Blog Archives
Week Recap: New Jersey making points count against top Eastern Conference teams
It seems that the All-Star break provided the rest the Devils needed. Devils took the max points from the New York, Montreal, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Prior to the break the Devils had lost 3 straight. In those three games the Devils only scored 3 goals. Since then, the Devils have posted 19 goals in 4 games. The team is doing a lot of things right. Their special teams and defense are producing. The players that you expect to score are, as well as some you don’t expect.
One thing that is exciting to watch is the confidence that is building with this team. We saw a weak first period against the Rangers to start this past week. The Devils bounced backed in the 2nd and 3rd; coming from behind 3 times propelling them to win in the shootout. Each game New Jersey showed more confidence. Against Montreal the Devils had to come from behind but won in regulation. The weekend against Pennsylvania the Devils never trailed; scoring quickly against Philly and Pittsburgh.
The Devils D made their presence felt, scoring 3 goals and had 6 assists. Scoring came from Foster with 2 PPG against Philly and Volchenkov was able to get his first, as a Devil, against the Penguins.
Another factor, comes from Adam Oates’ special teams. They have produced 5PPGs and 2SHG, and remain in the top few on PKs in the entire NHL. On the power play the team have been able to move the puck setting up goals from the point for Foster and Kovalchuk.
The Devils’ top players have been leading the way but have received substantial support from the second and third line players. Parise has scored at least 1g in all 4 games and Kovalchuk has had 3 straight games with 3 points. Zubrus, Clarkson and Ponikorosvky have all added to the Devils scoring. Combined these three players have 20 pts in 4 games.
I am looking forward to this week’s games starting off Tuesday at MSG against the Rangers. Don’t forget we have a viewing party at Texas Arizona in Hoboken, NJ.
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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Player of the Week Winner: David Clarkson
Congratulations to David Clarkson as he won this week’s Player of the Week voted on by the fans. David Clarkson scored in three consecutive games on the road. His first of those three games came as a power play goal in the second period against Boston. Clarkson scored in the third period against Buffalo and again on a PPG against Tampa Bay to help secure the Devils second win on that five game road trip. Clarkson also posted an assist on Elias PPG against the Lightning.
Clarkson deserves the player of the week as those three goals have put him second on the team in goal scoring. He is now tied with Zubrus with seven goals.
Don’t forget to check in on Monday to vote for Player of the Week 11/21-11/27.
Game Preview – Game 20: Columbus Blue Jackets @ Your New Jersey Devils!
New Jersey Devils (10-8-1, 21 points) vs Columbus Blue Jackets (5-13-2, 12 points)
7:00 PM EST
TV: MSG Plus 2
Radio: WFAN 660 AM
Matchup:
Tonight will be the first and only time this season that the New Jersey Devils and the Columbus Blue Jackets will meet. Last season, they met on March 20 in Columbus in which the Devils won 3-0 to secure Martin Brodeur’s 115th career shutout.
Devils vs Blue Jackets Recap:
The Devils were able to score three goals in under four minutes to give themselves a 3-0 lead going into the first intermission. The team look great. But, a 3-0 lead is always said to be the worst lead in hockey.
It proved to be true, as the Panthers scored two goals in each the second and third period. Tomas Fleischmann‘s goal with 2:03 left in the third period proved to be the difference.
The Devils wrapped up their five game road trip with a 3-2 record.
Devils Injury Updates:
Anton Volchenkov (facial laceration) missed most of Monday’s game against Florida, but will play tonight.
Eric Boulton (non-displaced fracture in right hand) has been assigned to Albany (AHL) for conditioning purposes.
Tim Sestito has been recalled from Albany (AHL).
Travis Zajac (torn Achilles tendon) has been cleared by doctors, and is expected to practice with the team in two weeks.
Jacob Josefson (broken clavicle) is still recovering and isn’t expected back until March.
Against the Blue Jackets:
All-time the Devils are 7-2-2-0 when playing the Blue Jackets and 3-0-1-0 when playing in New Jersey.
Patrik Elias is the all-time leading scorer for the Devils against the Blue Jacketswith 8 points (3 goals, 5 assists) in 10 games played.
Ilya Kovalchuk, however, has the most career points against the Blue Jackets with 11 points (3 goals, 8 assists) in nine games played. Kovalchuk is also two points away from notching his 100th career point as a New Jersey Devil.
Martin Brodeur is 6-2-2-0 in his career against the Blue Jackets with a 2.17 GAA.
Projected Devils Lineup:
Parise – Henrique – Kovalchuk
Sykora - Elias - Zubrus
Palmieri - Carter – Clarkson
Tedenby - Sestito – Janssen
Greene – Larsson
Tallinder - Fayne
Volchenkov – Salvador
Brodeur
Hedberg
——————–
Columbus Coming off Back-to-Back Wins:
The Columbus Blue Jackets find themselves last in the NHL standings with a 5-13-2 record. However, they have momentum they need coming into tonight’s game.
The Jackets beat the Flames Monday night, 4-1, and now have back-t0-back wins for the first time in 42 games, stretching back to February 2010. Luckily for them, this stretch wasn’t close to the NHL record for games played without back-to-back victories, which is 173 set by the Washington Capitals from the 1974-75 season to the 1976-77 season.
The team hopes these wins, will jump-start the team’s offense and defense, and get them out of the slump they are currently in.
Blue Jackets and Devils Stats and Tidbits:
While David Vyborny has the most career points, all-time, as a Blue Jackets against New Jersey, seven points (3 goals, 4 assists), Vinny Prospal has the most career points among active Blue Jackets with 34 points (12 goals, 22 assists) in 50 games played.
