First time poster today so if this avenue has been traveled before I do apologize....

So I realize that the (pre)game ritual of someone living in Nova Scotia has no affect on the outcome of a professional playoff hockey game being played outside of the country, however...I always put my jersey on a half hour before game time, red on home days, white on away. I open my first beverage ten minutes before the puck drops; I also go so far as to drink a local beverage with a red label on home game nights/days, and a local beverage with a white label on away nights/days. I won't have a snack until puck drop of the second period. I'll only use the washroom before a powerplay or intermission and every Devils goal all friends must yell "HEYYYY". When the game is done, the jersey goes over the back of the kitchen chair until next time or until the year's run has come to an end and they all go back into my "devil's den". While the wife thinks I'm a dummy she follows game night rules (with the snack one being an exception depending on when we had dinner).

I know there are other fans who follow rituals, so if you care to share them, I'm curious. Also how seriously do you take them. 1 being meh, if i remember and 10 being make me stray from my ritual and I'll sue. I'm putting myself at a strong 7.

I have tickets for sale for Game 4 in Section 215. I'm selling them for $180 per ticket. In light of the Devils No Blue Campaign (see here: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/devils-launch-no-blue-campaign-protect-home-ice-183926387.html), I am going to try to sell these tickets to Devils fans. I am posting them here as well as on the Devils Tickets Facebook Group so if interested please e-mail me at ecooper86@gmail.com.

I am planning on putting together a post over at my (rarely updated) blog dealing with some of the facts around shot blocking in the NHL today. Before then however I thought I'd share some statistics I was looking at. Some of them are interesting and some of the correlations are fascinating but here are some of the stats that specifically highlight the Devils..

1. The top three teams in shot blocking this season all missed the playoffs by significant margins. New York/B (1,364 blocked shots), Minnesota (1,347 blocked shots) and Montreal (1,341 blocked shots) were the best at this practice in the regular season and none of them came close to a playoff berth.

2. The bottom two teams in shot blocking this season are in the conference finals. They are the Los Angeles Kings (969 blocked shots) and the New Jersey Devils (928 blocked shots).

3. Blocked shots, unlike Hits, seems to be free of home-scorekeeper bias. Most teams numbers home/away are within 150 of each other with one glaring exception: the New Jersey Devils blocked 322 shots at home and 606, nearly double, on the road.

4. Of the top 10 players in the regular season at blocking shots, 7 of them played all 82 games in the season. I'm not sure if this is a chicken-or-egg situation where players who didn't play all season, such as Kevin Klein (151 blocks in 66 games) would have put up more blocks if they played more games. Still, it's evident that players are perfectly capable of blocking shots all season long without getting injured as Martin Brodeur may hope will happen.

5. Dan Girardi had 185 blocked shots in the regular season but was also credited with 61 giveaways, 19th overall among defenders. On the surface there may not appear to be a correlation but I think there actually is. If you look at the defenders who had a high number of giveaways and a low number of blocked shots, they're all offensive defenders. Erik Karlsson blocked 65 shots but gave up the puck 84 times (4th overall).If you remove him, along with Keith Yandle, Jake Gardiner, Drew Doughty and Dustin Byfuglien, then you can see a much more striking correlation between shot blocking and giveaways.

That's all I have for now. I'll update this post with a link to my blog once I get something more substantial posted later tonight. In the meantime I think it's worthwhile to have a separate discussion here about shot blocking as it's going to become a defining aspect of our series with the Rangers. I'm interested in if Devils fans think its good for the game or not. If they think its something more Devils should be trying to do or if we should leave that to less talented teams like Minnesota or Montreal.

One final point on that note: Marek Zidlicky blocked 58 shots this season. I don't have his split between MIN and NJD but that's only good enough for 6th on the Devils and 7th on the Wild. I have to believe that this was one of the issues that Zidlicky had with Coach Mike Yeo's philosophies. Kurtis Foster, for what it's worth, finished the season with 35 blocked shots.

