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.

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.

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.

Opening Night Fright Fest

Sure, Six Flags is the original home of the annual Fright Fest celebration in October, but on Saturday night, the Devils decided they wanted to get in on the action by putting up a simply horrific performance at the Prudential Center against Philadelphia Flyers.

The nightmare began early, a mere 5 minutes into the game to be exact, when the Devils were given a gift of a 5 on 3 power play at the hands of Jeff Carter and Scottie Upshall.

While 3 of the 5 members of the first unit had double shifted, they still produced some solid chances, yet only registering 1 shot on goal. The second unit, however, looked awful. With 2 youngsters in Matt Hallischuck and Niklaus Bergfors playing on the line, the team was out-hustled and out matched by the Flyers penalty killers, and the 2 man-advantage seemed to vanish quicker than a ghost on camera.

Later in the period, in what almost feels like is becoming a trend, Brodeur was lazy on a Flyer shot, and was beaten by Jeff Carter to give Philly a 1-0 lead.

A late penalty in before the end of the period seemed to give the Devils a chance, but they failed to convert by the buzzer, and nearly gave up a phenomenal shorthanded opportunity to the Flyers. If it was not for the back checking of Paul Martin and the limited amount of time on the clock, they could very well have gone into the break in a 2-0 hole.

The second period opened with another fortunate break for the Devils as Ray Emery made a blunder and was penalized 2 minutes for illegal playing of the puck in the restricted zone.

But again, the Devils failed to capitalize on their gifts from the Flyers and, again, failed to convert on the 5 on 3, and the remainder of Emery’s error.

Just before the midpoint of the period, Ian Laperierre found the back of the net, and 6 minutes later, Bryce Salvador should have been given an assist on Mike Richards’ goal as he deflected the puck up and over Brodeur, who looked like he was almost cheating to the far-side post in anticipation of the crossing attempt.

Marty’s age and its effect on his overall game became ever more so apparent on Darrol Powe’s shot that beat him glove side. Granted he got a piece of it, it looked like he didn’t even know it was coming.

Long gone, it seems, are the years when the Devils could rely on Marty to steal them games with his quick reflexes. He went out with a fizzle from the playoffs last season, and he opened this one by only reaffirming questions of his ability, rather than erasing the demons from playoff failures of season’s past.

The only glimmer of hope on this night was Brian Rolston preventing the team from being shutout at home by scoring moments after Powe’s tally.

Any hopes of a comeback were quickly shattered when Matt Carle beat Brodeur. And again, he got part of, but not enough, of the puck. Again, I will attribute this to his age finally catching up.

Langenbrunner broke through, shorthanded, and beat Ray Emery stick side for a shorthanded goal, to draw the game to within 3. I still cannot believe it took the Devils 2+ periods to finally bring Emery back to earth following an opening night shutout.

The crowd cheering after nearly every Brodeur save just shows how bad of a night it was, and the rousing cheers when the 1 minute mark was announced put icing on the proverbial cake.

1 horrifying game down, 81 to go.

Here’s to hoping the rest of October, let alone the remainder of the season, isn’t as big of a nightmare as this game foreshadows.