Flames Burn a Hole through both Devils’ Goalies; New Jersey Falls 3-6
The Devils flew to Calgary and forgot they traveled there to play a hockey game. The first period looked like John Maclean was behind the bench for the New Jersey Devils. Yes. It was bad. The flames scored two goals 98 seconds apart and Peter DeBoer pulled Martin Brodeur. The game was about seven and a half minutes old and Johan Hedberg was in. Six minutes later, The Flames rifled in their third goal of the night and the Devils were looking foolish. The second period was marginally better than the first, and the third was much better than the first and the second. However, the three goal lead the Devils surrendered in the first was the difference.
This game was not a good start to the Devils' road trip. Tomorrow night they play in Edmonton and then a back to back with Winnipeg starting Saturday. The momentum the Devils built in the third should carryover the game tomorrow night, so that's a positive takeaway from a negative game. DeBoer also experimented with a few different lines later in the third; something fresh that could spark some insight as to what might happen when Jacob Josefson returns? After the jump is a recap you most certainly do want to read since the Devils were the better team last night. If you'd like to check out how Calgary fans feel about the win, check out Matchsticks and Gasoline.
The Stats: The NHL.com Game Summary | The NHL.com Event Summary | The NHL.com Play by Play Log | The NHL.com Shot Summary | The Time on Ice Shift Charts | The Time on Ice Head to Head Ice Time Charts | TheTime on Ice Corsi Charts
Highlights:
Before the game was something new for fans of the Devils, a Talking Red Live Episode. It pumped me up for the game quite a bit, but that enthusiasm didn't make it out of the first period. The Devils came out skating slow and playing without much pep in their game. Six minutes in, Jay Bouwmeester rifled a shot from the top of the circle that went through traffic and right by Marty. I'm not entirely sure if Marty was screened, but it was a decent shot and that's how it goes. 98 seconds later Cory Sarich took a weak shot and it flew by Marty. If ever there was a soft goal let in by an NHL goaltender, that was the epitome of one. DeBoer promptly pulled Marty in favor for Hedberg. I was not a fan of pulling Brodeur so fast. He is a veteran and is one of the best at blocking out the mental stress of letting in pucks. However, I am not an NHL coach and the game went on.
After the goalie change the team still looked flat footed. Maybe the Devils ate dinner a little too late and were still digesting their meal and felt lazy. Whatever the excuse, The Devils looked like they were bumming around waiting for the end of the first period. The Flames led a quick rush up the Ice with Olli Jokinen carrying the puck and slid it over to Olli Jokinen who buried it past Moose's outstretched leg. 3-0 Calgary.
With about 5 minutes left in the first, Adam Henrique had a huge hit on Jarome Iginla. The consensus is that Henrique's hit was clean, but Iginla wasn't pleased and ruffled a bit with Henrique and the Devils came out of this with a powerplay. The Devils managed one great shot by Ilya Kovalchuk on the powerplay before they were caught with too many men on the ice. The Flames were quick to teach the Devils a lesson and TJ Brodie fired a shot from the point to make it 4-0. Hedberg saw it all the way, but couldn't quite make the save. Another soft goal on the Devils goaltending duo to close out the first twenty minutes.
The second period went back and forth but was relatively eventless for almost fifteen minutes until Kovalchuk slapped one into the back of the net. Parise was working his tail off behind the net and finally got the puck and put the puck on net, Henrique nipped the puck over to Kovalchuk who banged it home, a dirty goal, but a good goal. Less than two minutes later Lee Stempniak got free in the slot and took a shot. Anton Volchenkov attempted to bat the shot away with his hand, but ended up knocking the puck down and into the Devils net. A bad break, 5-1. Seconds later, Mark Fayne decided to send the puck over the boards and the Devils were on the PK. Parise and Henrique broke out of the zone and Parise slid a perfect pass to Henrique who blasted the puck past Miikka Kiprusoff. This shorthanded goal was the league leading tenth of the season and seemed to spark the team. There was a little more fire in the Devils as the second period ended. 5-2.
