Sykora & Henrique Making the Most of Second Chances

A preview of the new site coming later this week

Gene Hackman playing the role of fictional football coach Jimmy McGinty told his players in The Replacements, "you men are being given what a lot of people would die to have: a second chance." His speech was meant to instill confidence in his team as they came off a tough loss. It seems as though some of the Devils players have taken a similar message to heart during the early goings of this young NHL season.

Just over a month ago, two Devils were the spotlight of a Deviling the Details season preview article: Pete Sykora and Adam Henrique.

By now, everyone is well aware of Sykora’s improbable comeback. What goes unnoticed by those not watching the Devils is the overall emergence of his game on both sides of the puck.

Sykora’s impressive offensive performance during the preseason was what earned him a spot on the Devils’ roster. His defensive abilities have undoubtedly granted him a permanent spot on the active roster, even after the Devils fully heal as a team.

With Travis Zajac and Jacob Josefson still recovering from serious injuries, the Devils have desperately needed other players step up and role-players to expand their game further. Sykora is just one of the many players who have answered the call and have been such a vital part in the Devils’ early season success, a stark contrast to the team that took to the ice a year ago.

Sykora, a former two-time 30-plus goal scorer, hasn’t lit up the score sheet to the tune of even a 20-goal pace, but has three goals on the year. His goals, coincidentally, have all come off a set-play from an offensive zone faceoff where center Patrik Elias wins the draw back and Sykora one-times the feed to the right side of the net. Sykora has also added 6 assists to his points total over the first 18 games of the season.

A player who has been even more impressive for the Devils than Petr Sykora is Adam Henrique.

Earlier this season, Henrique was thrust into not just the starting roster, but the Devils’ top line when Josefson went down with a broken collarbone suffered in the 5th game of the season versus the San Jose Sharks.

While Henrique was sent down to Albany for what General Manager Lou Lamoriello called a better opportunity before the Devils’ weekend set with the Sharks and Penguins, he returned to the Devils following the training stint a different player.

Before his brief re-focusing stint, Henrique averaged a mere 12 minutes of ice time, and amassed no points during his first 3 games this season. Since then, he has averaged at least 5 minutes more of time, including significant time on both special teams units.

With that added ice time, Henrique has also given the Devils yet another offensive threat which comes as great relief while Zach Parise and Ilya Kovalchuk find their scoring touches. Henrique registered his first NHL goal against the Philadelphia Flyers and then two nights later, registered his first multi-goal game including another first: his first game winning goal in a thrilling game against the Winnipeg Jets.

In his 12 games since being recalled from Albany, Henrique has put up 4 goals, 7 assists and is a plus-1. He also had an assist on Parise’s shorthanded goal against Buffalo last Wednesday, and has a pair of assists on the power play, including David Clarkson’s tally Saturday night which proved to be the game winner.

Henrique, as is the case with any player, is not subject to mistakes including some errant passes and defensive lapses. His other contributions, both on the attack as well as matching up defensively against some of the league’s best and holding his own, more than make up for the errors which the rookie has made.

As the Devils approach the end of the first quarter of the season, they’ll take the continued successes and contributions of Henrique and Sykora as they await Parise to hit his scoring stride coming off missing nearly an entire season.

Even after Travis Zajac returns to game-form, expect Henrique to be a major factor on the top two lines as long as he can keep up his solid performances. Sykora will also be a strong candidate to remain on the top two especially considering how he has returned to his old form with line mate and good friend, Patrik Elias.


Crosby Comes Back

Finally, on an unrelated hockey note, congrats to Sidney Crosby on his return Monday night. I mention this for two reasons, 1) concussions suck and as much as I can’t stand to hear about him day and night on various hockey programs, I love rooting against him and the Penguins and 2) shamelessly hoping that by accident people will search his name and come upon my blog. But folks, can we stop comparing this comeback to the one that happened over a decade ago?

Mario Lemieux’s return to hockey and the Pittsburg Penguins was truly monumental. For those not familiar, Lemieux retired from hockey in 1997 after undergoing numerous back surgeries, and four years after being diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in ’97, but three years later, Lemieux returned to the Penguins where he would play until the 2005-06 season. Lemieux used that last season to quite literally pass the torch of the Penguins to Crosby.

So before we bronze Crosby’s skates from Monday’s game, let’s remember people have suffered worse than a concussion and returned.

Devils Struggle in Season Debut vs Flyers

Philadelphia Flyers forward Wayne Simmonds Scores his 3rd period goal against the New Jersey Devils [Yahoo Sports/AP Photos]

The past summer, there was hope in Newark. Fans were ready for the season to start as soon as the NHL Entry draft was over. There was immediate hope in the form of 18-year-old Swedish defenseman Adam Larsson.

Of course, the season couldn’t have started then, especially before free-agency began. Weeks later, the Devils roster had undergone some minimal changes, but most importantly, they retained left winger, and “face of the franchise” Zach Parise. Parise and the Devils avoided arbitration in early August by signing a 1-year, $6.5 million contract. An injury to Travis Zajac opened the door for the return Petr Sykora and for Adam Henrique to crack the Opening Night roster. After an outstanding camp, Larsson played himself into the line-up becoming the youngest Devil to dress on Opening Night since the aforementioned Sykora nearly 15 years ago.

The 2011-2012 season was supposed to start off with a bang.

After touching tribute for the NHL players, both current and former, who were tragically lost this past summer, and thunderous ovation for an Army Staff Sergeant repelling to the ice from the rafters above center ice prior to the ovation, the Devils fans reached a fever pitch.

The two teams met each other with equal force, trading opportunities early. Even when the Devils took the season’s first penalty, the fans willed them through the kill with chants and applause.

The turning point, however, seemed to come when following the Devils first power play of the season. After generating numerous chances, the Flyers killed off the penalty and turned up the pressure on the Devils’ defense to the extent of forcing the Devils to taking a bad icing penalty just past the midway point of the period. With very tired legs, the Devils were on their heels following the icing and Philadelphia was opportunistic.

Claude Giroux scored off a one-timer feed from James Van Riemsdyk after the Flyers made the Devils scramble during a well played cycle.

The play was pretty even during the second period as the teams battled one another and traded opportunities. The Devils power-play, however, was disastrous at best, during the period failing to convert and only registering a single shot over 2 power plays.

The wheels came off the Devils, however, during the third period.

An Ilya Kovalchuk turnover early in the final frame led to a 3-on-2 which Matt Read finished off for his first career NHL goal. Brodeur nearly made the save, however, he was unable to squeeze his arm enough as the puck squirted through and tumbled over the goal line.

Just two minutes later, Wayne Simmonds, one of the pieces of the Mike Richards trade with Los Angeles, buried an Andrej Mezaros rebound which Brodeur could not corral and neither defenders, Bryce Salvador or Anton Volchenkov, could clear the rebound nor put a body on Simmonds.

The beaten down Devils then allowed their discipline to leave the building before the mass exodus of fans began. David Clarkson took an unsportsmanlike conduct, then immediately began chirping at nearly all of the Flyers on the ice for his next shift. After not finding a sparring partner, he squared off Simmonds and proceeded to receive all of the pent-up anger Simmonds had from his bitter, and unwanted divorce from the Kings in the form of fists to the face.

Clarkson was then shown the door for his antics and given an early shower and an instigator.

The instigator was served by Eric Boulton who then gave himself the remainder of the game off by tripping Pronger immediately following his release from Clarkson’s penalty and was also assessed a misconduct.

The Devils were given one last chance to jump back into the game when Danny Briere took a tripping penalty in the defensive zone. Kovalchuk, however, could register the closest chance of a goal by firing a one-timer just wide left of the goal with Flyers goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov sliding right, cross crease.

Both teams failed to convert on their power play opportunities, eight for the Flyers, five for the Devils but the Devils suffered the most from their man-advantage futility.

Devils [0-1-0] remain home for their next game, Monday vs. Carolina at 1 pm, while the Flyers [2-0-0] head to Philadelphia for their Home Opener on Wednesday against the Vancouver Canucks.

