Battle Of Hudson

Not long ago, the Devils were a laughingstock having won only 10 of their first 41 games. Now, they’ve won 18 of 22 (18-2-2) climbing within new NHL .500. They still trail the stumbling Rangers by 10 points for the final playoff spot with 19 games remaining. With Carolina defeating the Sabres in one of those dreaded three-point games, the Hurricanes passed the Rangers for seventh with 71 points while Buffalo climbed to 68. The Devils sit 12th and must still quantum leap the slumping Thrashers and sizzling Maple Leafs, who posted a 3-2 overtime win over the Flyers last night to reach 67.

Three of the competing clubs are in action later tonight with the Devils taking on the Penguins while the Rangers visit Ottawa and Carolina tries to cool off Chicago. New Jersey has extra games left, which could allow them to get even closer as the frantic race reaches its final month. They’re the subject of our new poll. One we hope you’ll vote on. On such an amazing run with the fitting slogan One Game At A Time, who’s most responsible for the turnaround? Is it Jacques Lemaire or Ilya Kovalchuk? Perhaps it’s Johan Hedberg or even Team MVP Dainius Zubrus. What about the resurgent Brian Rolston, who once again is performing under his favorite coach? Or perhaps it’s overlooked rookie Mark Fayne, whose steady D and offensive contributions have made a difference. What about franchise all-time scoring leader Patrik Elias, who’s been a model of consistency? Or just maybe it’s former captain Jamie Langenbrunner, whose extinction coincided with this run from nowhere. 😛

I wonder what our resident Jersey blogger Hasan thinks. Even if you dislike the Devils, you have to admit that this is unprecedented and deserves our attention. So, go vote or even comment below! We dare ya. 😉

Tonight, the Wild visit Broadway fresh off a 4-1 loss to the Islanders yesterday that featured yet another dumb hit by Trevor Gillies, who senselessly nailed Cal Clutterbuck from behind. A reckless player who doesn’t belong in the NHL is answering some questions today in a meeting with the league. I doubt even he could shed some light on the matter.

Be that as it may, Minnesota had a costly loss which was their second straight. Still in a crowded Western race, the Wild enter with 72 points good for 11th, trailing seventh Dallas and eighth Los Angeles by two with the Ducks and Preds sandwiched between a point off. Calgary is sixth with 75 and Chicago plus Phoenix are both tied with 76. Columbus is hanging in with 69, making this one Wild race.

Can the surprising club from St. Paul recover from consecutive tough defeats against our slumping club that enters 2-4 in its last six, including three gut wrenching one-goal losses that have the Rangers hanging on by a thread with Carolina and Buffalo right on their heels? It should make for an intriguing match if the Garden actually cares about its hockey team when they’re too busy rubbing our noses in it with Knick updates on the scoreboard. I like the Knicks but geez. Could Dolan be anymore of a jackass?

“We haven’t been good the last couple of games,” said Wild forward Kyle Brodziak. “We definitely need more desperation. We’re fighting for our playoff lives here. It’s frustrating. It was a must-win and we didn’t get the job done. It makes (Thursday) that much bigger. We’ve got to stop the slide now and do whatever it takes to turn it around.”

“It’s behind us now,” goaltender Niklas Backstrom pointed out after being chased by the Islanders following three goals on 19 shots. “We have to worry about tomorrow. I’ll try to be better tomorrow.”

Assuming he’s back in because vet Jose Theodore has been superb in relief, it should be a tough game for a team that has no consistent offense. Especially when Brandon Dubinsky is stuck on 19 goals, disappearing for stretches during our slump. Ryan Callahan also hasn’t found the back of the net lately with only one goal over the past half dozen. Sure. Cally always brings it but we need him to finish in front of the net.

More encouraging is that new acquisition Bryan McCabe looked good the other night, picking up his first point as a Ranger on an assist on Erik Christensen’s power play tally. The big man got his shot off plenty, pacing the Blueshirts with six. The only issue is that it can’t just be one guy taking all the shots. At least the power play resembled one, forcing Ryan Miller to come up with tough saves. Hopefully, that will continue tonight with more production.

Henrik Lundqvist gave up three-or-more for the 11th time in 15 games. But anyone who saw it knows he wasn’t the problem. The poor starts have caught up, leaving Callahan baffled as to why they’re not being more aggressive. When our team’s right, they’re an attacking club that gets in on the forecheck and generates off winning board battles. It’s time to get back to that in your face style before it’s too late.

With no margin for error, every game is huge. The Wild have two more points than us. So, it won’t be easy. Marc Staal got through practice yesterday feeling better. Is he back for Martin Havlat and Brent Burns or do they wait until Ottawa tomorrow night? Regardless, they need their top defenseman back for this stretch run. Rook tandem Ryan McDonagh and Mike Sauer have been outstanding and Dan Girardi as well. They’ve gotten good mileage out of Steve Eminger. Matt Gilroy tries. But without the anchor, they’ll be hard pressed to pull this off. Is Ruslan Fedotenko ready to return, solidifying Brian Boyle and banged up Brandon Prust who saw only eight minutes Tuesday? Every piece helps.

