Battle Of Hudson

They needed something and fast. With another hard fought game slipping away, Wojtek Wolski came to the rescue by scoring late in regulation and notching the shootout decider in Round Three, pushing the Rangers to a big 4-3 win last night over the Hurricanes in Raleigh. The stirring finish allowed the Rangers to go from falling into a seventh place tie with Carolina holding one game in hand to being three points up with 68 points to the Canes’ 65.

Good thing too cause the Devils won again cutting Carolina’s lead to nine. The Leafs also got a huge win thanks to a late Phil Kessel tally over the Islanders 2-1. This unpredictable playoff race continues to intensify with anything possible. That’s why it was imperative for the Rangers to get this game after dropping two straight to the Devs and Flyers. With the win, they improved to 8-7-0 without Marian Gaborik (concussion). They also pulled it out despite losing Marc Staal to an injury after he took a clean hit from brother Eric Staal, who caught his own flesh and blood with a shoulder knocking our best defenseman to the ice. He got up and went to the bench but didn’t return for the third, letting doubts creep in to if his own brother concussed him. As it turned out, it was actually a knee that kept him out, which isn’t expected to be serious. We’ll see Friday when the Rangers play Washington before facing their Kryptonite Tampa Bay Sunday.

While we’ll have an eye on Staal, enough can’t be said about the character this team demonstrated after what looked like another gut wrenching loss was in the works, thanks to two Jussi Jokinen third period tallies that put Carolina ahead. The Rangers seemed to be in decent shape thanks to a late second period five-on-three power play goal (not a misprint) by Ryan Callahan, who tipped home a Mats Zuccarello point shot for their second lead of the night. After a bevy of missed infractions on the home team, the Blueshirts finally got a break when a phantom hook on Joni Pitkanen gave them the two-man advantage. Instead of working around the perimeter, they got the puck to Zuccarello at the point, who didn’t hesitate finding Callahan in front for the PPG.

Lately, our team has had issues closing out games. They’ve lost a bunch of tight one-goal decisions lately sans a couple of empty netters. The Canes rallied thanks to Jokinen who twice burned the Rangers with his 13th and 14th goals. How a skilled, gritty player doesn’t have more is mind boggling. Anyway, on the first he picked up a loose puck following a Ranger penalty kill and rifled one far side on Henrik Lundqvist, tying it. There was nothing our goalie could do as it just bounced right to him and he made no mistake, firing quickly. The second appeared more damaging with Jokinen getting to a Jay Harrison point shot in front and flipping a backhand past an outstretched Lundqvist. Again, not much he could’ve done as he was expecting Harrison’s shot and then Jokinen in one motion took the puck and steered it home. At that exact moment, I was ready to throw my arms up because our guys had played a good game, forcing Cam Ward to stand on his head. Ward is one of the best goalies and made all kinda of acrobatic saves, imitating Mike Richter. The goalie our Devil blogger Hasan compares him to.

It looked like an effort that saw Ward come up with nearly 40 saves before overtime would doom us. Instead, Wolski combined with Ryan McDonagh for a sweet goal tying it with 1:50 to go. All night, he and linemates Zuccarello and Derek Stepan had been our best line, generating chances off the forecheck. They particularly buzzed a prior shift with Stepan coming close. This time, Wolski got the puck from McDonagh, who played an oustanding game along with Mike Sauer– and went around a Hurricane and then centered a pass for a wide open Sauer at the doorstep which banked in off a Carolina player. If the puck had come to Sauer, he probably puts it home anyway unless Ward does the unthinkable. Considering how he played, maybe it’s good it never got to that.

The overtime was one of the best you’ll see without someone scoring. Both goalies were superb as they had been. Lundqvist finished with 30 stops and Ward 43. When nothing was decided, it went to a shootout. In it, the two netminders controlled things with each equal to the task. Though Ward a bit more impressive stoning shootout ace Erik Christensen on a tough deke and then forcing Zuccarello wide on another forehand attempt. Lundqvist stayed with Canes’ ace Jokinen getting a piece of his backhand deke after thwarting rookie Jeff Skinner. The Canes sent our former Calder winner Sergei Samsonov but Henrik shut the door on the crafty Russian’s five-hole attempt, setting the stage for Wolski. Before the skill competition, he sought advice from loquacious backup Martin Biron. A man who has a future in broadcasting must’ve said the right thing because the move Wolski made was sheer genius. Looking as if he was going to go wide like our first two shooters, Wolski surprised Ward with a quick shot high glove, giving an excited Ranger club its third win in five.

“I was happy to be put in that position, and even more excited that we won,” the late hero said.

“Everybody felt we could come back, and it was nice to finally get that bounce in the third period,” Callahan pointed out after netting his 16th goal. “It’s good for our morale and it shows character to stick with the game plan.”

I can’t say tonight’s 1-0 win in Dallas was the most scintilating of our last nineteen games (of which we’re now 16-1-2) but thanks to the heroics of Johan Hedberg we managed to get two more crucial points, putting us within four games of .500 and nine points of a playoff spot after the Canes’ SO loss to the Rangers. Even in an ugly win, the Devils managed to continue some impressive streaks…for the team, their eighth win in a row. For Hedberg, his longest-ever winning streak and for Ilya Kovalchuk, the longest point-scoring streak of his career as he got an assist on Nick Palmeri‘s late third-period power play goal that decided the issue.

Despite the two points, coach Jacques Lemaire could barely conceal his disdain all day – and with good reason as it turned out. He ended a pregame skate prematurely and threatened lineup changes because of a bad couple of days of practice, and during the game it was all he could do to not yell at the players on the bench while being interviewed by Brian Engblom during the second period. Not to mention according to Engblom, Lemaire was still hopping mad after the second period and going hoarse from yelling at the team.

Sure you expect off nights from here and there under normal circumstances but this is far from a normal situation. With our precarious playoff position (the next two games are still critical for maintaining momentum before the trade deadline) the team really can’t afford to give away games. And if it wasn’t for Hedberg – and a mediocre Stars team – they probably would have given away at least one, if not two points tonight. As a good coach you need to stop complacency before it starts and Lemaire understands the desperation of the situation we’re in better than anyone.

