one line now.” You’re right. Zach Parise will be playing at center tonight in between Kovalchuk and Palmieri. Parise was drafted as a center, and had played center under Brent Sutter a couple seasons back. Parise said the change came as a bit of a surprise and was a little nerve-wracking as he hasn’t played center in years.
Breaking News:
Petr Sykora has the flu and may not be able to play tonight, the team says. If he is unable to play, you will see Mark Fraser skating at Left Wing tonight, expect major lineup changes.
Against the Kings:
All-time the Devils are 25-25-4-1 against the Kings, but only 9-14-3-1 when playing IN Los Angeles.
Patrik Elias has the most points against the Kings as a Devil, four goals and seven assists in 14 games played.
Dainius Zubrus has the most career points against the Kings with 15, five goals and ten assists in 17 games played.
Johan Hedberg is 1-6-0 against the Kings in his career, sporting a 4.09 GAA.
Projected Devils Lineup:
Kovalchuk – Parise – Palmieri
Sykora/Fraser - Elias - Zubrus
Tedenby - Henrique - Clarkson
Pelley - Mills - Janssen
Greene – Larsson
Tallinder - Fayne
Volchenkov – Salvador
Hedberg
Kinkaid
——————–
Kings News:
The main story for the Kings, without a doubt, is the hot play of young goaltender Jonathan Quick. In his third, fourth, and fifth starts of the season, Quick became the franchise record holder for the longest shutout streak. His 1-0 victory of Dallas on Saturday has now gone 188:10 without allowing a single goal. Luckily for the Devils, he will not be playing tonight. Jonathan Bernier is expected to get the start in goal.
Stud defenseman Drew Doughty has missed three straight games after suffering an upper-body injury against the Philadelphia Flyers on October 15. He was placed on Injured Reserve on October 16 and is eligible to come off for tonight’s game; however he’s not expected to return for another 7-10 days.
The Kings are also a hot team at the moment winning four straight games, and collecting points in five straight games. This dates back to the game at Prudential Center on October 13 in which the Devils beat the Kings 2-1 in a Shootout.
Kings Leaders:
Anze Kopitar leads the team in Points (10), Goals (4) and Assists (6).
Jonathan Quick leads the Kings in Wins (5) GAA (0.81), Save % (.972) and Shutouts (3)
Projected Kings Lineup:
Gagne-Kopitar-Williams
Penner-Richards-Brown
Richardson-Stoll-Moreau
Clifford-Lewis-Hunter
Scuderi-Johnson
Mitchell-Voynov
Martinez-Greene
Bernier
Quick
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Game Preview – Game 6: Your New Jersey Devils @ Pittsburgh Birds That Can’t Fly (7PM, MSG+, WFAN 660 AM)
So, last night was heart-breaking.
The energy Prudential Center had after David Clarkson scored the go-ahead goal with minutes left in the third period was unbelievable, but you can’t expect to win a game when you get outshot 41-19. The Sharks kept firing hard and seemed to want that win a little more than we did. I hope last night’s performance doesn’t affect tonight’s game.
Tonight, the New Jersey Devils (3-1-1) will take on the Pittsburgh Penguins(5-2-2) for the first of six meetings between the Atlantic Division rivals this season.
After stopping 38 of 41 last night, Johan Hedberg is expected to make the start between the pipes again for the Devils tonight. This worries me a little bit as I bet Hedberg is exhausted after last night’s game, but with the way he kept us in the game last night, I’m more than excited to have him play. Hedberg has been the reason the Devils are where they are so far this season. Losing Martin Brodeur to a shoulder injury was a blow, but the Moose stepped up and showed he has what it takes to be a number one goaltender in the NHL.
Speaking of injuries, the already thin Center depth chart got even thinner, as Jacob Josefson is expected to miss three-to-four months after having surgery to repair his broken clavicle. This is not the first time Josefson has missed time due to injury. Just last season, Josefson missed 30 games due to repairing a torn ligament in his right thumb. General Manager Lou Lamiorello told the media this morning that he would look into acquiring a veteran center, but as of now, Adam Henrique has been recalled from Albany.
Injury news from the Penguins could make any Devils fan happy. There will be no Evegeni Malkin (knee) and Sidney Crosby (concussion) playing in tonight’s game. While this is viewed as an advantage for the Devils, the Penguins have been on fire without their top superstars. Think of it this way, former coach Jacques Lemaire said that the defense likes when Brodeur doesn’t play because they know they have to up their game. The same goes for the Penguins offense without their top two point scorers, Malkin and Crosby.
Here are the projected lineups for tonight’s game:
Devils:
Parise-Elias-Sykora
Kovalchuk-Zubrus-Palmieri
Tedenby-Henrique-Clarkson
Pelley-Mills-Janssen
Greene-Larsson
Tallinder-Fayne
Salvador-Volchenkov
Hedberg
Kinkaid
————
Penguins
Kunitz-Staal-Dupuis
Sullivan-Park-Neal
Cooke-Vitale-Asham
MacIntyre-Jeffrey-Adams
Orpik-Letang
Michalek-Martin
Niskanen-Engelland
Fleury
Johnson
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