NOTES: Adam Larsson played extremely well for an 18-year-old rookie. He made a few mistakes, but was more impressive than some of his veteran teammates. He was not afraid to shoot on the power play [which many on the team seemed to be] and was also very aware of his teammates when generating plays…Zach Parise played with a lot of heart but didn’t produce in his debut as Devils’ captain. But, many fans are willing to give him at least one more shot before they cast him down the path of ex-captain Jamie Langenbrunner. [Oh come on, that was a little funny]…Danius Zubrus played for only the second time after missing all but 1 of the preseason games with a lower-body injury. Zubrus, who got married over the summer, looked a little out of sorts out there. No word yet if he’s falling victim of the married-and-then-suck curse or if he sustained the lower-body injury on his honeymoon…Jaromir Jagr failed to register a point during his second game in the NHL in over 3 years. He could still be feeling the lingering effects of his bitter divorce from his mullet...The Flyers earned their first shutout of the year after not having a single one last season.

Building Devils Pride in the Tiers of the Prudential Center

This is a focus article for the new Supporters Section which had started in December and a follow up to an earlier article of mine. The section was an organized effort of fans trying to show their dedication to the players and sending a message that they haven't quit on their team, and they wont.

Read the full article here: Building Devils Pride in the Tiers of the Prudential Center

An Objective View on the Chara-Pacioretty Hit

The following casual conversation took place between myself and a good friend, Steve Saal, in between our bickering over whose team will do better, Devils or Rangers, when a general discussion of the state of the NHL broke out:

Steve: The enforcement in the NHL is such a joke that I don’t judge anyone.

Me: Yeah, inconsistencies are pathetic

Steve: and Chara not being disciplined is basically contrary to everything in our entire society

Me: He needed to get a game or two because he was not aware of where he was on the ice.
No question he needed to get a game or two.

Steve: Hell, more than that. We'll throw people in jail for doing things that are illegal, and, while you would never foresee a specific type of injury from the action, you'd be responsible for it nonetheless. But we won’t suspend a hockey player

Me: very very good way to look at it

Steve: There's a guy up in Boston facing man slaughter charges, and deservedly so, because, in a dispute, he threw a glass. the glass bounced awkwardly, shattered, stabbed, and killed a young guy from long island who was in no way connected to the confrontation. Did he ever think he was going to slice someone's artery and kill them when he threw that glass? Of course not, but it was still illegal and stupid and he deserves to be held accountable.

Me: You know what I think, and it’s very narrow sighted, I think his [Commissioner Gary Bettman] contract extension has a big role in Chara not getting anything.

Steve: Chara illegally finished a check towards the boards. Normally, nothing comes of it, but it was illegal and the crazy results are his responsibility.

Steve: [In response to my comment] Maybe.

Steve: To me, there's no difference in those two examples, Chara, and that bar incident.

They are unlawful, overt and intentional acts that unfortunately resulted in something catastrophic that no one would ever predict.

If we were out on the street and were fighting, and I moderately pushed you and you stumbled, nothing happens. If I moderately push you and don’t see the pole I push your head into --> ASSAULT. That's life.

The law sees the intent of the act, and the injury. Intent to cause the injury is an escalating issue but not determinative.

Sorry, been fighting with people on this all week. It gets me annoyed.

For whatever reason, in sports, intent to cause the injury somehow got into the punishment process.

Hope is a Good Thing for NJ Devils

This is the first post I have made for TheHockeyWriters.com. I utilize the memorable quote from 'The Shawshank Redemption' to discuss the New Jersey Devils' approach to the playoffs and how well it has paid off for them.

Read the full article here: Hope is a Good Thing for the New Jersey Devils

Enjoy!

Update Regarding Myself and the Blog

To My Readers,

In case you have not already heard via my Twitter or Facebook, as of late Thursday night, I have accepted a position as contributing writer with TheHockeyWriters.com covering the New Jersey Devils.

I am extremely excited for this opportunity and look forward to the chance of not only becoming part of a large community of writers, but also the chance to reach a greater number of hockey fans through a site much more notable than this blog.

With that being said, I will continue with the Cracking the Ice blog and am seeking to expand it by adding writers who can focus on other teams. Will it work out or even come to fruition? We will have to just wait and see.

I will post links to my articles on THW and excerpts, and I strongly encourage all of my readers to not only continue following my work, but my fellow writers as well.

Thank you again for your continued support of taking the time to occasionally read my work.

Sincerely,

Kevin

Playoff Life Support - March 10th

A night after the scenarios nearly played out to perfection, the idle Devils again turn their eyes to the scoreboard and hope for help from the rest of the Eastern Conference.

Atlanta at Carolina

Last night, the Atlanta Thrashers sprinted to a 2 goal lead on the Carolina Hurricanes before the end of the first period. They just couldn't sustain the same intensity throughout the remaining two periods of play.

Carolina turned the game around and by the end of the second, not only were they within a goal of tying the game but they were in complete control of Atlanta.

The Thrashers found themselves surrendering chance after chance as Carolina spread faltering Atlanta out, as odd man rushes became the angle of attack for the Hurricanes.

Late in the third, Eric Cole found himself behind the Thrashers defense and was fed a beautiful pass en route to his equalizer. The goal would prove to be huge for the Canes as the two teams headed to overtime.

But the Thrashers refused to go quietly into the night as they found a way to turn the pressure back on during the extra period, and it resulted in Tim Stapleton netting only his second goal of the season for the winner.

Rangers at Ducks

A few hours after the Thrashers pulled off a rare road victory, the Rangers faced off against the Ducks at the Honda Center in Anaheim.

Rangers controlled most of the play early on and capitalized on a poor change by the Ducks to set up the opening goal. Artem Amnisimov picked up a loose puck and broke in on a 3 on 2 as the Ducks scrambled to complete the change. Amnisimov moved the puck to Ryan Callahan who took only a second to move the puck to the right wing to Brandon Dubinsky who ripped a wrister behind the glove and pad of Ban Ellis.

Just four minutes later, Corey Perry changed the complexion of the game as he took a seamlessly harmless shot on goal from the right corner behind the Ranger net. The “pass” deflected off the skate of defenseman Dan Girardi and between the legs of Henrik Lundqvist.

Two minutes later, the Ducks struck again. This time a defenseman took the shot, Lubomir Visnovsky, which again banked off a Ranger player, Marc Stahl, before hitting the back of the net.

With under a minute to go, Visnovsky struck again with another shot from the point. This time, however, it didn’t need any help from Ranger players to get home.

The Rangers had come out of the gate on fire, looking like they’d have another dominating performance off the heels of their route of Philadelphia on Sunday, but the Perry bounce and followed by Visnovsky’s goals seemed to break their backs. They tried to mount a concentrated offensive effort late in the 2nd but ran out of time, and luck, as Ellis was equal to the task.

The Ducks would strike quickly in the 3rd, as Bobby Ryan added his second point of the game with a goal of his own, and the Rangers would answer to keep the game within two off a goal from Marion Gaborik. However, Ryan and Perry would put the lead back to three after some crisp passing on a rush which resulted in Perry’s second goal of the night.

The Rangers continue to squander critical points as they are now within reach of two teams, with only one space between them and being out of the playoffs. With the bottom 7 teams getting their acts together, now is the absolute wrong time for New York to hit a rough patch.

It is, however, fortunate for those chasing them, such as the Devils who are 10 points back with 2 games in hand.

Tonight, there are four games for Devils fans to keep their eyes on tonight:

Buffalo at Boston

Sorry Sabres fans, we joined you last night pulling for mutual demise of opposing clubs, however you’re in our crosshairs and it’s your time to be cheered against. The Devils need Boston to win this one in regulation in order to have a chance in redeeming their Tuesday night blunder against Ottawa. Keeping the gap at 8 points would be huge entering tomorrow night’s contest against the Thrashers.

Flyers at Toronto

Which Flyers’ team will show up tonight: the pathetic waste against meek Eastern Conference foes that can’t seem to motivate themselves to victory, or the one which dominated the Edmonton Oilers the other night? The Devils hope the latter team arrives in Toronto and shuts down a team that’s ahead of NJ’s quest for the playoffs.

Senators at Florida

With both teams behind them, one would think it wouldn’t matter what the outcome of this game was. However, even with a game in hand, the Devils need the Sens to win this one in order to not fall back behind another team. Florida is only a point behind New Jersey so a loss in overtime/shootout is okay due to the tiebreakers, however a Panther win puts the Devils back into 13th.

Canadiens at Blues

Montreal has a 17 point lead on the Devils, so no big deal who wins this game, right? Well, if they falter like every East team has done lately, why not believe they can be caught. So it may be a little farfetched, but keeping teams close is always a plus, so let’s go Blues!

