A Punch to the Gut - New Jersey Devils Give Up 3 Unanswered to Philadelphia Flyers, Lose 3-2
by John Fischer on Feb 8, 2010 10:50 PM EST
in Devils Game Recaps
29 comments
The following recap between the New Jersey Devils and the Philadelphia Flyers is written angrily by a fan who just doesn't understand what could be different. Clearly, bringing in an ace talent like Ilya Kovalchuk hasn't made the difference. Clearly, playing a rival hasn't changed the results. Clearly, the team realizing their errors, recognizing that things haven't gone well, and even with some players playing out-and-out well has still led to the same common refrain of losses. 6-10-1. The Devils are now 6-10-1 since January 8. This is not a slump, this is depressing.
If you want the recap from NHL.com here it is with links to stats and such. If you want to read a jubilant outtake from an opponent who is happy to see their team scoring goals with their best players, go read Broad Street Hockey. If you want a long ramble that few will actually read and go on to demand that (insert player here) should be traded and (insert player here) should do something else in the comments, please read on.
29 comments | 0 recs |
Game #58 - Devils at Philadelphia Flyers
by Steve Lepore on Feb 8, 2010 5:00 PM EST
in Devils Games
410 comments
TV: VERSUS (HD), with Joe Beninati, Keith Jones and Bob Harwood.
Radio: WFAN 660 AM
Previews: Here's Fischer, and check out Broad Street Hockey for Flyers stuff.
Edited in Self-Promotion: I'm going to be calling in on Rink Side Radio tonight, discussing the Ilya Kovalchuk trade. I'll be coming on at about 9:20 9:10, or near the end of this game which ups the potential for unintentional humor on my end. If you miss it live, don't worry; the show is archived on Blog Talk Radio.
Song to Get You Pumped Up But Also Make You Think Deeply About Tonight's Game: In honor of last night's pretty terrible Super Bowl performance, here's The Who in better days, with "Won't Get Fooled Again".
Join me and Fischer in the comments. Da' Rules: \all comments must be clean and relevant to the game. Tangents are acceptable and talking about the Flyers or Devils in general is OK. But please do not use this for other purposes and to talk about how Daltrey didn't hit a single note. Above all, go Devils!\
410 comments | 0 recs
New Jersey Devils Morning News, Feb 8
by TibbsBeastoftheEast on Feb 8, 2010 8:34 AM EST
0 comments
Devils' up next: Flyers - (The Bergen Record)
Ilya Kovalchuk earns points with Devils - (The Bergen Record)
0 comments | 0 recs |
Game 58 Preview: New Jersey Devils at Philadelphia Flyers
by John Fischer on Feb 8, 2010 12:00 AM EST
in Devils Game Previews
15 comments
The Time: 7 PM EST
The Broadcast: TV: VERSUS (HD); Radio: 660 AM WFAN
The Matchup: The New Jersey Devils (36-19-2) at the Philadelphia Flyers (28-25-3)
The Last Devils Game: 42 shots, 5 power plays, all kinds of shots, rebounds, looks, and pressure, and Henrik Lundqvist stopped all but one. A second period surge got the Rangers 3 fairly quickly goals, but it was Lundqvist who bailed the Rangers out over and over and over before, during, and after that surge. The Devils lost to Our Hated Rivals, 3-1, and here is my recap from the game.
The Last Flyers Game: The Devils weren't the only ones who ran into a hot goalie. Only the Flyers were facing the Minnesota Wild and were denied nearly all night long by Anton Khudobin. Yes, the Anton Khudobin. Philly put 39 shots on net, but only beat him once. The Wild were able to get two past Philadelphia's Michael Leighton and that's the game. Travis Hughes' recap highlights the frustration of watching his team unable to beat a goalie (sounds familiar) over at Broad Street Hockey.
The Last Devils-Flyers Game: It was a game that changed from period to period. The New Jersey Devils had a fantastic first period over the Flyers, wherein the Devils scored two power play goals and Patrik Elias potted in his 300th career goal. The second period saw the Flyers in control, pulling one back, the Devils sitting back, but yet Patrik Elias was sprung by Brian Rolston to make it 4-1 right at the end and keep the Devils lead intact. The third period was even and nondescript save for a few good saves. While not a great performance all around, the win was decisive for New Jersey. Here was my recap of the win; and here was Ben Rothenberg's short recap of what he felt was a brutal game for Philly at Broad Street Hockey. The season series stands at 1-2-0 for the Devils.
The Goal: I'm repeating myself but it's a 60 minute game. Yes, I argued that the second period breakdowns by the Devils are more of a recent problem then anything else, but it is something the Devils need to be worried about. And no, the solution isn't to start slowly or end slowly at expense of playing well in the second period. The Flyers need points to keep up near the top of the Eastern Conference playoff group. They'd love to get some over a rival both tonight and on Wednesday. They're not going to let up, they're going to be pumped up, and so the Devils should expect one lively team.
One more thing, if the Devils are able to get that as many chances as they did against New York, then expect some goals unless Ray Emery or Michael Leighton play out of their minds. (Emery's had some "hip tightness" so I don't know if he'll be good for tonight, he didn't play on Saturday because of it.)
