Singing The Blues

Posted on January 17, 2010 by Derek

Where’s B.B. King when you need him? Even the King of Blues would be appalled by what’s happened to the Rangers’ offense. So what if they finally scored a goal in a dismal 4-1 loss to the St. Louis Blues. It didn’t matter much. Not when you hardly test their goalie. At one point, shots were 13-7 St. Louis with like seven minutes left in the second period. Somehow, our punchless club managed to be tied 1-1 after 40 minutes thanks to immortal Brian Boyle, who slipped a backhand past Chris Mason from Aaron Voros. That was the extent of our offense.

Just how unwatchable was this? The Blues led in SOG 15-12. Outside of Team USA wrecking ball David Backes absolutely destroying our team, there was little entertainment value. Unless you caught a rested Henrik Lundqvist during first intermission and the one and only John Davidson back with Sam Rosen during an emotional segment. It’s always a joy to see JD, who admittedly is balder now with whiter hair but definitely has dropped a lot of weight and still has the passion for the sport. Something missing from our cigar smoking son of a gun that somehow continues to cash Jazzy Jim paychecks. At least I caught it because there was little else to keep from switching to awful playoff football and a much more entertaining Sabres/Islanders conclusion in the shootout which Rick DiPietro finally won in his Coliseum return. Ah. Emotion. There was plenty of it written all over his face, thanking just about everyone.

Who should the Rangers thank for another listless performance that made watching a chore? They’re slowly killing their own fans. It’s no wonder so many sold their tix to Devil fans at the game of the season. Well, it should’ve just been the final game. Period. That’s the lone highlight. Mike Brodeur would disagree since he won a second consecutive start for the Sens in the Hockey Night In Canada match-up over the Habs. The same club our team returns home to play tomorrow. Scott Gomez and Paul Mara’s MSG return. How thrilling. They’ll probably have a lot more to smile about.

So, how much did I see? Enough to conclude we weren’t winning. Even with two bit scrubs like Voros- in for Huggy Bear- and Boyle combining for the club’s first goal in 172:00 wasn’t enough to inspire most of their teammates. At least Enver Lisin dressed in place of Ally and played hard. Watch Tort healthy scratch him Sunday for some unknown reason. Speaking of the coach, when does he finally realize that Vinny Prospal isn’t the same since returning. Why is he still on the top line? Marian Gaborik is being wasted. He must feel like he’s in jail. Teams are keying on him, taking away time and space. He’s been stuck on 28 goals for a while. Gabby’s still trying as evidenced by three break-ins during this putrid stretch but even he’s stopped finishing. It’s now five games without a goal and only one point. The Big Ticket’s scored just twice in eight games this month. Dating back further, it’s two over the past 11. It’s hard to get on Gaborik because minus him, this would be the worst team. Good job Slats!

Yes. Ocho Cinco got his second start and fared alright, finishing with 21 saves, giving them a chance. Ultimately, our soft as molasses team were overmatched by a much bigger, stronger opponent that pounded away putting the Blueshirts into submission. As Anthony might say in our section, ‘how could this team be so soft?‘ They don’t stand up for each other. The other night, the biggest cheapshot artist Jarkko Ruutu did whatever he wanted and nobody answered the bell. Humiliating.


Roman Polak (who???) scored the winner and had a primary helper on Alex Steen’s insurance marker. Our great powerless play went 0-for-2 with no shots! Tort even pulled Ocho with over two minutes left using a timeout. As if that was going to save us. My favorite part was when Prosp had a two-on-one downlow and didn’t shoot, instead passing for a covered Gabby. You’re down two goals! Wow. Twenty-two lousy shots on Mason, who should’ve had a shutout. Give up a goal to Boyle and you should be sent to the dungeon.

Fittingly, Backes hit the empty to put them out of their misery. When even Joe Micheletti says something negative about the effort, you know it’s bad. Dave Maloney sounded comatose. I also heard Pete Stemkowski trashed them on the radio. Think the old-timers are fed up with these cupcakes. They should be sponsored by Hostess.

Well, there’s always tomorrow! Annie’s warming up.

