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.

Game 54 - Pregame Write Up

If you’re a Devils fan, you’re trying to look for the positives in anything regarding the team, especially in a point-counterpoint system.

Point: The Devils are on pace for X number of points for the season.
Counterpoint: They’re only 16 back of the 8th and final playoff spot.

Point: Brodeur went down hurt, again, on Sunday
Counterpoint: Hedberg is coming off 2 periods of relief where his only blemish deflected off Kovalchuk.

Etc.

When the Devils take to the ice Tuesday night, it will be in a critical game for their playoff lives.

Yes, it is true that from here on out, every game is considered critical, however, this game and two more within the next 12 days, come against the team holding on [more like clinging] to the coveted 8th spot.

If the Devils win all 3 in regulation, they can trim the gap by 6 points without taking into account any of the games in between. Overtime wins earns them a 3 point advantage on their proverbial rabbits. Anything less will severly hurt their chances. The thought alone of the magnitude of these games could drive any person understandably to near panic.

Luckily for us, the players’ current mindset is one at a time, and they leave the insanity and madness to the fans.

Since the All Star Break, the Devils have amassed a 3-0-1 record, earning 7 out of a possible 8 points with the only loss coming to Florida in overtime last Friday night.

If you’re a fan who enjoys trying to find trends or patterns in a season and believes they’ll be repeated, you’ll be happy to note that the last time the Panthers stopped a potential Devils’ winning streak, they did so in overtime and gave the Devils enough motivation to then turn around and rattle off 4 straight wins.

On Sunday, New Jersey took another step towards repeating the past by jumping out to an early lead against the Montreal Canadiens, and then playing terrific shut-down defense following Brodeur’s injury en route to a 4-1 victory. The Devils were rewarded for their effort by climbing in the standings to 13th place, tied with Ottawa and 7 points behind the Toronto Maple Leafs follow play Monday night.

Carolina enters Tuesday’s contest winning 5 games out of their last 10, including their overtime win against the struggling Atlanta Thrashers which halted a 2 game skid. Eric Cole netted the game winner after Carolina had a horrendous defensive third period in which they squandered two leads.

Recent head to head history gives the edge to Carolina as they have had the better of the two clubs including a memorable come from behind victory in Game 7, in Newark, during the 2009 Eastern Conference Quarter Finals where the Devils blew a late 3rd period lead of their own, and the surrendered the game winner with under 2 minutes to go in regulation.

This Devils team, however, is much different than the one the Hurricanes embarrassed in 2009. First, they have Ilya Kovalchuk who is finally settling in and finding his groove with the team he has been with for just over a year, and will be with for the next 14. Kovalchuk had two goals on Sunday, added an assist on Friday and has been on fire offensively as of late. He also has been contributing regularly on defense, including some aggressive back checking against Florida.

Dainius Zubrus has also been a bright spot for the Devils’ offense as he netted his 10th Sunday afternoon.

The climb is steep, the task feels almost impossible, but the Devils need to remain focused on just one game at a time.

A team that once seemed destined for the first overall pick in the draft has now given itself a new lease on life, and its fans a reason to have some grounded hope that the season can be saved, and the playoffs, just maybe, with some luck and some favorable breaks, could be made.

One way or another, if the Devils team which has emerged recently continues to come out for the remaining 29 games, fans can be guaranteed it will be one hell of a ride to the finish line.

Turning the Corner(?)

Is for real, or is it just a tease of what could, and all honestly should, have been?

Have the New Jersey Devils finally turned the proverbial corner or are they simply exploiting midseason lulls by 5 different teams?

5-0-1 over their past six games have put the Devils in position to pull themselves out of last place, or at least have some company should they win their 4th game in a row this afternoon when they face the Florida Panthers.

Florida, who just last week, thwarted the Devils' chance to notch their first three game winning streak in over a calendar year, comes into NJ following a Friday night loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

With a win today, as already stated, the Devils will pull the Edmonton Oilers into a tie for last in the NHL, if only for a few hours. The Oilers take to the ice tonight at 8 pm and with a win or an overtime loss of their own, would avoid falling back to the basement where they t have in recent seasons staked a VIP seat. From there, the Islanders are the next threat to join the bottom feeder party as their glimmers of hope from December have been torn apart just like the always questionable health of poster child for the IR list, goaltender Rick DiPietro.

