Alright so you know the drill at this point. I watch the game, sometimes alone with beer, sometimes with friends, with beers, and then comment, tonight, it’s again with Andy but no beer as we’re resting our livers for Friday’s Beerfest competition for my birthday.
Lines for tonight are as follows:
Elias – Zubrus - Gionta
Parise – Zajac – Langenbrunner
Rolston – Madden - Clarkson
Rupp – Holik – Pandolfo
White – Mottau
Martin – Oduya
Salvador – Greene
1:06 – The “David Clarkson” wrap-around has returned!!!! While he didn’t find the back of the net with it, ROLSTON was able to do so on a one timer, netting the opening goal, 8th of his season. Madden gets a secondary assist on the goal.
3:26 – A goal that just wowed me. Parise’s pass was just behind Zajac who kicked it to his stick with the heel of his skate, just manages to push a shot on goal which PARISE tips in right into the net.
--A further look later on in the game shows a big hit from Daniel Sedin on Langenbrunner, who takes the elbow to his face in the process and then outlet passes to Parise to get the goal.
Canucks elect to change their goalie at this point. Bye Bye LaBarbera, hello Curtis Sanford.
3:45 – Even with a goalie change and being smacked in the face with two fast goals, the Canucks look completely gassed. The Devils are dominating the flow of play. Speculation begins between me and Andy about what it could be, but we are both quick to note that if they were playing a much more potent offense, they’d be in for a really long night.
7:45 – Gionta just baseball hit a puck clear out of midair. I then begin to wonder if he can do that, why can’t he tip in pucks as frequent as he used to…
-- During the first media timeout, we wonder if the recent surge in performance is a result of fear that someone is about to lose their spot with Shanahan being almost game-ready.
-- Interesting stat #1 – Vancouver is 17-5-2 @ home vs. the Devils, and hasn’t lost at home in almost 10 years… rut-roh.
--Whitey gift-wraps a breakaway to Sundin [practically hands the puck right over to him with a clear path to Clemmer]. Much to my surprise, however, White hustles and takes it right back.
11:07 – Zubrus says thank you to Sanford as he pretty much skates behind the net, and beats the goalie to the puck. He chips to GIONTA who then buries it into the vacant net. 3-0 Devils.
-- On the VERY next Devils shot on goal, the Vancouver crowd gives Sanford a very sarcastic cheer.
-- Chico theorizes that the poor performance by the goaltenders could be a direct result of the recent speculation that with Luongo returning in the next week, one goalie will be on the outside looking in, possibly traded... Funny, but when you look across the ice, you see two goalies playing out of their minds with only a matter of time before future hall of famer Marty Brodeur returns.
-- The next commercial break gave Andy and I, two natives of the NY metro area, a damn good laugh. It’s the MSG commercial talking about Super Bowl XXV, where the Giants won on Scott Norwood’s missed field goal as time expired. What makes it funny is its being shown on the same network as the Buffalo Sabres.
-- With about 5 minutes to go, the TV feed cuts out for us. Who reading this cares, right? Here’s why it needs to be noted: as the feed cut, I threw my arms up yelling and smashed my left forearm against a chair that was behind me and I never saw it. Thought I broke the damn thing. Andy laughed so damn hard he almost fell off the couch, hence the need to report it.
-- Clarkson just made one hell of a move that trickled between Sanford’s legs and just slid wide of the net, drawing a loud boo from the crowd.
19:00 – With the “one minute remaining” announcement, the fans give the loudest ovation we’ve heard since the team took the ice at the start of the game.
-- END OF PERIOD, shots 12-4, and it only took 40 minutes.
-- INTERMISSION – Will Phil Kessel ever catch a break? First he beats cancer, then breaks out of a sophomore slump, now, while on absolute fire, catches mono…
-- Also, you know you’re having a bad day when you give up 2 goals in 3 minutes 29 seconds, then storm off the ice and it takes you 2 tries to slam the door to the bench closed, LaBarbera gave up after the second slam. Next time, rather than letting yourself look like a teenage girl, slam your stick or throw a water bottle, Jason. So sad, so sad.
-- Sanford makes save number 1 of the period, and the crowd rejoices.
4:18 – Rupp gets called for a penalty for something other than punching someone in the face. Granted it was for holding, hopefully he gets back to his scrapping ways later in the game.
~5:00 – Vancouver is finally deciding to show some life and are really tilting the ice to their end on this power play. They’re skating fast and moving the puck very well.
