Rangers and Islanders to play tonight

Posted on January 27, 2015 by Derek

Tonight’s game between the Rangers and Islanders is on as scheduled. Even with a winter storm delivering over a foot of snow last night into the morning hours, the two bitter rivals will play at 7 EST in Uniondale.

The Islanders lead the Metropolitan Division by three points over the Pens and five over the Rangers. They have taken the first two games of the season series sweeping a pair at MSG. There are three remaining match-ups all at Nassau Coliseum.

BATTLE OF NEW YORK

Islanders vs Rangers Head To Head (2014-15 Regular Season)

10/14 NYI 6 NYR 3

Goalscorers: NYI Boychuk, Tavares, Okposo, Nelson, Grabovski, Leddy NYR Nash 2, Brassard

Goalies: Halak 40 saves Lundqvist 6 GA on 27 shots

1/13 NYI 3 NYR 0

Goalscorers: NYI Lee, Kulemin, Nielsen

Goalies: NYI Halak 27 saves SHO NYR Lundqvist 3 GA on 32 shots in 40 Mins, Talbot 12 saves

1/27 NYR vs NYI

2/16 NYR vs NYI

3/10 NYR vs NYI

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Okposo Expected To Miss Six To Eight Weeks

Posted on January 26, 2015 by Derek
Kyle Okposo (inset) celebrating a 4-goal performance will miss 6 to 8 weeks for the division-leading Islanders. Getty Images

Kyle Okposo (inset) celebrating a 4-goal performance will miss 6 to 8 weeks for the division-leading Islanders.
newsday.com Getty Images

The Islanders were dealt a huge blow to their division hopes. Forward Kyle Okposo is expected to miss six to eight weeks due to an “upper body injury.” The 26-year old right wing has been one of their best players in what’s been a dream season. He leads the team in assists (30), shots-on-goal (154) and ranks second behind linemate John Tavares in points (44).

Most notably, Okposo recorded his first career four-goal game in a come from behind 6-3 home win over the Penguins on 1/16. In that contest, he scored three times in the third period as the Isles again proved that they’re for real. How good has the former 2006 first round pick been? He had seven points (5-2-7) over his last three games and 12 (6-6-12) in the last 10.

After establishing career bests in goals (27), assists (42) and points (69) in ’13-14, he was on his way to an even better season. Currently under a contract that averages a cap hit of $2.8 million through 2015-16, Okposo is a bargain. He is earning $3.5 million this season and will make $4.5 million in the final year of the deal. Obviously, he’ll be due a raise as a restricted free agent in the summer of 2016.

With Okposo out, it’s up to other teammates to step up. The Isles boast improved depth in Brock Nelson, Ryan Strome, Frans Nielsen, Josh Bailey, Nikolay Kulemin, Mikhail Grabovski and rookie Anders Lee. They also possess arguably the best fourth line in hockey featuring bash brothers Cal Clutterbuck and Matt Martin along with Casey Cizikas. In his place, there should be room for penalty killing ace Michael Grabner to provide a lift.

With the season likely to resume later this week due to a blizzard which should cancel tomorrow’s Battle Of New York showdown against the Rangers, the Islanders will have to get by without Okposo. With 36 games left, they lead the Pens by three points, the Rangers by five and the Capitals by six.

In the hunt for the East’s top seed, they’re tied with the Red Wings for second trailing the Lightning by a point. Home ice would be huge for them. In the final year at historic Nassau Coliseum, they’ve dominated going 16-4-0 outscoring opponents 73-52. On the road, they’re 15-10-1 outscored 76-72.

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NHL Suspends Rinaldo Eight Games

Posted on January 26, 2015 by Derek

Earlier today, the verdict finally came out on Flyers’ goon Zac Rinaldo. During last week’s Flyers’ home win over the Penguins, he viciously boarded defenseman Kris Letang from behind receiving a major and game misconduct. For a repeat offender who even had the audacity to joke about his hit being a ‘turning point,’ he received eight games. Here is the official press release from the NHL media site.

