Devils Dodge Habs - Win 3-1

by Matthew Ventolo on Feb 19, 2012 9:58 PM EST in Devils Game Recaps

I had a number of titles but just kept it simple. I do want to share the others with you:

Devils Day In Canada. Marty Owns Montreal Once Again. Devils Move to 4th in East with Win. Let's hear some of yours.

For the late after nationally televised game for Hockey Day In America, the NHL saw the New Jersey Devils dominate then withstand the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre. They used good passing and a strong forecheck to combat the Habs speed and sleekness. When the Devils play this close to mistake-free hockey in many situations and positions - it's tough to beat them. Tonight was just that.

The Devils were able to conclude the first two periods with goals. At the end of the first, it was a set play that featured Adam Henrique winning the offensive zone face-off - Ilya Kovalchuk shooting after gathering the puck - and Zach Parise going to the net and deflecting the puck passed Carey Price. This line quickly got off to an impressive start - eating up offensive time and getting rewarded with a goal.

At the end of the second, Patrik Elias skated in a huge circle to create his own shot. Once he was in position in the high slot, he wristed one towards the net. David Clarkson was skating through the slot and the puck hit his elbow and deflected in the net.

The third saw your typical Devils at this part of the game. Getting hammered with shots, letting up a goal down a man, and letting the opposing team get back into the game after 40 minutes of great hockey. Yet this time, the Devils and Matt Taormina answered back with a dagger. The defenseman's one time slap shot squeezed through two players in front of Price who didn't see a thing. It was 3-1, and that's the way it ended.

Marty and Co. were very good throughout the whole game. They were good at their one-on-one battles, their positioning, clearing rebounds and loose pucks around the net. Marty was very active playing the 3rd defenseman role, even poke checking a couple pucks away from some Habs. Montreal didn't give up and even pulled Price with just under 2 minutes to play. But the Devils were not in the mood to let up a late goal.

Peter DeBoer has been quoted many times about wanting his team to play "at another level" since coming back from the All-Star Break. They are now 8-1-1 since then. They are now 4th in the Eastern Conference with 72 points (tied with Boston for 2nd most points in the East). Whatever level the Devils are on, it's a good one. It's good to be a Devils fan.

I have a few bullet points on the game after the jump.

NHL Video Highlights:

The Devils were up 1-0, 2-0, 2-1, 3-1. Yet, they were able to out-shoot the Canadiens 25-22 at even strength. Shots were 12-4 after 1. The Habs didn't register a shot from 1:44 to 19:23. That's insane. The Devils had 8 blocked shots in that period - including 9 by Anton Volchenkov. He even had a face block. He got stitched up and returned. The Devils had 33 blocked shots in the game! Andy Greene also had 9 blocks, Peter Harrold had 5 as well. Total attempts were 51-67 Montreal. When 2/3 of your shots don't hit the net, it's tough to win - that was the case for Montreal tonight.
At even strength Corsi - the Devils managed a solid minus-1. With all the blocks Montreal had, they were +10 in Fenwick. Great considering they led for over 40 minutes of the game. Andy Greene was a team high +9 Corsi. Fayne was +4. The 2nd line was best at +8, +8, +7 for Clarkson, Petr Sykora, and Elias respectively. The top line was very active tonight, but suffered a Corsi hit in the minus-8 to 10 range. The 3rd and 4th lines were solid hovering around even 0.
The Peter Harrold - Matt Taormina pair scared the hell out me going into this game. They surprised me and played very well. Tao registered 5 shots on goal on 6 attempts and 2 blocks. He played 18:50, getting a short shift on the PK (Volchenkov was in the box). Harrold had 2 shots on goal on 3 attempts and as I said 5 blocks in 19:53 on TOI. They were moving the puck well (except for Taormina's one bad pass) and played solid defensively.
Marty was awesome once again. He was able to see pucks with bodies in front of him, control his rebounds so his defensemen can get to the puck. He continues to be hot. The goal against was on the PK and it was the one loose puck the Devils had no chance to clear. Max Pacioretty scored early in the 3rd period. The Devils did commit 3 penalties, one in each period. Yet they didn't draw any. I'd wonder how this game could have gone if they had a powerplay or two. It's not evens, and it's not the most deadly shorthanded group (Henrique, Parise and Kovy rank 1,2,3 in shorthanded points in the NHL), but they need to get powerplay opportunities. Tonight they used other things to win, but the powerplay is going to become important as the season comes to its climax.