Playoff Life Support - March 9th

For at least one night, Buffalo Sabres fans can join together with New Jersey Devils as their teams sit idle and cheer for the same teams. Two games tonight have major playoff implications for both teams as the season starts to wind to a close.

Here’s a quick look at the match-ups and their impact on the race:

Atlanta at Carolina

For the Devils: This game needs to end in regulation. A 3 point match-up, while not completely devastating at this point, down the road could be brutal as the Devils try to climb their way from the basement of the league to the top 8 in the conference. The optimal result is the Thrashers winning, and while it will put New Jersey 3 back from catching Atlanta, the bigger picture is to keep the Hurricanes from putting any further distance between them and the Devils.

For the Sabres: Atlanta can win this match up in extra time, but the optimal result is a regulation victory. Should the Hurricanes force overtime, but fail to win, they would pull into a tie with Buffalo, but still be on the outside looking in by way of wins. If the Hurricanes win this game, the Sabres fall back to 9th by a point but they do gain the game in hand, thus keeping the Sabres in control of their own destiny.

Rangers at Anaheim

For both teams: This game not only needs to end in regulation, but the Ducks have to get this one. The more teams at the bottom of the pack, the better the Devils odds get as long as they get back to their winning ways and the rest play mediocre. New Jersey sits 10 points back of the Rangers after failing to close any ground with their regulation loss last night. Buffalo is in a much better position, obviously, being in the 8th seed. The Sabres’ currently sit only 2 back of the Blue Shirts, but 9 back of 6th placed Montreal. Both Buffalo and New Jersey have 2 games in hand on New York, making a loss tonight for the Rangers a critical hit to their playoff chances. Yes the Rangers currently sit in the playoffs in 7th place, but Carolina also has 2 games in hand and is only 3 points back. If you want to stretch even further, Toronto is 6 back, with a game in hand.


It should be an interesting night for the Eastern Conference.

Devils Miss Big Chance

Two critical points were left on the table by the Devils tonight.

Sure, Ottawa had two fortunate bounces go their way in the form of both Condra goals, but the Devils did not do themselves any favors tonight.

During the firs period, they had numerous chances to fire home rebounds and loose pucks, Craig Anderson was equal to the task.

The second period returned to its old form as the bane of the Devils' game tonight.

The first of the Senators two fortunate bounces came early in the period and because of it, the Devils would have to play catchup. Erik Condra deposited his own rebound while jumping over Brodeur's left pad following an impressive pass from Jason Spezza.

The Devils would have chances of their own on two 5 on 3 power plays in which they failed to mount any significant scoring threat. The Devils focused so heavily on getting Ilya Kovalchuk the puck, they seemed to forget that if they spread the Senators defenders or, more space and lanes would open up.

Their best chance to score came on a disallowed goal off the stick of Patrik Elias who slapped home a rebound off an alleged high stick by Jacob Josefson who not only didn't hit the puck with his stick above the crossbar, he didn't hit the puck at all.

The Senators would exit the second period with the lead but the Devils and their fans still had that feeling they could make the comeback.

Patrik Elias would make everyone believe again when he avenged his earlier disallowed goal. Elias quietly broke in behind the Senators' defenders as Brian Rolston controlled the puck in the low right corner before he fed Elias for the back door goal.

With the two teams level again, the crowd did their best to fuel the Devils' push for the lead. The team responded by generating chances of their own but, again nothing came to fruition.

What seemed like the Devils' chance and game for be taking, quickly turned for the worst as Spezza struck again by setting up another goal just under 3 minutes to play in regulation. He possessed the puck in the high left point waiting for reinforcements and it was Condra who snuck behind Nick Palmieri and managed to tip the feed between Brodeur's right pad and the right post.

The Devils quickly threw their game into desperation mode but could not generate an organized attack to try and mount another comeback.

The only consolation for the Devils in their quest on this improbable playoff run is that the Buffalo Sabres failed to put further distance between them and the rest of the East with a 3-1 loss in Pittsburgh to the Penguins.

The Devils return to action Friday against the Atlanta Thrashers, and hopefully return to their winning ways. The game Friday could have positioning implications as the two teams are separated by only a point.

Devils Maintain Hot Streak

To say this run is impressive is a tremendous understatement to what the New Jersey Devils on the verge of accomplishing.

Should they win their matchup tomorrow night against the Ottawa Senators it will mark the first time since the start of the season that the Devils were a .500 team.

On January 8th, the Devils had lost the 31st game to the Philadelphia Flyers to put themselves 21 games below .500.

After yesterday's thrilling victory against the Islanders, the Devils have made up an astounding 20 games and turned one of the most disappointing seasons in franchise history, into one of the most improbable, and straight up amazing runs in NHL history.

Brian Rolston opened up the scoring with a power play goal in the second period. His 12th of the year was set up from Ilya Kovalchuk and Travis Zajac.

Josh Bailey equalized the two teams with a power play marker of his own. The goal came after the puck pin-balled around the crease and Brodeur was out of position as he prepared for the follow-up from PA Parenteau. Parenteau flubbed the shot but it found Bailey's stick for the goal.

Kovalchuk would continue his second half resurgence with a goal on a 2 on 1 set up by a drop pass from Jacob Josefson. Kovalchuk ripped the shot glove side past Al Montoya for his 24th of the year. With his assist, Josefson registered his first career point. Anton Volchenkov was also given an assist on the goal for his 7th.

He resurgent Islanders refused to quit, however and with over 3 minutes to play Blake Comeau scored his 18th the year.

With the Islanders forcing overtime, both teams earned a point, but the Devils again needed the winner's point to help close the gap, albeit temporarily, between them and Carolina.

It would take a shootout to determine a winner after an uneventful overtime session. Frans Nielsen opened the shootout with a goal, beating Brodeur glove side. Three shooters later, Kovalchuk would save the Devils again with the equalizer.

Eight tries later, Jacques Lemaire made a curious decision by electing to send Rolston out to try and win it. Rolston came in deked Montoya to a sprawling save attempt, Rolston countered by lifting the puck over Montoya’s pads for the winner.

After play on Sunday, the Devils pulled to within 8 points of the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference. The team they’re chasing now, however, has changed to the Buffalo Sabres who reached the top 8 for the first time since October 9th [the 2nd game of the season].

The Hurricanes and Rangers are both off until Wednesday, but both Buffalo and the Devils.

The Devils will host Ottawa on Tuesday for not only a chance at reaching .500 but also to pull within 5 of the idle Hurricanes and 8 of the Rangers. Pending the outcome of Buffalo’s game in Pittsburgh, the Devils could be as close as 6 points of 8th by the end of play Tuesday night or simply keep pace with the Sabres should both teams win.

Pominville Puts Sabres on the Verge

For the most part, the Buffalo Sabres are in the best position of any of the seven teams outside of the top 8 in the Eastern Conference.

Literally, they’re sitting in 9th place, a mere 1 point behind the Carolina Hurricanes for 8th and 2 points back of the New York Rangers for 7th.

What is more impressive is the fact that the Sabres are tied for the fewest games played in the East. They control their own destiny with two big games in hand on Carolina and three on the struggling Rangers.

Today, the Sabres rallied from being two goals down at the end of the first period to escape Philadelphia with a 5-3 victory over the top seeded Flyers.

First period goals from Kris Versteeg, who has benefited immensely thanks to a change of scenery after being acquired from Toronto, and James van Riemsdyk, the Flyers looked poised to cruise to the 2 points which would give them a 5 point cushion on the Boston Bruins for the top spot in the East.

But the Sabres would not leave the City of Brotherly Love without putting up a fight.

Thomas Vanek moved deep into the Flyers zone and fed Drew Stafford in front of the Philadelphia net. Stafford had snuck behind the defenders, took the pass on his forehand and lifted a shot above Sergei Bobrovsky’s left pad to cut the deficit in half.

Buffalo would strike again under two minutes later on one of the strangest looking goals of the season.

Tyler Ennis carried the puck to the blue line, looking as if he would fire a shot on goal and force a whistle. Instead, he lifted the puck and sent it into the corner where he would chase it down. He carried the puck towards the back of the net and then centered a pass looking for Patrick Kaleta who was battling Sean O’Donnell for positioning. O’Donnell pushed Kaleta into Bobrovsky and the Flyers goal as the pass then deflected off of O’Donnell and into the goal, right behind Kaleta. Ennis would get credit for his 8th of the year as the Sabres pulled even.