The beginning of the third period was much better. Although it wasn't enough to lead to a win, it was some positive play headed into Edmonton tonight. DeBoer switched up the lines, they switched between the "normal" lines and:
Zubrus - Henrique - Clarkson
Parise - Elias - Kovalchuk
Zalewski - Tedenby - Sykora
While DeBoer was tinkering with the lines, the Devils were bringing tremendous pressure and taking a lot of shots. Kiprusoff was playing fantastic and there was nothing the Devils could do. Iginla took a hooking penalty on Henrique and the Devils went on the power play. The Devils set up on the powerplay and went to work. Elias was down low and sent the puck diagonally up to Kovy who took a fake shot and sent a very quick pass down to Elias who one-timed it home. 5-3, a comeback seemed possible with over 13 minutes remaining in the game. With 11 minutes remaining in the game Iginla put the dagger in the coffin by sneaking one between Hedberg's legs. Mark Fayne was out of place and Clarkson easily could have hit Iginla, but attempted to whisk the puck away and whiffed, leaving Iginla to put the puck away.
Why did the Devils Lose?
Overall, The Devils played decent. They were flat in the first and rebounded well in the second and third period. The difference is that Kiprusoff stopped 35 of 38 shots, while Moose and Marty combined went 8-14. Our defense certainly could have helped the goalies out, but at least four of the six goals can be chalked up to the goaltenders. The Devils out shot and out possessed the Flames, but the Flames' goaltending was solid. The Devils finished with 24 MORE shots than the Flames and had a Corsi of +36. All meaningless statistics since only wins and overtime losses will lead to the playoffs. As Chico said multiple times during the broadcast: it's Kiprusoff vs. the Devils now.
The Top Line (to-be-free agent superstar, rookie center, highly paid superstar):
The Devils top line (Parise - Henrique - Kovalchuk) averaged a +20 corsi and each registered at least two points. The top line has been on fire lately; each player on the top line has a three game multipoint streak. I feel like this line is ready to set the example for the rest of the players on the team and I believe it can be discussed as one of the top lines in the NHL this season. The Devils have one game less than half of a season to go, and if this line keeps up this type of production, the Devils will surely fight for a top 4 or 5 spot in the East.
Adam Larsson had a splendid game. He spent just over 20 minutes on the ice and registered an assist and shut down the opposition. He was a +1 and didn't have any of those "rookie mistakes" everyone can see vividly in their head. Games like these I am extremely grateful that the Devils won the draft lottery and drafted Larsson. He didn't take any stupid penalties and had a plus +18 corsi.
The Other Adam:
Henrique completed something I've always thought was sort of a funny accomplishment, The Gordie Howe Hat-trick, a goal, an assist, and a fight in one game; the perfect all around game. The fight wasn't much, but it showed Henrique would stand his ground. Henrique is also within one point of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins for the rookie scoring lead, pretty impressive.
Other Take Aways:
Zalewski looked decent; I didn't have any problems with how he played. Nothing spectacular, but he hasn't really had any time in the NHL yet. The Devils need to win at least a game or two on this road trip in order to hold their place in the playoff race. Not a terrific start to the second half of the season, but the Devils skaters looked promising. How did you feel about the game? Should Devils fans be worried about the goaltending or was it just an odd night? How many of you checked out Talking Red Live? Thanks for checking out the recap of this not so great game and hopefully they can have a stronger performance tonight!
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I’m not sure the Devils have the goaltending to be a threat in the playoffs should they hang on for one of the bottom four spots. Yes, Marty played great in pittsburght and no one will deny he will have his spectacular games. But one would be hard pressed to remember a time when he was this inconsistent and he has never been pulled three times in a half season of play before ever. Hedberg has been the better goalie in the key statistics of win percentage and save percentage this year and even last year. He obviously deserves equal playing time as the devils try to muster all the points they can get in the second half, and lets hope DeBoer gives it to him. After Henrique and Clarkson, Hedberg’s very solid work when marty was out is one of major reasons this team is where it is. But Hedberg, his age, and the load he is used to playing, cast doubts on whether he can carry a team as often times a team needs from a goalie down the stretch or in the playoffs. There is no easy answer and i cannot imagine lou giving kinkaid a chance this year at all.