BONY 3 Stars:

3rd Star-Brian Boyle, NYR (goal-1st in 19 games, 5 hits, +1 in 10:51)
2nd Star-Roman Polak, Stl (GWG/assist, 2 blocked shots, +1 in 21:15)
1st Star-David Backes, Stl (ENG, 5 hits, 2 takeaways, 7-8 draws in 19:14)

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Elias-less Devils rally late, but come up short

Posted on January 16, 2010 by Derek

Sigh…so another game and another injury to worry about, this time Patrik Elias would be the Devil to leave and not return after a hit by Colorado’s Ryan Wilson along the boards early in the second. In a scene that thankfully only looked worse than it was, Elias was taken off the ice on a stretcher but he wasn’t out cold at the time and was in full control of his faculties. As far as his status, he’ll fly back with the team and be evaluated further. Hopefully the fact that he’s on the team plane at least means he doesn’t have a concussion, after all cross-country flights for guys with concussions can have diasterous effects as my Mets found out a while back with Ryan Church.

Elias’s injury did spice up the intensity in a game which looked like a flat Devils effort early. How flat? Consider this…after Chris Stewart scored 3:17 into the game, the Devils hadn’t yet had a shot on net and were being pushed around to such a degree that Jacques Lemaire took a quick timeout. Unfortunately the timeout really didn’t help much as the Avs (inspired ironically by a pregame ceremony for Claude Lemieux) kept playing a physical game that we weren’t ready for this afternoon.

Oh, Andrew Peters had the obligatory fight with Avs fighter David Koci early (even before the goal) but while the fight itself was a good one, the real drama was whether Peters would be tossed out yet again for not having his uniform tied down after it got ripped up good in the fight. Thankfully, the ref deemed this equipment malfunction not his fault and both got a normal five for fighting. And there was some violent contact on Rob Niedermayer‘s interference penalty late in the first period – that of Craig Anderson flopping to the ice as Niedermayer wandered just outside the crease. Anderson’s Oscar-worthy dive canceled out a Devils power play and several seconds later T.J.Galiardi scored on the ensuing 4-on-4 at 18:32, again putting the Devils behind by multiple goals early.

After that dissapointing first period, the Devils were still skating in mud until the Wilson hit on Elias livened things up. To his credit, Wilson answered the bell on his next shift against Mark Fraser as the two had a pretty even fight. And for any Devil fan that wants to scream bloody murder, please. For years we sang the praises – and rightly so – of Scott Stevens laying guys out cleanly, there was nothing about this hit to suggest it was dirty either. We’re not the only ones allowed to lay out guys and the Devils themselves haven’t cried foul yet. Both Lemaire and Rod Pelley said they felt the hit was clean and Lemaire added (somewhat oddly) that Elias was a bit careless on the play during a critique of how the team wasn’t there mentally tonight.

Interestingly, Pelley was also involved in a fight with the Avs’ Matt Hendricks later in the period as the intensity was picking up between these two unfamiliar teams. However, the Devils’ offense was still firing blanks despite fourteen shots on net and two power plays late in the period. Lately the Devils’ power play has shown as much power as Prudential Center had last Friday, going 0 for the last 14 or 15.

How bad has the power play gotten? Apparently Lemaire’s listening to Stan Fischler a little too much these days since Stan loves to see random big bodies in front of the net. From Colin White to (gasp!) Peters himself, I’m half wondering if our next move is to get a sumo wrestler to stand in front. Why not put the guy in front of the net that actually should be there though?! Zach Parise‘s adept at deflections and garbage goals, but he’s being wasted on the halfboards during power plays. Small wonder he’s only had like three goals in his last twenty games, or numbers in that vicinity.

Of course, you have to credit the other team at times too. How things change within a year…last year the Avs were a bland, boring last-place team that served nicely as props during Martin Brodeur‘s Disney-style return from four months on the shelf. This year, they have a new coach and GM, a terrific goalie in Anderson in his first full year as a starter and lots of young players making a contribution in the lineup to go along with some decent defensemen and voila – they confound all the doomsday predictions (including mine) and are in contention for a division title more than halfway through the season.

