Some tidbits from Coach Sutter after last night’s debacle:

Responding to giving up 20 shots on goal in the first period: “It’s bulls—. It’s just unacceptable.”

“Am I surprised, I guess I am somewhat. Its a group that has to figure out the leadership experience and what kind of leadership should be in that room. This shouldn’t be happening. It has nothing to with anything outside of the fact that you just gotta want to have a little more than your opposition. It has nothing to do with systems, it has nothing to do with anything but strictly how motivated you are to have success. That’s what it comes down to. I’m disappointed in the whole group.”

“In the third period we played with a sense of urgency, played with desperation, but why didn’t we have that in the first two periods. I’m trying to stay positive, trying to stay positive but at some point you have to recognize that there’s some problems, some issues.”

“Am I pissed off? You’re god d— right I”m pissed off. I expect more from this group. That’s why they get into this comfort zone. They go through periods of time where everything’s great and they get into a comfort zone and it almost like they want to accept it. It’s unacceptable.”

“To me our play is not where it needs to be, and I don’t have answers because you sit there and you try different things and you don’t get a response. And at some point and time you have to recognize the stakes here. You can sit and say ‘Well, yeah a playoff spot.’  Big deal. Big playoff spot clinched, but you’re done in a week when the playoffs start. It’s not good enough, it’s not good enough for a group of guys in there that’s won championships, that are counted on to provide the leadership, counted on to provide the experience. It’s not good enough. We lost five in a row. How is that acceptable? What have we won on the road here recently? The road has a lot to do with jam, a lot to do with character, a lot to do with compete, and we haven’t had enough guys show any of that.”

“Don’t you want to finish second in your conference? Don’t you want have home ice advantage if you advance past the first round? Don’t you want to have pride in the fact that you have your game at the top of your level this time of year? You can’t turn a switch on. This group tried to turn a switch on last year. It didn’t work. You can say it’s a different group but the personnel a lot of it is the same, outside of three guys or four guys. A lot of the other guys are still the same.”

“I just think you get to a point where you sit there and go where is their commitment? Where is their compete level? How can a team dominate you like that in a first period. Look at the goals they had. The reason why you don’t have intelligence, the reason why certain things happen is because you’re not competing hard enough.”

Brent Sutter is King of Coach Speak most nights of the season. But Monday we got a rare glimpse of how much the Coach wants to win, and win with these players. Maybe some of his passion will translate back to the ice.

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David Clarkson grabbed Sean Avery by the jersey, threw him to the ice, picked him up and threw him down again. It was the perfect example of how the Devils’ frustrating lack of execution added to the calm superiority of the Rangers Monday night.
Clarkson left the game, and Avery spent two minute in the box for reasons no one can figure out, since he didn’t retaliate.
The box score reads roughing, but it should say, “Sean Avery- 2:00 (Bad Reputation).

In a 3-0 shelling, the Devils looked flat, lifeless and disinterested. Awesome way to head into the playoffs, guys.

Coach Brent Sutter swore up a storm during a post game interviewed, getting more animated than he’s been all season. Almost 2 minutes into answering a question, he all of the sudden raised the volume of his voice and said, for the first time, the team looked like they did at the end of last season, when a five-game skid translated into an early playoff exit. The team was trying to “flip a switch” to get into playoff mode. I didn’t work last year, and it won’t work this year.

Brandon Dubinsky scored on his own rebound 4 minutes into the second period of the game, and it felt like that would be the end of the Devils chances. The offense could not get anything together, making one-and-done offensive attempts and settling to clear the puck rather than push it. The power play was 0-2, 2-22 in the last six games, and by the end of the game it seemed unnecessary to exert the effort to keep the puck in the offensive zone.

I feel bad for the Devils fans that paid to see that game. There was no heart, no effort and despite a solid effort by Martin Brodeur, the Rangers flat out embarrassed the Devils. Two weeks from now, if these two teams meet again in the first round of the playoffs, expect the same result if the same effort is applied.

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The final installment of Devils vs. Rangers happens tonight at Madison Square Garden. I will be traveling there as a member of the visiting media (I know, such a long trip), taking in the first Brodeur vs. Avery meeting since Dallas rolled into town what feels like ages ago.