That's all I have on tonight's game. Hope everyone enjoyed Hockey Day In America and the Devils win. What's your thoughts on the game? Let us know in the comments. Thanks for reading.

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Devils D

I think they played outstanding tonight, Blocking shots and tying up sticks. I also think Tao and Harrold played a great game. Good to see Tao get his first goal this season

by kovyissexy on Feb 19, 2012 10:11 PM EST reply actions

I will update it later but Salvador was ill and didn’t play the 3rd. That’s probably why Harrold and Taormina got so much time. But they stepped up when given a big opportunity – to hold a lead in the 3rd period.

Greene played 26:33 minutes. Fayne played 21:37. Volchenkov played 20:19.

In Lou We Trust: SBN Blog of the New Jersey Devils

by Matthew Ventolo on Feb 19, 2012 10:31 PM EST reply actions

over 10 years

For the first time since January 20, 2001, the Canadiens didn’t take a penalty.

by Devils_from_Seattle on Feb 19, 2012 10:45 PM EST reply actions

Slew foot?

I thought i saw the habs do at least a few?

by kovyissexy on Feb 19, 2012 10:56 PM EST reply actions

I saw at least one that could have been called, NBCSN even showed the replay and mentioned it.

P.S., sweet name :P

Deadspin
The NJ Devils -- Jersey's Team

by NJallDay on Feb 20, 2012 12:00 AM EST up reply actions

haha thanks

by kovyissexy on Feb 20, 2012 12:05 AM EST up reply actions

and yeah i saw that once NBCSN saw and I thought I saw kovy get slew footed along the boards in the 2nd

by kovyissexy on Feb 20, 2012 12:09 AM EST up reply actions

I remember thinking something like that but didn’t get to see the replay.

In general I thought the Habs were very…handsy…some clutch and grab stuff that they got away with.

by dr(d)evil on Feb 20, 2012 2:24 AM EST up reply actions

Ryan White got away with one on Elias in the second period. That was even replayed in slow motion by the NBCSN people before a commercial break.

Devils in my heart! Devils in my mind! Devils in my eyes! Devils until I die!
In Lou We Trust - The New Jersey Devils SBN Blog

by John Fischer on Feb 20, 2012 1:19 PM EST up reply actions

Devils Day in Canada

That has a nice ring to it!

Deadspin
The NJ Devils -- Jersey's Team

by NJallDay on Feb 20, 2012 12:00 AM EST reply actions

4th and tied with Boston in points

by NJDOhio on Feb 20, 2012 12:17 AM EST reply actions

And with our #1 Center, Tallinder, and Larsson out, I think you could say we havent even seen what this group is entirely capable of yet. Im excited.

by JoeyV on Feb 20, 2012 12:22 AM EST up reply actions

tied for 2nd in points in the east. I think we may have a shot at it this year. A serious contender

by kovyissexy on Feb 20, 2012 12:23 AM EST up reply actions

…and still closer to missing the playoffs than #1 in the conference. Crazy!

by otamamij on Feb 20, 2012 9:08 AM EST up reply actions

Every few days I check the standings, wondering who the post-season matchup will be (knock wood). I’m more concerned abt that than the standings, though 4th/ home advantage would be great.