If the Devils weren’t as Lemaire said – mentally into this game, at least they gave a physical effort the last two periods outshooting the Avs 29-13, and finally getting on the board early in the third when Niedermayer scored in front at 1:55 off of assists from White and Jay Pandolfo, an unlikely trio to wind up on the scoresheet together. While the rest of the offense was still missing in action, they still tested Anderson on several flurries late with the Avs goaltender making his best save robbing Travis Zajac with a glove moments after he nearly made a mistake playing the puck and got back to make a desperate, sprawling save with his posterior.

Somewhat fittingly, the game ended with the Devils’ power play again failing to convert on a late chance after Vladimir Zharkov drew a penalty on the Avs’ Cody McLeod at 17:15, setting the Devils up for prime scoring chances late. After killing off the power play, the Avs put the nail in the coffin with thirteen seconds left when Stewart found Wojtek Wolski for the empty-net goal that gave the Devils their first two-game losing streak since mid-November. Granted, the power play woes are a concern as they seemingly are every season and falling behind by two goals every night aren’t a recipe for continued success either.

Still, you have to attribute at least some of the on again-off again hockey since New Year’s to the schedule. If you include that bizarre Tampa game the Devils have taken the ice six times in nine days. Even if it’s only five games worth of action, you still have to factor in trips to Montreal and the West Coast in that time. Too bad it doesn’t get any easier facing a rejuvanated Isles team on Martin Luther King afternoon, likely without Elias in the lineup to go along with the three other regulars still on the shelf. Maybe Rick DiPietro will actually make his home debut too, since his only start thus far was in Dallas and the Isles have a back-to-back themselves.

Notes: Speaking of the other regulars on the shelf, while Danius Zubrus is probably going to skate this week Paul Martin and David Clarkson are at least a couple weeks away from that according to the latest update from Lou Lamoriello, which would put Martin’s chances of playing in the Olympics in jeopardy, not to mention our chances of icing a full defense before the trade deadline.

BoNY Three Stars:
  1. Craig Anderson (37/38 saves)
  2. Chris Stewart (goal, assist, +2 and 6 SOG in 19:48)
  3. Rob Niedermayer (goal, +1)
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Elias leaves Av game on stretcher

Posted on January 16, 2010 by Derek

Devils forward Patrik Elias left this afternoon’s game at the Avalanche on a stretcher. The franchise leading scorer was hit by Colorado defenseman Ryan Wilson 38 seconds into the second period and stayed on the ice for five minutes before being taken off the ice. Encouraging is that he did manage to wave to the crowd.
Judging from a few accounts over on Twitter, the hit didn’t sound bad but was high, snapping his chin back. We’ll have a better idea later.

Entering play, the 33 year-old Czech Republic Olympic captain had 10 goals and 16 helpers for 26 points with three deciding markers and a plus-13 rating in 31 contests.

Rookie defenseman Mark Fraser stepped in for Elias over three minutes later and fought Wilson. In a game the Devils currently trail 2-1 early in the third, there have been three fights. Rob Niedermayer just got his team on the board. Hasan should have more later on this along with Elias’ status.

UPDATE: Early indications are positive on Elias, who is said to be alright and will travel back to New Jersey.

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Devils’ late meltdown in desert proves costly