I’m not going to write about Sean Avery. I don’t think he deserves the word count.

More importantly than pests is the losing bug going around the leagues’ top teams. Detroit, San Jose and Boston all caught it earlier in the season, but just like the flu in kindergarten, the pandemic spreads. Can the Devils snap their four game losing streak in New York?

If not, it would be very difficult to leap frog over Washington to reclaim the second playoff spot in the East. And the difference between second and third is big: currently, the second seeded team will face the Rangers and the third seeded team will face the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Pens have been coming on strong since they fired Coach Therrien, and with the return of Gonchar and Co. from the injured reserve. Also, keeping home ice advantage as long as possible is key; the amount of traveling a team does during the playoffs has a direct influence on how a team fares, especially as a team goes deeper into the playoffs.

Some things to watch tonight:

• The power play has been abysmal (2-20 in last five games), so I’d be on the look out for a tweak here or there in the power play unit.
• Colin White is back in the lineup, and has been for the past two games, but I get the feeling that he’s going to make a difference tonight. He had his moments against Carolina (jawing all the way to the penalty box after defending Brodeur would be one), but tonight could be a breakout for him.
• The Devils lost in regulation for the first time this season when taking a lead into the third period on Saturday. How can you play 53 minutes of great hockey and let it all slip away in seven short minutes? Putting together a solid 60 minutes of hockey as concentrated as frozen grape juice is key.

I will check back from the world’s most famous arena (with the worlds worst hockey lighting) this evening. Ciao, hockey fans.

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It came to my attention this morning that every time I tried to type Patrik Elias, my computer changed his first name to Patrick. A big deal? No, but it still is a mistake that needs correcting. To those who have questioned my credibility for misspelling the first name of the team’s all-time leading scorer, I understand.  The mistake will not be made ever again. Cross my heart. Pinkie swear, even.

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First off, we’ve got a double Gio Tracker!

Gio Tracker!

Gio scored Tuesday night vs. Chicago, the game winning goal, shorthanded, on the record breaking assist from Patrik Elias. Phew. That was a biggie. Also, he scored Friday against Minnesota, a 4-0 shutout (number 101 for Martin). It was a tip in 10 minutes into the first period. This makes 16 wins in 18 games scored in, an 88.8% success rate for the Tracker.

In other news:

Colin White missed his fourth straight game Monday night in Philadelphia. White tweaked a “lower body injury” during the game against the Blackhawks, missing most of the game.

“I’ve been having a nagging injury, been sore for a week, just going to give it a day’s rest,” White said after the game against Chicago. The Devils have three days before their next game, at Chicago on Friday.

Brendan Shanahan and Patrik Elias have also missed time with unspecified injuries during the past few games, and with nine games remaining before the playoffs begin, I’m sure the Devils training staff is taking every precaution to ensure the team is healthy.

Back with more news and updates later this week.

Posted under News, Notes and Musings

As I missed the last four Devils games due to other commitments, I find myself looking at the calendar and thinking, “Where did the season go?”  Today, March 23rd, New Jersey’s schedule has NINE regular season games remaining. Nine. It is incredibly hard to believe that 73 games have already been played. And what a season it has been.

Despite this most recent slump (if you can even call it that), the boys in red and black are still fighting for second place in the Eastern Conference, and one more win will lock up a playoff berth. Martin Brodeur set the all-time wins record, despite missing four months. Patrik Elias set the club record for career points, with 702, a symbol of the long-lived success and loyalty belonging to the team.

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Posted under News, Notes and Musings

A “The Devils Made Me Do It” Exclusive:

As a member of the media, tonight is one of those nights you grow up dreaming about. Here you are, watching history being made, and it is your job to voice the emotion, the on-ice happenings, the aura of the event.

It is a heavy duty assigned, as you think about the writers and broadcasters who described the pictures of your favorite sporting moments as a youth.

With this in mind, I feel it’s appropriate to share a chat I had with a man who has voiced many historic moments in the NHL, as well as many not as famous but just important moments.

Here are a few of the things Mike “Doc” Emrick and I talked about a few weeks ago.

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