NEW YORK (Jan. 26, 2015) – Philadelphia Flyers forward Zac Rinaldo has been suspended for eight games, without pay, for charging and boarding Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang during NHL Game No. 684 in Philadelphia on Tuesday, Jan. 20, the National Hockey League’s Department of Player Safety announced today.
The incident occurred at 15:36 of the first period. Rinaldo was assessed a major penalty for boarding and a game misconduct.
Rinaldo is considered a repeat offender under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement and, based on his average annual salary, will forfeit $73,170.72. The money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.
As someone who believes that the league goes too light on such incidents, I feel Rinaldo should’ve gotten at least 10 for his actions. There’s no place in hockey for such dirty hits. Sure. Letang stood still and watched his pass. However, he was defenseless and injured.  Encouraging is that it looks like he’ll return for Pittsburgh’s next game tomorrow against Winnipeg. He practiced and no one was recalled.
Regarding Rinaldo, I just don’t get the point of the Flyers having him on their roster. What exactly does he do well? He can hit but continues to put himself in these situations which are a headache for the NHL Department Of Player Safety. It is the third time he’s been suspended. His last ban being four games last April.

“I changed the whole game, man,” he remarkably stated to reporters last Tuesday. “Who knows what the game would have been like if I didn’t do what I did?”

At 24, you’d think he would know better than to open his mouth. Discussing the hit is fine. But to even conclude that is despicable and lacks decency. For better or worse, this is the Flyers’ history dating back to the Broadstreet Bullies. In a year where they likely won’t make the postseason, Rinaldo’s illegal hit along with the usual penalty fest against their interstate Pennsylvania rival will probably be the highlight of the season. There’s not much else to say.

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More focused Kreider showing improvement

Posted on January 22, 2015 by Derek
Chris Kreider is congratulated by Martin St. Louis following his goal that made it 3-1 with 1:01 left in the second period. The Rangers took Game 1 7-2 over the Canadiens. AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar

Chris Kreider is congratulated by Martin St. Louis following his goal that made it 3-1 with 1:01 left in the second period. The Rangers took Game 1 7-2 over the Canadiens.
AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar

It hasn’t been an easy season for Chris Kreider. The second-year Rangers forward went through a difficult stretch where hockey wasn’t the number one priority. As he detailed with New York Post beat writer Larry Brooks, it was hard to focus due to the health of his grandfather, who passed away on Nov. 27.

“That stretch was a real tough time for me and my family,” Kreider told Brooks following Tuesday’s 3-2 overtime win over Ottawa at MSG. “I’d never want to use that as a crutch, but it was very difficult for me to focus on hockey.

“My heart wasn’t really into it, and that wasn’t fair to my teammates or myself,” he said. “It was hard for me. But the support system here in this room and from this organization and from my family at home was so strong and meant the world to me.

“Now, all that is behind me. Now, my focus is here.”

The 23-year old Kreider definitely didn’t look like the player we saw last Spring or during his rookie season. There were plenty of moments where I wondered what was wrong with him. You could see it during shifts that he wasn’t all there. Like many passionate True Blueshirts, I vented my frustration with the former 2009 number one pick.

Sometimes, we don’t know the whole story. One thing I noticed was that Kreider’s game picked up after he returned. Even though initially he wasn’t getting results on the score sheet, he was more emotionally and physically involved. Eventually, the production came. Over the last 10 games, he has nine points (5-4-9) including three multi-point efforts. Easily the best stretch of the season, Kreider has four points over his last three including a clutch game-tying goal that helped the Rangers rally for a 3-2 OT win over the Senators. Their third consecutive victory before the break.

Kreider has found a good role model in much older linemate Martin St. Louis. The former Hart winner has taken him under his wing. So far, he has learned a lot from the future Hall Of Famer and Stanley Cup champ.

“It’s a give-and-take relationship,” Kreider said

“He gives and I take.

“He talks, I shut up and listen.”

