More reffing stuff that I’m including here as a supplement:

-I’m wonder if Mike Smith played the puck outside of the trapezoid at least once? Granted, I didn’t have a great view, but he was awfully far from behind the net a few times. Maybe he was right on the line.
-The fans were irate after a whistle by the refs cancelled out a rebound goal by Parise. Sucks, but that’s the right call – the whistle kills it dead.
-Did I mention the two penalties on the Devils called? I didn’t get a good look at Rolston’s, but I was pretty sure that Pandolfo was outside of the blueline. It was a deflection, unintentional move, and had it been on the other side into the benches, there would be no call. Not that it affected the final result, but it sucks all the same.
-Devils PP didn’t score, but they scored not long after the PP ended. At least it provided momentum?

They played well enough to win in both halves of the game, and by all stats should have, but every team has one of those games every now and then where all the bounces go the other team’s way.

The fourth goal was the killer. I know St. Louis is fast, but he made Greene look like a lumbering ogre skating back to get the puck, and lo and behold, somehow Stamkos is wide open in the slot again. Mental note for next year: cover that guy.

After they went back up by 3, you could see it took most of the wind out of the sails of the Devils (who had to be tired after the game in Montreal), and the Lightning did the smart thing and just went into a “defensive scheme” and didn’t even try to push.

It was unfortunate that they got down so big so quickly, and a win would have been nice, but the best thing to do is to take out any frustration on the next opponent ;)

Interesting side note: Some Lightning fans pshawed the Devils chances tonight, superciliously asking how often the Devils have scored 3+ goals in 30 minutes under defensively minded Lemaire this season. With a little research, it appears that that number is 15.

As I watched this game from the comfort of my living room, two emotions came to mind. I was frustrated because the Devils clearly outplayed Tampa Bay throughout both halves of this game (Friday and Sunday). NJ outshot TB 33-10 when all was said and done. The Devils completely outplayed Tampa Bay. But there were two moments that completely killed the Devils chances:

1) Two awful penalties late in the second period against Brian Rolston and Pandolfo. Absolutely awful. We spent four out of the 9 minutes left on a penalty kill. Any momentum that could have been created was quickly extinguished.

2) Based on what Faux just commented one or two messages above this one, I guess it was Johnny Oduya who left Andy Greene high and dry against Tampa Bay’s 2 on 1, which led to a goal by Stamkos in the middle of the third period that sealed the deal. Shame on Johnny. Greene was outhustled to the puck near the boards for a lone Stamkos to capitalize, but it was the fault of the other defender, not Greene, for being completely out of position. If it was in fact Johnny, this just adds insult to injury upon a dreadful season.

When all is said and done, I can’t really get too angry with this team. At least they played their hearts out. That being said, however, I would completely forgive them if they come out strong and bounce back against the Rangers tomorrow night.

LETS GO DEVILS

As of today, Anaheim is 20-19-7 with 47 points, which is 6 points out of the 8th seed in the Western Conference. They are currently in 12th place in the conference and 5th place in the Pacific Division. Throughout the last ten games, they have a record of 5-5-0. If Anaheim were interested in rebuilding, they would trade Scotty in exchange for 1)cap relief 2) a young talent. That being said, I don’t think that Oduya fits that role. He is getting paid good money and he’s 28 years old. Anaheim would want expiring contract(s), a young talented defenseman to potentially replace Scottys presence, and probably a draft pick or two.

I think Lou is more than interested in Scotty. He met with him before the year began and eventually signed his brother. But Lou would not make a move unless it brought us into cup contention. Anaheim would have to accept a deal too good to refuse.

I’m pretty impressed that Oduya pinching up on one play leading to Stamkos being uncovered for the goal leads to talk about trading him. Yeah, he’s not doing as well as he did last season; but are we seriously thinking about moving players every time they make a mistake – and for Scott Niedermayer, no less?

Besides, Andy Greene should have either committed to Stamkos, which is usually what a defenseman does in a 2-on-1, or skated like hell to beat St. Louis to that loose puck since that’s what he ended up committing on anyway. Both Oduya and Greene were at fault for different reasons.

Moreover, the goal really just took the wind out of the team’s sails as elesias noted. The Devils never made up 3 goals so it’s not like it was the game winner, the defensive breakdowns not made by Oduya-Greene on Friday ultimately doomed them.