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.