“The plays he makes, the things he sees before they happen; it’s extraordinary,” Kreider said. “He is so cerebral … he is playing chess when everyone else is playing checkers. Isn’t that the euphemism?

That kind of mentality has helped him develop. Plus he and Derek Stepan have chemistry. Stepan is the smart two-way center who sees the whole ice. A very unselfish player, he has made a big difference. No one can deny that the unlikely trio are perfect together.

“I had a coach at Boston College who said that you have to be able to think the puck in,” said Kreider. “I think with Marty and Step, I can think it in.

“I think that’s what our line can do.”

The end result is a more committed player who’s back to using his size, speed and strength which can be tough on opponents. In 42 games, Kreider’s up to 10 goals with 14 assists for 24 points and a team-leading 73 penalty minutes. His 89 hits rank first among Rangers forwards. He also has four power play goals and three game-winners. As he improves, so does the team’s chances.

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Devils’ former home at the Meadowlands is set to close

Posted on January 21, 2015 by hasan4978

In the Devils’ heyday from the mid ’90’s to the mid ’00’s they had their most memorable triumphs here

With the news last week that the building now known as Izod Center (but better known to Devils fans as the Brendan Byrne arena or the CAA) was finally going to close its doors in a matter of weeks and allow most of their events to go to the Prudential Center in Newark, that piece of Devils history will now be a part of history.  Sure it’s nicer to be in a new building with more amenities in and around the arena and honestly I’ve been to the Rock a lot more than I was ever at CAA so on the one hand I identify more with the new building…particularly after the ’12 playoff run christened it around years of playoff dissapointments and not even getting there.

Still, there’s always a charm around the first time for everything.  A lot of firsts took place for me as a hockey fan at the CAA (I remember the building being Brendan Byrne watching the Devils’ ’94-95 playoff runs on TV but by the time I started going to games it had changed its name to the Continental Airlines arena so I’ll just go by the CAA achronym here).  My first game attended was during the ’96-97 season as a teenager sitting in my dad’s old boss’s seats in section 119 where I would sporadically attend games for the next few years.  The only reason I remember the particular game is because I still have all my ticket stubs saved from games attended, or at least the ones that aren’t paper/e-mail, and because it happened to be an unusual game against the Ducks where Mike Dunham started but after the Ducks took a 2-0 lead, Dunham was pulled for Martin Brodeur and the Devils came back to win 5-3.

My first playoff game live was also a memorable one, I don’t even need a ticket stub to remember it – the so-called ‘six shot’ game against Toronto in 2000 where the Devils clinched the series with a historic defensive performance in Game 6.  Sadly my second playoff game that year wasn’t as scintillating, being the Game 4 loss to the Flyers in the Conference Finals.  I started going to games by myself here and there after that though I didn’t become a full season ticket holder until after the season-long lockout ironically enough.  Still, the 2003 playoff run was particularly special for me since I was at most of the games during the last two series – Games 4 and 6 against Ottawa, and Games 1, 5 and 7 against the Ducks.  Even sick with the flu on the day of Game 7 there was no way I was going to miss a potentially once-in-a-lifetime game so I took some antibiotics and got through the game on adrenaline.  Obviously winning a Stanley Cup puts that at the very top of my list of most memorable moments at the CAA.  I remember hearing the roar when the scratches were announced and long-time Devil Ken Daneyko was not among them, deep in my soul I felt everything was going to be fine after that.  Though Kenny was more of an inspirational figure that night (in what turned out to be the final game of his 21-year career) playing just twelve minutes, it was still a rallying point for the crowd and the team, and the last of a season’s worth of inspired moves by coach Pat Burns.

