Battle Of Hudson

9:41 PM…Goodnight folks…Updates coming later.

9:40 PM…Madden over top, no goal….Rangers win. Fantastic game, take a point in the standings. Still last place, but we can play with these guys.

9″40 PM…no sir, save Broduer. Madden v. Lundy for the game.

9:39 PM…Nigel Dawes for NYR can win it.

9:39 PM…Gio for NJD…stopped by Lundqvist.

9:39 PM…Prucha rips it top shelf on Broduer! 1-0 Rag$

9:38 PM…Parise for NJ, couldn’t stuff it! He had him beaten, but couldn’t get it up, Lundy’s stick tied up Zach.

9:37 PM…Here he comes…skates slowly…misses the net…deked, went forehand, over top.

9:37 PM…Marcel Hossa will go first for NYR.

9:36 PM…This will be fun to watch, Brodeur and Lundqvist…Jagr, Gomez, Elias, Drury, Parise, Shanahan, Madden, Zajac, Clarkson…who’s the hero tonight?

9:35 PM…First Devils shootout under Brent Sutter. Big question, do the Rags use Gomer? Julien almost never used him, though Gomer always talked of conceiving world-beating plays.

9:34 PM…Jagr, Drury, doesn’t matter Devs clear! Shanahan’s out there, Gomez to Drury, shot off side of the net AND CLEARED!!! SKILLS COMPETITION COMING UP! DEVS KILL IT OFF!

9:33 PM…That’s what they’re calling!?!? Now? Another border-line call in OT may burn NJD. NYR calls timeout.

9:32 PM…Eilas and Gionta out there, 1 minute togo…Dawes shot crazy deflect into Marty…3-on-2…Gomez for Girardi went wide…stick hold on Vishnevski! D’oh! 25.1 to go, Power Play NYR.

9:32 PM…Oduya-Mottau-Parise-Zajac for Devs…they control Parise to the front wouldn’t go…Parise’s pass is off Zajac’s stick…Zajac and Parise keep it to the outside…Vishnevski’s shot tipped to the mesh.

9:31 PM…MStaal fires wide…offside called. Fingers hurting.

9:30 PM…Madden=Pando v. Dubinsky-Jagr…crazy attempt from Jags goes wide..Lundqvist nearly brainfarts playing the puck, but it’s gotten out.

9:29 PM…Dawes stopped by Marty…Gionta’s rush the other way stopped.

9:28 PM…Avery misses the net and is replaced by Shanahan…Shanahan centers but has it blocked…Here comes Mottau fed one, turned over, Drury ROBBED BY MARTY ON A BREAKAWAY!!!!!

9:27 PM…Overtime Starters…Madden-Parise, Gomez-Avery up front, now Zajac-Parise…Gomez flies one wide.

9:26 PM…Recap the scoring…Gomez for NYR, Sarge for NJD. Both teams 0-1 in Extra Time, Devs in OT, Rags in a Shootout.

9:25 PM…This Overtime is looking scary good and is coming your way!

9:24 PM…Overtime at the Garden with a neutral zone faceoff with 3.7 to go.

9:23 PM…Elias line with Oduya-Mottau out…Gio-Zach-Travis for Devs now…17 to go.

9:22 PM…Madden sends it in…Devils look to control…Zubrus behind the net…they lose control and Drury’s pass goes awry…quick centering pass no sail…Martin-Greene can’t get off finally they do as Madden clears…One Hot Minute to Go!

9:21 PM…Devils get the Madden line out…let’s go! Dawes-Drury-Shanny vs. MPZ.

9:20 PM…Icing on NJD…3:27 to go.

9:19 PM…Reviewed…no goal…good judge. Devils get Brook-nevski out there with Parise line.

9:17 PM…My goodness, Gionta has it knocked away on the break, then Parise robbed by Lundqvist and the whistle blows a little early, but good call, no goal.

9:17 PM…Marty covers…faceoff Devs zone.

9:17 PM…High hits are legal for those who wear #68 in blue…

9:16 PM…Clarkson stopped by Lundy back from break.

9:13 PM…Madden line on…Zubrus using that big body tonight. Offside…Commercial!

9:13 PM…Brodeur says no soup for you to Shanny and then Mara! Devils another awful change.

9:12 PM…Devils ice the puck.

9:12 PM…Fantastic shift for Johnny Oduya!

9:11 PM…Hollweg and Jagr in…ODUYA PWNS HOLLWEG!

9:11 PM…4th line for NJD…Asham and Rupp in particularly have been good…Mottau rips one wide.