Although Hedberg was the clear first star of the game, he got an assist on the goalline from defenseman Anton Volchenkov late in the second period when he stopped a puck with his knee in the crease. And if one thing worked for us today, it was the penalty kill, especially killing off a double minor from Patrik Elias midway through the second without so much as allowing a shot on net. In spite of our good penalty killing, most of the rest of the game was sloppiness and inefficiency personified. Ironically, it was Palmeri who probably had the worst miss of the game in the second period when Kovy drew two defensemen toward him and dished it off to a wide-open Palmeri but the rookie shot it wide of the net with Stars goaltender Kari Lehtonen way out of his net to challenge the shot.

Still, the game dragged on without much in terms of excitement but plenty of suspense, but when it looked like both teams would start playing for the point and get to overtime the Devils won a couple of power play chances in the third period and finally capitalized on one of them through a broken play…or rather, a broken stick. Kovy tried to rip one of his patented slapshots toward the net but his stick snapped, perhaps making his shot more deflectable by Palmeri in front for a tip-in goal, as well as causing a distraction to Lehtonen with just 5:37 left in the game. Palmeri’s sixth goal of the season proved to be the only goal the Devils needed as Hedberg’s nineteen saves was enough to give the moose his second shutout in three games, as well as his seventh straight win.

Predictably the Rangers-Canes game turned out to be a three-point affair but in spite of that inconvenience the Devils pulled one more point closer to a playoff berth, now sitting nine points back just a month and a half after being 27 back, with a game in hand against the Canes as well. Of course our improving position isn’t going to matter much if the team doesn’t shake off the complacency it’s shown the last three days.

It’s slowly slipping away from their grasp. With every gut wrenching loss, the Rangers are making it more difficult on themselves to erase last year’s bitter memory in Philadelphia. Having dropped another tough game to their Kryptonite by a 4-2 count with Kris Versteeg’s late empty netter like a kick to the groin, the Blueshirts hold seventh place in the conference by two points over their next opponent tonight in Raleigh. The Hurricanes also aren’t playing great either, having been unable to solve the Devils- losing a third straight time in humiliating fashion 4-1 a night removed from retiring former Cup-winning captain Rod BrindAmour’s jersey.

Cam Ward makes his 20th consecutive start opposed by the opposite No.30, Henrik Lundqvist who is in a fourth time in seven days. Last time out, the close clubs played a superb game in which each All-Star netminder shined with Lundqvist able to pull it out 2-1 in overtime at MSG. A game Carolina coach Paul Maurice labeled “the best goaltended game this year.” None of that matters when their teams do battle again in what amounts to a crucial contest with playoff positioning on the line. The Rangers don’t want to lose three in a row because if they do, the Canes tie them in points (66) and would be seventh due to one fewer game played. It also keeps ninth Buffalo around the corner who trail by half a dozen while stumbling Atlanta, Toronto, Florida and the hot Devils and Islanders hang around.

The way things have gone, it’s not far fetched for the Devils and Islanders to creep up even closer and make the most improbable playoff runs a reality. With over 20 games still left and a majority of teams above them struggling including our club, anything’s possible.

With Marian Gaborik mysteriously leaving Sunday’s game after the first due to a concussion they never noticed in previous contests, it forces the Rangers to once again summon up all the mental strength they have to win in the face of adversity. Something this team has done well- going .500 (7-7-0) without Gabby who’s largely been MIA anyway. Brandon Dubinsky criticized himself following Sunday and expects better. He leads us in goals (20), assists (24), points (44), shorthanded goals (2) and shooting percentage (13.4). It’s up to others to follow his and Ryan Callahan’s (15-15-30 in 41 GP) lead. Everyone must step up including kids Derek Stepan and Artem Anisimov– both of whose production have suffered in the second half despite decent efforts.

There’s always Brian Boyle of the career best 19 goals, 29 points and four power play goals who can chip in. Tonight, the jack of all trades is separated from banged up sidekick Brandon Prust who will play on a fourth line with Sean Avery and Connecticut recall Kris Newbury. Boyle will play with shootout ace Erik Christensen and Vinny Prospal. There’s no real finisher here unless Boyle uses his size. Both Christy and Prosp are set up guys. That’s the hope here. Meanwhile, Tort will keep his top two lines intact with D-Step teaming with Norwegian rookie Mats Zuccarello and Wojtek Wolski while Dubinsky, Anisimov and Callahan comprise the other line.

It’s now or never for our young nucleus which might be getting a slight overhaul if the Bryan McCabe rumors to Broadway for possibly Matt Gilroy and a second round pick are true. Don’t forget that last time there were Rangers/Panthers rumors, it involved Dan Girardi and Dubinsky with Stephen Weiss. Thankfully, it wasn’t true. While the 35 year-old vet McCabe can help us on the powerless play, what’s the point? This club isn’t winning anything. I’d rather see Gilroy finally get a real shot to run the point instead of having Tort roll out Del Zotto over and over again. It’s my belief that Hobey has been treated unfairly. Why is it only okay for the coach to give rooks Mike Sauer and Ryan McDonagh the second pair and not Gilroy, who at least shows assertiveness on the rush?

It’s time for the coach to wake up before his team fails in its bid for the postseason, putting his job in jeopardy. A tough week which starts tonight with a trip to D.C. Friday and another Kryptonite Tampa Bay in town Sunday- will help determine if this club should buy or sell at the 2/28 Deadline.

Much has been made of the Devils’ ridiculous splash back into postseason discussion. Their 15-1-2 record is an amazing turnaround for a team that won only 10 of its first 39. While that story continues to unfold with New Jersey visiting Dallas and former captain Jamie Langenbrunner tonight, another rejuvanted team is flying under the radar.