The last trade between these two clubs happened back in 2003 when the Devils acquired Grant Marshall for a 2004 Conditional Draft Pick.
Curtis Sanford is expected to start between the pipes tonight for the Blue Jackets. He has a career record of 0-1-0 against the Devils with a 3.57 GAA.
Projected Blue Jackets Lineup:
Nash – Carter – Umberger
Prospal – Letestu – Johansen
Vermette – Pahlsson – Dorsett
Calvert – MacKenzie – Boll
Tyutin – Nikitin
Methot – Wisniewski
Moore – Clitsome
Sanford
Mason
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Game Preview – Game 19: Your New Jersey Devils @ Florida Ice Cats
New Jersey Devils (10-7-1, 21 points) @ Florida Panthers (10-6-3, 23 points)
7:30 PM EST
TV: MSG Plus
Radio: WFAN 660 AM
Matchup:
The Devils will get their first look at the Florida Panthers this season. They will play the current Southeast Division leader four times this season. Last year, the Devils and Panthers split the season series 2-2, but the Devils outscored the Panthers 12-10.
Devils Roll Past Lightning:
The Devils and Lightning met up on Saturday Night as the Devils came off a split back-to-back series against the Bruins and Sabres. The Devils hoped to ride the momentum they gained as they scored five goals on the Sabres last Wednesday.
After the first period remained scoreless, the Devils went into the third period leading 3-0 with goals from Dainius Zubrus, Patrik Elias, and David Clarkson.
The Devils defense held the Lightning to only 13 shots between the first two periods of play, but the Lightning came out firing in the third period. Brodeur kept the Lightning scoreless for 51 minutes until Martin St. Louis and Ryan Shannon would score within a minute and a half of each other to pull the Lightning within one.
Ryan Carter would score a goal with 2:03 left in the third, to seal the Devils victory.
Leaders for the Devils:
Points
Elias – 18 points
Parise – 11 points
Henrique – 11 points
Goals
Elias – 8 goals
Clarkson – 7 goals
Parise – 6 goals.
+/-
Elias +2
Fayne +2
Greene +2
Wins
Hedberg – 6 wins
Brodeur – 4 wins
GAA
Hedberg – 2.45
Brodeur – 2.88
Save %
Hedberg – .914
Brodeur – .888
Against the Panthers:
All-time the Devils are 43-21-9-0 when playing the Panthers and 20-12-5-0 when playing in Florida.
Patrik Elias is the all-time leading scorer for the Devils against the Panthers with 40 points (20 goals, 20 assists) in 47 games played.
Ilya Kovalchuk, however, has the most career points against the Panthers with 63 points (32 goals, 31 assists) in 53 games played.
Martin Brodeur is 36-14-8 in his career against the Panthers with a 2.00 GAA.
Projected Devils Lineup:
Parise – Henrique – Kovalchuk
Sykora - Elias - Zubrus
Tedenby - Carter – Clarkson
Pelley - Mills - Janssen
Greene – Larsson
Tallinder - Fayne
Volchenkov – Salvador
Brodeur
Hedberg
——————–
Panthers Hot Start Has Them Looking at Playoffs:
With the acquisitions the Panthers made this offseason, fans didn’t know what to think. They had lost star goaltender Tomas Vokoun to the Capitals, and signed Jose Theodore to replace him between the pipes. The Panthers also had Kris Versteeg, Scottie Upshall, Brian Campbell and Tomas Fleischmann all join the squad.
Currently Versteeg, Campbell, and Fleischmann are all averaging close to a point a game and somehow the Panthers find themselves in first place in the Southeast division with the competitive Capitals and Lightning looking up.
The last time the Panthers made the playoffs, Pavel Bure led the team in points and Bill Clinton was the President of the United States.
Panthers Career Stats Against Devils:
Stephen Weiss leads active Panthers in career points against the Devils with 16 points (5 goals, 11 assists) in 28 games.
All-time leaders for the Panthers include Scott Mellanby and former Devil, Rob Niedermayer, both have 20 points against the Devils as Panthers.
Jose Theodore is 7-14-2 in his career against the Devils with a 2.67 GAA.
Projected Panthers Lineup:
Fleischmann – Weiss – Versteeg
Sturm – Goc – Kopecky
Dadanov – Santorelli – Bergenheim
Kennedy – Matthias – Skille
Campbell – Garrison
Ellerby – Jovanovski
Weaver – Kulikov
Theodore
Markstrom
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Best to Wear – #16
Sorry for the lateness of posting this week’s “Best to Wear.” I have had very limited computer access.
You don’t really care, though. All you care about is you have the opportunity to vote for who was the best New Jersey Devils player to wear number 16.
I left Dainius Zubrus off the list since he won Best to Wear #8.
You will have until 12:00 PM EST on November 11 to vote.
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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Best to Wear #8 – Dainius Zubrus
In what I consider a surprise turn of events, even though maybe it isn’t all that shocking, Dainius Zubrus is the lucky winner of “Best to Wear #8.”
It was a close battle between himself, and Mike Peluso. The voting was neck and neck as it came down the final stretch on Thursday, but Zubrus took the win by less than 20 votes. I personally voted for Mike Peluso. Every time I hear his name, I can’t help but think about one of the greatest lines in New Jersey Devils history, the Crash Line. Oh well, can’t win them all.
Tomorrow we will put up “Best to Wear #9.” I wonder how that will turn out.
Best to Wear – #8
Hello Devils Army and welcome back to another installment of “Best to Wear.” This week we will take a look at those who wore the number eight for the New Jersey Devils, and it will be your job to vote for who you think the best player to wear the number was.
You will have until 11:59 PM EDT on Thursday September 22nd.
So, who do you think was the best player to wear #8 for the New Jersey Devils?