9:10 PM…Patty and DClark get two great chances…Lundqvist is insane tonight.

9:09 PM…Back from break…Brook-nevski out on D, with the Parise line out. Now out is the Clarkson line.

9:06 PM…Nothing comes of that…Zubrus has done some dogged work tonight…here come Jagr and Hossa…Jagr lurks as the Devils turn it over to Hoss who can’t control…Madden brings it ahead and rips a shot off and get a change…Commericial break.

9:05 PM…Avery nails Patty and they have words, here comes New Jersey Madden-Pando-Zubi

9:04 PM…Congrats to Dustin Byfuglien, who just scored his first NHL goal against St. Louis tonight…for why you shouldcare: Here’s the KK Story…http://www.kuklaskorner.com/index.php/hockey/comments/chicago_calls_up_dustin/

9:02 PM…Commercial break…whew.

9:02 PM…Gio line is out. Shanny out for the Rags with Dawes…and Brodeur robs Drury!!!!!

9:02 PM…God, this has been a war tonight.

9:01 PM…Here comes the Madden line, Madden’s shot riccochets wide…Jagr’s out there with Dubinsky and Hossa…Dubinsky’s shot tipped wide by Marty.

9:01 PM…It is clear that the Devils 4th line can be a viable threat if given a shot.

9:00 PM…Faceoff Ranger zone, Devil 4th line out with Oduya-Mottau against the Rags line 4.

8:59 PM…Avery doesn’t miss by much. Avery-Gomez on the same line…? Mmm…blinding hatred.

8:58 PM…Chico a good point that all 4 lines are contributing…Brodeur tells Prucha to take the weak stuff to someone who cares…gloving a lazy wrister.

8:57 PM…#68 in blue limps to the bench…skate problem…Gionta centers Parise, jamming away, Lundqvist…did he hold the line!? Appears he did.

8:56 PM…Jagr backhand…save Brodeur…Roszival shoots…wide…Madden and his panhandlers go for it…here comes Jagr….WIPE OUT!

8:56 PM…Betts backhands one wide, teams change…Dawes dumps it in.

8:56 PM…4th line out with Oduya-Mottau. 4th line out for Rags…Rupp a backhander stopped by Henrik…great game for Rupp so far.

8:55 PM…Madden line out with Brookbank-Vishnevski…Rangers go off on a change and dump it in…here comes the Madden line…Maddog rips one wide of goal…Devils keep possession and Madden takes a bad-angle shot that Lundqvist covers.

8:55 PM…Icing, Faceoff in the Rag$ zone.

8:54 PM…Devils need to build on this shift…Elias-Brylin-Clarkson vs. Drury and JJ…here come Clarkson and Patty…Clarkson 2 shots stopped by Lundqvist! A goaltender’s duel at the Garden tonight!

8:52 PM…Guys like Gio and Patty need to step up…on cue some big chances for Zajac-Parise-Gio, just missing getting it over the line.

8:51 PM…3rd Period…Let’s get it on.

8:42 PM…We’ll take a break until Period 3.

8:41 PM…Jesus, FTW Trautwig on Arbour.

8:41 PM…Let’s update the out-of-town scoreboard.

PIT 2-1 NYI
MTL 2-2 TOR
BOS 2-2 OTT
FLA 2-3 CAR
ATL 1-2 TB
CGY 0-1 MIN
CHI 0-0 STL

8:34 PM…Elias a clever backhander stopped by Lundqvist, and that will do it. After 2 periods, the guys in red and black are tied with the guys in blue at 1.

8:33 PM… One hot minute to go.

8:32 PM…My goodness this has been a fun game. But no, we need less divisional games.

8:31 PM…Gionta just misses an easy tap in one way…and a terrific stop by Brodeur on Drury the other…2 shots stopped by Lundqvist back the other side…This is wonderful stuff!

8:30 PM…Good shift from the the Madden-Pando-Zubi line.

8:29 PM…As Doc always says, spontaneous fighting is still tolerated by the National League of Hockey…and 5-minute fighting majors eliminate Rupp and Orr for the period…as if you’d notice.

8:28 PM…Call that one a draw…some devastating blows from both players…and not one person got their hat and said “Well, I never!” and walked out into the New York night.

8:27 PM…Rupp and Colton Orr in the center ring!

8:27 PM…A dare I say…Stevens-esque hit by Vishnevski.

8:26 PM…Commercials.

8:25 PM…Vitaly Vishnevski is my new God…He just RRROCKED HOE-MEZ!!! VV=JC.

8:25 PM…Avery just misses the net…here come Madden and Pandolfo, they dump it in and go off for a change.