Posted on January 15, 2010 by Derek

Last night’s game in Phoenix just two nights after the Instant Classic at the Garden had letdown potential written all over it. Especially considering we’ve had a couple of bad losses to this team since the lockout when they weren’t very good. Unfortunately now Phoenix is good, though they were in a slump going into last night’s game (four straight home losses), that probably that meant they were due to break out of it. And our recent schedule hasn’t been a picnic thanks to Lightgate.
Even given all that, the Devils outshot Phoenix 26-9 in the first two periods and were tied late in the third period until a bad three seconds from rookie Mark Fraser led to two different goals and proved to be the difference in a 4-3 loss, the Devils’ second in three games – or four if you want to be technical.
Actually though, it did look like we were headed letdown central early on. Not so much that the team was playing bad but they did look a little flat, especially when Matthew Lombardi coasted to the front of the net to deflect Keith Yandle‘s shot past Martin Brodeur at 13:16 to give the Coyotes an early lead. That wasn’t the most egregious mistake of the period though. With just seconds remaining, Colin White attempted to keep a bouncing puck in the zone but Peter Mueller chipped it by and then used rocket skates to get a breakaway on Brodeur, which he would take advantage of to get a crucial goal with just 30.4 seconds remaining.
On both goals, it was the defensive pairing of White and Mike Mottau that were victimized each time. Why, with all the other changes Jacques Lemaire makes on a daily basis he refuses to break this pair up for any length of time is beyond me. Although last night he did break them up after the first period, and like the game in Atlanta a few weeks back where White and Mottau were a -3 after the first, the defense improved exponentially thereafter.
Actually the whole team came out charged in the second period and pretty much dominated, outshooting the Coyotes 15-1. Somewhat surprisingly one of the leaders was Brian Rolston, who must like playing in the desert cause he came loaded for bear. Not only did he score his 14th goal of the season on a breakaway at 9:34 (off a nifty Rod Pelley pass and secondary Mottau assist) to finally get the Devils on the board against Ilya Bryzgalov, but he also drew a couple of penalties in the period. Now that the team had finally scored its first regulation goal in a game and a half, they kept coming and Zach Parise‘s feed of Travis Zajac in the slot led to Zajac one-timing the puck home off a slapshot at 14:06, giving him his 13th goal of the year including four in the last five games and tied the game.
Maybe the Devils should have converted even more against Bryzgalov, but the surprise Vezina candidate held the fort until the second intermission, and both teams settled down for a back-and-forth third that might have led to overtime but for a nice play from Daniel Winnik and Vernon Fiddler. Fiddler had already showed his speed earlier in the period streaking past Johnny Oduya (whose diving play to get the puck off Fiddler’s stick saved total embarassment).
This time he showed his passing skills, throwing one through the crease that Fraser appeared to intercept but Winnik adroitly hit Fraser’s stick and the puck went in at 11:52 of the third. Worse still, Fraser lost control of his stick on the play and took a double-minor penalty when he drew blood from Winnik. It took just seventy-six seconds for the Yotes to cash in when Zbynek Michalek scored on a slapshot, giving Phoenix a 4-2 lead.
Even on this night against another very good defensive team, the Devils weren’t done yet and nearly came back twice from two goals down. Rolston scored his second of the game on a slapshot at 15:16 after assists from Mottau and Jamie Langenbrunner to cut the deficit to 4-3. From there however, the Yotes shut the door and preserved their first regulation win since December 28. For the second time inside a week, the Devils managed to lose when outshooting their opponent considerably and in the other two games they managed two goals (one in OT) and got shut out for the first time this season. Clearly the offense has hit a bit of a lull in the dog days of January.
Of course it is an indicator that things are still going well when two losses in a week and 6-4 during your last ten feels like a slump, but lately the Devils haven’t been as good as their record. That was bound to happen though, in these days of parity and the overtime point it’s hard to see a team dominating like the ’76 Canadiens or the Wings team that won 62 games during the mid 90’s. Things don’t get any easier though, as the team travels to Colorado for an afternoon game on Saturday against another surprising team out West before coming home for the President’s Day afternoon special against the Islanders on Long Island.

BoNY Three Stars:

  1. Brian Rolston (two goals, +1 and three drawn penalties)
  2. Ilya Bryzgalov (31/34 saves)
  3. Daniel Winnik (goal)
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Attention: New York Rangers

Posted on January 15, 2010 by Derek

Att: New York Rangers

This is a net:

In case you didn’t notice, there’s this magic thing called a puck in it. After tonight’s humiliation to Mike Brodeur (really), the Rangers have been shutout two straight and haven’t scored over the last 144:23. The last goal came off the stick of waiver pickup Erik Christensen in Boston 37 seconds into the third of a 3-1 win.