Of course the memories at the CAA were more than just merely big games.  When you talk about the game experience, there was tailgaiting (though I was seldom part of it), and there was the walk down the so-called cow tunnel before and after games from the arena to the parking lots near Giants Stadium.  Mostly on a lot of cold nights but during playoff games those walks could be fun with the tunnel full of people slamming on the walls screaming ‘Let’s Go Devils!’  Also there was the time spent with friends at and after games – Applebees on route 46 was a popular destination for the group I went with back then, particularly during the final two seasons at CAA when I went to 20+ games.  I also met my current best friend at a Devils game through someone who was a co-worker long ago. Not that everything about the CAA makes me nostalgic.  I certainly don’t miss the cramped concourses, the super-long bathroom lines or the maze of parking lots you had to get detoured around to get out of the buliding.  Nor do I miss the sudden shift across four lanes I had to make coming from route 3 to get to the arena, only having half a mile to do it, frequently in traffic.  During the team’s first two years in Newark I reveled in taking the train and not having to worry about driving headaches, before I realized how easy it actually was driving in and out of Newark – not to mention less time-consuming than waiting for trains.

Although the shadow of the building has hung around like an eyesore with the new Izod name since the Devils moved out after the 2006-07 season, it’s more or less been gone for me since then.  My last time setting foot the building as it turned out was for a playoff loss to Tampa Bay in the first round that year.  I’ve only been to the Meadowlands itself twice since then, once for a Springsteen concert and the other time to see the Jets play at MetLife (a win over the Bills last year).  I could bother going through all my ticket stubs and creating a top ten list of games attended but honestly it seems like too many memories to sort through.

There was the game against the Bruins which was one of the first I went to in the late ’90’s where Brodeur got a shutout and the Bruins coach had some nice words to say about Marty after the game – something to the effect of ‘we played well but Mr. Brodeur refused to allow anything’.  That coach’s name was Pat Burns.  Obviously the aformentioned six-shot game in 2000 and Cup win in 2003.  Our banner raising the next year and the retirement of Scott Stevens and Daneyko’s jerseys.  Beating the Rangers in the playoffs in 2006 finally, with a power play bonanza in Game 1 and the John Madden ‘hair trick’ in Game 2 – a hat trick that prompted someone without a hat to throw their toupee onto the ice.  Other goofy games like the home opener against Toronto (I believe it was ’06-07) where we came back from 6-3 down to win in a shootout, back in the days where we actually won shootouts, and the home finale that same season where the Devils had already clinched the division and were playing the Islanders who needed a win to make the playoffs.  Many Devil fans actually wanted the Isles to win since it would have eliminated the then-hated Leafs.  After falling behind 2-0 it looked as if the Devils were going to troll the world with two late goals to tie the game, but the Isles got their win in the shootout.

Everyone has their favorite memories of the CAA I’m sure and this blog was purely about mine, I didn’t mention any of the games I was not at like the ’94-95 playoff games, or most of the ’00-01 games for that matter.  There was also the Grant Marshall triple-OT series winner against Tampa Bay in 2003, and the Jamie Langenbrunner double-OT winner in Game 2 against Ottawa in 2007 which turned out to be our final win in East Rutherford after we lost that second-round series in five games.  For the older crowd there were plenty of team firsts too, from first win to first playoff berth and everything in between including the so-called Mickey Mouse game where the Devils played an inspired game against the then-mighty Oilers after being disrepected by icon Wayne Gretzky in a memorable way in 1983.  There was the ‘334 club’ game where a paralyzing snowstorm prevented all but 334 diehards from showing up at a 1987 game against Calgary (a 7-5 Devils win) and the doughnut-gate game during the Devils first playoff run in 1988 where then-coach Jim Schonfeld told referee Don Koharski to ‘have another doughnut, you fat pig!’ leading to the coach’s suspension and an appeal that led to a ref boycott of Game 4.  And the CAA/Byrne arena wasn’t home to hockey alone…the NBA was there with the Nets and the NCAA tournament has played plenty of games there as well.  I’ve been to one Nets game total though – and when I was a kid at that, and I only went to the tournament a few years back when it was at Newark so I don’t want to do basketball any injustice, but clearly the building was identified with its most successful tenant and the one who was among hockey’s titans for a decade – the New Jersey Devils.