At one point, the New York Islanders dropped 20 of 21 (1-17-3) leading to Jack Capuano taking over behind the bench. It took a while for him to get his first win but eventually, the new coach got his young team to buy in. Believe it or not, the Islanders off yesterday’s latest win- a 5-1 domination of the Panthers at Nassau Coliseum in which Matt Moulson notched a hat trick to surge ahead of rookie Michael Grabner for the club lead in goals with 26- this more confident bunch who won their sixth in seven trail eighth Carolina by 11 points entering tonight’s game against Toronto. Another team ahead of them in this wild goose chase that includes the Devils, who are one up on the guys from Long Island. Oh. Did we mention that eighth Carolina hosts the seventh ranked Rangers in an all important battle? A Hurricane regulation win ties them for seventh. So, are the Devils and Islanders actually pulling for their bitter rival to snap out of it for just a night?

While that can be debated in sports bars or on Twitter, both clubs have more business to take care of. For the Islanders, who enter having won eight of 11 and are 18-12-2 since that mid-December swoon that threatened their season, they should be fairly confident when Capuano’s healthier club takes on the Maple Leafs with a chance to get within two of another team in the hunt for April.

Can former Ranger ’04 No.1 pick Al Montoya continue writing his own personal chapter in his third consecutive start with bright Leafs’ rookie James Reimer opposing? The 26 year-old Montoya’s story is well chronicled with the Cuban American never getting the chance to even start one game for the team who drafted him over in Manhattan where Henrik Lundqvist blocked his path. It’s also conveniently forgotten that Montoya wasn’t a total scrub, making Planet USA in his second AHL season for the former Hartford Wolf Pack (now Connecticut Whale). But there never was a spot for him with the Rangers using vet Steve Valiquette and then Alex Auld last year. Montoya was eventually dealt to Phoenix where he in one brief cameo, he showed what he could do pitching a shutout and posting a 3-1-0 record with a 2.08 GAA and .925 save percentage in five games- four of which were starts two years ago. The former University of Michigan standout was blocked yet again by the healthy return of Vezina runner-up Ilya Bryzgalov. Ironically, former Ranger property Jason LaBarbera is the backup. Go figure. So, Montoya was shipped to Long Island for one more opportunity. One he hopes to make the most of.

“People want to knock us down every day, from what I’ve seen since I’ve been here,” the ’04 WJC USA hero said after turning aside 20 of 21 in yesterday’s win to improve to 3-0-0 with a 1.23 GAA and a .953 save percentage entering tonight. “You want to play that underdog role. You go out there and play hard and show the rest of the league what you can do.”

In an unpredictable year where anything’s possible, why not? Who saw the Devils reversing course under Jacques Lemaire playing lights out hockey with no real No.1 caliber D and Johan Hedberg starring over Martin Brodeur minus Zach Parise? In the Islanders, here you have an even better story because it’s a younger nucleus coming together and producing three 20-goal scorers with Moulson (26) and surprising Grabner (25) leading the way with John Tavares (23) right behind. Coincidentally, the run has come since Kyle Okposo returned with the former club No.1 pick going 2-7-9 plus-five in 16 games thus far. Speaking of great stories, there’s well traveled journeyman P.A. Parenteau finally getting his chance in the bigs and making the most of it with the ex-Ranger third in team scoring with 38 points (14-24-38), already re-signed for next year.

On defense, Travis Hamonic is poised beyond his years playing the kind of solid hockey that has Islander fans excited about the club’s future. Already logging important minutes, the 20 year-old from Manitoba has two goals and 15 helpers while resembling the player the team can trust on a revamped blueline that eventually will feature Calvin de haan. Hamonic’s play is eerily similar to that of Mark Fayne, who arguably is the best Devil defenseman during their improbable run. Could it really be true that a pair of rookies have been instrumental in each of their teams’ turnarounds? Pretty exciting stuff for both Battle clubs.

And while Mike Del Zotto baffles in Year Two on Broadway, the same cannot be said of freshmen tandem Ryan McDonagh and Mike Sauer, who’ve become John Tortorella’s second pair. The theme on all three is they’re young and learning the ropes on the fly.

Can the Islanders continue their rise back into the race against a Toronto team that boasts one of the hottest lines in hockey in dangerous trio Nikolai Kulemin–Mikhail Grabovski–Clarke MacArthur? There’s also streaky Phil Kessel who’s caught fire with his name bandied about a year after coming to be Brian Burke’s building block. It shouldn’t be easy. But at this point, nothing has fazed Coach Capuano’s together team who wants to prove everyone wrong, earning respect. The way they’re playing, don’t doubt them for a second.

Okay it’s getting hard not to get carried away now. As much as I’ve been enjoying this run back to respectability, in the back of my mind I’ve been a cynic about our playoff chances. Last night’s game and where it fell on the schedule was one reason why, we usually lose when we go to Carolina and we almost always go to Carolina the night after a home game. Look at the game after Martin Brodeur broke the wins record at home, the Devils had to go to Carolina the next night and got wasted. Or earlier this year for that matter, when the Devils got a rare first-half win over the Thrashers then got smoked in Raleigh on New Year’s Day. A regulation loss last night would have all but ended the playoff chase, putting the Devils fourteen points back of Carolina with 23 games remaining.

Instead, the Devils pounded the Canes for their third win over Carolina in eight days in such convincing fashion you almost have to believe anything’s possible, even probable at this point. Hey, we were unbelievably bad in the first half – why not be unbelievably good in the second half? It’d fit in with this already crazy season. We’ve gone from 27 points back to 10 in record time, from nineteen games under .500 to just five under in the span of five weeks. My unofficial benchmarks for getting back in the playoff race were have a ten-game winning streak and get to .500. Well, our current winning streak is at seven and this overall stretch is an insane 15-1-2, I’d have to say we’re back into it now, despite the sobering realization that if the season ended today we’d still have the 4th overall pick because of our bad first half.

Not only are the Devils making their own fans believers (judging by the amount of people wearing Believe-NJ t-shirts last night at Miami Mike’s viewing party), but they’re making the rest of the league believers too. You have to believe the Canes are hearing footsteps after losing five points to the Devils in three head-to-head matchups and after beating the Rangers in a taut 1-0 game Friday they’ve made New York goaltender Henrik Lundqvist a believer too.