Andrej Sekera would add a rare goal to give Buffalo their first lead of the game just past the midway point of the 2nd period. Although a Thomas Vanek turnover lead to a shorthanded goal by Kimmo Timonen, the Sabres still maintained the momentum exiting the 2nd.

6 minutes into the 3rd period, Jason Pominville broke between the Flyers back check as Thomas Vanek fed him a pass from the left wing boards, which Pominville tipped into the back of the net for the 2nd Buffalo lead of the game.

Nathan Gerbe would add an empty net goal to seal the victory with just over a minute to go in regulation.

Buffalo has a quick turnaround as they head to Minnesota for a Sunday match up against the Wild.

Kovalchuk Keeps Devils Believing

It was one of those nights, you could just feel it. Even if you were watching on TV, you knew something big was going go happen.

Sustained pressure and continuous chances were the MO for the Devils during the third period of last night's matchup versus the Penguins. Chance after chance, the Devils tried to break through goaltender Brent Johnson, and often they would maintain possession after the initial shots or rebounds. Even when entering the attacking zone, the Devils did so much more aggressively and confidently than their previous matchups versus the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Penguin counter attacks brought tension to fans, but not to the players. Chances which would have surely resulted in goals for the Penguins in games prior to the turn of the New Year were blocked, controlled or deflected harmlessly away from Martin Brodeur and the Devils’ net.

Whether it was Brian Rolston’s shot blistering off the cross-bar, or Patrik Elias’ one-timer that was unleashed just a fraction of an inch off target while Johnson was completely out of position, the Devils chances continued to mount. Although they did not capitalize during regulation, the team nor fans seemed to panic heading to overtime against a team much higher than them in the standings.

The Devils would be given their first power play of the game just under halfway through the extra frame, when Travis Zajac carried the puck into the Pittsburgh zone, batting off two defenders and drawing a hook from Zbynek Michalek.

The power play was patient, much to the chagrin of the fans in attendance who craved a win and the two critical points to pull back within 9 of the playoff positions. Using the extra space to create gaps, Kovalchuk possessed the puck frequently to quarterback the play from his typical spot on the right wing face-off circle.

A feed to Rolston lead to a shot on goal on the right side of the net. The rebound kicked to Elias who tried to put his follow up shot between Johnson’s pads as he slid across, and out, of the crease. Johnson got it with his left pad, but was well out of position and could not control the rebound as it again found Elias’ stick. He ducked the puck behind the net, wrapped around and fed Kovalchuk who ripped the shot into the almost completely vacant net for the winner.

The crowd and team erupted in jubilation as they met Kovalchuk at the blue line of the Devils’ zone to celebrate the big win.

The overtime winner was Kovalchuk’s 22nd goal of the year, his 9th game winning goal of the season, and the 13th overtime winner of his career. To further sweeten the pot, Kovalchuk now has 6 game winning goals in the last 12 games.

It is no secret from that every game is huge from here on out, but the Devils have a chance to put further distance between them and the teams below them with a win Sunday afternoon on Long Island versus the Islanders.

Huge Night in the East

Tonight's match-ups in the Eastern Conference have steep implications for three teams in terms of their playoff hopes and dreams.

The Devils face-off against the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Prudential Center in Newark. In order to keep pace with the top 8 teams in the Eastern Conference, the Devils need to win this match up. For a change, it really does not matter if the Devils win in regulation or not, as long as they get those two critical points.

A half hour after the Devils and Penguins face-off, the Rangers begin their critical matchup with the Ottawa Senators in Ottawa. Just a night ago, the Rangers fell to the eighth seed in the East. Just two points are separating the them from the Buffalo Sabres and being on the outside looking in. This is almost a must win for the Blueshirts because not only are they in an absolute free-fall, but they have played a considerable number of more games when compared to every team in the Eastern Conference.

Then at 830 pm, the final game which fans of teams on the bubble are keeping an eye on is the Hurricanes vs the Chicago Blackhawks. This matchup has playoff implications for both conferences as both Carolina and Chicago are in the thick of the hunt, both are in for the time being.

Optimal results for Devils fans is obviously for both the Rangers and Hurricanes to lose their games in regulation. Should the Devils win and these results come to fruition, the deficit would be 8 and 9 points, respectively. This would be a huge turn of events as the Devils have games in hand on both teams to their advantage.

It should be an entertaining Friday night for hockey fans across the league.

It could also be a great start for New Jersey Devils fans with growing dreams.

Teams Fail to Capitalize

On a might where the Eastern Conference playoff race picture could have gotten a lot clearer, it only got tighter.

Going into play last night, the Buffalo Sabres trailed the Carolina Hurricanes by two points and the New York Rangers by three. All three of these teams were in action, with the Sabres and Hurricanes squaring off in Raleigh while the Rangers played host to the Minnesota Wild at the Garden.

The beat case scenario for Devils fans, and fans of any team below Buffalo in the standings for that matter, would have been a Rangers loss in regulation, and a Sabres win also in regulation. If this had played out, Buffalo and Carolina would have been in a virtual tie and the Rangers only a point away.

The Wild did their part as they easily handled a struggling Rangers team who have looking unimpressive over the course over the past month. The 3-1 loss personified how the Rangers have struggled and scoring has come at a premium for the squad that out shot the Wild 41-19 during last night's contest.

In Carolina, the Sabres were able to strike first when Steve Montador score his fifth of the year from Tyler Ennis and Andrej Sekera. But Juri Tlusty equalized the game just over two minutes later with a talley of his own.

Brad Boyes, who scored in his first game with Buffalo against the Rangers earlier this week, put the Sabres ahead again with his second in as many games. Montador and Sekera would add assists on Boyes' 14th. The lead again would be short lived as Chad LaRose would level the two teams just over a minute later for he most offensively explosive period of the game.

Both teams would earn a point by way of heading to overtime, but the Hurricanes would walk away with the extra one as Jamie McBain would net the game winner. The win pushed the Hurricanes ahead of the Rangers for 7th in the Conference, keeping Buffalo in 9th by 2 points.

Devils Take Two from Tampa

(Photo by Andy Marlin/NHLI via Getty Images)
Going into tonight’s match-up with the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Devils knew anything less then getting the full two points would be a major blow to their playoff hopes.

With Carolina winning their game over Pittsburgh last night, the Devils fell back behind by 11 points from playoff contention. Even with two games in hand, failing on chances to gain ground on idle opponents would be devastating.

During the first period, you could tell the Devils were playing a little tighter than they usually would be on home ice. Their defense was very solid and prevented any significantly threatening scoring chances from the opposition, but their offense was just as hesitant to try and take the zone as they were during their Friday night loss in Tampa.

The second period saw a bad bounce which earlier in the season would have crippled this team. Pavel Kubina took a shot from a top the left circle which deflected off of the skate of Dominic Moore and into the back of the Devils’ net. The power play goal gave the Lightning a much needed go-ahead goal, but the game was far from over at this point.

Just before the end of the period, Ilya Kovalchuk danced with the puck deep in the Tampa zone and let go of a shot which created a scramble in front. As players battled for the loose puck, it kicked out to the right point to Henrik Tallinder, who faked two shots and fired a wrister through the chaos in front. The shot deflected off of the stick of Martin St. Louis and found it’s way behind Dwayne Roloson for the equalizer.

The teams played a much faster paced 3rd period, exchanging chance for chance for most of the first 10 minutes. Just past the midway mark, Travis Zajac’s shot on goal kicked into the corner off Roloson’s pad and was controlled by Matt Smaby. Smaby then tried to force a pass between Zajac and the boards, but was picked off by Zajac who quickly fed a streaking Kovalchuk with a crisp tape-to-tape pass. The pass handcuffed Kovalchuk a little, but he still was able to blast a one-timer past Rolson while falling for the Devils’ first lead of the night, and his 22nd of the season.

The Devils would not sit back and defend the lead as they produced numerous chances, including a beautiful wide open, one-timer look from Patrik Elias late in the period that Roloson was able to get just enough of to prevent a back-breaking goal.

Tampa’s best chance to equalize came during the final 5 seconds as St. Louis broke out with Steven Stamkos through the neutral zone, but Stamkos had gone offsides before St. Louis could make it to the blue line and fire a last-ditch effort on net.