You know. Wins cannot happen without goals. In case you’ve been stuck in a cave, our team can’t score to save its life. They probably would’ve aimed and misfired at the two Jersey Shore bimbos sitting front and center with plenty of cleavage. One kept bending over giving us some entertainment. If only there was a pole.  Too bad they were so into themselves. How to correlate to hockey. They were dressed nicely wearing our colors. Unfortunately, neither suited up to distract Alexei Kovalev from setting up Chris Campoli’s gimme with 1:14 left. Yes. 74 stinkin’ seconds! Well, it did prevent another gimmick. I was already on the way down when my boy Kovy outworked our entire five before slipping a perfect backdoor pass to which I sarcastically remarked:

“See ya later.”

Even an early timeout by Tort Reform couldn’t awaken the gang that can’t shoot straight. Apparently, they gave all they had the other night. But hey. At least we had the usual Garden Of Dreams moment along with nauseating Dolan employees trying to encourage fans in sections to raise the roof to a game that was like watching paint dry. Hell yeah!!!!! DANCE! Everybody up like Larry. Get jacked even if we were mugged! Everything’s eh okay at Camp Cablevision! Oh btw…sidenote. The Allman Brothers have been playing the Beacon Theatre for 30 years. But not in 2010! Apparently, this decade will be empty due to the biggest jackass to ever walk the Earth Jazzy Jim.

At least we had some entertainment from a classic skateboarder outside. He cleared three people on the sidewalk between W.28th and W.29th right next to the bar. Best aspect. No cost. Plus plenty of laughs.

Tonight, the worst ever slogan to hit 33rd and 7th applies:

HOCKEY’S DIFFERENT HERE
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Marty-Henrik MSG duel one for the ages

Posted on January 13, 2010 by Derek

It would be so easy to start off by saying how disappointed I was by how tonight’s epic Battle Of Hudson showdown got decided. But that would take away from what a truly special game it was. Devils/Rangers is always fun, bringing tremendous passion in the stands and of course the ice. What we got at MSG was more than anyone could ever have imagined.

Sitting here now, I’m still floored at what took place. Anyone who went knows. From this Ranger blogger’s perspective, it ranks as one of the best games ever. There have been a lot of good games this season. A few nights prior, the Canucks and Flames for example went toe to toe before the shootout decided it. At least there were four goals scored before that point. Alright. So, neither team could get one past the dueling No.30’s as Martin Brodeur and Henrik Lundqvist answered each other like in a duel. This was Koufax versus Gibson. And as Hasan already referenced, Ali-Frazier. Whatever great sports analogy you can think of, it applies.

A grand total of ninety-six shots were taken through regulation and four-on-four overtime. Not a single one went in or struck a goalpost/crossbar. This doesn’t even include the offerings that missed or got blocked by dedicated players from each side who competed fiercely for every inch of ice. Yeah. Over a hundred were attempted without any success because MB30 and King Henrik wouldn’t allow one to get by them. If you love the sport, this was absolutely tremendous. Each tried their best but neither budged, taking it the distance where a skill competition was needed to decide a winner.

At that point, I knew we had no shot because our guys just aren’t as skilled. Marian Gaborik– who was thwarted twice by a sprawling Brodeur in the first minute of OT- had to score in the bottom of the third. He didn’t and someone forgot to tell an inspired Brandon Dubinsky that high glove doesn’t work on Marty. So, he flashed the leather stopping the 55th consecutive shot to pull within a Devil successful shot of his first regular season shutout at 33rd and 7th. How could that be? Lundqvist had already denied Zach Parise (forehand deke), Jamie Langenbrunner (forehand deke) and Travis Zajac (forehand deke), silencing ZZ Popp.

But Jacques Lemaire still had one shooting ace up his sleeve in Ranger killer Patrik Elias, who entered with 57 points in 59 career games in this heated rivalry. So, here came the Czech captain skating down the middle before firing a perfect laser upstairs to give the Devils the emotional extra point. Why? Because as disappointing as it is to have this kinda game decided by a gimmick, it’s still bragging rights. Not any fan could complain about the level of play. This was as good as it got. However, it was Hell’s worshippers who got to fully enjoy it when Elias beat Lundqvist high glove.