“They’re in the race,” Lundqvist said. “It’s unbelievable, but they’re in the race.”

That encapsules this insanity very nicely. It’s to the point where the Devils are no longer automatically going to be selling assets at the deadline, I would say they could even become buyers except quite honestly why would you change anything on a team that’s gotten points in 17 of their last 18 games, in the process winning a boatload of one-goal games and all sorts of games they had no business winning (like last Friday’s game against the Sharks, a seventh game in eleven days)?

For three straight games before last night ex-Thrasher teammates Ilya Kovalchuk and Johan Hedberg monopolized the #1 and #2 stars and you have to say both are leading the charge right now, unlikely as it is for different reasons. In Hedberg’s case he’s been on such a hot streak he’s even relegated Brodeur to the bench in the last couple of games since the HOF’er to be came off of IR though it would be nice if Brodeur gets in another practice or two before coming back, and you could definitely throw him in Tuesday against a non-conference team. That said, you don’t want to stall Hedberg’s momentum by having him sit five days either.

As far as Kovy though, he has come out of the wilderness and is again one of the most dynamic players in hockey, only with a new awareness of other aspects of the game. A play early in Friday’s game really impressed me, when Henrik Tallinder flipped a puck toward the boards and it looked like it was going out for a delay of game penalty, Kovy deflected the puck with a high stick to cancel out the penalty. Even Carolina announcer Tripp Tracy admitted Kovy had become a ‘three zone’ player. Clearly the biggest reason for this is Jacques Lemaire, and Kovy’s reverence toward him. Honestly, it’s rare these days to see a star player show such respect to any coach though you can understand why, Lemaire was a HOF player and has coached for a long time, if anyone could untap all of Kovy’s potential it’s Jacques and he’s been doing it in the second half of the season.

And I have to vehemently disagree with Derek’s assessment that the Devils are again boring, yes they’re playing a surprisingly sound defensive system now (Hedberg called Friday’s effort the best defense he’s ever seen from a team in front of him) but honestly the only reason Friday’s game was even close was Lundqvist, who made his usual assortment of spectacular saves against us – only allowing an equally spectacular breakaway goal by Kovy. Wednesday’s game should have been more of a blowout than 3-2, we gave up a couple of late goals to make it artificially close and last night was also no contest territorially. For all of our one-goal wins lately, the Devils had a really dominant week. And the week before the Devils came back to win three straight games, also not indiciative with the get ahead, stay ahead mode of the ‘trap system’.

Certainly the hype before Tuesday’s game won’t be boring, not that playing Dallas is quite as critical as the Cane and Ranger games were this week since it’s not a four-point game against a team we’re chasing, but it offers a different kind of twist as former captain Jamie Langenbrunner faces his ex-team for the first time since his exile. You do wonder what he’s thinking, seeing the Devils win game after game with Lemaire and without him while Dallas has struggled big-time over this last month, going from Pacific leaders to potentially out of the playoffs entirely?

Still, the hype about what Jamie’s departure meant to the team will take a back seat to potentially getting to within single digits of the playoff chase by Tuesday night and every game remains important. Realistically the Devils still have to go 18-5 to get to 92 points, which could all but assure a playoff spot. Hopefully a couple of the teams in front of us fall back more and the target number gets even less but either way it’s fun to watch a team that has to play every game like it’s a Game 7, you don’t worry about the team having an off night or taking a team lightly, after our start we can’t afford to.

Either way, I’m starting to believe this could be more than a chase just to get back to and above .500.

Okay. So last night’s latest installment of the Battle Of Hudson wasn’t a work of art. With all due respect to Hall Of Fame coach Jacques Lemaire, there’s nothing beautiful about the agitating style his teams employ. The neutral zone trap or 1-2-2 or 1-4 is what it is. It forces undisciplined opponents into mistakes. The defensive team is then opportunistic enough to pounce on those errors like the red hot Devils did during Friday’s 1-0 blanking of a Ranger team that simply wasn’t good enough.

Like future captain Ryan Callahan noted in the postgame, it didn’t matter if they were tired from the night before of what amounted to a hard fought win over a good LA team. The schedule is what it is with the Rangers having more back-to-backs than anyone else. For the most part, they’ve fared well showing the trademark resiliency that’s made them rootable for Garden Faithful. Even if the Devils are making a frantic second half push for the final playoff berth occupied by Carolina who still sits 12 points up with the final meeting of the season tonight in Raleigh, John Tortorella’s club had to be better yesterday.

Fifteen shots just won’t cut it. Credit must be handed out to New Jersey for staying so focused on the defensive side by doing the little things that win in this league. Even if it makes you want to nap, they executed Lemaire’s strategy to perfection. Johan Hedberg went out of his way to praise the defensive effort, referring to it as the best he’s ever seen. But what would the latest Devil win be without rejuvenated megabucks star Ilya Kovalchuk victimizing Marc Staal, who fell at the blueline- allowing the red hot Russian to go in on a breakaway and rifle a laser off the far post past Henrik Lundqvist for the winner halfway through the tactical contest.

The problem for the Blueshirts wasn’t so much that the Devils dictated every inch of the ice but more about how much they gave. Until the third, there was nothing to write about. They got outhit, outhustled and outworked for a second straight time against the close Hudson rival. Sure. They were better in the third with Tortorella shuffling his lines featuring Sean Avery a bit more effective with Marian Gaborik and Erik Christensen. But it still wasn’t enough.

When they face a team they haven’t beat yet since last year in the top seeded Flyers, there can’t be any excuses. They’re only two up on Carolina with Atlanta, Buffalo, Toronto and the Devils hanging around. It won’t get any easier with a visit to Raleigh Tuesday and another tough game next Thursday. It’s time for them to step up!