Artem Anisimov scored his 14th of the season, which pulled the Rangers within one against Buffalo. His first point in six. The lanky 22 year-old Russian stays put with Glen Sather unwilling to trade him or any of our prospects to Dallas along with a No.1 pick for Brad Richards. The right move considering it would’ve been only as a rental. Artie been up and down most of the season. His 14 goals are two better than his rookie year and the 18 assists also are a couple more than ’09-10. Anisimov’s taken 150 shots or 26 more already with still 17 games to go. His three power play goals and eight power play points are career bests. If he can put it together, it would go a long way to this team making the playoffs. He ranks fifth in team scoring, tied with Boyle.

They also need better from Mats Zuccarello, who remains stuck on three goals in 30 games. It’s clear the Norwegian has talent with superb skating and playmaking capabilities. However, he must be more assertive like the other day when he came close to tying it with 6:00 left. The puck glanced off the post. So, he was a bit unlucky. MZA can be a difference maker. We’ll see if he and the rest of the team can step it up starting tonight.

Every game is big when you’re eleven points out of a playoff spot, but yesterday was particuarly important for the Devils – since they not only had a critical home tilt with the Lightning, but would also get word on whether injured star winger Zach Parise could begin light skating. Doctors gave Parise a thumbs up before the game, and the twelve thousand plus at the Prudential Center gave the Devils team applause after another tight 2-1 win that pulled the team back to within nine points of the eighth-seeded Canes with a game in hand. Almost as importantly the Devils finally jumped a team in front of them, passing Florida to get into 12th place. In spite of our 18-2-2 run that’s pulled the team to within three games under .500, we hadn’t yet gone back above 13th place until last night.

If we’re missing one star though, others are still sparking this run – particuarly Ilya Kovalchuk, whose 22nd goal of the year at 10:10 gave him yet another late winner during this run where he’s already had about three or four similarly crucial goals that tied or won games after the start of the third period. Remarkably, Kovy’s so far removed from his early-season problems coach Jacques Lemaire actually cracked a joke after the game, saying: “He’s got a knack for scoring and making plays. He’s got a touch. That’s why he is making so much money.” Lemaire barely could contain his laughter after the last line, referring to the well-known $100 million of Kovy’s deal.

And HOF goalie-to be Martin Brodeur hasn’t missed a beat, allowing only one goal in each of his two games since returning to the net Sunday in Florida. Yet tonight, and most of this run has been a team effort. And last night, we needed just about everyone to be on the top of their game. As much as Tampa didn’t impress me in January when we skated around their defense to the tune of eleven goals in two games (right at the start of our great run), they’ve earned my resepect the last two games – both tight, patient 2-1 playoff-type games. Could the trade for Eric Brewer really made that much of a difference? Lemaire certainly alluded to it in the postgame as something that’s made their D better.

Despite outshooting Tampa every period, the tone of the night was set when Dwayne Roloson robbed Nick Palmeri several minutes into the game with a quick glove save. For the second straight game against us, Roloson played well making 25 saves. Yet, for most of the game it was hard to break through Tampa’s reconfigured defense. If we were getting chances, they weren’t quality chances for the most part – except in the case of Palmeri early and Brian Rolston later. Rolston put seven shots on net last night, including a breakaway attempt in the second period where it looked as if he was hooked ever so slightly, just enough to cause him to misfire the puck. Despite not scoring, Palmeri and Rolston were among the better players last night, as both were all over the ice creating chances.

Still, both teams tried to out-patient the other, but it looked as if special teams would prove decisive in this one early. While our power play continued to flounder with its two chances, Tampa struck gold on their first try at 4:41 of the second period. After a delay of game by Anssi Salmela gave Tampa the man advantage, a Pavel Kubina shot deflected off Dominic Moore‘s skate for the ex-Ranger’s eleventh goal of the year. Most disturbingly, Tampa got men to the net every chance they had on that power play while as usual we’re averse to getting men in front during the man advantage. For all of Jacques’ great work with the team so far, our own power play needs to get better and could have been costly last night.

Yet, as has been the case a few times during this run the Devils managed to come from behind after giving up the first goal. After some sustained pressure in the Lightning zone, Henrik Tallinder took a Kovalchuk pass and slapped it through a crowd past Roloson at 18:45 of the 2nd to tie the game and awaken the tense crowd. At first, the jumbotron operator throught Vladimir Zharkov tipped the puck in but Tallinder was given the goal, and Zharkov got a secondary assist on the play. Despite tying the game I still felt a bit of a sense of doom when Anton Volchenkov took a charging penalty late in the period, with the memory of how efficient Tampa’s power play was earlier that wasn’t the way I wanted to start the third.

However, our penalty killers did a much better job killing this power play off, forcing several Lightning offsides and the game settled down again. When the game got under ten minutes left and was still tied, it was time for Kovy to do his thing in the clutch again. Also typically, Travis Zajac was a key figure in Kovy’s eventual winning goal, feeding the left winger a perfect pass that Kovy rocketed past Roloson with a one-timer in between the dots at 10:10. Now in front, it was the Devils who could afford to play patient. Despite a possible missed boarding call when Danius Zubrus got shoved into the boards headfirst, the Devils turned the table on a Lightning team who’d won its last two games by that same 2-1 score. As Tampa coach Guy Boucher would say afterward:

“We lost a patience game,” Lighting coach Guy Boucher said. “We won a patience game back home and lost one here. It was who was going to make the last mistake and we did. We turned it over and they capitalized on us.”