8:24 PM..Good work by Zach Parise shutting down Jagr a moment ago.

8:21 PM…Penalty killed…whew.

8:20 PM…Rags #2 unit out there…watch them score when the all-stars can’t.

8:20 PM…Devils clear it out. Rangers still havent figured out this whole we’re all superstars but we can’t score on a 5-on-4. Brodeur robs Hoe-Mez with the glove.

8:19 PM…Gomez rips one wide. Back to the penalty…I gotta be honest, I don’t think Johnny did anything wrong there…I feel dirty.

8:16 PM…Prucha’s breakaway…can’t get the shot away, Oduya hooks him, and Prucha DIVES after the arm goes up…but Johnny will get whipped for what was in all honesty, as good a penalty as you can take.

8:16 PM…It’s odd that of all the Ranger weapons…I fear Nigel Dawes the most. Devils have killed it off.

8:15 PM…Pelley Clears.

8:15 PM…Madden shorthanded stopped by Lundy…Pando falls…odd man rush…Shanker from Shanny…Devils are back after Pando’s wipe-out.

8:14 PM…Apparently, getting your leg tangeled with another player means a penalty to that player…so Gio off for a trip, Rag$ to the 5-on-4…I’m very nervous.

8:12 PM…Zach hits the post! Zajac just robbed by Lundqvist on a tip…Devils taking a penalty, commercial break.

8:11 PM…Rupp wastes a two-on-one by failing to get it high enough…nice try, though. Rupp misses the net on another one. Hooray, fourth liners.

8:11 PM…Gotta’ love Doc’s pointing out of the Rangers using the trap.

8:10 PM…Marty denies Roszival.

8:09 PM…V-Squared is out on the bench, confirmed…Clarkson just missed a wrap-around.

8:07 PM…Doc is suspecting that Vishnevski is not on the bench…and he is…looking incorrect from my view…we’ll see.

8:05 PM… Marty a large save on Jagr.

8:04 PM…Devils Power Play, 0-3, 2 Shots…Not good.

8:03 PM…Mottau rocked one blocked, as the Devils are finishing an unsuccessful power-play, hoe-mez is out of the box.

8:02 PM…Period 2 Commences.

7:59 PM…Sorry folks, dinner…back to blogging with Period #2. Awesome announcement that the Devs are showing Classic Stevens and Devs games. Checking Thursday’s Schedule, they will be:

-Devils vs. Pittsburgh, Game 1, 1991.
-Devils vs. Detroit, Game 2, 1995
-Devils vs. Philadelphia, Game 7, 2000 (!eep!).
-Devils vs. Anaheim, Game 7, 2003.

7:30 PM…Solid stop by Lundqvist on David Clarkson

7:29 PM…Brookbank rocks Dubinsky I believe?

7:28 PM…Penalty Killed.

7:28 PM…Lundqvist stops Elias…mad scramble…cleared by the Rag$

7:27 PM…Zajac JUST Missed hitting Gionta on the backdoor.

7:27 PM…Devils Power-Kill is on.

7:25 PM…A quick Pelley turn-arounded thwarted by Lundqvist, Hollweg reefs Paul Martin…Running out of adjectives already. Commercial Break.

7:23 PM…Another solid hit by Vishnevski creates 2 David Clarkson chances, foiled by the Rangers.

7:23 PM…Brodeur a solid pad save on Roszival from way downtow…then Staal rips one that was deflected wide.

7:22 PM…Now updated on NHL.com…Oduya and Mottau, and he now has 2 straight games with assists.

7:21 PM…Still apparently un-assisted on the NHL website, but Doc has pointed out that Oduya and Mottau have been credited with assists on the Sarge goal.

7:20 PM…As usual, Patricia from 2 Man is ahead of me, as she pointed out correctly over there, it was Vishnevski owning Blair Betts.

7:19 PM…Commercial Break. I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out Vitaly Vishnevski’s great earlier, absolutely pwning one of the Rangers, sort of a hodgepodge of activity before I got to liveblogging so I don’t know who it was on.

7:18 PM…Scoring of the 2 Goals…Rangers – Gomez from Prucha and Tyutin at 6:01. Brylin apparently Unassisted(?) at 6:34.

7:17 PM…Johnny Oduya makes a brilliant centering feed and Sergei Brylin scores 33 second Postscript of the first Ranger goal.

7:16 PM…Somehow it’s already 1-0. Sorry for my lateness. SCORE! DEVILS! SARGE BABY SARGE! TIE GAME!