6:44 – Parise takes a stick to the face, only 2 minutes. Of course, the feed continues to be crappy. No arm flailing this time. We don’t know if it’s the feed from Vancouver or if Time Warner sucks that much. Expletives are flowing from my mouth right now.
-- Andy is on the phone with Time Warner, and I think the devils get hit with a penalty with x amount of time left on the power play…. 22 seconds… maybe?
-- Midway though the period, the box goes out, cable and feed are now gone… son of a….
18:15 - Vancouver nets a goal while the cable is still out. The problem is obviously the bad luck.
-- Well, after missing the 2nd half of the 2nd period we solved the mystery of the crappy cable signal. College grads we are. No help at all from Time Warner Cable.
-- Chili’s hot dog slinger commercial is hysterical which leads a conversation over the intracasies of the training that the street vendor would need to have in order to earn a certification or license. “Maybe he has to shoot hot dogs through windows at certain distances like a sniper,” is just one of the ideas we throw out.
--THIRD PERIOD –
-- Doc notes that Kyle Wellwood hasn’t had a minor penalty called against him in almost 2 years. I then note that he has not played a full season of hockey in over 2 years so the stat is slightly warped. After doing some research, Wellwood has played over 148 games without being tagged for a minor, I’m a little impressed actually.
-- Just as I note that the 2 goal lead is one of the most dangerous leads in hockey and I’m nervous about the Devils 3-1 lead in the 3rd, Doc speaks of the magnitude which the next goal will have on the outcome of this game. GET OUT OF MY HEAD, GET OUT!!!
4:19 - Devils convert on a nice 3 on 2 right after Willie Mitchell, former Devil, rings a blistering slap shot off the post. Zajac to Langenbrunner back to ZAJAC who fires a drive home, as Parise is the decoy the middle. Another multi-point for Zajac helps put his dismal performance form last season behind him.
5:20 - After a flury of activity in the Devils end which was spearheaded by Ryan Kesler, Devils break out on another 3 on 2 which ends with Rolston firing a shot that’s stopped by Sanford, but as Clarkson aggressively drives to the net to get the rebound, he hits Sanford and gets called for interference.
-- Clemmer looks really good on the power play as he is all over the crease protecting his team’s 3 goal lead. Its like he found Dorothy and she gave the tin man his much needed oil can.
-- Devils kill off an entertaining power play, Doc and Chico talk about all-star selections as Andy and I talk about the Vote for Rory campaign from a few years ago. Then we try to figure out where he is today. Last time we checked, it was Philly.
-- Andy and I watch how Martin is keeping the puck on the penalty kill and then again on even strength and begin comparing his skills to those of Brian Rafalski. We then talk about how if Raffy should have been traded before the deadline, consensus: no. Then, of course, we talk about Scott “Benedict Arnold” Gomez and should HE have been traded: consensus: a resounding yes.
-- A shot of Kevin Weekes sitting on the bench begs the question, what other profession would you think Kevin Weekes would be if he wasn’t a hockey player, because to me, he’d be more fitting as an actor or politician. I don’t know where that came from but I swear to you I’m not drinking.
12:19 -- Pavol Demitra scores off a rebound, a big fat rebound, off Clemmer. Salvador faield to get back to clear the puck, but I don’t know who should have the blame for that goal. Andy thinks it was a botched line change. Of course, no replay angles show us where the heck Salvador was before he got back on defense.
With just about 7 minutes to go, the scary lead is starting to strike fear back into me. Vancouver is looking much more organized and a far cry from their first period performance.
Doc brings up how “truly valuable to the team Paul Martin is.” This is really starting to get a little weird that these coincidences keep happening.
14:36 – Elias gets called for hooking Daniel Sedin. Replay shows it was one heck of a joke call as Sedin clearly embellishes the hook and dives with it. Only consolation is that D. Sedin is also going to the box for holding the stick.
17:19 -- Zubrus hands the puck to Steve Bernier and he beats Clemmer. Effin’ A. Now the crowd is back into it, the ‘Nucks are playing harder and the Devils keep refusing to drop the hammer on them.
19:21 - Pretty interesting play: ZUBRUS gets a lucky bounce off Edler’s knee and makes it 5-3 by scoring on an empty net. This coming after Edler made one heck of a catch at the blue line that Derek Jeter would be impressed with. The play kept the pressure on the Devils and the puck in the offensive zone while they were trailing by only 1.
5-3 final, Center Ice cuts out before we see that Zajac, Parise and Demitra were named the 3 stars of the game.
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