With 60 points now and 19 games left in the season, if the Devils are going to get back into things it needs to be now. Five of our next eight are at home, all against other non-playoff teams or teams that are struggling (Pittsburgh, Washington) right now. Not to mention ninth-place Buffalo’s only on the second game of its seven-game road trip, the seventh-place Rangers have their own issues as Derek’s pointed out and we just beat Carolina three straight times, though they haven’t lost too many other games lately.

As the cliched slogan we’ve adopted says, one game at a time. Our next one-game season is Friday against the Crosby and Malkin-less Penguins, in front of what could be a sold-out or very near to it crowd.

In case you’re curious as to where the title is inspired from, that would be courtesy of a good pal of mine who sits one row up in our section. This one’s for you Mikey!

Before we examine the statement he made to me as I angrily pushed the exit door with the Sabres closing out a cruel 3-2 win I sadly predicted over our heroes, let’s vent a little about what bothered me. Here it came. After blowing choking several opportunities to get this all important game tied, something snapped inside. Perhaps it was the harsh reality that another season’s slipping away. I just don’t want any part of another gut wrenching conclusion. I’d rather miss completely. Let the Hurricanes and Sabres cruise past us so we can then fully grasp that this REBUILD isn’t fooling anybody. I made the mistake of getting my hopes up because the Rangers overachieved when most didn’t expect them to be in this position.

Truth be told, I love this team. I enjoy their grit and willingness to compete till the final buzzer. Our guys are never out of a game. Even with all the agitating slow starts which have become increasingly  too common during a stretch that’s seen them drop eight of 10 one-goal decisions, coming back to the pack. Heck. It wouldn’t be all too surprising if both Toronto and New Jersey finished ahead of us. There’s only so much my stomach can handle. The very thought that the Devils, who appeared to be tanking before the craziest role reversal hands down, could wind up with a better record than our team is inconceivable. It defies logic. But then again, when did that ever apply to a league that rewards mediocrity? Maybe all the three-point wins we benefited from have caught up. The Rangers don’t win in regulation anymore. So, it was either miraculously beat Ryan Miller and steal the extra point or have nothing to show for their effort.

There’s the buzz word Mikey used to describe the New York Rangers history. As I stormed out, he said:

“Why do you even get mad anymore? Eighty-six years of mediocrity.“

How could one debate such an accurate statement? When it comes to our franchise, since breaking The Curse in ’94, the Blueshirts have been past the second round once when Messier and Gretzky reunited some 14 years ago. In fact, our team has qualified for the postseason seven times total. There was ’95-97 and then a giant hole in the middle before returning from ’06-09. Horrible would be a way to describe it. At what point do we Garden Faithful finally get fed up? Less and less true fans are showing up lately. Every year starts out the same. With promise like Lindros’ first year that had us in first before one phantom hit and a Brian Leetch injury derailed that season. The only time we really could get excited was that little run they made to the Conference Semis, having rallied from 0-2 down and were 3:00 away from bringing it back to MSG for a chance at a dream. Then Tom Renney happened and it fell apart.

So I ask as this 85th Year Anniversary season is in limbo, who thinks this nuts and bolts team is capable of one more push in its final 17 games to become what one Lightning Tweep termed as a “dangerous opponent” come Spring? I wish I had belief. Yesterday was the first time I felt sad walking out of the Garden. Almost resigned to our fate. Sure. As excellent Daily News team reporter Jesse Spector put, it’s not about this year. It never has been. I know that. However, there’s something cool about this team. Seeing mostly homegrown kids wearing the logo with pride as they try to pull this off. No longer are we fat cat$. A term passed around like a Kick Me sign in grade school. This is bigger than Marian Gaborik feeling better after one practice today.

Instead, it’s about Dubinsky. Callahan. Staal. Girardi. Lundqvist. McDonagh. Sauer. Gilroy. Anisimov. Stepan. Zuccarello. Del Zotto whenever he gets back. Count ’em up naysayers. Toss in heart and soul warriors like Boyle and Prust and that’s 14. For those that thought it couldn’t be done in these parts, that doesn’t seem to be the case here. Defiance and resiliency are two terms that have epitomized this 85th Ranger version. They’ve battled through injuries and beyond to get where they are. In the standings, the 70 points are still good enough for seventh with the Hurricanes right behind with extra games and Buffalo three out with the same edge.

How many games will it take for our guys to get back in? I always believed they’d need 92. But 90 is probably the cutoff. Can a team that’s played its butt off for John Tortorella all year win 10 of the final 17? I still think so. There’s enough character in that room to get it done. Time to rise up.

This deadline was a dud. Perhaps due to so many teams still in contention, there wasn’t much activity, disappointing puckers around the stratosphere. With most big deals taking place prior to today with big names Tomas Kaberle (Bruins), Kris Versteeg (Flyers), Erik Johnson (Avs), Chris Stewart/Kevin Shattenkirk (Blues), Francois Beauchemin (Ducks), Bryan McCabe (Rangers), James Wisniewski (Habs), Dwayne Roloson (Bolts) and Brad Boyes (Sabres) all finding new homes, it didn’t figure to be that busy.