Heading into these next two crucial games against the Rangers here and the Hurricanes in Carolina tomorrow night, the Devils remain the hottest team in the league during the second half of the season with a 13-1-2 record. Yet, because of how bad their first half was the Devils’ season is basically hanging in the balance over these next twenty-eight hours. Why? Well we’re twelve points out of eighth place currently, and the Hurricanes currently hold the eighth seed. Before playing us tomorrow they play the league-leading Flyers at home tonight. While the Rangers are still a bit above the eighth seed morass we do have a game in hand and can go some way toward dragging them back into the muck with a win tonight.

Two wins and other results going our way (Flyers over Canes in regulation) could leave us an unreal eight points out by Saturday night. Two losses, on the other hand could leave us as many as sixteen back and provide a fatal blow to our still slim chances of making the playoffs. Realistically at least the Devils should know either way which direction they’re headed by the time the trade deadline arrives in a week and a half – though from all of today’s activity you would have thought today was the deadline. Good heavens, even Tomas Kaberle finally got moved and our long international nightmare has finally ended…will wonders never cease?

A sign I saw at Wednesday’s game against the Hurricanes said it all…’One shift at a time, one period at a time, one game at a time, WE BELIEVE!’. Certainly Patrik Elias believes, at least in our chances tonight. He all but guaranteed a win over the Rangers during his postgame interview with Steve Cangelosi at center ice after the Devils’ exciting 3-2 win gave them their second straight over Carolina in the last two weeks. Believe me, a few weeks ago I wouldn’t have thought I’d be regretting being on the sidelines tonight, letting my friend buy my tickets for this game. Although it seems as if the only times we ever beat the Rangers anymore are when I’m not in attendance. As luck would have it, I won’t be at the Rock but supposedly Derek will be there for his first trip so I’m sure he’ll have some must-read observations later.

Ironically I will be enjoying tomorrow’s game out, at a viewing party. I’ve only been to one Devils viewing party before and that was earlier this season at the same place (Miami Mike’s) off Route 10. While we lost – as was commonplace in the first half – I won big that night, scoring club seats to the next night’s game against Detroit, an autographed Elias and Travis Zajac picture as well as an autographed Bruce Driver puck. The latter two prizes came in a raffle after I made a small $10 donation to David Clarkson‘s Clarky’s kids charity. So guess I’ll try my luck tomorrow again but I’ll defer any other winnings in exchange for some more wins between now and March, when I’ll be at the Rock next.

At least reinforcements have arrived in the person of Martin Brodeur, who was taken off IR and will be available to back up Johan Hedberg tonight. It’s possible Brodeur will start tomorrow’s game in Carolina. Yes Hedberg’s been playing very well this month but it’s always nice to have a Hall of Fame goaltender back, especially considering that both have made a good tandem in this second half of the season. Not to mention both goalies are 38 years old so it’d be nice to keep each one fresh as we go down the home stretch.

And the Devils will receive another critical addition to their lineup with the return of defenseman Anton Volchenkov from his three-game suspension tonight against the Rangers, re-exiling the shaky Mark Fraser to the press box. Also in the news, teen center Jacob Josefson has been recalled from Albany and while he won’t play tonight looks to be in the plans for the team going foward since Tim Sestito was sent down yesterday, opening up a spot at center.

Whatever happens I’ll be back on Sunday with thoughts on either a possible miracle in the making or the end of a brilliant run that – if nothing else – has proved that the first half was the fluke and this Devils team was actually what we thought they were going into the season.

Just call him the Magician. I’ve run out of adjectives to describe Rangers’ shootout ace Mats Zuccarello, whose latest theatrics helped the Blueshirts topple a hot Kings team 4-3 at an energized Garden last night. In a very entertaining game full of twists and turns, the Rangers had their ace in a hole who ensured a vital second consecutive win with another fantastic move in the shootout- putting some distance between the seventh seeded club on Broadway and the chase for eighth that now includes their next sizzling opponent tonight in Newark, the Devils.

The Rangers came back from a goal down to take the lead twice but a pesky LA club led by USA Olympian Dustin Brown wouldn’t go away with the Kings’ captain forcing overtime on the craziest of bounces with under three minutes left. While I’ve seen other bloggers unfairly blame Henrik Lundqvist for Brown’s odd equalizer off a carom and LA defenseman Matt Greene’s first which Sean Avery screened his own goalie on, give it a rest. Sure, the King faced nine fewer shots than promising rookie Jonathan Bernier. However, on a night he won his 200th career NHL game by once again stymieing stiff competition to preserve the ‘W,’ it was his stellar play in the first that gave the Rangers a chance.

After a decent start that saw them earn a power play following a strong kill led by Lundqvist, the Rangers fell into a lull- allowing a tough LA club to take control. Despite missing a couple of opportunities on the man-advantage, Lundqvist still had to deal with a two-on-one shorthanded bid with Anze Kopitar working a give-and-go before being perfectly set up for what seemed like a gimme, only to see King Henrik slide across and make an acrobatic stop doing the splits. They were already trailing by one thanks to Brown’s first of two on the power play with Brandon Dubinsky in the box. Our PK had a mix up in coverage allowing Jack Johnson and Justin Williams to easily find a wide open Brown in the slot for his 19th.
In a period largely controlled by LA’s forecheck, only Lundqvist kept them from extending the lead.

Not surprisingly, the Rangers heard a smattering of boos. Maybe it inspired them because they were a different team in the second. As usual, future captain Ryan Callahan was involved. Having almost pulled off a great individual effort for a near tally, the glue of our gritty team came through thanks to a one-handed attempt by bright rookie Derek Stepan. Off an Artem Anisimov faceoff win, Stepan took the puck hard to the net and got off a tough shot which Bernier kicked out right to Callahan, who deposited his 15th to loud cheers. If not for an injury that kept him out most of last month, he’d have 20 goals and be on target for his first 30-goal campaign. Not bad for the ’04 fourth round steal from Rochester. Is it a tad ironic that he hails from the same area as current Montreal captain and ex-Devil Cup winner Brian Gionta? I think not.