Just over 2 weeks ago, the Devils did what they've done only a few times this season, score more than two goals in a game. Not only did they notch 5 goals, but they pulled out a second multi-goal night just a few days later against the same lightning they dominated that Monday. Bookended week victories (Monday and Friday) gave fans a familiar glimmer of hope.

Could this FINALLY be the time they turn it around? Could they finally string together a winning streak, or would this be just like the few other times this season (or the year for that matter) when they put together back to back wins only to squander it the next game in embarrassing fashion.

Let’s see which Devils show up tonight, the new and improved one’s who have been showing a ton of energy and heart, or the one’s just have been all over the map, defying all logic.

Game 7: Chasing the Keepers

Earlier tonight, I posted that the Sabres would be in store for a challenge if the Panthers started Scott Clemmensen. Well, I was half right, as the Panthers started Clemmer, but I was way off with his performance and the problems facing the Sabres.

A mere 1 minute and 56 seconds into the game, the Sabres had a 2-0 lead and Clemmensen had himself an early exit.

Mike Grier got things started as he broke in on an odd-man rush and beat Clemmensen 5 hole for his 2nd of the season, just 1 minute 11 seconds into the game.

Jason Pominville sealed Clemmer's fate with a powerplay goal a mere 45 seconds later.

Clemmensen's line: 3 shots faced, 1 save, .333 save percentage.

Enter Tomas Vokoun who started off just as shaky as Clemmensen, surrendering a goal to Matt Ellis for his first, the team's 3rd, and the game wasn't even 5 minutes old at this point.

Buffalo would add another from Tyler Myers, his second, before Florida would respond with their first.

Steve Reinprecht would get Florida's only first period marker, but just over 2 minutes later, on a great never-give-up type of play, Thomas Vanek crashed the net hard while the puck was still loose and registered his 4th.

Buffalo held a 5-1 edge at the end of the first period, and they never looked back.

Stealing a line from the on-line soccer game hattrick.org, "at this point with a safe lead, the Sabres decided to focus on their defensive aspects of the game."

While the Panthers held a decisive edge in the shots on goal department, the Sabres' lead never looked in doubt.

Going back to Myers really quick, he looked quite impressive, including his shot from the point which narrowly missed Derek Roy's stick and deflected off of Vokoun's catching glove and into the net. He certainly rebounded from a shaky performance against the Thrashers on Saturday night.


Sabres 5 - Panthers 2

Running Tally of Sabres Chasers

1.) Chris Osgood - 10/13

2.) Dwayne Roloson - 10/16

3.) Scott Clemmensen - 10/21

5-1-1, 11 points

Next up: Saturday night @ Tampa Bay, 730.

Sabres Look to Rebound

After a 4 day break, with most of it being in the sunshine state, the Buffalo Sabres look to get back on the winning track when they take the ice against the Florida panthers tonight.

On Saturday night, the Sabres hot streak seemed to run out of gas at the hands of an even hotter Atlanta Thrashers team. While the final score showed a 4-2 advantage for the Thrashers, buffalo kept it a lot closer than the stat sheet displayed.

Atlanta made the most of their limited chances and took advantage of backup Patrick Lalime who started his first game of the season in order to spare Ryan Miller from needing to play back to back nights.

Tonight, the Sabres face the Panthers who have 2 wins on the year. The most recent coming Friday night when former Devils’ netminder Scott Clemmensen stopped 25 of 27 Flyer shots in his first start of the season.

If the Sabres hope to get back on the winning track, they need to hope that the Panthers don’t go with Clemmensen, as he was 2-0 last year in his only meetings against Buffalo.

Faceoff is 7:30 from Sunrise.

Game 4: Finally, a Solid, Complete Effort

Thoughts from tonight’s game:

1.) Great win. We finally played 60 minutes of hockey, and we didn’t let up. Great effort and, again, a much needed victory.

2.) Brodeur’s best game of the season. His defense let him down tonight, primarily one player. He stopped a lot of shots, again, and he looked to be in great position on almost every shot. You can see a clear difference between tonight and the Philly game. He’s more focused, more determined. He’s finally looking like the Marty that brought us success before.

3.) Oduya was awful tonight. Out of position numerous times, a bad line change led to the first Panther’s goal and being on his heels led to the 2nd one. He may have taken a good penalty in the 2nd, and he lucked out that we were able to kill it off.