Instead, calculated trades were the story with the exception of the Kings getting their big forward Dustin Penner for the steep price of D prospect Colten Teubert, a first round pick and a conditional ’12 third rounder. A move which they needed once the Stars took big fish Brad Richards off the market, which in our opinion is the right decision for a dangerous club who if B-Rad comes back healthy could make some noise if they get in this Spring. The Kings and Rangers were Richards’ chief suitors with Dallas very interested in Artem Anisimov, a 1st round pick and a prospect. Eerily similar to what we proposed the other day. Our guess is they coveted Brayden Schenn from Hollywood. But at the end of the day, with Richards still yet to return from a concussion despite being symptom free for five days, they probably couldn’t maximize the potential free agent’s value, making the choice very easy. If it works out, they take their best shot which is good news for Star fans like Twitter favorite starsfan10_91 who celebrated by re-changing to richardsfan91. 🙂 Why else do you go out and trade James Neal and Matt Niskanen for Alex Goligoski?

While the Stars are now all in, it left the Rangers with little alternatives. So, Glen Sather turned to Toronto pal Brian Burke, acquiring forward depth in John Mitchell for a seventh round pick. The 26 year-old was decent his first two seasons used in a checking role, supplying energy for the Leafs. He’s a good enough skater if the former ’03 fifth round pick actually stays up with his likely destination Hartford. Not much else to say following another nail biting one-goal defeat to Kryptonite Tampa yesterday with two one-timer goals by Martin St. Louis and Vinny Lecavalier the difference- keeping the Rangers from gaining ground and only three up on Carolina, who added blueline help by swapping Sergei Samsonov to the Sunshine State for Bryan Allen.

At least new addition McCabe looked good in his debut, getting better as the game went on with the ex-Panther crunching Steve Downie against the boards and nearly tying it in the waning second with Henrik Lundqvist on the bench. Unlike a Post columnist who doesn’t have a clue on why overpaying for a potential rental made no sense, the Rangers are better off waiting to take their shot at B-Rad come July 1. It’s nothing like trading for a superstar who wanted New York, with Carmelo Anthony forcing his way out of Denver to come to the Knicks.

So, our team basically stands pat with hopefully Marian Gaborik able to return in a few weeks. Don’t bank on it. Ruslan Fedotenko and Marc Staal are close to returning with the team’s next big game against the Sabres, who actually made a real trade- sending a second rounder to St. Louis for Brad Boyes. Nice boost for Brian’s team and even he was pleased sending me not one but two texts last night just as I was texting him. Haha. Buffalo trails eighth Carolina by two and us by five with games at hand on each. So, tomorrow’s contest at MSG looms large.

Biron Done For Year: In the mean time, the Rangers got terrible news when valuable backup Martin Biron was struck by a puck during team practice and broke his collarbone. The former Sabre’s been a great addition, providing superb goaltending, allowing John Tortorella to rest Lundqvist. He got into 17 games making 15 starts, posting an 8-6-0 record with a 2.13 GAA and an identical save percentage (.920) to our Vezina candidate.

Ironically, Lundqvist had started the last eight, going 4-4-0 with a 2.22 GAA and .922 save percentage while recording his league-leading eighth shutout in a 6-0 win at Washington Friday. Interestingly, Henrik has permitted three-or-more in eight of his last 11 starts. Encouraging is he gave up only two yesterday following a 35-save shutout. Dating back to Jan.20, he’s allowed three+ in 10 of the last 14. All the more reason Biron’s injury couldn’t be worse timing, with it discovered too late. Unless they are lucky enough to find someone on the waiver wire, unknown Cam Talbot will backup Lundqvist starting tomorrow. In 13 starts with the Connecticut Whale, the 23 year-old undrafted free agent went 8-3-2 with a 2.42 GAA, .919 save percentage and two shutouts. How many starts are you going to trust in a rookie who’s never been up before? A potential big problem for the final 18.

Arnott dealt to Caps: In a deal already mentioned in these parts by Hasan, the Devils unloaded Jason Arnott to the Caps for David Steckel and a second round pick in ’12. I’m only going to echo what he already said about this move, which is an absolute steal for the Devils. Steckel is a great faceoff guy and will fit right in on a gritty New Jersey club pushing hard for the playoffs. He also is an effective forechecker who Devil fans will take to. That Lou Lamoriello also got a second round pick tossed in like it was Panther-esque speaks volumes. Between the trade for Dennis Wideman and this Arnott one, I frankly don’t get what George McPhee’s doing. He also gave away Tomas Fleischmann for Scott Hannan. Unfortunately for Fleischmann, he suffered a pulmonary embollism and is done for the year in Colorado.

One other deal of interest was Max Lapierre going to Vancouver along with former teammate Chris Higgins with both now adding character to a serious Cup contender. This is the Canucks’ best shot. It’s now or never for a team that has everything. The pressure’s on.