With the win, the Devils again pulled to within 9 points of the Hurricanes. Carolina travels to Buffalo tomorrow night for a critical match-up with the Sabres, who if they win in overtime, will take over the 8th position in the Eastern Conference based upon wins.

Devils fans, at least for one night, should be pulling very hard for the Sabres to win in regulation. If the Sabres can grant the Devils’ fans wish, the gap will remain at 9 points.

NOTES: David Steckel, who played his first game with the Devils since being acquired from the Washington Capitals for Jason Arnott, had a solid game defensively. He lost his first five face offs, and ended the night just 4 for 12, far below his seasonal average of roughly 60%...Zach Parise, who has been recovering from a partially torn meniscus since October, was given the okay from doctors today to resume skating on his own. General Manager Lou Lamoriello said he’s at least 2-3 weeks away from skating hard and the team would then take it from there…Dainius Zubrus shook off a hit from behind from Simon Gagne just before the Kovalchuk goal. Gagne was not penalized on the play…Martin Brodeur made a great left arm save on Nate Thompson on a breakaway during the first period.

Boyes Delivers in Debut

Congratulations, Sabres fans! After the first period of last night's game against the New York Rangers, this year's deadline acquisition is already 100% more productive in terms of goals than last year, and is one point away from equaling that of Raffi Torres's short stint in Buffalo.

Almost a year ago, the Sabres traded Nathan Paetsch and a second round pick. The trade was widely regarded as a successful move for the Sabres and was a borderline steal when they acquired the player who amassed 50 points at that point in the year for a struggling Blue Jackets.

Torres, however, failed to live up to any of the expectations held for him while wearing the Blue and Gold. He failed to register a goal for the club and only amassed 5 assists through the remaining portion of the regular season and the first round of the playoffs.

Late Sunday night, the Sabres beat the Deadline Day Rush and made a trade in the midnight hours to acquire power forward Brad Boyes from St. Louis. The Blues received the Sabres 3rd round pick in this year’s draft to complete the deal.

During the second period of their matchup with the New York Rangers, the Sabres were on the power play when Boyes registered his first goal with the team. Andrej Sekera fired a shot from the blue line which Henrik Lundqvist kicked out to his left side. Paul Gaustad took the rebound and released a blind, between the legs pass across the top of the crease to a waiting Boyes who deposited an off-balanced shot behind Lundqvist for the marker which gave the Sabres a brief 2-1 lead.

Boyes would later say sarcastically of the play, “Goose and I had talked about doing that play during the skate, guess it actually worked.”

With the win, the Sabres were able to keep pace with the Carolina Hurricanes, who also won on the night, but also gained two valuable points on the Rangers. With three games in hand on the Blueshirts and two on the Hurricanes, the Sabres are in control of their own destiny as they’re behind by only three and two points respectively.

The Sabres expect the Boyes to be a critical component of a playoff run, and his durability cannot be understated. Boyes is one of only four players to have played over 400 consecutive games, as hit currently sits at 471 games played.

Next up for the Sabres is a critical matchup versus the Carolina Hurricanes.

If Buffalo can emerge victorious in regulation, they will take over the 8th position in the Eastern Conference standings.

Devils Trade Arnott to Washington

Last summer, the Devils went back to the well and brought back another veteran who helped them win, literally, a Stanley Cup.

As every Devils fan recalls, Arnott was forever immortalized when he buried a cross ice feed from Patrik Elias behind Ed Belfour to clinch the Devils’ second Stanley Cup in franchise history in double overtime.

The hopes at the beginning of the season were that Arnott would be the staple for the 2nd line and be able to get the offense to move in the right direction. For the first half, that’s exactly what he was doing, leading the team in goals for nearly the first 3 months.

But with the change in command [Lemaire taking over for MacLean], Arnott’s play began to drop off considerably. In fact, Arnott had slipped to centering the third line, and was consistently held off the scoring sheet. Fans even noted that it was almost impossible if Arnott was playing unless he was called for a penalty, fanning on a shot from the point on the power play, or getting a rare point on a goal.

There were continuous questions if the Devils were going to move Arnott, or if Arnott would ask them to move him leading up to Monday’s deadline.

Recently, Arnott openly stated if he could be moved to a team in the playoffs, he would accept the trade. He would refuse, however, to be moved to a team that is fighting to earn its spot because if he would be making a lateral move and would prefer to stay with the Devils.

Today, just at the Trading Deadline, the Devils abided by wishes of their former hero and were able to move him to a team in the thick of the playoff race.

Washington proved to be the best, and possibly only, suitors for the 36 year old veteran center. In return, the Devils got a larger, younger, and quite frankly a better center in at least terms of face-off percentage and a draft pick.

Dave Steckel is an average center overall, but is great on the penalty kill, and late game situations, including winning clutch face-offs. He also is willing to get into the dirty areas and create traffic. His major drawback, according to scouts and observers, is the face he does not use his side to his advantage nor to his benefit. He will fit in easily on the Devils bottom two lines, and with a price tag only $1.1 million over the next two seasons, is a low-risk, decent reward player.

Along with Steckel, the Devils received the Capitals’ 2nd round pick in the 2012 draft.

Steckel will be in the Devils’ line-up Wednesday night and will be wearing Arnott’s old #25.

The quest for the post season resumes with the Devils being 9 points out with 20 to play.

Rangers Will Get Richards

Leading up to today, there has been rampant speculation that Brad Richards will be traded.

More recently, the list of teams has dwindled from “a Pacific Division team” (Los Angeles) and a “team in the Atlantic” [New York Rangers].

As recently as yesterday that the market had been cornered and a rumor out of the Richards camp that he’ll only waive his No Trade Clause to go to the Rangers.

With Richards becoming an Unrestricted Free Agent on July 1st, and looking for a hefty raise that could price himself right out of Dallas, the time for the Stars to move him is now.

On the other side of the potential deal, the Rangers have time on their side. Yes, Rangers General Manager Glen Sather wants to make moves to improve his team today, but he does not NEED to get Richards done. The problem is, and is also the biggest question over Ranger Fans’ heads, does Sather feel he needs Richards now?

I think yes. I think this deal gets done today, but the problem is the closer it gets to the Deadline, the more likely it becomes that Sather does to resort to his old free-wheeling ways and succumbs to Dallas’ high demands.

Currently, the asking price is believed to be Artem Anisimov, a first round pick and another player/pick/prospect. Earlier this morning it was reported that Dallas wanted Anisimov, the 1st and two of the three latter options. Obviously that is an outstandingly high price for a rental, but if Richards wants to stay on Broadway, is willing to deal, and Sather feels he is the final piece of the puzzle to get them to an extended playoff run, look for the deal to be completed.

If he’s not that critical to the Rangers’ post-season blueprint, the July 1st is only 4 months away.

Bergfors moved to 2nd Team in 3 Years

In New Jersey, Niclas Bergfors was labled as an unmotivated player with an attitude problem. He had tremendous potential, but just could not get it in gear and fell quickly into disfavor with head coach Jacques Lemaire.

Bergfors was then given a new lease on his career when he was packaged with Johnny Oduya, Patrice Cormier and a 2010 first round pick late last season.

In 27 games with the Thrashers, Bergfors registered 8 goals and 9 assists to close out the 2009-2010 campaign.

But Bergfors entered the 2010-2011 season with just as many question marks as he had just before leaving New Jersey. His motivation came again under fire and he was often a healthy scratch by head coach Craig Ramsay.

Today, Bergfors finds himself packing and on the move again. He has been traded along with Patrick Rissmiller for Radek Dvorak and a 2011 5th round pick.

Will this move finally get Bergfors on the right path and get his promising career on the right path?

Keeping Hope Alive

Photos are property of Eliot J. Schechter/NHLI via Getty Images

After two nights ago, panic could have set in.

Two nights ago, the Devils could have said, “that’s it, we’re mortal again,” and packed in their season knowing they had let an opportunity to keep pace slip away, falling further behind the pack.

Two nights ago has now turned into nothing more than a minor speed bump, at least for tonight.

The Devils opened up tonight’s game as tense as they left Friday night’s contest against the Lightning. The Panthers controlled the flow of play for the first half of the first period as they mounted chance after chance on the Devils. Martin Brodeur, however, was equal to the task, showing little to no signs of a 9 game layoff while he recovered from a knee injury.

The tables turned as the Devils controlled the flow of play during the latter stages of the period and were able to nearly equalize the shot chances, trailing by 1 in that category heading into intermission.