Hedberg has been the better goalie in the key statistics of win percentage and save percentage this year and even last year.
If this is how you judge who happens to be a better goalie, you get some pretty silly results when you apply it around the rest of the League. For example, those metrics tell you that Tim Thomas is only the second-best goaltender on his own team.
Enough with this hobby horse — you’ve beaten it enough to prompt complaints from the ASPCA! Johan Hedberg was just about as bad as Marty was last night, and Moose didn’t give the Devils a chance to win. Hedberg hasn’t played a game in quite some time that has made anyone say “wow, Moose played so well that he was one of the primary reasons the Devils won a game”.
He obviously deserves equal playing time
The only guys who would make that claim are Moose himself, Moose’s agent, and anyone with a financial interest in Moose playing more.
The fact of the matter is that neither guy is particularly good. The Devils need to find a better solution to their goaltending situation than what they have in-house.
I’m not sold on Hedberg being the solution either. But Still think he deserves move playing time.
He has been the better goalie pretty much since he has been here.
Hedberg has gotten plenty of playing time this season. If you go through his “game log”, you see a goaltender who hasn’t been very good for more than six weeks now and isn’t really doing anything to justify more playing time.
Hedberg plays in every single back-to-back situation. He’s played virtually every minute that Marty has been hurt. He hasn’t strung together two consecutive quality starts since the start of the season, and most of his wins the last two months have come largely because the Devils are scoring a lot of goals for him.
….
Moose is the steadier goaltender of the two we employ at present. He’s more likely to turn in the soli performance that keeps you in games, but he’s less likely to turn in the spectacular performance that can win you a game when most of the rest of the team doesn’t show up.
Hedberg has three starts (and four total appearanaces) this season where he’s allowed 0 or 1 goals. I don’t see how that proves he should be starting — the Devils effectively have to score a minimum of three goals on any given night Moose is in net if they want to have a chance to win the game.
Moose is less likely to get you blown out as the Devils were in the first period last night. But Moose is also less likely to give you the opportunity to win a game when your offense only gives you one or two goals. I don’t know about you, but I’d prefer to not have to lean on the offense so much, even if it is far superior to the Devils’ defense and goaltending this season.
The Devils’ defense this year has been very good. The goaltending, however, has been terrible. Some people can’t see past one to find the other.
Brodeur has what, 4 games where he’s allowed 1 goal? And he has way more starts than Hedberg? I haven’t liked Hedberg’s game lately either but he’s playing like the better goalie.
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Doesn’t mean Brodeur can’t get it together, but the goaltending has definitely been awful so far.
And Kovalchuk speeds away, great moves, busting through, DID YOU SEE THAT?
sure marty can get it together and he should be given opportunity to do so, but so should Hedberg have that opportunity. unfortunately however on a simple comparison of goalies which so blatantly shows one has been as least slightly better, fools like acasser weigh in trying to isolate hedberg’s last three starts while ignoring the bulk of the past year in a half.
Hedberg has had that opportunity — it came when Marty was hurt. That PDB went back to Brodeur for the lion’s share of starts once #30 was healthy is plenty of evidence that the head coach doesn’t think Hedberg is the guy right now.
This team isn’t in a place where it can glorify past laurels, whether it is Marty or Moose. Marty being perhaps the greatest goaltender of the modern era shouldn’t give him any preference in division of starts, and Moose’s “superior play the last year and a half” shouldn’t count either. What has either guy done for me lately that qualifies him to do anything more than split the starts?