After watching last night's game, I found myself shaking my head and quickly putting my coaching hat on. Therefore, I wanted share my thoughts and suggested adjustments for Game 2 vs. the Rangers.

There is no debating the fact that the Rangers are a superb team when it comes to blocking shots. They play a sound collapsing system in the defensive zone and have a stellar goaltender to prevent any mishaps. With that said, the Devils forecheck is one to be reckon with and they proved that against the Panthers and Flyers. The only problem is, the Rangers are a much different team than both the Panthers and Flyers. Furthermore, I'm going to breakdown my interpretation of the Devils' offensive strategies to date and the improvements that I deem necessary to come out with a victory.

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The is no question that Adam Larsson belongs in the NHL, but does he belong in the Eastern Conference Finals? Peter Harrold is fairly solid, yet not an exceptional player. He has a pretty fair amount of NHL experience but not much of an offensive threat. Who best serves the Devils for this critical series?

Larsson has sat out most of the playoffs and rightfully so. There is no time for a learning curve, and regardless of how good the coaching might be, they can't be out there on the ice. The few games Larsson has played he seems to be a step behind the play. This translates to a lack of aggressiveness, forwards were having to come into the corners to take on guys Larsson should of, but he wasn't there. Yes he has a good shot and he is learning with each game but do we really want a rookie of defense in the finals?

On the othe hand Harrold has been a solid decision maker, not flashy, but consistent. His years of experience are clearly evident. Harrold is by no measure a long term answer for the Devils, but in the short term starting him makes good sense. Yes, no, maybe?

I think a few on this blog are up in Albany. I'm working up there this week. If anyone wants to meet to watch, could be fun. I'm open to anywhere. I have been to the Recover Room, but my luck there is not so good.

Gotta support the team. This is the playoffs.

My fan post needs to be 75 words. So I'll just wrap up with Go Devils. Go Devils, Go Devils, Go.

Get ready Devils fans. Get ready to hear it. About what a joke franchise we are. We cant fill our building. We have no fans. How there is just no way we can beat the powerhouse Rangers.

I have heard this for years. But this year will be different. While watching the Capitals Rangers game 7, I thought like most fans, the Rangers would be waiting for us in round 3. That means a blueshirt invasion at the Rock. Loudmouth New Yorkers. They'll be drunk, there will be fights, and a massive media microscope on this series, as it is a bigger attraction then the WCF.

Winning in the playoff is great. Beating New York makes it epic, The same goes for losing. There is an extra pain to losing to your most hated rivals. Jeering and taunts. Not to mention we would have to potentially see a Rangers cup. Its like a solar eclipse. It comes around every 70 years or so, but when it does you hear about it.

How do the Devils win? Who needs to step up? After the jump well figure all this out.

Lets go

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From my understanding, the Devils official Twitter account tweeted out this past week that tickets to all of the possible Devils home games in the ECF were sold out in 10 minutes (@NHLDevils). The Devils sold out on May 10, which was the same day they went on sale. The Rangers/Capitals did not know if they would be advancing, so why would Rangers fans have already bought tickets to a game at the Pru Center before they even knew the Rangers were going to advance? However, it would not cross my mind that some of them did. So, this leads me to believe that mostly Devils fans are in possession of the tickets now. So, it's up to YOU to not sell them to your Rangers-fan co-workers or friends, even though they'd sell for some nice money.

Keep the Rock with as much red as you can. I understand there will be Rangers fans at the game but keep it close to the amount of Flyers fans that were at the Rock, which wasn't that many compared to how many showed up for the regular season games. This is the Devils first ECF since 2003 and the first one in the Rock. Make it a special event!

"Rec" this post so it appears on top of the Fan Post column for everybody to see!

A quick google search will tell you a lot about jinxes, but how can we not do it to our team? The Devils have battled hard all year for us, sometimes in a futile manner (read any anytime Cam Janssen or Eric Boulton were in the lineup), yet now they are in the Eastern Conference Finals. Hockey I s a team sport and the fans are no exception. Some fans may not be very superstitious, but I for one am. I haven't shave since April 12th. This is part of the playoff beard a great deal of fans grow. So, to get on with the point, how can you as a fan not Jinx your team? Read on for details.