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Video Of Day: Stepan pass sets up Hagelin OT winner

Posted on January 21, 2015 by Derek

Our Video Of Day comes courtesy of an exciting Rangers’ 3-2 overtime win over the Senators at a rocking MSG to go into the All-Star break on a high note. The play was made by Derek Stepan, whose spin-a-rama no look pass set up Carl Hagelin for his overtime winner. A perfect deflection past Ottawa goalie Craig Anderson at 2:55.

”The whole game was sluggish from our part,” Hagelin said. ”Step saw me going in. Two defensemen stepped in on him, and he made the perfect play to me.”

It was nice to see Hagelin get one. Entering the contest, he was without a point in seven. Earlier, he retrieved a loose puck and recorded an assist on rookie Kevin Hayes’ sixth to open the scoring.

The Rangers fell behind quickly. The Senators responded with two goals in a 63-second span. Erik Karlsson scored his ninth from Kyle Turris at even strength tying the score. Ottawa took advantage of a Jesper Fast turnover in the neutral zone. A Lee Stempniak hi-sticking minor led directly to a Milan Michalek power play goal.

It looked like the Sens would win again at The Garden. They had a seven-game regular season win streak snapped. The Rangers rallied thanks to Chris Kreider. His 10th goal came at 2:42 of the third period forcing overtime. Flying all night, he took a perfect Marc Staal head man pass and broke in on Anderson beating him. Staal doesn’t get many points. That was especially sweet after his new six-year $34.2 million contract was announced Sunday. He played another strong game earning third star. Kreider was number one with a game-high seven shots. Karlsson got the second star on the losing side.

The Rangers were able to win for a third straight time despite not having their best effort. They overcame some sloppy play along with a dreadful five-on-three that drew Bronx cheers at the end of the second. But they persevered thanks to strong netminding from Henrik Lundqvist (33 saves), who was matched by Anderson (32 saves).

”They can’t all be Picassos,” coach Alain Vigneault noted after tying GM Glen Sather for 26th on the NHL’s career list by coaching his 932nd game. ”This game is about finding ways to win when you’re not at your best.”

”It was definitely a character win,” Kreider added. ”We probably didn’t have the start we wanted, had a few lulls, but it says a lot about the leadership in the room that we were able to gather ourselves and be ready to play.”

The win improved the Blueshirts to 27-13-4 with 58 points through 44 games at the break. After a slow start, they’ve won 16 of 19 to pull within a point of second place Pittsburgh, who lost an emotional game against the Flyers. Let’s just say I’ll be devoting a post to it tomorrow due to the sheer stupidity of Zac Rinaldo. They’re a point up on Washington for third. The Caps blew a two-goal lead to the Oilers falling 5-4 in a shootout.

For the Rangers, they have 38 games remaining and trail the first place Islanders by five. Having lost the first two games at MSG, they still have three left with the Isles including a pivotal match-up next Tuesday at Nassau Coliseum. If they want to close the gap and give themselves a realistic chance of winning the division, they must get it. Aside from that, they need to prove they can beat the Isles. They’ve been dominated in two meetings. It definitely should be a must watch.

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Nash and Stepan lead Rangers over Penguins

Posted on January 19, 2015 by Derek
Step and Nash: Derek Stepan and Rick Nash celebrate a goal. Each scored twice in a Rangers 5-2 win over the Penguins. AP Photo by Gene J. Puskar/Getty Images

Step and Nash: Derek Stepan and Rick Nash celebrate a goal. Each scored twice in a Rangers 5-2 win over the Penguins.
AP Photo by Gene J. Puskar/Getty Images

The Rangers had no problem with the Penguins yesterday. Rick Nash and Derek Stepan each scored twice in a 5-2 win at Consol Energy Center. Despite playing a 12:30 game in what amounted to three games in three and a half days, they were able to handle the Pens to win the season series going 3-0-1.

After having gone three consecutive games without a point, Nash erased that quickly by beating Marc-Andre Fleury on a breakaway 26 seconds in to set the tone. He took advantage of an errant pass that forced Kris Letang into a turnover at the Ranger blueline. Nash cruised in and fired his 27th past Fleury.