Finally, Columbus and Phoenix hooked up on a two-for-two with the ‘Yotes acquiring original Jacket Rotislav Klesla and ex-Ranger Dane Byers who of course winds up on Rangers West for Scottie Upshall and Sami Lepisto. Looks like a good deal for both clubs with Phoenix adding blueline depth with Ed Jovanovski still sidelined and the Blue Jackets acquiring a guy who can find twine to relieve pressure from Rick Nash, RJ Umberger and rookie Matt Calvert.

Before closing, Niclas Bergfors was packaged with Patrick Rismiller for Radek Dvorak. Guess the key piece to last year’s Ilya Kovalchuk deal just didn’t fit in Craig Ramsay’s system. He was in the doghouse often, scratched several instances despite totaling 11 goals and 29 points. Oddly enough similar to his 13-14-27 output in Newark. So much for the talented Swede becoming an Atlanta fixture.

Like most everyone else I was getting impatient at hearing no word about any Devils moves before the trade deadline ended at 3 PM. Obviously some deals can still be announced for the next couple hours afterwards but you had to figure there would have been a deal in place for Jason Arnott before his meeting with GM Lou Lamoriello last night to discuss which teams he would waive his NTC for. So when no deal was announced I started to get nervous there would be no trade at all.

Then finally at around 3:20 word came down that Arnott was in fact, dealt to the Caps for David Steckel, a role player who’s a faceoff dynamo and signed for the next two years at $1.1 million per. I admit I was somewhat bemused, trading player for player seemed like a lateral move at best and I was dissapointed there was no pick involved…until I got home and found out there was a pick involved – a 2nd rounder no less. Granted, the 2nd rounder isn’t till 2012 but it’s actually better in a way since that draft is supposed to be deeper.

When I heard the full terms of the deal I was astonished really, I figured Arnott would still fetch a 2nd rounder in spite of how underwhelming he’s been lately but to get that and a nice role player signed on the cheap for the next couple years as well?! Not to mention getting a supposedly more valuable 2nd rounder, though it would have been nice to have one this year since we dealt ours to acquire Arnott from Nashville in the first place…funny how life works.

Clearly the acquisition of Steckel along with holding on to fellow UFA’s Andy Greene and Johan Hedberg sent a message loud and clear that the Devils were in fact, all in for the last twenty games of the season. Amazingly the Devils may have actually gotten better this year with the trade, since Arnott was playing like a fish out of water for the last three months and Steckel should fit in nicely to the third-line center role, perhaps finally filling a John Madden -type role on the third line.

You really have to wonder what George McPhee and the Caps were thinking here, clearly they were desperate to get more offense from their center position but can Arnott give it to them? They paid a high price to find out. Heck, I’m sure Steckel himself wasn’t thrilled, going on a team that’s clearly in the playoffs to one that needs almost divine intervention to make it. At least he’s got two more years here to win and is on a team that should appreciate his talents.

Not surprisingly (for once), the rest of the deadline came and went with only a few mid-level deals, nothing particularly earth-shattering. I suppose that’s one price of the NHL’s ridiculous parity, not many teams feel they’re out of it but also some GM’s got smart and did their dealing earlier than the last minute – although I suppose the Rangers’ acquisition of Bryan McCabe and the Sabres’ suprising trade for Brad Boyes all but counted as deadline day deals.

Now, the waiting can begin for the Devils – at least until 3 PM tomorrow when the trade deadline passes. The team’s done all it could with its play the last few weeks (17-2-2) to discourage GM Lou Lamoriello to be a seller at the deadline, a task that Lou hasn’t had to worry about for almost two decades. Sure, the weekend could have gone better if the team didn’t give up two goals off of faceoffs Friday in a tough loss at Tampa but you can’t expect to literally win every game. And with all the close games we’ve had it’s amazing the team’s even had the record it does…it seems like every game comes down to one goal, for a team with no margin for error in its season or each individual game to only have one regulation loss in a month is remarkable.

So what happens now? Most of the players after the team’s 2-1 win against the Panthers this afternoon didn’t want the team to be broken up. Brian Rolston, among others was the strongest in his comments during the postgame interview with Steve Cangelosi when he admitted he’d be disappointed if anything happened. However, goalie Martin Brodeur was more realistic in his postgame press conference, alluding to the fact the team gave up a lot this offseason (in the Ilya Kovalchuk deal) and if they could get something back for their future – i.e. a draft pick – it would no doubt be a consideration. However, Brodeur also said he didn’t expect the nucleus of the team to change.

Given the fact Brodeur’s one of the few people outside of Lou’s office who could give an educated guess on what the GM would do, Marty’s comments seem to point to an obvious solution to the deadline dilemma…dealing Jason Arnott but nobody else. And really Arnott’s expendable since he has just four goals from December 2 on and twenty-two points on the season. Yet, his value will probably be inflated because of the lack of centermen on the trade front so if you could get a second-round pick for a guy that’s basically getting third-line minutes with limited production, it’d be more than understandable to do that move. However, dealing someone like David Clarkson or even Andy Greene (though I’m not sure we re-sign him this offseason) I don’t think would be on the table at this point.