Personally, if I’m Lou Lamoriello I’m at least keeping an ear to the ground insofar as goaltenders who might be available in trade and what it would cost to acquire one. The Devils need an upgrade any way you slice it.
….
And quit with the personal attacks. When your line of attack is to slander its host, that implies you don’t have much of an argument to stand on in the first place. I’m not “isolating Hedberg’s last three starts”, I’m giving you his play over the last month-and-a-half. If you can sit on a year-plus and declare that arbitrary period of time sufficient on which to pass judgments, why can’t I have my own arbitrarily chosen period of time?
NJDOhio is right, almost any set of statistics that you put forth, Moose has been the better goalie. Acasser derides Moose, but spends no time comparing him to the alternative who has been by every measure worse, not to mention that Hedberg was also a better goalie last year, so there is now some prescedent for this. You give evidence of Marty being a better goalie than Moose this year because there is none. I’m sure even Marty would admit it. Rich Chere so much as admitted last night in the interview with deb. He ranked Moose’s play one of top three major saving sucess stories of this years team along with Clarkson’s 15 goals and Henrique’s play. Acasser is truly ignorant or simply has a major mancrush and marty. NJDOhio is right, there is at a minimum 4 games that Hedberg should of had and earned this year that he didnt get.
I wish I could be angry about it,
but I’m just embarrassed.
6 goals on 14 shots…
Fayne was beyond terrible, and Hank wasn’t much better. I think it might be time for Fayne and/or Tallinder to get the “time for you to watch one from the stands” treatment from PDB. If only he could do that with the goalies. Dare to dream.
The way the Devs come out tonight will tell me a lot more about the team than this game did.
I’m not going to lie to you. It felt good and I’m going to do whatever is in my power possible to stay there as long as I can. - Petr Sykora on playing on a line with Elias and Parise.
Besides Salvador and Larsson, each Devils defense-man has been very bad yesterday, Foster was the worst probably, please Pete take Taormina over him.
A great performance from Devils goaltending’is an obligation tonight, Marty or Moose, they’ve got to redeem themselves.
Otherwise There was plenty of good things, our superstars seem to be finally consistent. I really enjoyed to watch Elias with Kovalchuk by the way, I hope Pete will keep them together tonight, though Parise should’ve stayed with Henrique, they’re so dangerous together.
"It's magic, it's tragic, it's a loss, it's a win"
by Elektrostal_Kid on Jan 11, 2012 7:46 AM EST reply actions
Elias and Kovalchuk are a pleasure to watch together lately. Hopefully we will see more of that. Same thing with Parise and Henrique, they work great together. Foster is beyond terrible at defense. He also looked clueless on the PP last night. If he is not scratched in favor of Tao, Foster needs to be scratched for sure when Greene comes back
by JTdevs on Jan 11, 2012 11:28 AM EST via Android app up reply actions
The lines are definitely going to be interesting once Josefson and Zajac are 100%
Do you think Elias will shift to 2nd line LW with Zajac as his centre?
Josefson on the 3rd would be good for Tedenby’s confidence also.
We should be playing hockey.
Elias is one of the best center of the league right now, I would be surprised if he’s moved back to LW. Once everyone is healthy (that won’t last long) personally I would prefer seeing Kovy moving back to LW.
"It's magic, it's tragic, it's a loss, it's a win"
by Elektrostal_Kid on Jan 11, 2012 9:50 AM EST up reply actions
On a team that is terrible at the dot (without Zajac and Josefson that is), Elias is one of the worst at it, unfortunately.
Patty has taken almost 1/3 of the team’s total faceoffs, and wins them a meager 43% of the time.
9 of the league’s top 30 leaders in total faceoffs are below 50%, and the closest to Elias’s 43% is Jokinen at 44.4%.
I love Elias as much as any other Devils fan, but he just is not a solid center, at least when it comes to the faceoff circle.
by Marty 4 Prez on Jan 11, 2012 10:07 AM EST up reply actions
I know it’s up to centers to do that job correctly, but do you think his FO% is a reasonable argument for moving him back to LW ?