”It shows the kind of character we have on this team to bounce back after a tough home loss and another loss on the road to Boston,” Nash said after adding his league-leading 28th. ”To come back and get these two wins and in a tough place to play in, it’s a huge deal.”

Nash was referring to consecutive losses to the Islanders and Bruins by identical 3-0 margins. They weren’t good in either. Even in the 2-1 win at Columbus, the Rangers gave up too many chances and didn’t register a shot the final 16-plus minutes. They relied heavily on Henrik Lundqvist, who’s back in form. He stopped 32 shots to win for the 13th time in his last 15 starts.

”It’s a good challenge every time to come here and play them,” Lundqvist said. ”A lot of times it’s a fast game. Because we respect their skill it looks like we try to play a smart game and make good decisions with the puck.”

Derick Brassard also had a good afternoon tallying a goal and assist. His rebound of a Kevin Klein wide shot that took a funny carom gave the Blueshirts a 2-0 lead. Penalty trouble allowed the Pens to get back in it. Some nice passing from Letang and David Perron resulted in Sidney Crosby beating Ryan McDonagh in front for a power play goal that cut it to 2-1.

Nash restored order early in the second when his wrist shot caromed off Pittsburgh defenseman Rob Scuderi past an unsuspecting Fleury. The Rangers then cashed in on a Simon Despres delay of game. A great cross ice feed from Martin St. Louis found a wide open Stepan, who beat Fleury through a Chris Kreider screen increasing the lead to 4-1. That chased Fleury, who allowed four goals on 17 shots. Thomas Greiss relieved him. The Pens lost their discipline taking two more penalties but our power play was unable to take advantage.

A great individual effort by Perron resulted in a highlight reel goal. After taking a Robert Bortuzzo feed, he skated through McDonagh and Dan Girardi splitting them before going five-hole on Lundqvist to cut the deficit to 4-2 with 15:46 left in regulation. But before the Pens could get any closer, Stepan intercepted a pass and then was on the receiving end of a Kreider set up for his second of the game two minutes later for the final margin. St. Louis added his second assist.

Afterwards, the Rangers made it official re-signing Marc Staal to a six-year extension worth $34.2 million. He played another strong game with two shots, four blocked shots and a plus-two rating in 18:35. Staal has used a six-week stretch to get the new contract. A nice reward for a valuable player who’s often overlooked. I’ll have more on the breakdown after.

NY Puck 3 Stars:

3rd Star-Derick Brassard, NYR (goal-11th, assist, ended four-game pointless streak, +3 and won 11 of 21 draws)

2nd Star-Derek Stepan, NYR (2 goals-7th, 8th, 4 SOG, 8-for-16 faceoffs-8-23-31 in 30 GP)

1st Star-Rick Nash, NYR (2 goals incl. NHL best 28th, 4 SOG, +3 in 17:54-MVP candidate)

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Video Of Day: Tavares scores on nifty backhand

Posted on January 19, 2015 by Derek

When you’re hot, you’re hot. Among the many highlights during an Islanders’ 7-4 home win over the Flyers, team captain John Tavares continued his brilliant play scoring this beauty above on the power play. His team-leading 21st came with 7.6 seconds left in the second period giving the Long Island hosts a 5-2 lead. It proved to be the winner.

Tavares leads the first place Islanders in goals (21), points (46), power play points (19) and is tied with rookie Anders Lee for game-winners (5). He’s quietly sneaking into the Hart Trophy discussion. With the Isles a league best 31-14-1 with 63 points, could this be the year Tavares brings home the hardware? He’ll get plenty of competition from Evgeni Malkin, Sidney Crosby, Ryan Getzlaf, Rick Nash and Pekka Rinne.

On Martin Luther King Day, 10 different Islanders registered points. Nikolay Kulemin tallied twice with a helper. Michael Grabner, Josh Bailey, Nick Leddy and Lee scored. Johnny Boychuk registered two assists and was plus-four. All-Star Jaroslav Halak made 25 saves for his 25th win which tied him for second in the NHL with Ducks’ netminder Frederik Andersen.