Following Callahan’s 15th, the Rangers really carried the play using a strong forecheck to pin the Kings deep. They generated several scoring chances including a couple of close calls which Bernier was able to snuff out. Though he’s the understudy to Vezina candidate Jon Quick, you can see why he was a first round selection back in ’06. Only 22, Bernier definitely has a bright future in Hollywood- giving Los Angeles arguably the strongest goalie tandem in the league with our duo of Lundqvist and vet Martin Biron right behind.

With the game tied at one after 40 minutes, it felt like the next goal would win. Something I remarked to Bob in my section. On this night, I couldn’t have been more wrong as it got wild and wacky the rest of the way. It started when Marian Gaborik ended his scoring drought by taking a Mike Sauer outlet and using Drew Doughty as a screen for a knuckler reminiscent of The Mighty Ducks II. Gabby’s Knuckle Puck floated past Bernier putting us ahead at 6:10. Before we could get settled and believe me, plenty of Garden Faithful were pumped- the Kings came right back 1:40 later when Greene of all people tied it thanks to some solid work from Kopitar and Brad Richardson. A Ranger turnover at the LA blueline didn’t allow our team to change. The Kings wisely got the puck in and Kopitar and Richardson set up Greene, whose routine slapper hopped off one of our players past Lundqvist. It didn’t help that Avery dove in front which probably obstructed Lundqvist’s view. Naturally, it was Greene’s first. A Ranger specialty. 😛

Both teams played to win, forcing the goalies to make big saves. It seemed destined for overtime until Dubinsky got a step on LA’s D and snuck a wraparound which must’ve gone off Anisimov because they later changed what would’ve been Dubi’s 20th to Artie’s 13th. Callahan also assisted giving him a two-point night. In 39 games this season, he is 15-15-30. With an assist, Dubinsky’s 19-24-43 over 54. Those have been our best players. Two home grown kids who continue to evolve.

It looked like the Rangers would hold on until an odd Rob Scuderi wide shot caromed off the back boards right to Brown, who banked the puck off Lundqvist’s head for his 20th. The bizarre play also had Anisimov fall down behind the net which allowed Brown to get free.

So after all that, the game went to OT where our team blew a golden opportunity to win it after LA waste Alexei Ponikarovsky took a double minor for hi-sticking at the end of regulation. In typical fashion, our guys couldn’t get anything done with the Kings aided by Gaborik’s reluctancy to shoot when he was wide open in the slot. When Dubinsky was whistled for a phantom hi-stick, it brought the most dull three-on-three in existence. People who think this is the answer might want to re-think it because it’s two D and a forward. Shockingly, it was very conservative forcing the skill comp.

In it, Erik Christensen pulled off his Forsberg imitation steering us in front. After Lundqvist denied Michal Handzus, Zuccarello moved in slowly driving me nuts only to then fake Bernier out completely for an easy goal. But it wasn’t over when LA shootout ace Jarrett Stoll picked high glove on Lundqvist making him seven for eight this year. After Wojtek Wolski was pokechecked by an aggressive Bernier, it came down to Kopitar and Lundqvist. Exactly the kind of theatre you’d want. Kopitar tried for high glove but Henrik got a piece to push it over the top, sealing a large win.

On what’s a great sunny Monday with near 60 degree Spring weather- a virtual miracle- rather than do recaps, I’m going to give some more observations on what’s been going on. In no particular order:

1.The Rangers finally snapped a six-game winless streak yesterday by coming back from two early goals down to defeat the shorthanded Pens 5-3 at MSG. To say it was big is an understatement. Especially with Carolina and Atlanta closing in along with Buffalo. It may not have started out well but John Tortorella’s timeout settled his club down and they responded by scoring five straight en route to their first win in three weeks. The best aspect was they scored three power play goals. Repeat. THREE POWER PLAY GOALS! Coincidence that Steve Eminger was back for Mike Del Zotto?!?!?!?! We kid. Ryan Callahan netted two of them. One on a redirect and the other on a quick shot from the left circle with Brandon Dubinsky screening Marc-Andre Fleury. Brian Boyle started the comeback with a nifty deflection of a Marc Staal shot. Vinny Prospal,who set up the goal also was the beneficiary of a nice Marian Gaborik feed for a slam dunk. Prosp continues to prosper since returning with two goals and an assist in five games. Gaborik didn’t score but has been more active lately. A good sign. Artem Anisimov got the other PPG with Mats Zuccarello setting him up. If they really want to prove this isn’t a fluke, then games Thursday and Friday against the Kings and Devils loom large.

2.The Islanders were hit hard, stemming from Friday’s bloodshed with the league announcing the verdict after the club exacted revenge on the Pens highlighted by 15 fights, 10 game misconducts and 346 penalty minutes in their 9-3 rout. Not surprisingly, Trevor Gillies was suspended nine games for his dirty high hit that concussed Pens’ rookie Eric Tangradi. His antics crossed the line as did goon Matt Martin who tried to sucker punch No.1 target Max Talbot. He gets four games. Nothing for Micheal Haley who had a memorable night taking on all comers including Brent Johnson before Eric Godard violated league policy by coming off the bench- earning a mandatory 10-game ban. The part that is mind boggling is that the Islanders were fined $100,000 while the Penguins zilch. How could that be? Even if the Islanders deserve a bulk of the criticism for going overboard in response to Talbot’s unpenalized blindside hit that KO’d Blake Comeau four games and Johnson’s one punch KO that put Rick DiPietro out over a month, it doesn’t add up. Especially when Godard comes off the bench and double teams Haley. Shouldn’t the Pens or possibly coach Dan Byslma been fined?

3.As for Mario Lemieux’s statement:

“Hockey is a tough, physical game, and it always should be. But what happened Friday night on Long Island wasn’t hockey. It was a travesty. It was painful to watch the game I love turn into a sideshow like that. … The NHL had a chance to send a clear and strong message that those kinds of actions are unacceptable and embarrassing to the sport. It failed. We, as a league, must do a better job of protecting the integrity of the game and the safety of our players. We must make it clear that those kinds of actions will not be tolerated and will be met with meaningful disciplinary action. … If the events relating to Friday night reflect the state of the league, I need to rethink whether I want to be a part of it.”