Again that makes no sense imo, especially when one of our guys, a career 1st line LW is forced to play out of position already.
"It's magic, it's tragic, it's a loss, it's a win"
by Elektrostal_Kid on Jan 11, 2012 10:32 AM EST up reply actions
If anything, Zubrus should be taking the face-offs for the line. He’s been far better than Elias ever has been at the dot. Even in limited action this year, Zubrus is a few points ahead of Elias (and he’s averaged over 50% over the course of his time as a Devil).
Again, nothing against Patty, but we’re the second worst team at face-offs in the league, ahead of only Calgary. Winning face-offs, though, makes controlling the puck (and hence, play), an easier task to accomplish during a game.
by Marty 4 Prez on Jan 11, 2012 12:27 PM EST up reply actions
Since you mention Tedenby
I thought I’d throw in this comment found on the Flames site.
“Highlights from this game include a young Martin St. Louis, still in the midst of the greatest joke he ever played, convincing everyone in Calgary he was a terrible hockey player and, you have to assume, letting the Lightning in on the joke, as later in the year he would sign a contract with the Lightning, ending with a punchline that included him winning a Stanley Cup and leaving Flames fans grasping at straws for the next century.”
Hope the Devils don’t make the same mistake with Teddy.
Teddy seems to have the skills to be a good player, but definitely lacks the awareness and/or instincts to use them effectively right now. Yeah, maybe he could amount to something but the Devils can’t wait for him forever, especially in years like this when they’re on the playoff bubble. If he can’t figure it out, I’m not going to kill the Devils if they part ways after another 2 or 3 years of minimal production and then he magically transforms into Marty St. Louis down the road. St. Louis is the exception, not the rule, and if a team keeps banking on “potential” and not results, they’re gonna end up being pretty lousy.
Status quo.
He was better last year, more goals, a lot more points, a “plus” over the year. Now he has one goal on a puck bouncing off his chest, a handful of assists, and a huge minus. What caused this nosedive? I don’t know, but I don’t agree that he lacks instincts and awareness. I’ve seen him make great passes that get no results, seen him fight much bigger opponents for the puck and win, seen him forecheck like a demon and get turnovers. Statistically he has nothing to show for it and is constantly demoted, benched late in the game, etc. which has to affect his confidence. I don’t remember, but I would be very surprised if St. Louis was better at his age. The Devils need to be patient.
I agree that he should be given more time, but I’m just saying the Devils can’t wait forever. Tedenby has a nice feed every once in a while, but more often then not, I see him holding the puck too long and eventually being ridden down to the ice by a defender he is trying to loop around or go through.
He has the skills to evade a defender and he has a flash of brilliance every now and then, but if he doesn’t learn when to get rid of the puck and/or where his linemates are on a consistent basis, he will never really be able to capitalize on the opportunities his stickhandling can create. So I agree that he should be given more time, but the more time that passes without any change will continue to dim my hopes for him to be a solid contributor. A little defense wouldn’t hurt either.
Status quo.
John, I’m not sure I agree with the sentiment you expressed in the article above that the Devils vastly outplayed the Flames. My impression was that neither team was very good. The Flames took advantage of putrid defense and goaltending in the first period to build a big lead, and then they sat back and tried not to give away the entire game at one time.
The Fenwick/Corsi numbers look great, but it seemed to me that the Flames were quite content to keep the puck to the outside and let the Devils pepper Kiprusoff with shots from the point or wide-angle tries, neither of which were likely to go in. Considering the Devils didn’t get any goals from all those attempts, it seems to me that this strategy worked to a significant degree.
….
Perhaps the 9:30 start time was an issue.
Normally, we’re well along the primrose path of our Third Period Follies by that hour. If you look at this game plus the Denver Debacle from the previous roadtrip…. maybe it’s something about the time of night.
The Devils also had a ton of scoring chances within those chances from the outside – on rebounds, on plays that were worked down low, and so forth.