Speaking of the Hall-of-Fame goaltender, he played his first game in three weeks this afternoon and was tested right from the hop, as the Panthers outshot the Devils 9-2 early, getting five pucks on net in the first couple minutes. It was as if the Panthers were determined to test Brodeur’s sharpness early, not to mention his movement on that sprained MCL but as usual Brodeur was up to the task. And Brodeur’s return also ensures the Devils have two veteran goalies at the top of their game as they head into the final twenty games of the season. After he held the fort, the team gradually settled down and gave a workman-like performance for most of the game with second-period goals coming from Clarkson and Rolston to give the team just enough to withstand a late Cats surge after Marty Reasoner‘s goal with four and a half minutes remaining.

That final, frantic minute included no fewer than three icings and irony of ironies, Arnott was on the ice for the last important faceoff of the game. During the postgame, Arnott tried to conceal his intentions as to whether he would waive his no-trade clause but admitted ‘we’ll see what teams are interested’ when he met with Lou later on, a meeting that’s probably happening as I’m typing. Owner Jeff Vanderbeek also accompanied Lou down to Florida as there are just nineteen hours left before the deadline. Honestly at first I’d forgotten it was Monday this year, usually the deadline has been on a Tuesday in the past but putting it on Monday is a bit of a welcome change given the light schedule of NHL games tomorrow night. It’s always been a bit problematic for teams to trade for players and not have them available for that night’s game, or be the trading team and wind up short of players because of guys you’ve dealt off.

Ironically there might be fewer deals than normal this year, both because of the number of teams who still have a chance to make the playoffs in each conference and also because some big deals have already been made. More and more, GM’s are agreeing with the Leafs’ Brian Burke, that it’s in your best interests to get business done early and it seems this year that business is getting a bit more staggered. All through this last month there’s been one deal one day, another couple of deals the next day. Yet there is definitely suspense around the Devils and what Lou will do. Giving up and tanking are two phrases not in Lou’s vocabulary but I don’t think dealing Arnott will fall under either category, so my prediction is that’s what will happen tomorrow.

Yesterday, the rumors of Bryan McCabe coming to Broadway finally stopped with the Rangers finally acquiring the vet blueliner from the Panthers for a bargain basement price of AHLer Tim Kennedy and a third round pick. Before we add anything on how the 35 year-old can help our power play while adding much needed experience, I am dumbfounded that Dale Tallon, who already made one crazy deal with his former club, could only get that low return for a valuable player who still had something left.

It just absolutely boggles how the Panthers can be so inept. Almost as if they’re still in the past trading away Roberto Luongo for a package that included Alex Auld, who was the winning goalie in Montreal’s 4-3 home win over Carolina. The lopsided trade then orchestrated by current MSG analyst Mike Keenan also featured Todd Bertuzzi, who then bolted. Oh. And they also gave away Cory Stillman for a song back to the Candy Canes and already he’s dialed up the time machine in a familiar setting. Speaking of bargains, the Pens won a wild 6-5 shootout thanks to their own Back To The Future character with Alex Kovalev wiring one past rookie James Reimer in Toronto. A conditional seventh round pick which potentially could turn to a sixth was all he could muster for desperate Ottawa, who wanted him gone.

I guess that makes a pair of teams who will do anything to rebuild. Jarkko Ruutu for a sixth rounder?!?!?!?!?! As much as I hate him, that was an absolute steal for Anaheim, who are locked in a ridiculous playoff chase that includes the Stars, who have been without Brad Richards a couple of weeks. The potential free agent just started skating as he recovers from a concussion. Will he stay or will he go? If I’m the Stars, obviously I don’t want to lose such a great player for nothing due to question marks with ownership. Supposedly, that’s going to get resolved at some point. The question is with less than 48 hours until Monday’s 3 PM deadline, how does it impact the Stars, who have reeled off their last two to hang in a steeple chase of West clubs that even includes the red hot Jackets, who won again Friday.

It’s extremely hard to document the West race when so many teams are bunched up with as many as 13 teams still in the hunt, including the defending champion Blackhawks on the outside a point behind. If the season ended today, Dallas would make it with their 72 points good for seventh while the unbelievable Flames would squeak in with 71. The Hawks and Preds each have 70 while the Ducks and Wild are tied with 69 with Columbus at 68 and the Blues creeping in with 65. Would the Avs like a do over on that Erik Johnson trade? Good God.

If you’re the Stars, getting in the playoffs should be priority. That’s a team that if they make it could be a tough out as long as Kari Lehtonen plays like he’s capable of. Plus Jamie Benn is finally back healthy and doing his thing. There’s also Mike Ribeiro, the vastly overlooked Loui Eriksson, Brenden Morrow and Jamie Langenbrunner. If Alex Goligoski fits in on a blueline that features vet Stephane Robidas and one of my faves Trevor Daley, who says Dallas can’t be a sleeper? However, it all depends on what they do with B-Rad, who’s been as much an MVP on any team. Enough can’t be said about Mr. Richards’ production before he went down that had him pacing the club in points (65), assists (39), power play points (25) and shots on goal (215) despite missing the past six counting Saturday’s big win over Nashville. You simply can’t replace that type of production along with the leadership the former Conn Smythe winner provides.