4.) Penalties are hurting us, badly. We need to be more disciplined. End of story. Game 1 we were lights out on the PK and we even got a shorty, but the past 3 games now we’ve given up at least a PPG per game.

5.) Our power play is a tale of two lines. The first unit has a PPG per game. The second unit is horrendous. Rolston isn’t taking charge out there, and the rest of the unit has zero confidence.

6.) Florida Panther announcers are the worst in hockey. The color commentator did not go 5 minutes of the game without complaining about the trap. He came close to saying we haven’t won a cup nor had success without Lemaire as coach. I think he forgot 2000 when we swept Florida on our way to cup #2. This is one of the biggest drawbacks to needing NHL Center Ice to watch Devils games, dumb, annoying announcers.

My game puck goes to Michael Frolik of the Panthers. Why give it to an opposing player, especially on the losing team after a game like this, you ask? Its because he took 3 penalties, one borderline, and two of them led to power play goals, including the game winner by Clarkson. Thanks Mike!

Devils 3 - Panthers 2

2-2-0, 4 points

Back to .500 and a great effort just in time to take on Alex the Great and his solid Capitals team on Monday.

Clemmer heading South

Andy Strickland is reporting that Scott Clemmensen is heading to Florida after signing a 3 year deal worth an annual $1.2 million.

While it saddens me to see him leave the Devils, especially after how critical he was to the team last season, I'm happy to see him going to a team where he will get a considerable increase in playing time behind someone other than Martin Brodeur.

I imagine he will be competing with Tomas Vokun for the starting role once camp opens in August.

Panthers @ Devils - Game Blog - 11/20

The Sheldon Brookbank experiment is about to begin. We’re just minutes away from face-off and yeah, I may be blowing this well out of proportion, but I cannot help but take an opportunity to bitch about something other than the offense and our inconsistency in net. Congrats, Mr. Brookbank, you have been dubbed my whipping boy of the week.

Between eating pizza, swigging Pepsi and cracking jokes with my buddy Andy, I’ll keep a running blog about the agony that it currently is to be a New Jersey Devils fan.

7:01 – Players wives and girlfriends are shown collecting canned food from fans and I realize that I am much hungrier than I had originally thought. Steve Cangialosi just said the last time the devils won back to back was a month ago… well what better place than at home?

7:06 – Stan Fischler said that moving Brookbank to the wing is a great idea. He also said he [Sheldon] will score a goal tonight and “you can put that in your Brookbank.” He is so senile, it is not even funny.

7:08 – Game on as Madden wins the face-off.

7:10 – Hell of a shift from Langenbrunner. Two shots on goal and good positioning. Zajac misses a yawning net as Vokoun was out of position and I renew my “trade him now” talk with Andy. He corrects me and says it was Parise. Whoops.

7:12 – Madden line back out there… we hold off on the Brookbank experiment beginning, for now.

7:13 – Add another tally for the David Clarkson wrap-around try tally. 1 so far tonight,

7:15 – Andy reminds me we’re stuck with both Mike Mottau and Brookbank for next year… I scramble to find the Jack Daniels to add to the Pepsi…

7:16 – Brookbank makes his forward debut. 6 minutes in the game. And he’s off 30 seconds. Result of the shit: 1 hit. Pandolfo promptly hits the post on a rush lead by Madden.

7:17 – Doc reminds us of the 5 pints of blood Richard Zednik lost last year, and I begin to hope that the pizza place we ordered from doesn’t put too much tomato sauce on our pizza... is that wrong?

7:18 – Devils powerplay coming, Zajac did well, took that slash from Nathan Horton like a champ. I also just realized I should be doing a countdown clock of the period rather than a tally on the actual time of day… so switching now

11:50 left – Doc’s John Madden [football announcer, not the player] moment #1 – “you can pass the puck faster than you can skate with it.” 30 seconds of power play are over with decent action.

11:22 – Parise misses on a good chance on a rush, Elias promptly shoots right into the pads of Vokoun to stop play. I’m guessing his thinking was “why make him [Vokoun] work too hard, plenty of game to go.”

1052 - Zuburs misses a back hander on a rebound wide of the net, Gionta follows up with a shot off the skate of the goalie. More to come in a few…

1015 - PP over, solid effort, but no goals. And once again we’re beginning to wonder why David Clarkson is on the powerplay other than sheer frustration.

955 – Chico shows us how close Zubrus’ shot was to being in about 2 feet of open net. He credits “bad luck” to being why he only has 2 goals on the year. I could think of a few other reasons besides that.