The Islanders will now have over a week off before a 1/27 showdown with the Rangers at Nassau Coliseum. They lead the Metropolitan Division by five over the Penguins and seven clear of the Rangers and Capitals.

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Pre-All Star break potpourri

Posted on January 17, 2015 by hasan4978

In a season of dissapointments – Scott Gomez’s return has been one of the few things worth celebrating for Devils fans (yes, really!)

It’s been a struggle to find something new to write about the Devils lately, or really something worthwhile to write about.  To a degree I’ve felt a bit detached from the team lately with the light home schedule (I’ve only been at home home game the last two weeks and it’ll be nearly two more before the Devils return home after the All-Star break), and the fact I wasn’t able to watch their last two road games even – well I could have watched the LA game but staying up for a weekday West Coast game isn’t worth it when the team’s 900 points out of a playoff spot.  I did listen to much of the Ducks game Friday on the radio unfortunately, which was a virtual no-show for two periods further marred by an upper-body injury to goaltender Cory Schneider which knocked him out after the first period, though supposedly he’s feeling better today.

Honestly at this point the whole rest of the season is just waiting for the other shoe to drop in early March when the trading deadline comes, after the first shoe already hit the floor with the post-Christmas firing of coach Pete DeBoer.  So far the on-ice results since the coaching change have been mixed, by and large the team has played somewhat better than it did for most of the season, yesterday’s no-show in Anaheim notwithstanding.  Perhaps the biggest positives with the coaching change have both been defensively – as a unit allowing fewer shots than they were early in the season, and also individually the development of former #4 overall pick Adam Larsson.

I’ve railed countless times on the prior administration’s shackling of the 22-year old Swede the last three years and it’s no accident Scott Stevens on his first day back behind the bench as a co-coach publicly complimented Larsson and let it be known he would get a more extended opportunity.  For the most part he’s responded, stepping up his game playing 25 minutes a night with Andy Greene.  Now even when he makes a mistake – such as getting stripped behind the net on the John Tavares game-winning goal last Friday – he was publicly supported and thrown right back on the horse, responding with a strong game in LA as the Devils surprisingly rubbed out the defending Cup champs on the road in a 5-3 game which wasn’t even that close.  With Larsson finally re-establishing himself as a top four defenseman for the first time since his rookie season our top four on defense will be something worth watching in the second half once Damon Severson returns from his ankle injury after the break.  Having a solid vet like Greene with three kids in Larsson, rookie Severson and second-year man Jon Merrill all showing promise (backed up with solid goaltending from Schneider and rookie Keith Kinkaid) at least provides a light at the end of the tunnel of a sorry season.

Of course offensively it’s a different story…between injuries, dissapointments and age there isn’t really very much to hang the hat on right now other than the stunning feel-good return of Scott Gomez.  Thought washed up by many including me after he’d washed out of Montreal, San Jose and Florida the last few years, he returned to the Devils this summer on a tryout essentially waiting around for an opportunity for two months after the preseason.  Since being signed in early December, he’s turned back the clock a bit with fourteen points in twenty-two games, playing first-line minutes for the first time in years.  Maybe his career being on the line made him hungry again, but honestly it just seems like…he’s rejuvanated being back here, a la Petr Sykora in 2012. Gomez may have been the 26th Devil to return to play for the team but even in a bad team season, his comeback may actually prove to be one of the more successful ones (since Claude Lemieux was a part of cup #2 in 2000 anyway).