Half the six regular season meetings have now been played. The road team has won every one. The Devils the last two after falling at The Rock. All three have been close with only a late Parise empty netter making the difference of one more than a goal which should tell you something about the rivalry. The fourth will also be at The Garden on Feb.6 before the Olympic Break. The final two in Newark on Mar.10 and Mar.25. Maybe one of the remaining three will somehow top tonight. Just don’t count on it.

Lundqvist and Brodeur gave us a show we won’t soon forget. No matter who you rooted for, this classic duel was one for the ages. Bravo gentlemen. Bravo!

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Forget all the analysis

Posted on January 13, 2010 by Derek

I’m sure Derek will get into the nuts and bolts of tonight’s game later, but let’s face it – this Battle of the Hudson at Madison Square Garden was all about the two goaltenders. If this was a playoff game it would be revered as one of the great games of all time. For the Devils, Martin Brodeur made an incredible 51 saves in regulation and overtime and the Rangers’ Henrik Lundqvist had a comparatively easy night with only 45 stops. That’s an astounding 96 shots on net in 65 minutes of hockey without a single goal being scored.
Late in the second period, I recall thinking ‘oh my god, this game is going to be scoreless going into the shootout’. Yet ironically tonight might have been the biggest indictment of the shootout yet. I’m not as steadfast against the shootout like Derek or other purists, but tonight was really one of the few times I thought, ‘why can’t this game just end in a tie?’. Somewhat fittingly none of the first seven shooters scored, increasing the tension tenfold and sending the shootout into sudden death.
And I say this after my team won the skills competition, getting the extra point thanks to a perfect shot from Patrik Elias over Lundqvist’s glove, finally turning on the red light for the first and only time this evening. Maybe in that sense it was good that a perfect shot settled it as opposed to something fluky, but while the Rangers got their deserved point the Devils got a gift second thanks to Gary Bettman and the skills competition. It is hard to believe this is Brodeur’s first-ever regular season shutout at MSG though, given his career total of 107 and the Devils’ dominance over the Rangers in the late 90’s.

While I will avoid analysis for the most part, I’ll only say I was surprised how the game went, both with how wide-open it was in general and specifically how the Devils played. I figured early on we’d have some jump and then late on we’d wear down but instead it seemed to go the other way, with the Devils being overwhelmed early and then playing some of their best hockey in the third period.

I think Derek will agree with this much though, as bad as ticket prices have been, as many issues as he’s had with the team this season – I’m sure he felt tonight it was a priviledge to be in attendance given the last two Olympic gold medalists having an Ali-Frazier like showdown. Even with the contrived ending. On the Devils’ website, the headline reads ‘Instant Classic’. That it was.
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Hudson Battle renewed tonight

Posted on January 12, 2010 by Derek

Later tonight at MSG, the Hudson Battle is renewed when the Garden State meets the Big Apple as the top seeded Devils meet the sixth seeded Rangers. Both clubs are playing well. So, it should be quite interesting.

The big question is are the Rangers any test for the Devils. Sure. They’ve played better to get back in the mix but not many wins have been versus quality competition with a pair over an injury plagued B’s club that can’t score the best work. Henrik Lundqvist is on fire. Now, he faces the opposite No.30 Martin Brodeur who is having another brilliant season. Thus far, the first two meetings went to the road team. Does that change? Both goalies should have their say.

The Rangers get back Vinny Prospal, who should upgrade their power play. Does he move back to play with Gabby and Erik Christensen? Brandon Dubinsky has been shifted to left wing with success. Who comes out? Hopefully, Huggy Bear.

The Devils are led by Team USA captain Jamie Langenbrunner and alternate Zach Parise. Patrik Elias is playing well and Travis Zajac has scored the past couple after a drought. Nicklas Bergfors is one of the top rookies and particularly lethal on the power play. Andy Greene continues to be brilliant.

It all takes place at 33rd and 7th and we’ll be in our Row F 411 seats for the action. Feel free to drop by. I’ll be wearing a Lundqvist Sweden gold jersey.