The second period would prove to be the decisive one as the Devils came out red hot. Their determination was fueled by the efforts of their grinders who broke the scoreless draw. Rod Pelley’s shot from the left point was kicked out to the same-side faceoff circle, where David Clarkson made a diving rebound attempt that beat goaltender Tomas Vokun short side for his first goal in 18 games.

Just 3 minutes later, after the Devils were given a power play by the Panthers, Brian Rolston fired a faceoff win from Dainius Zubrus into the back of the net for 2-0 lead. The goal came just 3 seconds into the power play.

While the Devils again shut down their opponents during the 2nd period, the third period was not without drama. Both teams split chances equally until about 5 minutes remaining when Florida began to control the pace as the Devils went into a prevent mode.

Their defense and Brodeur’s shutout were finally broken when Marty Reasoner ripped home a behind the net feed from Michal Repik short side on Brodeur to pull them within 1. After a few icing calls and 3-plus tense minutes later, the Devils escaped South Florida, and their 4 game road-trip with a 2-1 victory, going 3-1 overall.

With the win, Brodeur moved to 9-1-1 over his last 11 starts, Ilya Kovalchuk had his 12-game point streak snapped, and Jason Arnott could have played the final game of his 2nd stint with the Devils.

Following the game, Arnott told Tom Gulitti of the Fire & Ice Blog that he’d prefer to be moved to a team already in the playoff hunt, and that if he had the choice between another team fighting for their post season lives or staying with the Devils, he’d prefer to stay.

If the Devils are to move Arnott, and recent trades around the league are any indication, they should receive a 2nd round pick and then some in return. One of the drawbacks for Arnott, however, is his age, but his leadership and experience alone should outweigh that minor fact. He does become an Unrestricted Free Agent at the end of the year so a team gearing up for a long playoff run could almost certainly benefit from a player like Arnott.

As for the rest of the team, a few weeks ago, I could have seen them making a move to improve the defensive corps. Following their recent hot streak, however, I do not foresee general manager Lou Lamoriello making any moves as he could see any changes drastically affecting the chemistry and current team spirit.

With only 9 points separating the Devils from the 8th and final playoff spot, the Devils need any and all help they can get, but one area which they do not need any real help is their own roster. What was once looked upon as a flimsy, suspect AHL defense has now become one of the premiere shut-down units in the league, allowing 2 goals or fewer over the course of the past 10 games, and only once since early January.

Hope comes in all forms lately. A win in regulation, a win in overtime, heck even a loss in overtime provides a glimmer of hope if all other games fall the Devils’ way.

But with 20 games to go, there is little to no room for any more moral victories and the Devils need to find ways to earn or steal points here on out.

Wednesday brings the Lightning back into the Prudential Center where another two critical points are on the line.

Who will be still on the roster and who, if anyone, will find a new home tomorrow by the 3 pm trading deadline? Only a few short hours separate us from finding out.

Devils Seek to Rebound

Two days after failing to keep pace with the teams above them, the New Jersey Devils seek to get back to their winning ways when they visit the Florida Panthers.

On Friday night, the Devils were beat at their own game, seeing their 8 game winning streak snapped by the Tampa Bay Lightning. With the loss, the Devils failed to earn two critical points which would allow them to keep their bleak playoff hopes alive.

Before the end of the game, further up the East Coast, the Carolina Hurricanes polished off a 4-1 victory over the Pittsburg Penguins and the New York Rangers embarrassed the Washington Capitals 6-0 in DC.

That left those scoreboard watching with a complete feeling of hopelessness as they knew how pivotal the 2 possible points were in this game. By the start of the 3rd period, the Devils were in a 2-0 hole, and the fans knew the results of the other games, but feared a possible devastating point-less effort.

When Mark Fayne’s 4th goal of the season had somehow found the back of the net, fans began to hope that if they couldn’t get the two, maybe they would be able to steal A point from the Lightning on home ice.

Unfortunately, recent history was not on their side. Prior to this matchup, the Devils had won 12 of their past 13 games against the Lightning, with the only loss came on the memorable 3-1 defeat last season which had to be played over the course of two nights as the Prudential Center had lost power during the second period of that matchup.

Tonight, as Devils fans head to bed, they can rest and breath a little easier as fate dealt them a favorable hand in their quest for the playoffs.

The Hurricanes could not ride the wave of success they had against Pittsburg the night before into Montreal. While their offense had the right paperwork to get across the border, apparently the defense did not as they surrendered two first period goals en route to a 4-3 loss to the Canadiens.

In Buffalo, the Sabres hosted the Red Wings and while the Sabres did secure a loser point, they failed to gain the extra point of ground on the 8th seeded Hurricanes, losing 3-2 in the shootout to Detroit.

Toronto also failed to gain the extra point on Carolina as they too fell in the shootout to Pittsburgh, 6-5. The Penguin offense rebounded in staggering fashion, but their defense also failed to make it into Canada.

Should the Devils pull out a victory tomorrow versus the Panthers, they’ll be 1 point back of Florida, 4 back of the Maple Leafs, 5 behind the struggling Thrashers, 7 behind the Sabres and returning to 9 points back of the Hurricanes. All of those scenarios, of course, are dependant upon all games falling in the Devils’ favor, including the Thrashers knocking off the Maple Leafs in regulation.

Sunday will also mark the first game back from Martin Brodeur after sitting the past 8 games with a knee injury suffered in the Devils’ Super Bowl Sunday victory in Montreal.

Ilya Kovalchuk also seeks to extend his career high 12 game point streak. Over the course of the 12 games, Kovalchuk has 7 goals and 7 assists.

Lastly, Sunday could, and quite possibly, will be the end of Jason Arnott’s second stint with the Devils. With the Trade Deadline looming Monday afternoon at 3, and his desire to be part of a team in the playoffs for a chance at a Stanley Cup, it is safe to assume Arnott will not only waive his No Trade Clause, but also request to be traded. Lou Lamoriello has not commented on the situation but it is safe to assume, he would try to accommodate the aging center.

Game time for Sunday’s tilt is at 5 pm.

My Take on the Upshall Hit/Suspension

Two nights ago, I was perusing my Twitter account reading over the updates from various writers. From TSN analysts and experts, to the various few blogs and independent writers I follow, there were a hodgepodge of quotes, links and other “alerts” filing up the page.

Then one in particular caught my eye: “watched the highlights of our game. my hit on Bartulis was without a doubt late, but i had absolutely no intention of injuring him.”

That was from Phoenix Coyotes’ forward, and former Philadelphia Flyer, Scottie Upshall.

A few minutes later, he added a follow up: “I hope his MRI tomorrow is a positive one...”

I hadn’t seen the hit before reading the Tweets but what I had envisioned and what actually happened were astoundingly different.

I anticipated a Matt Cooke on Fedor Tyutin check from behind resulting in an uproar that would undoubtedly reignite the “Players have no respect for one another” debate that raged on two weeks ago following the actions of Cooke and another player, Devils’ Anton Volchenkov.

Instead, what I saw was much different.

Early in the 2nd period of the Tuesday night game, Upshall went hard to the net following up the initial shot which Bobrovsky appeared to fumble just a little before corralling under his glove. Oskars Bartulis stopped just ahead of the goal line and before the puck was completely covered, and before the whistle sounded, Upshall leveled Bartulis with a shoulder to shoulder check.

Bartulis, unfortunately, was airborne for long enough that he had no time to brace for the impact with the boards behind the net, and Upshall was quickly engulfed in a swarm of orange and black jerseys.

While Bartulis was being attended to, Upshall was given a two minute minor for Boarding.


[For the record: I absolutely HATE the title of the video]



The Coyotes would eventually prevail in overtime off a Shane Doan power play goal.

Upshall would post his tweets much later that evening and it wouldn’t be until the next day that it was learned Bartulis would be out for the remainder of the season with a shoulder injury suffered from the aftermath of the hit.

Upshall’s fate would not be determined until midday on Wednesday, but it was almost as if you could tell he all but sealed it with his initial Twitter message.

The hit seemed borderline at worst, regardless of Upshall’s own admission of wrong doing. He was playing aggressively, anticipating a rebound in a 1-0 game in which is team was losing. The competitive nature alone of two playoff-bound teams would be enough to get even a fan’s adrenaline going. The intent was probably that of trying to fire his team up and help set the tone for a better period. Upshall unloaded a clean hit in which his shoulder connected with that of the unsuspecting Bartulis.