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I don’t agree with it either. Also, I didn’t write this.
Flames threw the Devils down a deep hole in the first 20. Calgary didn’t have to press for more and so they didn’t for the most part. Devils dominated the puck for the rest of the game but that’s expected given Calgary just had to sit on the lead and hope Kiprusoff didn’t give it away. A team should cream their opposition in attempts if down several goals unless that team gave up after those scores. Small credit for that, but it’s hardly impressive in my eyes.
Regarding chances, the count at Flames Nation was 16-9 NJ, with most of that coming after 4 GA first period. Again, the horrid start compels a team to throw caution to the wind later, so it’s not something I’d boast.
I didn’t see the sixth GA, but GAs #2 and 4 were horrid. Open long distance shots like those should be easy stops – plain and simple. GA #1 was a screen, GA #3 was a 2-on-1 gone bad, and GA #5 was a bad bounce (though Hedberg was beat earlier on that shift).
Devils in my heart! Devils in my mind! Devils in my eyes! Devils until I die!
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by John Fischer on Jan 11, 2012 1:09 PM EST via Android app up reply actions
Chico blamed #6 on Clarkson falling down, but I thought Moose had a clear view of Iginla and could have stopped it. Or at least got a piece of it.
Then again, it was Iginlas 501st, so maybe I’m oversimplifying.
That goal was a killer though. At least at 5-3 we were in for a fun ending.
(I also had the misfortune of being at the Rag game with my Rag fan friend. What a terrible night.)
na-na-na-na HEY! You SUCK!!
Agreed on that goal being Moose’s fault. The puck was bouncing around five or six feet in front of him and he got beat badly through the five-hole. That’s certainly not a good look. Granted the D should clear the slot there, but you have to make Iginla beat you with a better shot than that.
Status quo.
Goal 1 was awful too, regardless of screen it went 5 hole, that’s not proper goaltending.
And Kovalchuk speeds away, great moves, busting through, DID YOU SEE THAT?
Proper goaltending means you can stop shots you don’t see? You do realize their human, they cannot see through flesh, bone, and material.
Devils in my heart! Devils in my mind! Devils in my eyes! Devils until I die!
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by John Fischer on Jan 11, 2012 4:35 PM EST via Android app up reply actions
That doesn’t go in if Marty is a butterfly goalie.
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Butterfly is a goaltending stance, screens still beat them because they’re not always going to be in stance while in motion or if they see a shot coming. Moreover, Brodeur’s never been a butterfly goalie.
Devils in my heart! Devils in my mind! Devils in my eyes! Devils until I die!
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by John Fischer on Jan 11, 2012 6:25 PM EST up reply actions
"However, the three goal lead the Devils surrendered in the first was the difference."
What game were you watching? The one I saw had them down 4-0 at the end of the first. A 3-0 deficit and they might have been able to salvage that game.
Well at least I wake up to find that Adam Henrique had his first Gordie Howe hat trick.
"Its the letter D"
by Rory B. Bellows on Jan 11, 2012 11:52 AM EST reply actions
So did Iginla.
Today’s Fun Fact™: Do you know Gordie Howe only had two “Gordie Howe hat tricks” in his entire career? Do you know the all-time leader in “Gordie Howe hat tricks” is Brendan Shanahan with 17?
Brendan Shanahan Hat Trick takes entirely too long to say (awesome facts though, is there a list somewhere?)
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by George E. Ays on Jan 11, 2012 4:29 PM EST up reply actions
I’m sure there’s a list somewhere, but this particular factoid I’ve gotten from hockey broadcasts. Not sure if it was a game I kept on in the background by way of the Centre Ice package, or something that was made mention of during an episode of NHLN’s On The Fly, but it wasn’t something I looked up.
One word to describe this loss: UGH!
"Don't mess with the Devil buddy, were number one, we beat anybody! WE'RE THE DEVILS! THE DEVILS!"-David Puddy

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