Check out Broad Street Hockey if you'd like a Flyers-based perspective on tonight's game. Read on my further thoughts on tonight's game.
15 comments | 0 recs |
The Last 30 Days in Second Period Performances by the New Jersey Devils
by John Fischer on Feb 7, 2010 4:31 PM EST
in Devils Issues & Views
2 comments
One of the big lowlights of last night's game for the New Jersey Devils is that they conceded three goals in a few minutes in the second period to the New York Rangers. For the third straight game, the New Jersey Devils have given up more than one goal in the second period and ultimately hurt the Devils' effort in some way or form. In fact, with the last week of four games, the Devils were outscored in the second period 9-1, with that 1 coming from last Sunday's game against the Los Angeles Kings.
I noticed from the post-game coverage on MSG+, that the second period was a talking point for the loss. Along with the losses in general, it certainly is a concern for the Devils. But how bad has it really been? Is this a more recent phenomenon? Is there a common trait across some of these second period performances?
So what I did is that I took a look at the last 30 days of games. Since January 8, the New Jersey Devils have played 16 games. Their record in those games is poor: 6-9-1. The last time they strung two wins together was just after the loss to Tampa Bay: January 9 in Montreal and the shootout win on January 12 at MSG. To me, that's clear evidence that the Devils have really been in an extended slump for a while. In this range of games, I felt that the Devils have "achieved" a diverse set of losses, but I wanted to see whether or not the second period has been a particular problem prior to last week.
To that end, I've recorded the goals for, goals against, shots on goal for, shots on goal against from second periods of those 16 games. I also recorded if the game winning goal was given up in the second, as well as my own notes on the goals against that come in the second period to see where the blame may lie.
2 comments | 1 recs |
New Jersey Devils Morning News, Feb 7
by TibbsBeastoftheEast on Feb 7, 2010 11:41 AM EST
0 comments
Devils notes: Patrik Elias returns - (The Bergen Record)
Devils' 'O' laboring - (The Bergen Record)
0 comments | 0 recs |
NJ Devils & Atlantic Division Weekly Snapshot: 2/7 - 2/14
by John Fischer on Feb 7, 2010 11:28 AM EST
in Division Snapshot
2 comments
February 14 will be a special day for many: it is the last day of games before the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics takes place and the league goes on a two week break. Rather having a one day week next Sunday, I'm stretching this one to eight days.
The New Jersey Devils continue to struggle, slump, stumble, and other words that don't begin with 's' with respect to dropping games. This past week was another losing record and by virtue of the Pittsburgh Penguins dropping one game and the Devils miraculously winning one, they remain in first. This will not continue if the Devils continue to lose, the Penguins can definitely catch the Devils this week. I may emphasize in my recaps about how the losses happen (heartbreaking blowing of a lead against LA, out-and-out terrible against Toronto, running into a wall of a goalie at MSG), but the standings don't care about the how - it's just results. And they haven't been good.
The Atlantic Division as a whole didn't have a great week, though. The Penguins were the only team to manage a winning record with two wins and a loss. The New York Rangers snapped their losing streak with two wins, but still lost the other two games they had so they didn't catch the Philadelphia Flyers, whose one win was enough to stay up in the East's top eight. The New York Islanders have the worst situation as they have lost all three games last week, now seven in a row.
2 comments | 0 recs |
Henrik Lundqvist Shut Down New Jersey Devils, New York Rangers Win 3-1
by John Fischer on Feb 6, 2010 10:34 PM EST
in Devils Game Recaps
26 comments
In the recent losses of the last two weeks or so, fans have been "treated" to lethargic periods, poor decision making, tepid offense, and entire games without intensity in losses by the New Jersey Devils. Tonight, this was not a loss due to extraordinarily bad set of hockey. This was a loss due to the New York Rangers' goaltender, Henrik Lundqvist.
The Devils put 42 shots on net and Lundqvist stopped all but one. The shots were all over the place: from the point, in the slot, off rebounds, off deflections, from the circles, from the high slot, and in traffic. Henrik Lundqvist robbed the Devils at least seven times from a wide array of players ranging from Ilya Kovalchuk to Zach Parise to Mike Mottau (TWICE) to even a shot off of Andrew Peters. Lundqvist's glove side was undeniable tonight. The Devils aimed for the high glove side often and Lundqvist rose to the challenge every time. Even when that side was a wide open net, that dang glove just appeared seemingly out of nowhere!
Rangers fans should be thanking, praising, and loving Lundqvist's performance tonight. He and he alone ensured the Rangers win tonight. Outside of that, a four minute surge by the offense gave them the lead that made the score what it was. There is plenty of criticism that can be had for the Devils. That they took this game off or showed no fire or were totally out of sync or got burned by the Rangers - those are not true. Losing to a rival sucks, I don't like the loss, but I cannot honestly say the Devils were bad. They literally ran into a goaltender who acted as a mobile wall tonight.
Check out Blueshirt Banter later where they are likely ecstatic to have got a win and to see Lundqvist have such a big game after what transpired on Thursday. If you want just the stats and a neutral look, NHL.com has their recap up. Read on for my thoughts about tonight's game.
26 comments | 0 recs |
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