That same admission of guilt but Upshall, however, is more than likely what condemned him.

Yes, Flyers fans fairly wanted more games as their player is out for the season while his ‘assailant’ gets a two game slap on the wrist. But the fact of the matter is Bartulis was too far from the boards for it to be considered a legitimate boarding call, and there is almost no way you can argue the intent of the hit was to bring injury upon him.

Whether you agree with the suspension or not, I personally do not, you have to at least respect the actions of Upshall following the game.

Knowing full well that the League watches over the athletes’ correspondences through the various social media outlets in order to ensure everyone is living up to the standards of being a professional, Upshall still put himself at the mercy of his superiors by admitting wrongdoing in the play (“my play was without a doubt late”).

He also made it a point to sway the critics by outright saying “I absolutely had no intention of injuring him.” I think this point was noticed by everyone on the ice, as even though the Flyers’ players surrounded him, nothing came of the incident later in the game. Upshall was not targeted by Flyers’ enforcers, nor were any of his teammates, and the game played out like a normal one between two teams sending a mutual message for a potential encounter in a few weeks.

Either way, just or not, Upshall made a classy move with his Tweets following the game. He fell on the grenade of his own doing and is now sitting two games for it. In a time where “players do not respect one another” [That’s twice I’ve quoted Mike Milbury], it is evident that Upshall felt genuine remorse for his actions. It is the type of ownership that is the perfect quality for a role model, one who will play the game hard, own up to mistakes and still show care for his opponents.

To Scottie Upshall, you’ve earned at least one new fan in me.

To Oskars Bartulis, may you have a swift and speedy recovery.

Your Disease is Killing Me

Earlier this season, and even before the season started, I had written that the New Jersey Devils would be wise to trade Jamie Langenbrunner.

My logic was simple, he quit on the season after being benched, he whined about it to the media, and then seemed to mentally checked out just in time to watch the team unravel in the playoffs.

Was my logic factually sound? Absolutely not. Was it based entirely on facts? I cannot confirm, nor deny any of the occurrences behind closed doors, but I can tell you that it looked like he quit on the team to me during the end of season games, and the team looked unmotivated during the post season, which I feel warrants a strike against the captain.

The Devils did not deal their captain, nor did they remove the captain’s C away from him. All fair moves with sound logic by rookie head coach John Maclean who seemed focused on maintaining team stability as a way to get the season off on the right foot.

The season, however, failed to meet any of the expectations which everyone had established for them as it began.

In one of the worst starts in franchise history, the Devils went from projected Atlantic Division Champions, to worst in the league, literally.

Is it fair to place the entire blame on the Captain? Not at all.

The rookie coach should undoubtedly shoulder a majority of the blame. He was the one who failed to keep the team motivated on a consistent basis. He failed to change his game plan after game after game of pitiful efforts and lack of any offensive production. He was the one who couldn’t finish a post-game interview without saying the word “uhhh” fewer tha 3 times in a sentence. [Okay so that last one doesn’t really have any bearing on team successes or failures, it was just awful to listen to.]

Even after MacLean’s firing, the Devils did not immediately turn their season around. Under new head coach Jacques Lemaire, the Devils initially continued to flounder.

However, as soon as a certain piece of the machine was removed, something happened.

On January 7th, the Devils traded their Captain back to the Dallas Stars for a conditional draft pick.

The next night, two nights after falling to the Philadelphia Flyers 4-2 in very disheartening fashion, the Devils matched up against those same Flyers and put forth a much more spirited effort. They failed to win the game, but it was as if a weight had been lifted from their shoulders and they begin to play with more heart, energy and focus.

After playing the Flyers, the Devils squared off against the Tampa Bay Lightning. This pivotal game was the first of 16 wins out of their past 19 games.

Post-Langenbrunner, the Devils are 16-2-2. They have cut a 27 point deficit in the playoff race down to just 9. They’re also a mere 4 games from returning to .500 hockey.

On the other side of the trade, the Dallas Stars had looked poised to contend for top spot in the Pacific Division. Their trade for Langenbrunner was motivated with aspirations of solidifying an already cruising team in their quest for a deep playoff run. At the time of the trade, Dallas was a solid 24-13-5.

Since then, it has been an abysmal downward spiral for the Stars. They’ve gone a dismal 7-10-1, and went from the Pacific Division lead, to now being on the outside of the playoffs looking in and needing help to claw their way back in to the race.

Now, Dallas’ playoff hopes are nowhere near as perilous as the Devils, seeing as the entire Western Conference has apparently become one jumbled pack of teams beating the hell out of one another over the bottom 4 spots. [Detroit and Vancouver seem to be locks for the post-season]. 5th through 12th place are separated by only 4 points going into play tonight. But the Stars should undoubtedly be concerned as their recent trends have not only planted the seeds of doubt into their heads, but they’re starting to grow roots.

Of course, this could be a complete and utter coincidence that one team who did not have one player to start the year could go from division leaders to missing the playoffs after acquiring him, but the turnaround of the New Jersey Devils since dealing Langenbrunner has been outright remarkable.

Seeing the statistics makes you think even more, could Langenbrunner, a two time Cup winner, really be a curse?

Either way, it should make the final 20+ game push to the end of the season for both teams that much more interesting.

Hotter than Hell

18 games ago, the Devils were for all intensive purposes playing for pride.

Marred in one of the worst seasons in team history, they were destined for a lottery pick, and quite possibly the best odds to win the #1 pick overall in the June draft.

Climbing out of last place seemed to be just as much of a challenge as even thinking about the playoffs without feeling the pit in your stomach knowing it would be impossible.

Even with the initial coaching change, the Devils struggled to regain any semblance of their old winning ways under Jacques Lemaire. Ilya Kovalchuk was having one of the worst seasons in his career and was at one point on pace for under 30 goals. Martin Brodeur looked as human as ever and the rest of the team looked lost, confused and defeated even before giving up goals to their opponents.

After back to back losses to the Philadelphia Flyers, the latter being their 4th loss in a row and 29th on the year, the Devils could easily have listened to the critics and some of the more casual fans and packed it in for the season. They could have traded away their expiring contracts, pulled up some of the younger players to give them a taste of NHL action, and called this season an official bust. But they didn’t quit.

Less than 24 hours after falling in a hard fought 2-1 loss in Philadelphia, the Devils hosted the then-surging Tampa Bay Lightning.

It was this game that the Devils said, ‘Enough’ and turned their season completely around.

The offense not only finally clicked, but they exploded, putting up season highs in goals and winning margin in the 6-3 victory. Training after the first two periods, the game seemed to be destined for the same path of recent games, the team, however, refused to cave, and put up 5 goals in the 3rd period.

Their next game would not come until the following Friday when the two teams would meet again, this time in Tampa. The layover should have killed any momentum the team had built with the 6-3 win, but it didn’t. Even after allowing the first goal, the team re-focused and exploded for another 4 goals in the first period. That lead was never challenged and so began the first steps in this recent 18 game hot streak.

Even after falling to the Detroit Red Wings, for their 30th loss of the season, and then having the All Star Break to think about that loss, the Devils picked right up from where they left off and continued to mount a resurgence which has baffled many, but still leaves few outside of the organization and its fans believing the comeback can be completed.

Tonight, the Devils took another major step forward.

Coming off the hells of an incredible victory over the New York Rangers, the Devils headed to Raleigh, North Carolina to take on the Hurricanes. The location served as an embarrassing way to kick off 2011 when the Devils surrendered 4 goals in the first period en route to an embarrassing 6-3 loss which saw Martin Brodeur be chased from the net within the first 10 minutes. [A fact, might I add, we were reminded of no fewer than 5 times during the first 10 minutes of tonight’s game by Play by Play man Steve Cangilosi.]

Just 74 seconds into the game, Patrik Elias won an offensive zone draw back to Mark Faye. Fayne quickly wristed a shot on goal, but on its way to the net, it was tipped by Dainius Zubrus right through the butterfly of Cam War for the opening goal.