930 – Madden decides to pass to a well covered Elias on a 2 on 1 rush rather than shoot. Andy: “They pass too much.” Chico: “devils with good puck possession” Me: [smacks forehead]

850 – Florida with their best chance of the night so far, they hit netting… above the glass.

755 – Doc reminds the audience that it has been over a decade that the devils have lost a season series to the panthers. With this being the first time that Marty has missed more than 6 games in a season to injury, does anyone else feel slightly concerned that this might be the one we drop one to the cats? Anyone?

740 – Brookbank with an attempted shot, too bad he hits all 3 panthers who were RIGHT in front of him. Andy: “poor Bergfors.” I agree. It must suck to be the poor soul who is saddled with playing on the line with Rupp and the lab rat. People complain he isn’t living up to hype… when you play with this line, would you be able to play up to form???

600 - Parise steals the puck from Nathan Horton and rushes on what looks like a 2 on 1, then he realizes Horton went right to the bench to replace his broken stick. Horton lines him up for a big hit, Parise juke moves him and just misses beating Vokoun.

537 - Shift 3 for Brookbank’s line. Only shots are on Clemmy, who’s in start number 3 in a row, nothing on Vokoun.

418 – Salvador takes a stick to the face from Dvorak, draws another power play.

337 – And the viewing public realized that profile shots of Zubrus is not kind to him… his nose is touching his visor, literally. Maybe it being uncomfortable for him could be a reason he can’t hit the net? Well, it’s a better excuse than bad luck.

231 – Oduya puts the puck on a silver platter and leaves it for Bret McLean. Who promptly goes the length of the ice and if not for a nifty glove save by Clemmy, the Devils would be trailing. Chico declares the save the best of the period. Power play over, 0 for 2

116 - Colin White goes for hooking Gregory Campbell.

End of first – Bran “I don’t hate Florida as much as I hate Toronto… yet” McCabe dumps the puck to kill the period. Had to take a shot at him too, nothing like a guy crying in Toronto that he wants to be traded to the Islanders then accepts a trade to Florida, death’s waiting room.

Stat of the period:
- 5 saves for Clemmensen. 2 of which were shorthanded.
- 10 missed shots for the Devils

During the replays with Daneyko:
- They show the matchup between Bouwmeester and Parise. His freaking stick is as long as Parise is tall.
- Claude Lemieux is playing hockey in China right now. That’s right, china.
- Devils missed shots are coming because they’re shooting high on Vokoun who normally is a butterfly goalie. Time to change that idea, maybe?

Moments before 2nd period faceoff – some guy behind doc and Chico is wearing a Gomez jersey and I suddenly have an urge to shoot the TV.

Reminder: 33 seconds of pp to kill off, thank you Mr. White.

1929 – Devils kill the penalty allowing only 1 shot. I also just realized that not once during the first did I hear the traditional “Rangers suck” chant.

1758 – Clemmy stops first shot of period, weak off the shot from Zednik. We also learn that Brett McLean is married to Chico’s niece, useless information to kill time.

1740 – Bergfors makes a few nice moves to keep possession down low in the zone and make something happen. He looks to the slot for a forward to pass to, sees Brookbank and elects to hold the puck to allow a line change. I love it. The kid would rather change lines than risk a turnover.

1608 – Clemmy with two nice kick saves since the defense decided to watch rather than play. Cough Mottau cough cough.

1445 – First “Rangers suck!!” chant. Crowd starting to finally show signs of life a period and a quarter later.

1439 – Gionta finally goes to the net and takes a hit… too bad it was after the whistle and he tripped over Vokoun. If the Devils are going to get something done this season, this is the line they need to create that spark. It is really that simple.

1356 – Madden takes a puck to the body and is slow to get up. Crap... Further review shows it hits him in the leg right on the pants. Good thing they’re padded.

1326 – Brookbank’s line logs a shot on net. Brookbank decides to actually get into the game and tries to fight Stephen Weiss. It doesn’t work because the refs are already there. Commercial!

1313 - ELIAS SCORES!! Hell of a no look pass from Zubrus to Gionta right on the tape to Elias who actually dekes Vokoun and HITS the net. 1-0 Devils.

1226 - Super Jay hits the outside of the net, again. Now that man has bad luck.