Are the Stars really prepared to sell their best player, who loves the area and the fans want more than anything to re-sign? It has a similar feel to Cliff Lee, who bolted Texas and dissed the Yankees for the Phillies. Will it be another bitter conclusion for Texas sports fans?

While Dallas must concern themselves with that dilemma, the Rangers who bolstered their back end for essentially zilch, can turn their attention to Richards. Rumors have circulated that Glen Sather is working the phones in an attempt to deliver the hot commodity to former Lightning Cup coach John Tortorella. While it would be great to bring Richards in, two questions that must be asked:

1.At what cost? If it means Derek Stepan, Mike Del Zotto and say Evgeny Grachev, pass. But if Sather can get them to take Artem Anisimov, Matt Gilroy and another prospect or No.1 pick package, great. With McCabe’s $4.5 million salary on the cap, the Rangers must clear room to make such a blockbuster transaction. Is B-Rad merely a rental because if he is, they should stand their ground with July 1 around the bend.

2.Does anyone know when Marian Gaborik will return? He’s been a colossal disappointment following a 42-goal, career best 86-point debut season in the Big Apple. Concussions are nothing to mess with. So, if that means holding him out the rest of the year, so be it. Look no further than what’s going on with Sidney Crosby in Pittsburgh, who still hasn’t returned since being concussed by the combo of David Steckel and Victor Hedman.

These are the questions Sather and his brass must answer before making such a risky move when Richards can walk free. The intriguing aspect is both organizations are faced with tough propositions as neither is a playoff lock. The Rangers bolstered their chances by stringing together consecutive wins, including an impressive 6-0 domination of the Caps with Erik Christensen amassing a career best four points and Brian Boyle notching his team-leading 20th goal while D-Step added his 17th.

With McCabe in and Marc Staal not returning tomorrow for Ranger Kryptonite, Tampa Bay in one of those dreaded Sunday matinees, evolving rookie tandem Ryan McDonagh and Mike Sauer must continue to step up while savvy vet Steve Eminger stays in with McCabe arriving and Del Zotto going down to Connecticut. The Rangers also hope Ruslan Fedotenko is healthy enough to play after leaving in his first game back, possibly re-injuring the same shoulder he separated.

While the team will have its hands full with the first place Lightning who finally halted the Devil win streak at eight, it won’t be easy to win three straight against a team they haven’t beaten all year- entering 0-1-2. This is the last game before the deadline, which could loom large. Are they all in? Let the chips fall where they may.

As the NHL trade deadline looms just days away, teams have already made deals in the weeks and days leading up to the deadline with the Panthers’ Cory Stillman being the latest to change residences – again, as he gets traded back to Carolina – again. Other teams will continue to wait till the last minute and the Devils are one of those teams, with good reason.

Currently sitting on the edge of the playoff race nine points back of those eighth seeded Hurricanes, everyone in the Devils’ locker room knows that a good weekend in Florida (with games against Tampa tomorrow night and the Panthers Sunday) will encourage GM Lou Lamoriello to stand pat, or even perhaps make some small addition. Alternately, a couple of losses and unfavorable results from the out-of-town scoreboard could lead to multiple Devil UFA’s getting shipped out, including center Jason Arnott and perhaps even defenseman Andy Greene and goaltender Johan Hedberg. Arnott, in particular will have to decide whether to waive his no-trade clause or even request a deal himself to a contender higher up in the standings.

While it seems a lot of pressure to put on one weekend, each game for the Devils has had a Game 7-like urgency to it for a while now. Though we don’t neccesarily need another 16-1-2 stretch in our last 22 games to make the postseason, it probably will take something very close to that kind of pace (if 91 points are neccesary, it’ll take a 17-4-1 run to get to 91). A pace the team will surely not maintain if they become sellers at the deadline. So after a desultory performance Tuesday in Dallas led to an unhappy Jacques Lemaire, it appears as if the team’s re-focused now according to the latest reports from practice.

Speaking of Hedberg, that leads to the other major decision facing the Devils in the next few games…what to do about HOF’er-to-be Martin Brodeur? He will be sitting out his fourth straight game in favor of Hedberg (who hasn’t lost in regulation since early January) since coming off of IR last Friday. As has been the case for almost all of Brodeur’s career, he’s handled a potentially sticky situation with class – this despite the fact that Brodeur was also playing well again before he got hurt in Montreal a couple of weeks ago.

“He’s been playing unbelievable and it’s only fair for the team if there’s a guy that’s playing really well,” Brodeur said. “Unfortunately I got hurt. It happens. Lou (Lamoriello) brought him in for a reason and it’s paying dividends right now the way he’s been playing. I’ll get back in the net eventually and we’ll just continue with what Jacques (Lemaire) has been doing.”

As odd as it is to see Brodeur on the bench for meaningful games, Lemaire’s making the right call here – you have to keep Hedberg in for as hot as he’s been (eight straight wins since Brodeur got hurt, one goal allowed in his last three starts). Of course it’ll be interesting to see what happens when Hedberg finally loses a game and what the goalie rotation becomes, or when Brodeur will get the call next if Hedberg does keep winning for a few games. One thing is for sure though, with Brodeur having rounded back into form in January and Hedberg being as hot as any goalie in the league in February, who’s actually in goal is the least of our concerns.