Step 1: Playoff Beard. First off, if you have been shaving at this point, don't stop now. Do NOT try and jump on the bandwagon or the Devils failure will be your fault and yours alone. Don't Do it. The same can be said for those growing one. I personally have an interview for a new job this week. I will not shave for it. If questions about it are asked I will explain I normally am clean shaven and only grow it out for the NHL playoffs and don't shave it until my team loses no matter how patchy, thin, and pathetic it may be. Employers may find this endearing. If not....whatever, a Stanley Cup lives forever regardless of how homeless I am. On the other side of the spectrum, if you have been shaving, assume that your beard is bad luck and shaving it has helped kept us along our paths of awesomeness,

Step 2: I work nights, I don't get to watch may games live, when I do have a night off, I don't watch it live. I DVR that game and wait till it's over. Media black out every night. If you watch the games live, don't stop, vice versa. Do NOT change your routine no matter what. Game 9 stanley cup for whatever reason (you read right), you don't watch live if you haven't yet. If you change that routine and we lose, it's your fault. Also, You suck for doing it. Are you some sort of Rangers fan whose stadium is regularly filly with suits from out of town? Don't Change your routine,

Step 3: On that note, if you live in the area, go the damn game! I am an out of market fan (Omaha, NE) and if I could be at the Rock making noise I would. If I could go to MSG and fight some Rag's fans to disrupt the game I would, whatever it takes for a cup. My freedom is temporary, cups are forever. Do not sell your tickets, work triple shifts to buy road tix and take a train to Manhattan and help us steal a win away on the road. It will be worth it and we will petition to have your name put on the cup (probably).

Step 4: I wear my Kovalchuk jersey every game. It has not been washed in 6 months. This is not a standard laundering routine for me. Stick to whatever works for you, I don't care if it is a dress or a Tutu. What you wear every game should not change. It really does make a difference,

Step 5: I only smoke cigarettes between the 2nd and 3rd period. That is my particular routine when I watch. Do NOT, mix up yours if you smoke. If you take a break between every period continue to do so. I don't care if you're on a date with Brooklyn Decker, if you normally smoke between periods, continue to do so. The needs of the may outweigh those of the few. We need a cup. Also, the Rags suck. Their Fans Really do. Let's show them they aren't and committed as us.

Step 5: Whatever is working at this point, is what will continue to work, so don't change what is working,. I promise no matter how eclectic your routine is, there is a constant. Please follow it and don't Jinx the team! If you have further suggestions name them below!

Go Devils!

A couple of weeks ago, MikePelusoTears wrote a fanpost urging Devils fans to attend every playoff game they can. At the time, he noticed that there were many tickets still available. Although Ticketmaster appears to be sold out, Taking a look at Stubhub one can easily see that there are close to 3,000 tickets still available. for Game 3 and Game 4 against the already determined Rangers. You can bet your bottom dollar that Rangers fans will make their way into our arena; they have in the past and despite the price of tickets right now for the Prudential Center, they will always be more costly in MSG. Thus, like MikePelusoTears did back on April 10th, I am urging every and any Devils fan who is capable of attending these home games, to make every effort to rock the Rock. As Matt Ventolo pointed out in a recent thread (and something I can personally attest to for the games I have attended thus far in the playoffs), there has never been a more electric crowd at the Rock. The building has been intimidating for opponents and it's been quite evident.Let's keep this fantastic home advantage running against our most hated Rivals, the Rangers. Yes tickets are pricey, but it's the freaking Conference Finals - lets show the organization how proud we are of how far this team has gotten in the playoffs. We are one step away from the Stanley Cup! Let's do everything we can to show our support. I'll be at home game 2 (bought tix for home game 4 but that's no longer existent) , section 119, row 12 screaming my face off. I hope to see you guys there as well.