1030-950 – It looks like a freaking power play out there. What line you ask. Lab Rat and Co. Also, Mike Mottau refuses to use his body to clear the bodies from in front of the net... is it too late to trade him for Ken Klee? Or how about a traffic cone? Please?

635 – Back to typing after a pizza break. Chico begins commenting on Larry Brook’s article from today’s NY Post article saying Elias should be traded. Stoppage in play after Stephen Weiss falls on the back of Jason Cullimore’s leg. The fall looked similar to the way Kimo von Olehoffen fell on Carson Plamer’s leg in the 2005 AFC Wild Card Game.

630 – Holik and Rolston back by mid December, Chico speculates. Greene shortly after. Doc says there is a glimmer of hope for the current limited roster so they know how much longer they need to hold down the fort for. Andy: “Cause Holik is going to help sooo much.” We both speculate his return will knock Brookbank out of the lineup. Cough thank god cough cough.

435 - Gionta to Parise, Parise from the corner looking for Zuburs right in front of the net, and he never even saw it.

354 – Parise gets tangled up just in time to miss a pass from Paul Martin right in front of the net.

325 – Mike Frolik misses a chance to score his first NHL goal as Clemmy paddles the puck to the corner. Andy: “Its cause Marty isn’t playing, guys get their first NHL goal only against Marty.”

**end of period note: looking at the replay again, Clemmy was way out of position on the rebound, Frolik shoots at the open net and Scotty JUST gets a piece of the puck with his thumb, it bounces behind him then hops just wide of the far post.

240 – Mike Mottau with a shift to forget, defensive zone turnover that nearly leads to a Panthers goal. Then an offensive turnover to kill an odd-man scoring chance. Ugh… a new net for him? Maybe? No takers? anyone? Seriously, if the Rangers of the early part of this decade cast him off, why the HELL would we get him, why?!

Period ends with Mottau turning the puck over, big freakin’ shocker. Devils 1 – Panthers 0.

During the final few minutes, I wonder if we needed to move a defenseman to the forward position so badly, why not use Paul Martin. Andy reminds me of the failed Niedermayer experiment, I then think about the fact if martin did move up, Brookbank would be back on defense and that thought scares me more than anything so I retract my statement.

During the intermission, the camera before cutting to commercial focuses on a girl between 10 and 13 licking the tips of her fingers in a back and forth motion. It is at this moment I realize I will never rub my nose or anything like that during a break in a hockey game because MSG will do everything in their power to make you look like a complete idiot. Andy concurs.

Stat of the period: Devils with 1 shot in the period. I didn’t believe it when Cangialosi said it, checked the official scoring summary, and yes, 1 shot on goal. I think that stat is slightly askew. Maybe the scorer wasn’t paying attention in favor of food like I did? I now think of Bob Uecker in Major League, “1 hit, that’s it? One goddamn hit?”

Doc and Chico kindly remind us that a 1 goal is not safe with the devils until the horn sounds. Madden moment #2 as they remind viewers of the .8 remaining goal by Ovechkin on Saturday night.

A weird angle shot of Bryce Salvador made him look almost a carbon copy of Tie Domi… creepy.

1840 – It is noted that Cullimore has not returned. My guess is he is on his way to the Carl Pavano MRI tube to get his knee examined. Parise takes a straight on shot to Vokoun to match the Devils’ total from the 2nd.

1645 - David Booth clipped the puck ever so slightly wide of the net as Clemmenson was sliding to the opposite side. Again, proving that there are much unluckier people than Dainius Zubrus.

1525-1450 – The Lab Rats have a good solid fore check, but prove why they are the 4th line by struggling mightily. I think I will keep that nick name for them, the Lab Rats. It works.

1411 - MARTIN wires a shot to the top left corner of the net! David Booth, having a period to forget, goes to block the shot and sides wide of blocking martins faked shot. 2-0 Devils.

1309 - MIGHTY MITE SCORES!!! Zubrus to Elias, draws the defender and Vokoun, to Gionta with a wide open net and he just taps it in. This line is actually building up some chemistry. What makes this play is Elias’ pass through the defender and around Vokoun. He’s often criticized, but Elias showing shades of brilliance out there.

1230 –Elias inadvertently high sticks a Panther.

Andy: So now that they’re clicking, where do we put Rolston when he comes back?
Me: The Lab Rat line, get rid of Brookbank.
Andy: That could help Bergfors out, a lot. We could put Holik there too, bump Rupp. Then trash Mottau and bring up Vrana for the extra skater.