I am super pumped for tonight’s Rangers v. Devils tilt. The return of Sean Avery, the missing of Marek Malik and the drama, grit and hard play that only these rivals bring out are all things to look forward to.

Unfortunatly, I will not be able to live blog, as much as I would like to. I am covering the men’s hockey team here at school and they step on the ice, yup you guessed it, the same time as the Rangers.

I will dvr it though, and I will have a recap up later on tonight after I watch it. It should be a great game, for both teams. Enjoy.

Just so you know, I’ll be liveblogging the action over here, see if we can get one of our Ranger friends to join me.

Here are tonight’s games:

Toronto-Montreal and Boston-Ottawa will lead off Hockey Night in Canada, while Vancouver-Colorado is the late game. Enjoy it, Center Ice-rs.

HD Net’s game tonight is San Jose-Los Angeles.

Congratulations to the Islanders for a gimmick done right, when Al Arbour steps back into Fort Neverlose for a day to coach his 1500th Game against the Penguins. The pomp and circumstance, while it may seem odd to the younger viewers, is a fitting tribute to the man who led the team to four consecutive Stanley Cup Championships.

A note to Devils fans that Doc and Chico will be on FSN NY 2, while Sam and Joe will hold it down on MSG and be in HD (Not sure if the Devs broadcast is as well, will find out soon).

Florida and Carolina and Atlanta and Tampa meet in a pair of Southeast Division showdowns.

The Flames and Wild meet for what seems like the tenth time this year.

MOST INTRIGUING GAME OF THE NIGHT: Blackhawks-Blues at Scottrade. Very curious to see how this one plays out. Also, Eric Johnson could return to the Blues lineup to face Kane and Toews.

Anaheim and Phoenix meet in a Pacific Division battle.

Sorry I’m a bit late here but with the horrible scheduling by the NHL, Im sure we all forgot the Islanders still play here. The Isles have played 2 games in what seems like a month and a half and Im sure while the rest of the league plays 3-4 games a week, the Isles will probably play 20 games in 18 nights [including a twi night doubleheader with the Devils and Rangers.]

Seriously, the Isles were downright embarrassed against Carolina a week ago and had to put that loss aside and pick up the slack in what was Center Mike Sillinger’s 1000th game. Rick Dipietro picked up 28 saves in what was a 100% full team effort, as the Islanders shut out the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-0.

Dipietro picked up his first assist of the season [and nearly taking off Andy Hilberts head in the process] by sending a puck up the boards to “Mr. 1000” Mike Sillinger, who fed Captain Bill Guerin for the 1-0 slap shot goal.

Josef Vasicek and Ruslan Fedotenko added second period goals as the Islanders pressed the Lightning defense and causing Lightning goaltender Marc Denis to give up bad rebounds. Trent Hunter added a tip in goal in the third to finish off the scoring.

Coincidentally, the Lightning got the “Golden Donut” by losing to all three tri state teams this week. The Isles are now focusing on the rival Pittsburgh Penguins for Saturdays match up on yet another milestone night; the return of Al Arbour.

Arbour has signed a 1 day contract to coach the team one more time. When he climbs behind the bench tonight, it will be for the 1500th time in his career. If the Islanders win tonight, the “739 wins” banner atop the Nassau Coliseum will be changed to “740” in honor of Arbour’s milestone.

Zach Parise got the game winner, but Johnny Madden got the goal that rocked my balls off frankly. What. a. Shot.

David Clarkson also scored a fantastic goal, and the Devils got a great, fantasmagorical effort out of Marty (is back) Brodeur.

I am now very, very excited for Devils-Rangers tomorrow night at the Garden.

Liveblog perhaps?

BTW: Toronto Sucks.

The Rangers finally made a call up this morning. Dane Byers was recalled from the Hartford Wolfpack with Marek Malik still shaken up and Sean Avery still a question mark for tomorrow’s game against the Devils.

Now don’t get too excited, he lasted all of several hours, and has already been returned to Hartford. This means that Avery is ready to play, and will most likely play alongside Petr Prucha and Brandon Dubinsky tomorrow. Ryan Hollweg will move back to his more comfortable line with Blair Betts and Colton Orr, and Jason Strudwick could see the press box again.

Malik is still nursing a sore back and rib cage, apparently after sliding into the boards hard last night. I didn’t get to see the game, or any highlights, so I am not certain of what happened. Should he not be able to go, Studwick would slide into the third defense pairing slot with Paul Mara and Marc Staal would get bumped up to play with Michael Roszival.

Look for an interesting game tomorrow, especially with Avery back in the lineup. Devils vs Rangers games need no special circumstances to be played on the edge, but with Avery in the lineup for the first time in three weeks, there is essentially a skating time bomb on the ice. Heads up Marty!