But, I understand the focus on it too. The Devils are tied for 2nd in points in the conference. And last year was just a hiccup.

by Alan Wright on Feb 20, 2012 12:37 AM EST via mobile up reply actions

I do the same...

and am convinced the best finish would be the 6 seed because #1 is unreachable without a total NYR collapse

by otamamij on Feb 20, 2012 9:08 AM EST up reply actions

They still play the Rangers three more times. Its not totally out of the question.

by NJDOhio on Feb 20, 2012 9:48 AM EST up reply actions

Id also like to see Harrold get another shot. He played well and could be an upgrade over foster…minus the PP

by kovyissexy on Feb 20, 2012 12:25 AM EST reply actions

19:53 TOI and 2 shoots. Even

by kovyissexy on Feb 20, 2012 12:33 AM EST up reply actions

Marty is the king of Montreal. Will that be his last game there? It’s too soon to tell. But, he showed again that he can bear the brunt of an late onslaught and keep his team’s spirits up.

Habs fans can be petulant about their squad, but they showed real sportsmanship to cheer Halak on his return a few weeks ago, even though he shut them out and their guys were inept. Pretty soon they won’t have MB to cheer on anymore.

Neither will we.

by Alan Wright on Feb 20, 2012 12:32 AM EST via mobile reply actions

Not the Devils’ best game, but the Habs were far from sharp enough to capitalize on the Devils’ mistakes. All in all, have to be pleased considering how thin the D is getting stretched now.

Can’t wait to have Larsson and Tallinder back. The team’s good play without some key cogs can’t help but make you think optimistically, but as I wonder about the Devils being able to contend in the playoffs (they still have to demonstrate better puck possession with the lead and a better goal differential) it’s making me rethink some of my statements about trading for defensive depth.

If you think the team can contend and make the assumption that 3 Devils defensemen will be down at some point during the playoffs, you’re thrusting guys like Foster, Harrold and Urbom into regular playing time, which is not where you want your contender to be (Taormina I’m reasonably comfortable with).

That said, Sal just has a stomach bug, Larsson just needs some time to heal, and Tallinder has a treatable medical condition – and none of them are out with season-ending injuries…I guess I still wouldn’t go chasing another defenseman at cost of valuable draft picks in a season I don’t think this team is a real contender, but I wouldn’t want to regret that decision come playoff time.

by dr(d)evil on Feb 20, 2012 2:37 AM EST reply actions

Defense

Really was impressed by Peter Harrold tonight. Thought he was very steady and made good decisions. Kept it simple and cleared the puck out of the defensive zone. Great to see Taormina finally get on rhe board. His defense was good too. Hope Brodeur can keep this up. He has been awesome lately and it looks like he is finally healthy again.

Denterre

by denterre on Feb 20, 2012 4:38 AM EST reply actions

I thought the Devils played a solid game. The defense was much better against Montreal than they were against Anaheim. I think Andy Greene played his best game since his injury on defense; I was impressed at how he reacted all game long. The Devils got in front of a ton of shots, thankfully they didn’t end up going to a dangerous position or anything like that. They only struggled with some of their clearances, in which it didn’t go up the boards (dumb) or a Canadien just blocked it at the blueline. The Devils were pinned back in their own end a handful of times for quite a while and were fortunate they escaped everytime. It wasn’t constant enough to make me feel really concerned, but it was enough to be notable.

Brodeur was fantastic as usual; and he didn’t have to make as many amazing saves as he did against Anaheim. I feel a bit bad for Price since he got beat off a deflection, a fluke of a deflection, and a screen where Taormina’s shot just snuck in between Bernier and his defenders’ bodies. Offensively, I felt Devils were OK. They kept Montreal honest with the lead, they extended it, and they didn’t completely sell out the offense. Overall, it was a good performance and I think the Devils earned this 3-1 win.

Devils in my heart! Devils in my mind! Devils in my eyes! Devils until I die!
In Lou We Trust - The New Jersey Devils SBN Blog

by John Fischer on Feb 20, 2012 1:25 PM EST reply actions

Good win for the devils. I was very impressed with greenes play and surprisingly happy with the play of harrold. I think he deserves another game after that performance especially considering what a disaster foster is. Marty was stellar as usual and the first line delivers again. I’m really enjoying watching this team come together, the chemistry seems tight and the guys are playing hard for each other and their coach. I believe that if we get our injured bodies back to full strength we can hang with anyone in the division. Additions of Poni and bernier

by Houner on Feb 21, 2012 12:10 AM EST via mobile reply actions