The Devils continued to push the play, but also trade chances with the Hurricanes until just past the midway point of the period. Nick Palmieri batted a crossing pass out of the air in his defensive zone, it was carried up ice by Ilya Kovalchuk who circled the Hurricane zone, almost tantalizing his opponents with it as he tried to find a shooting lane or a clear pass. He finally did after completing his first revolution of the zone and fed Henrik Tallinder for a one-timed goal that was destined to go wide of the net, but instead hit off of Brendan Sutter’s leg and beat Ward for another goal. With his assist, Ilya Kovalchuk tied his career long points streak at 10 games.

Brian Rolston would clean up a Patrik Elias shot for the team’s third goal of the period and his 10th of the season. With that assist, Patrick Elias moved to within 1 point of 800 on his career.

The two teams would play evenly matched throughout the second, with neither side tallying a marker.

Patrick Dwyer would net one for the Hurricanes to pull them back within two, as Carolina capitalized on their momentum to start the 3rd period. The Hurricanes looked like they deserved to win the period, let alone the game, from their play to begin the period, however, the Devils would answer. Zubrus would score on a wrist shot on a feed from Elias. The goal would give the Devils their 3 goal lead back and also give Elias his milestone point of 800.

Seven wins in a row. That is a phrase Devils fans have not been able to say about their team in almost 2 years. Yes, that’s years, not seasons, years.

A team that was once in last place for the league, has amassed 32 points in 18 games. They missed out on any points in the aforementioned Detroit game, and fell twice to the Florida Panthers in overtime missing out on two combined points there.

As mentioned by Tom Gulitti of The Record, 6 weeks ago, the Devils were 27 points behind 8th place in the Eastern Conference. With their win tonight, the Devils now sit 10 points back, with a game in hand with 23 to play.

The climb continues Tuesday night in Dallas where the Devils will face the Stars for the first time since they traded Jamie Langenbrunner in exchange for a conditional pick. This game will be the 2nd of a 4 game road trip which will take them back to south Florida, for a meeting with Tampa Bay and ending with the Florida Panthers. The Panthers game will be the final game for the Devils before the NHL Trade Deadline which falls on February 28th.

Walking the Line

Less than two weeks from the trade deadline, and just over 20 games to go in the regular season, the Devils are doing just that, "walking the line."

They're walking the fine line between being buyers or sellers over the next 12 days. This week could, and probably be, the defining factor for the Devils as a team for the remainder of the season.

With two games against the 8th place Hurricanes, and a match-up with the rival, and current 7th place, Rangers in between, 6 critical points are there for the taking.

If the Devils want to maintain any glimmers of hope of sneaking into the post-season, they realistically need all 4 points versus Carolina while allowing none in return. In short, they need to win their showdowns with the Hurricanes tonight and Saturday in regulation to stay alive. Should they be able to do that, they'll find themselves within 8 points of a coveted playoff spot and almost certainly be buyers at the trade deadline.

Winning has not come easily for the Devils as of late as their last two games have been decided by just one goal, and the offense has not been able to crack the three goal mark in either game. What has been consistent, however, has been the play of Johan Hedberg in net.

When Martin Brodeur went down with an MCL sprain agains the Canadiens 10 days ago, some Devils fans feared the worst. Hedberg, on the other hand, quieted the skeptics with his play over the past four games, earning wins in three and allowing an average of just over one goal per game including his relief appearance for the injured Brodeur.

Helping Hedberg has been the exceptional play of winger Ilya Kovalchuk who has netted back to back game winning goals and is riding a multiple game point streak.

The biggest downside to tonight's encounter will be the absence of defenseman Anton Volchenkov who is sitting the third and final game of his suspension.

The Devils will look to get back to their form from a few games ago and get the lead early. Obviously, playing with an early lead is much easier than playing catch-up, but when the Devils score within the first 10 minutes of a game, they usually score no fewer than 3 goals.

I see this game being a 4-2 decision, Devils on top. Kovalchuk will add two points, his goal will not be the winner, however, that will be Patrick Elias' honor as he gets back into a scoring groove.

Mario the Martyr

Just under a year ago, Matt Cooke caught Marc Savard with his head down and opened a massive hit on him. At full speed, the hit looked dirty. Slow motion showed the true malice of the disaster, Cooke clearly locked on to Savard’s head and fired his body like a missile, knocking Savard into a daze.

To this day, Savard has yet to fully recover and even after coming back, suffered another concussion, effectively ending his season.

The impact of the hit was felt more by more than just the Bruins and the Savard family, as a new rule was implemented immediately. The league knew it wasn’t clean, but couldn’t take action due to the lack of a clear cut rule and the play was not penalized. Sports writers, outside of Pittsburg, condemned the action and Cooke. The Pittsburg front office, and the entire organization for that matter, remained silent on the issue.

Last month, during their first meeting since the Winter Classic, Cooke’s Penguins played the Capitals. The Caps held a secure lead late in the 3rd period, Cooke became the center of controversy again, as he stuck his leg out, intentionally kneeing Alex Ovechkin, setting off a scrum in the Pittsburg zone. Again, no suspension, just more ire from journalists, reporters and news anchors.

The Penguins’ front office yet again remained silent.

Last week, Matt Cooke’s luck with not being suspended finally caught up to him with his check from behind on the Columbus Blue Jackets’ Fedor Tyutin. Tyutin luckily was not hurt from the incident, but the recklessness of Cooke finally was punished and addressed by the league. The punishment was a 4 game suspension, an insult to many across the hockey universe. Especially with Anton Volchenkov of the New Jersey Devils being suspended for a head shot of his own, even though by some eyes, the elbow call was very border-line due to the circumstances.

Wouldn’t you know it, Pittsburg still stayed silent about the situation.

Then, something happened. The worm turned on the Penguins. In one of the most disgraceful displays in the modern-era of hockey, the Islanders pretty much jumped the Penguins players and set off a near NHL record for penalty minutes and game misconducts. Islander players literally sucker punching the Pens, going for dirty hits and setting fights off to the degree of leaving 5 skaters on the Pittsburg bench by the end of the game, all after the Isles staked a claim to a commanding 6-0 lead.

The actions were disgraceful and despicable, there is no question about it. Undoubtedly, both teams deserved to be punished equally and harshly.

Eric Goddard received an automatic 10 game suspension for leaving the bench. His punishment, in my eyes, should have been reduced simply for the fact the Islanders player went after his goaltender when everyone else was scrapping at the other end of the ice. Goddard was, for lack of a better term, a hero for jumping to his keeper’s aid. The NHL could have reduced this and taken exception, but they choose to hold serve, fair enough.

Trevor Gillies, who initiated the fight by throwing a high elbow and sucker punching Eric Tangradi, was given a 9 game suspension.

His other aggressor and partner in crime, Matt Martin, will sit for 3 games.

The Islanders also earned a $100,000 fine as a team.

The Penguins, other than sustaining Goddards’ automatic suspension. No fines nor suspensions for the high hits thrown by their players earlier in the game before the proverbial mess hit the fan. Nothing for their staff and their role in the event.

Apparently, that was not okay with Mario Lemieux, owner of the Penguins for over a decade. Apparently players taking liberties with how they aim their checks suddenly now has become a huge issue. A year ago, it wasn’t a big deal, but now it has pushed Lemieux to question “whether he wishes to remain a part of the league.”

It is absolutely dumbfounding how one person can decry the actions of an opposing team when he has not openly had ANY opinion in regards to an individual who has on at least three occasions made plays with clear intent to injure, succeeding overwhelmingly once.

Marc Savard will never be the same because of the actions of Matt Cooke, and had Lemieux gotten on top of his soap box and his white horse back then, no one would have said a word, other than to commend him for doing so. Now, however, thanks to his beyond obvious hypocrisy, he will come under fire by millions of knowledgeable hockey fans.

Sure, Lemieux will hide under the blanket of this is bad for the game, but what one of his own players did was so much worse for the integrity of not only the game, but for some people, Lemieux himself.

Suddenly, Lemieux has single handedly placed the Penguins above every other team in the NHL. He claims it is for the good of the game, yet when other players were being annihilated by vicious checks and illegal actions, he never so much as uttered a word. Now, that his team, his legacy, was manhandled by a thuggish act, and they responded with an equal act of violence, the culture of hockey needs to change.

Sorry, Mario. I once respected you, especially the night you returned to the Penguins on a snowy night which I cannot for the life of me remember the date nor the month. I actually cheered your success because of your no quit attitude. Now, however, I cannot help but be disgusted in how you went from not caring about how anyone else was being treated until it happened to your team.

Source of the quotes can be found in Mario Lemieux's press release on NHL.com