WSH 0-2 NYR
NYR: Drury (2), Roszival (3)

TB 0-4 NYI
NYI: Guerin (5), Vasicek (4), Fedotenko (4), Hunter (2)

BUF 3-4 BOS (OT)
BUF: Afinogenov (3), Campbell (2), Gaustad (4)
BOS: Metropolit (2), Kessel (6), Savard (2), Sturm (5)

PHI 2-5 MTL
PHI: Richards (7), Upshall (1)
MTL: Koivu (4), Kovalev (7), Kostopoulos (1), Latendresse (2), Higgins (5)

ATL 4-6 OTT
ATL: Kovalchuk (7,8,9), Perrin (3)
OTT: Robitaille (1,2), Eaves (2), Foligno (2), Alfredsson (8,9)

DET 4-1 CGY
DET: Hudler (3), Zetterburg (11,12), Cleary (2)
CGY: Tanguay (4)

STL 3-2 MIN
STL: Tkachuk (5), Rucinsky (1), McKee (1)
MIN: Gaborik (2), Demitra (4)

PIT 2-3 COL
PIT: Crosby (6,7)
COL: Liles (1), Wolski (5), Guite (1)

CLB 1-2 ANA
CLB: Zherdev (3)
ANA: R. Niedermayer (1)
SO: ANA (Schnieder)

Guerin, Vasicek, Fedotenko and Hunter buoy the Isles to a 4-0 win over the Lightning, who go 0-for-the-metro-area.

Chris Drury got the game-winner as the Rangers shut out the Caps, 2-0. Henrik Lundqvist made 31 saves in the shutout win.

Marco Sturm’s OT Winner gave the Bruins a 4-3 win in Boston.

Randy Robitaille’s and Daniel Alfredsson’s pairs of goals led the Senators to a 6-4 win over the Thrashers. Ilya Kovalchuk had a hat trick in the defeat.

Canadiens lead the Flyers in the third, 4-1. Kovalev with the go-ahead goal.

Henrik Zetterburg strikes again. Goal #11 put the Red Wings ahead, they now lead Calgary 3-1 in the 3rd.

Blues and Wild are tied at 2 in the 3rd. Big shocker, Gaborik and Demitra return to the lineup, and both score and assist on each other’s goals.

Sidney Crosby is wowing them in Denver, scoring a pair in the 1st period, while the Pens lead the Avs 2-0 in the mid-2nd.

Columbus and Anaheim are scoreless early.

Nashville and Vancouver in less than an hour.

Unfortunately, I am blacked out of the Rangers game on MSG for the Sabres game. I don’t know why, but it is not cool. Same lineup for the Rangers as Monday. I have no idea what is going on, and I don’t even get Rangers in 60 now, so I will have to rely on highlights. Enjoy the game for those who can see it.

Isles host the Lightning at 7:00 PM, Mike Sillinger’s 1,000th game as the Lightning look to avoid a 6th straight road loss after being hammered by NJD last night at The Rock.

Rangers host A.O. and the Caps tonight at 7. A Ranger win and a regulation Isles loss would move NYR up to 3rd in the Atlantic.

Sabres are in Boston tonight in a Northeast showdown. Boston’s 6-4, while the Sabres are 5-5, 4th and 5th in the Northeast.

Philadelphia’s in Montreal tonight, as Danny Briere faces the team who’s 6-year, $42 million offer he spurned to play with the Flyers. Montreal looks to keep pace in the Northeast with…

The Senators, who host Atlanta tonight. Thrashers look to climb out of the Southeast cellar and tie Florida and the Caps for 3rd in the division.

Detroit is visiting the Flames tonight. Red Wings are #1 in the NHL in points, and Henrik Zetterburg’s been out of his mind. The Flames, and Iginla in particular, have impressed, at 2nd in the Northwest.

MOST INTRIGUING MATCHUP: St. Louis at Minnesota at the X Tonight. St. Louis looks to rebound from a loss at home to Phoenix, while the Wild pick up the pieces from Sidney Crosby on Tuesday.

2ND MOST INTRIGUING: Penguins at Avalanche, just for the pure entertainment factor of guys like Crosby, Malkin, Staal, etc. up against Sakic, Smyth, Stastny, etc. with Marc-Andre and Budaj in goal. HDNet has the game at 9:00 PM.

Columbus looks for a 5th straight win (!?!) against disappointing, to this point, Anaheim.

Finally, an odd 11PM start for Predators-Canucks, as both teams look to climb from Under-.500.