What should be the biggest of our concerns right now is a Tampa team that is still in first place ahead of the Alex Ovechkin-led Capitals in the Southwest and roasted the Coyotes (winners of eight straight) 8-3 last night. Granted, our third-period comeback against Tampa in early January started this roll and we roasted them in Florida a few nights later but you can’t ever overlook a team with the likes of Stamkos, St. Louis and Lecavalier. And with the trade deadline just days away, the focus should be clear. The next goals are to get to the deadline with the team intact, and eventually get to .500 – currently we’re only four under, an astounding total from the nineteen under we were before that aformentioned Tampa comeback. If those two things happen soon, the playoffs will become a very realistic goal.

If you’re a sportsfan, this is an exciting time of year. The NBA deadline has already produced two big superstars coming to the metropolitan area with the Knicks finally acquiring Carmelo Anthony and the Nets stunning everyone by bringing in Deron Williams. While those two main attractions overshadow what’s going on with our hockey clubs, the rest of the NHL has been plenty busy with quite a few big names also changing logos.

By now, we already know that Tomas Kaberle finally was traded out of Toronto after the 1,234,567th rumor with the much discussed offensive defenseman becoming a Boston Bruin last week for prospect Joe Colborne, a first round pick and a conditional pick. So, the 12-year veteran who lasted much longer as a Leaf than anyone ever imagined a decade prior when he was rumored along with Nik Antropov to the Flyers for Eric Lindros– now goes to Beantown to try to help deliver Lord Stanley back to the home of New England Clam Chowder for the first time since Bobby Orr skated the Cup in front of my Dad at the Garden in ’72.

If only that were the only trade. The biggest one and most shocking in a long time was over the weekend when the Avs and Blues got together with Colorado sending power forward Chris Stewart and rookie blueliner Kevin Shattenkirk to St. Louis for Erik Johnson and Jay McClement. The blockbuster that wasn’t announced until past 2 AM on the East coast Saturday morning on Twitter also included a first round pick to the Avs while the Blues got a second rounder with both conditional either this year or next. The deal stunned the hockey world. When a former first overall pick is dealt for an emerging star and an offensive defenseman having a good rookie year, it’s no small potatoes. Already, the teams met with Johnson’s late goal holding off his former club 4-3. The former cornerstone who was instrumental in Team USA’s silver medal at last year’s Olympics has already vowed to make Blues’ GM Doug Armstrong regret the trade. Even more wild was former Quebec Nordique all-time great Hall Of Famer Peter Stastny ripping into the Avs for doing this deal. When interviewed live during a Colorado loss to Edmonton last night, Paul Stastny’s Dad didn’t mince words saying:

“That’s a one-sided deal. I don’t know what they’re doing. I’m really mad. … They set the team back two, three years. I’m sorry. I know I shouldn’t say this but that’s how I feel.“

Strong stuff from a great player who obviously still cares a great deal about the franchise his son still is part of until he’s next. On paper, it does seem to favor St. Louis. Especially if Stewart develops into the 30+ goal, 70-point guy we expect. Shattenkirk’s no throw in either with 28 points (7-21-28) in his rookie season. Or eight better than Johnson, who has faded from a career best 39 last year to 20 (4-16-20). It got even chipper last night on Versus when Keith Jones criticized the 22 year-old American, indicating that Colorado should expect to be very disappointed, which even stunned Mike Milbury, who of course got blamed even when he didn’t run his mouth. It’s hard not to think it’s better for the Blues but wasn’t Johnson expected to be a cornerstone defenseman you build around? Considering the state of the Av blueline, it’s worth the gamble, reminding many of another player the Blues acquired in Chris Pronger from the then Hartford Whalers for Brendan Shanahan. That was two Hall Of Famers. They’ll be talking about this deal for a while. Until then, let’s at least remain on the sidelines before giving our verdict.

Just today, Alex Kovalev returned to Pittsburgh for a seventh round pick that could turn into a sixth depending on the number of games the talented yet enigmatic Russian plays. On his 38th birthday, AK27 gets to play for the team he had his coming out party with. Was it really that long ago that the Kovy274Hart name was born? My aol screename was inspired by a career ’00-01 season in which Kovy tallied 44 goals, 51 assists, 95 points along with 12 power play goals, two shorties and nine game-winners. The same year Super Mario returned reuniting with old linemates Kevin Stevens and Jaromir Jagr while Kovalev played with Martin Straka and Robert Lang. Now, nearing the finish line of an underachieving career despite 426 career goals and 591 assists for 1,017 total points in 1,282 games, the former ’94 Ranger Stanley Cup hero gets one more chance with the banged up Pens without Evgeni Malkin and probably Sidney Crosby. He’d been a bitter disappointment in Ottawa after a few productive years with Montreal. Before a recent run of nine points in 10 games including six goals post-All Star break, Kovalev had been MIA, becoming a healthy scratch. Now, the Pens hope he’s got something left.

We’re still waiting on other trades. Will Dallas move injured Brad Richards now that they’re life and death for the playoffs? Will the Rangers acquire a veteran blueliner? Are the Devils and Islanders doing anything? All that and more shall get answered shortly.