Before I chime in on where Mario’s wrong, let’s first admit that yes he has a point about the league needing to be tougher in this area. The four-game suspension to repeat offender Matt Cooke was a joke. How does he get that after all the garbage he’s pulled? Anton Volchenkov is a clean player and received one less game for an elbow. Could the suspensions have been longer? Sure. I could’ve seen 12 for Gillies and definitely feel Martin should’ve received at least double because it was a deliberate attempt to injure. I agree with why the Islanders were upset but feel you shouldn’t break The Code to do it. Make Talbot drop his gloves first. If Super Mario’s going to get on his high horse and criticize the NHL for how it handles these delicate situations, fine. But it would be refreshing if No.66 also came out publicly and ripped Cooke a new one for his blatant disrespect. That’s not hockey.

4.As for the Islanders on the ice yesterday, what heart they’re showing. They followed up a nine-goal outburst with seven more in another unpredictable 7-6 overtime win which hurt Buffalo in the standings. The Sabres have had trouble all year with their Kryptonite losing three of four to the club who they once traded star Pat Lafontaine to in exchange for Pierre Turgeon. Other players were involved including Uwe Krupp. In a game the Sabres needed two points in with Carolina winning late at Atlanta to move up to 62 points two behind the Rangers, instead it turned into another showcase for Michael Grabner. The emerging Calder hopeful followed up his first three-point game with the first hat trick of his career. The wiz kid who both the Canucks and Panthers let go now is tied with San Jose’s Logan Couture for tops among freshmen with 24 goals following an exclamation point finish when he beat Ryan Miller for the third of the game on a fancy deke. He has a five-game point streak over which time the former Vancouver first round pick has a ridiculous nine goals and two helpers. The 23 year-old Austrian is showing why he was selected that high, finally getting the opportunity on Long Island. If nothing else, GM Garth Snow looks like a genius. Too bad we can’t say the same for his foolish support of Gillies. Anyone could’ve had Grabner and now he’s emerging into a legit finisher. Exactly what John Tavares, who notched his 21st, has needed. With Kyle Okposo (2-6-8 in 12 GP) rounding into shape and Matt Moulson (21 goals) proving last year wasn’t a fluke, suddenly the Islanders can score. No wonder they’re a point behind the sizzling Devils who are getting all the talk of a possible playoff miracle. Nobody is saying the same of the Islanders who remain without a true No.1 goalie with Al Montoya (12 saves) relieving rookie Mikko Koskinen for the victory. The Isles look to continue their torrid pace when they visit Ottawa tomorrow and return home for Boston Thursday.

5.Meanwhile, yesterday was a bitter pill for Ryan Miller to swallow. In permitting seven goals, the rating Vezina winner got testy with a couple of Buffalo News reporters who questioned whether confidence has become an issue. “Give me a break, they scored goals,” he said, after being asked how he felt by John Vogl. “I’m just frustrated.” Who could blame him? He has to start every game and play up to par for the Sabres minus Derek Roy to have any chance. Was it a bit out of character for the Team USA hero? Of course. But when reporters push buttons and even make foolish statements about how many instances he’s given up four-or-more, it’s not professional. Is the guy supposed to be happy after the weak attempt by Andrej Sekera that led to the winner? Lindy Ruff even second guessed not pulling him. But it’s not like Patrick Lalime is insurance. Newsflash: Darcy Regier, this ain’t ’03 when Lalime was nearly good enough to best Martin Brodeur in the Conference Finals.

6.How about Drew Stafford. Three more goals Sunday including the clutch tying one that gave Buffalo a point. His fourth hat trick has him up to a club-leading 23 goals- one better than Thomas Vanek despite missing 18 games. Where would the Sabres be without him?

7.Buffalo has a tough back-to-back traveling to Montreal tomorrow and then returning to HSBC for the Maple Leafs, who are no picnic thanks to rookie netminder James Reimer and the hot trio of Mikhail Grabovski, Clarke MacArthur and Nikolai Kulemin. If they want to stay in the race, this is a big week.

8.It’s too bad about Peter Forsberg, who needed only 35 minutes in his latest comeback attempt with the Avalanche to realize it wasn’t going to work. Foppa announced his retirement today. In two games, he had no points and was minus-four. At 37, the time is finally right for Forsberg to call it quits. Even with all the injuries, we’re still talking about one of the most talented players to ever play the game. Someone who was breathtaking to watch working his magic with the puck, Peter The Great will never be forgotten. It’s a shame that the Cup winner and two-time gold medalist never got to really go out on his terms. All too ironic considering who he’ll always be linked with in Eric Lindros, who suffered the same cruel fate. Sometimes, you wonder how they would’ve done if they’d stayed with their original teams before Lindros forced Quebec to trade his rights with the Flyers beating out the Rangers in an arbitration ruling that I remember like yesterday. And so, Lindros went to the City of Brotherly Love for a larger than life package that featured Forsberg, Matt Duchene, Kerry Huffman, Ron Hextall, Mike Ricci, Chris Simon, two first round picks (Jocelyn Thibault-later dealt to Habs for Patrick Roy, Nolan Baumgartner-traded to Caps) plus cash. One franchise still relocated to the Rockie Mountains becoming one of the elite winning two Cups (’96, ’01) with the dynamic duo of Forsberg and Joe Sakic making the former Nordiques a contender. Both Lindros and Forsberg won the Hart but only one lifted Lord Stanley with the Big E taking the ’97 Flyers to the Final before the Red Wings swept them. It was as close as he came. Forberg finishes with 249 goals and 636 assists for 885 points with a plus-238 rating in only 708 games. By comparison, Lindros registered 372 goals and 493 assists for 865 points with a plus-215 over 760 games. Amazing that neither ever reached 800. Sad too. Ironic that the production is so similar with Lindros breaking down more towards the end when he was a shell of himself post-lockout with Dallas and Toronto. Two great players. Will either make the Hockey Hall Of Fame???