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Langenbrunner named captain of Team USA, Parise one of four A’s on the team

Posted on January 11, 2010 by Derek

In an announcement that had basically leaked out a few days ago, current Devils captain Jamie Langenbrunner was named the C for Team USA in next month’s Vancouver Olympics with fellow linemate Zach Parise serving as one of the four (rotating) A’s along with Dustin Brown, Ryan Suter and ex-Devil Brian Rafalski. Really it was little surprise that Langs was named the C given the overall youth on Team USA – only he, Rafalski and the Rangers’ Chris Drury have Olympic experience after all. According to USA GM Brian Burke, it wasn’t an accident that three of the five leaders are or were Devils:

“A large part of it is that when we were going through the selection process and the captaincy, that kept coming up,” Burke said. “You know, ‘This is a guy that played in the New Jersey system. Brian Rafalski cut his teeth as a Devil. Jamie Langenbrunner has gone through that whole process, watching guys check their ego at the door and do their job. So, yes, a lot of this team selection and captaincy selection is a tribute to Lou Lamoriello, who, of course, has been a giant with USA Hockey. So, no question that’s a factor.”

Of course most hockey fans know about the close relationship between Burke and Lamoriello from their years in college with Burke having played under Lou so it’s not really surprising to see the respect he has for the Devils here. Maybe it’s fitting in a year that Lou was inducted into the Hall of Fame that Team USA has a lot of his influence on it, including Burke himself.

To go along with the familiar faces, Burke also rewarded the Kings’ Brown and Nashville’s Suter with A’s, fitting since their teams have both done surprisingly well out West. Also each player’s uniform number was announced. Langs, Parise and Paul Martin will all get their current numbers as will Drury (23) and Ryan Callahan (24). Buffalo’s Ryan Miller might look a little odd in number 39 but only he or the Bruins’ Tim Thomas could get 30 and it went to the reigning Vezina winner.

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Light Gate Conclusion handled well in all aspects

Posted on January 11, 2010 by Derek

Well, as Hasan already posted, the Lightning and Devils finally completed Friday’s game earlier before 3,000 who returned to The Rock in which fans were allowed to move down for the third. Tampa Bay held off New Jersey 4-2, earning a valuable two points that put them into a 11th place tie with idle Atlanta- four points behind Ottawa and Montreal. Busing back from Philly while the host Devs flew in following last night’s overtime win in Brodeur land, it wasn’t too conventional. But the Bolts still took Light Gate despite getting outscored 2-1. As one Dev fan on Twitter noted, that’s gotta be a first.

It was a tough situation to be sure but both teams handled the adversity well, fitting in the final 29:12 to get on with hectic schedules the rest of the way.

“It was a little weird,” super soph Steven Stamkos expressed after getting his second of the game over two days. “We prepared twice for this game. It was a half-game and a half-game. The travel wasn’t bad. We were in Philly, so it was only a bus ride away. It was something a lot of guys haven’t experienced in a while. It felt like we were back in junior, but it was worth it.”

For winning goalie Mike Smith who finished with 33 saves, he actually flashed back to a couple of years back in junior for Sudbury when their playoff game against Toronto-St. Michael’s encountered a similar electrical issue.

“We were up 3-1 in the series before the lights went out and we ended up playing the game the next day and lost in overtime, and ended up losing the series,” the Tampa Bay goalie noted. “It was a little better outcome this time.”

Of a game that needed just 67 minutes to finish off, perhaps goalscorer Travis Zajac summed it up best:

“It’s a little weird when you start a faceoff in the neutral zone and then you feel like you’re getting going and the period is over. I think going into it we felt we had a chance to come back and make it interesting. We skated well, made some plays, but it just didn’t happen for us.”

It wasn’t ideal either for the same two referees Steve Kozari and Tim Peel, who both returned for the conclusion while linesmen Derek Nansen and Jean Moran subbed for David Brisebois and Don Henderson. Kudos must go out to the officials and a hard working crew who readied the ice on short notice. At least everyone made the best of an odd situation.

“Everything about this situation was odd, from Friday sitting around here waiting to see what would happen, to playing a game when you’re worried about something the night before,” Devil and new Team USA Olympic captain Jamie Langenbrunner said. “Under the circumstances, we handled it well. We played well all weekend. Now we move forward.”

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