Still it’s telling that a 35-year old center on a one-year deal represents a bright spot in this Devils forward group.  Or Steve Bernier’s return to being a solid role player this year after having an off year last year that led GM Lou Lamoriello to publicly chide Bernier after re-signing him to a one-year deal.  At least free-agent signee Mike Cammalleri’s added goal-scoring (potting 14 in thirty-four games) – when he’s played.  Unfortunately he’s living up to his track record in that area too, missing 12 of the first 46 games this season.  Sadly, this season might prove to be the end of the road for Jaromir Jagr as his production’s dipped this season with just nine goals and twenty-five points in 43 games, and now he’s missing the west coast trip before the break due to illness.  Patrik Elias has also struggled with injuries and other than his three-point milestone night against the Sabres, his season really hasn’t been anything to write home about either with six goals and twenty points in thirty-six games with an onerous -15.  I don’t really want to go through all the forwards right now though, it’s just too depressing.

With only one more game before the break (also a west coast tilt, this time with the Sharks), my attention span’s going to wane further.  Elias’s token inclusion in the goofball All-Star game the NHL has isn’t enough to pique my interest there.  Most of my attention around the NHL lately has been limited to checking my fantasy team’s stats.  Maybe I’ll write a little on my fantasy team during the week-long All-Star break, though really the crux of the matter is my team’s in third place – after being in first for most of the season – in a fourteen team league despite an offense that ranks near the top in almost every category, because my Kings goaltending has been surprisingly pedestrian and my goaltending numbers are among the worst in every category except shutouts.  Of course the Devils of all teams lighting up Martin Jones on Friday bemused me, as did one of my competitors getting two straight shutouts from Ryan Miller and rocketing past me into first by a fair margin.

That said I am going to the Prudential Center not once, but twice this week amazingly enough.  So I guess I won’t be entirely detached…the AHL team’s playing at the Rock on Wednesday so that’ll be interesting.  It was fun a few years ago watching the minor leaguers when they beat Hartford on a late goal I think by Nick Palmeri (the answer to the trivia question who was the third guy on a line with Ilya Kovalchuk and Travis Zajac during our futile surge in 2011), amazingly enough.  This time they’ll be playing the Islanders’ affiliate, and once again the AHL version of the Devils are a borderline playoff team, so every game can make a difference.  Of course at the AHL level it’s as much about the prospects developing as it is about winning, if not more so.  Still, you want to at least re-establish a winning culture somewhere in the organization.  There’s no game at the Rock Friday of course, but I got an e-mail invite for a season ticket holder screening of the movie Red Army on the arena’s scoreboard – if you’ve never heard of the movie, the quick synopsis is it’s an inside look at the Russian hockey team and culture during the cold war.  I’d actually wanted to see that movie but it only played in limited screenings way out past Manhattan so it really wasn’t worth making a $30 trek between train ticket and movie ticket.  It’s nice of the Devils to show it here though, even if only like five other people are going to show up in all likelihood.

Sadly those two events probably will be more fun than I have at most Devil games this season, where I’ve only seen four wins in the fourteen games I attended (and one of them was the ‘shootout win’ against the Jets where I was in the parking lot by the conclusion because I couldn’t bear to watch 0-18 become 0-19).  Oh well, most years the Devils have been good to me in terms of wins to games attended.  At this point it’s sort of like an AHL mentality where the development of players on the roster is going to take precedence over hoping for wins.  Truth be told however, this long break between home games couldn’t have come at a better time given the struggles this season.  Especially now with the opportunity to get nostalgic with the news that the Izod Center  – formerly Continental Airlines Arena and Brendan Byrne Arena – will apparently finally be closing its doors in the next month or so.  I’ll save going down memory lane for next week though.

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Video Of Day: Reto Berra scores a goal

Posted on January 17, 2015 by Derek

Occasionally, you get really cool moments. Last night, Reto Berra became the 11th goalie in AHL history to score a goal. The Lake Eerie Monsters goalie’s celebration is one to behold. His goal made the score 4-1. The Monsters defeated the Chicago Wolves 5-1.

Berra joins an exclusive list of AHL goalies who scored. They include Darcy Wakaluk, Paul Cohen, Robb Stauber, Christian Bronsard, Jean-Francois Labbe, Chris Mason, Antero Niittymaki, Seamus Kotyk, Drew MacIntyre and Chris Holt.

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