9.How tight is the West? After top two Vancouver and Detroit, seven total points separates 10 teams vying for the remaining six with Dallas and Anaheim tied with 68 while Nashville and Phoenix have 67, San Jose has 66, Minnesota and LA are tied with 65, Calgary has 64, Chicago has 62 and rejuvenated Columbus has 61. Every year, the Western race is compelling with teams scrambling to make the cut. With so many still in the hunt, what does that mean for the trade deadline? How many teams will be sellers? In the East, the Devils are 9-0-1 in their last 10 with 48 points, still trailing eighth Carolina by 14. They meet twice this week. New Jersey believes they can do it. The Rangers are seventh with 64 while the Hurricanes have 62 with the Thrashers ninth at 60. Buffalo has 58 points and Florida has 55. Toronto also is in front of the Devils with 52 despite an OT loss that saw Ilya Kovalchuk go coast to coast for a thrilling decider last week. Even the Islanders at 47 have to believe they can make a push. Given how teams ahead have struggled, why not? That’s why it’ll be very interesting to see what happens as we get closer to February 28. A lot can happen in two weeks. Get ready!

10.Hart: 1.Steven Stamkos 2.Tim Thomas 3.Daniel Sedin

11.Vezina: 1.Tim Thomas 2.Carey Price 3.Henrik Lundqvist

12.Norris: 1.Nick Lidstrom 2.Kris Letang 3.Shea Weber

13.Calder: 1.Jeff Skinner 2.Logan Couture 3.Corey Crawford

14.Selke: 1.Ryan Kesler 2.Mike Richards 3.Brian Boyle

15.Jack Adams: 1.Barry Trotz 2.Guy Boucher 3.Todd Richards

16.Lady Byng: 1.Loui Eriksson 2.Martin St. Louis 3.Marian Gaborik

Going into Friday night’s game against the Sharks, if there’s been one team as hot as the Devils over this last month it was the team that showed up in the white and teal. Sharks coach Todd McClellan – a one-time assistant under Devils boss Jacques Lemaire – had his team on a 9-0-1 tear heading into the Rock two nights ago. And while the Devils were going into the game on an 11-1-2 roll that’s starting to get noticed around the league, they were also playing their seventh game in eleven days, and third in four nights with the first two having been dramatic OT games.

Yet, despite falling behind for the third straight game in the third period, this suddenly resilient group somehow found a way to get it done again. In a case of deja vu, Ilya Kovalchuk again played hero at 16:01 of the third period, scoring on a wrister against the grain right off a faceoff win from Travis Zajac, giving the Devils just enough offense to win on a night where they only generated three scoring chances in the first forty minutes. If the rest of the team may have been tired, at least Johan Hedberg showed no fatigue from his fifth game in eight days (one being the two-period relief appearance in Montreal) by making 31 saves and keeping the team in the game early when they didn’t have their legs.

Momentarily the Devils pulled to within 11 points of a playoff spot before Atlanta’s win over the Rangers vaulted them back into eighth place and made the number 12. With four days off before our next critical game – another home showdown with the Hurricanes – I’m trying to avoid paying attention to the standings as much as possible but know Carolina’s win over the Thrashers today put them 14 up on us for the last playoff spot. Yes, the playoffs remain a longshot at best, but nevertheless there’s a little magic in the air right now for the team with NJ on their crests. Games have gone from being over when the Devils fell behind even by one goal to just getting started.

Indeed, there was very little to watch in the first two periods Friday as the Sharks outshot the Devils in the first two periods, including a 12-2 margin in the first. There weren’t many penalties called either, the first time the refs used their whistle for anything other than a stoppage of play was when Brian Rolston was sent to the box for interference in the dying moments of the second period. Though the penalty killers did their job keeping the Sharks off the board, San Jose finally broke the ice at 6:08 of the third when Patrick Marleau scored off a rebound in front.

Rather than demoralizing this new Devils team, Marleau’s goal seemed to energize them. After a Henrik Tallinder penalty, the Devils drew two straight calls on the Sharks setting up a critical 4-on-3. With everyone in the building including me getting impatient over all the passing, finally Rolston one-timed a Kovy pass and beat Shark goalie Antti Niemi to tie the game at 9:12. Though it was just Rolston’s eighth goal of the year, he’s continued his rejuvanated play over the last month and was even in a jovial mood during the postgame when Chico Resch brought up how his being waived seemed like last season.

In a sense, anything that happened in the first half does seem like last season now. Perhaps the biggest example of this is the highest-paid player on the team. After going through the darkest stretch of his career in the first half of the season, Kovy’s been reborn under Lemaire and despite only getting one shot on net Friday, he made it count big-time, scoring his 19th goal of the season with just 3:59 remaining. Even with the fact his goal total’s going to be down compared to a ‘normal’ Kovalchuk year he’s made a lot of them count, scoring three overtime winners to go along with Friday’s decider late.

With the game in the balance, Torrey Mitchell‘s careless high-sticking penalty on Danius Zubrus essentially decided it, giving the Devils a four-minute power play with just over two minutes remaining. Thankfully Zubrus escaped relatively unharmed, other than a cut below his eye that needed stitches. Though Patrik Elias‘s empty-netter was a half-second too late to beat the buzzer, the Devils still held on for another huge one-goal victory, their fifth one-goal win in this stretch of seven games in eleven days where the team went an incredible 6-0-1. Amazingly, the team that was nineteen games under .500 at the 41-game mark is now just eight under with 26 games still to play.

After a well-deserved four days off another big week’s coming up for the guys in red and white, with two games against the Hurricanes sandwiching a Friday night home showdown with the Rangers, all big games if the Devils are going to catch up somehow since both teams are also fighting for the last couple of spots in the East. And yet, despite these being big games they’re also house money ones…I mean, who would have thought it even possible to have big games at this point of the season from where we were? I’m just hoping it continues for as long as possible now that this team’s finally fun to watch for the first time in a year.