1115 – Power play goal for Frolik. Bastard ended up getting the one he should’ve had before. Shot looks like it hit Campbell in the skate, but it just screened Clemmy. And now the worst lead in hockey is back, 2 goals.

155 – Clemmy makes a few nice saves in the crease. Camera shot from behind the net shows that he still has the number 40 painted on the back of his helmet… interesting…

43.1 seconds – SLIDING SAVE BY CLEMMENSEN ON RICHARD ZEDNEK. The kid is really making a case for him to keep the starting job in Marty’s absence by playing solid.

5.6 - Elias just misses an empty net from the blue line.

And that’s the game, Devils get to 20 points. First win in regulation since Marty went out hurt. Clemmensen’s record is 1 win above .500 for his career.

Zero points from the Lab Rats.

Stars of the game: #3 Zubrus, #2 Gionta, #1 Elias. Cheeko’s #4 star is Clemmensen.

Ah a win feels good. Now to go have a beer.

Draft Day 1

Thefourthperiod.com [one of the more credible rumor sites out there] is reporting that Olli Jokinen will be traded today before the first round of the NHL draft begins. They report suggests the key point in trading Jokinen is at least a first round draft pick, which Florida covets so that they may have a spot in the first round. Florida's 1st Round pick, which would have been 9th overall, was sent to the Nashville Predators as part of the Tomas Vokoun trade last summer.

Do not expect the Devils to be a player in Jokinen sweepstakes today unless GM Lou Lamoriello can convince the Panthers to take something other than a first round pick. First round picks are something that Lamoriello would love to horde like a squirrel to acorns. Lamoreillo has also told numerous media outlets that he would like to move up in the draft, and even would consider moving down for the right deal. A.K.A. - he'd do what any good GM would do on draft day. Again, don't count on the Devils landing Jokinen, the price tag is too high with no first round pick to work with on Florida's side.

Speaking of Tomas Vokoun, last night the Predators traded Chris Mason to St. Louis for a 4th round pick in this weekend's draft. This is the second time that the goaltender who started the season in net for the Predators has been shipped out the following summer. The move signals a full vote of confidence in Dan Ellis, who stepped up nicely when Mason showed his human side last season. The season prior, Mason platooned the Preds goaltending job with Vokoun and lead them to an incredible 51 win, 110 point season in only their 3rd season in the NHL. The Predators have not missed the playoffs since 2003-2004 [4 straight seasons], so there is some weight on Ellis' shoulders, but for a goalie who lead the league in save percentage last season and set the franchise record in shutouts with 6, it does not look like it will be a difficult task being the only go-to guy in net.

--2 PM Update--

Well here it is folks, my first Sabres post on the blog. Although it will come as no surprise to anyone in Buffalo, Max Afinogenov is being talked heavily by GM's at the NHL Draft in Ottawa. Hockeybuzz suggests that Washington and Chicago are the leading candidates. Now all you Buffalonians, do not get too excited when you read Chicago in there, because there is ZERO chance it will be for Calder winner Pat Kane, and that's an (e5). My guess is the deal will be centered around Patrick Sharp. The 26 year old center has a $3.9 million annual cap hit over the next 4 years [$15.9 mil/4 yr left on the current deal]. Max will be entering the final year of his contract, taking a cap hit of $3.5 million with him. If he goes to Washington, my guess is for prospects and picks. The move could also be an indicator that the Capitals are going to give up on re-signing Sergi Federov because the two have comparable contracts, but Max is 10 years younger and could still make an impact in a system that fits him. Could pairing up with Alex Ovechkin be that solution?

--5 PM EXCLUSIVE Update --

I have just received an exclusive tip from a Buffalo source about Maxim Afinogenov. The source has told me that the Sabres and the Florida Panthers are discussing a possible deal with Olli Jokinen being involved. My source has told me that the Sabres are offering Max and the 1st round, 26th overall pick in exchange for Jokinen and either prospects, picks, or both. the stumbling block right now is trying to figure out compensation for the extra $2 million plus in cap space that the Sabres will be taking on by acquiring Jokinen. Jokinen, 29, will be making $5.25 million next season and $5.5 million in 2009-2010, compared to Max's $3.5 million next season.

--7 PM Update--

Jokinen to Phoenix, Tanguay from Calgary to Montreal, Cammalleri from LA to Calgary