Welcome one and all to the Prudential Center, home of the New Jersey Devils. Tonight’s opponent: the Washington Capitals.
A few things to note before the game thread begins:
1. Washington is undermanned this evening. It was announced yesterday that captain Chris Clark will be out of the lineup for the rest of the season with a wrist injury requiring surgery. Also, the Caps called up goalie Michal Neuvirth from AHL affiliate Hershey Bears. Glad he made the trip- some may recall earlier in the season when web guy Brett Leonhardt had to suit up for warmups when another called-up goalie didn’t make the trip.
2. Brendan Shanahan will play tonight. Shanny skipped morning skate this morning as a way to rest up a bit (he is 40, after all).
With those two important announcements out of the way, it’s time for some world-class hockey. If you’re so lucky as to get Versus from your cable provider, or CBC or NHL Center Ice, etc., the game is being televised tonight. So comb out those mullets, crack open the sixer of Molson Lites, and let’s play hockey!
First Period:
We’re getting the Versus feed here in the pressbox, and may I say, Keith Jones is looking mighty spiffy at the anchor desk this evening, especially considering Brian Engblom is sitting next to him…
Arlette is here to sing the national anthem. She doesn’t lip synch. And it gives me chills.
The super-hot line of Parise, Langenbrunner and Zajac are starting off tonight, with Oduya and Martin in front of Clemmensen in net. Parise just took the faceoff straight at Jose Theodore in net, and made several other great scoring chances. And all 10 people went “oooooh.”
3 minutes in, and the shots on goal are even 2-2. Washington is having a hard time setting up their offense. Just like they did against Pittsburgh, New Jersey is controlling the offensive zone.
4:17, New Jersey Penalty on bench for too many men, served by Dainius Zubrus. Not really where we need Zubbie to be, but I guess I rather have him serve it instead of any of our traditional penalty killers. Similarly to their even strength play, the Devs are controlling the puck.
As I write that, Mike Green took a cross-ice pass and put it past Clemmer at 5:58 for a 1-0 Washington lead. Ovechkin and Alexander Semin assisted on the play.
Again, similarly to the Pitt game on Friday, although the Devils are controlling the puck, the Capitals have an early lead. And now they’re going back on the power play as Jamie Langenbrunner heads to the sin bin for two minutes for hooking. New Jersey cannot afford to give up any more power play goals. The team’s penalty kill has been outstanding, until now….
8:12, Ovechkin passes to Brooks Laich in the crease, and Laich caught Clemmensen on the right side of the net and had an entire zip code of space to put the puck in.
Shanny, now with the Devils on the power play, just ripped a shot from the left point and Zubrus was able to deflect it, but Theodore was able to make the save. Drat. Double Drat.
With just under eight minutes left in the period, and the Caps up 2-0, the only thing you can hear is the refs yelling on the ice. David Clarkson just took a run at someone on the boards. If someone is going to get this crowd of 10, wait sorry, 13 - a few more butts are in the seats- crowd of 13 to cheer, it’ll have to be Clarkson at this point.
Brian Rolston ripped a shot from the right faceoff circle and Teddy made the save. Rolston still has a wicked shot, even though he’s playing on the newly-formed “gray” line with Shanahan and Madden.
Theodore is not playing rebounds well. If the Devils began to crash the net like they have all season, I bet they’ll be able to put something past Jose.
New Jersey is not playing like themselves tonight. I can’t be fatigue - they just had three days without a game. This is an important game against the Caps, who are currently one point ahead of them in the Eastern Conference standings. Come on, Devs! Wake Up!!
At 14:57, Langenbrunner took the puck up the right side of the ice and fired from about the same spot as Rolston with the same result. At the other end, Clemmer just stoned several shots. New Jersey is winning the shot battle, 9-7, but the results are what matter.
On a personal note, I despise Jose Theodore. For two reasons, one rational, one not. First, Theodore used the Colorado Avalanche to resucitate his dwindling career and dumped them on the side of the road which, leading to my second reason, is eerily similar to what he did to his baby mamma girlfriend when the tabloids were snapping photos of him and Paris Hilton heading into a hotel.
Number 82 just hit the left post, with a minute left in the first period. There may be a third goal added when the clock runs out, as the official may review another Capitals shot that went through Clemmer’s five hole and bounced against the left post and out. No goal was called, but if the tape is reviewed, the Devils may be in a bigger hole than they think….
The media PA announcer, Rich, just informed me that there will be a goal added. I’ll update at the beginning of the second period. End of One: Capitals 2 (maybe 3), Devils 0.
Second Period:
It’s so hard to be funny when your team is performing poorly. It’s so hard to watch when your team is performing poorly. And then I look at Brian Engblom’s haircut (a very ugly version of the fade), and it makes it all better. Not quite Melrose-esqe, but close.
Shanny pulled the most ice time in the first period with 7 minutes. Yay for being the elderstatesman.
No third goal in the first period, but it didn’t take long into the second for Washington to get it. 2:16, Boyd Gordon put a shot on goal, and it didn’t go, but Nylander was there to put in the rebound. Second assist to Eric Fehr. Ugh.
The Deivls look like they’re playing hot potato with the puck. No one is actually taking control. Sutter mixed up some of the lines, and frankly, it’s not working. The gray line of Madden, Rolston and Shanny is producing the most for the team, but it’s still not working right. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!
7 minutes in, Parise fed Zajac for a one time right in front of Teddy, and the save was made, but the shot seemed to breathe life back into the team and the crowd. There is still time!
8:02- “I Did It” by DMB blares over the loud speaker as Green gets called for hooking in the Devils offensive zone. Maybe the new-and-improved power play can lift the Devils.
3-on-5! Add #39 to the sin bin for holding. And Rolston rips a shot from the point that goes under Jose Theodore, making the score now 3-1. And the Devils still have over a minute and a half left on the second power play. Parise pushed the puck up to Elias at the blue line, and Elias shoved it over to Rolston. Rolston took a stride and a half to his right and then fired.
The Caps were able to kill off the second penalty, but the crowd is still buzzing. 3-1 is manageable. This we’ve learned very recently.
The Devils have done a very good job of using hitting to keep pucks inside the offensive zone. Rolston and Holik both made great hits to prevent a Cap from clearing the zone. It’s the little things, folks.
14:00, Capitals up 3-1. Elias has a break away with Gionta, pulls up and fires while Gionta crashes, but Elias broke his stick on the shot. Offense is really not going well tonight.
By the way, I believe I have jinxed the Gio Tracker - Brian has not scored since the official logo was created and posted. Let’s see if he can reverse the trend tonight. And so far, no word on whether Gio is trade bait or not. I may not get down to the bottom of this tonight, but I promise I will.
Clarkson has just replaced Shanny on the formerly-known-as-gray line. I’ll keep my eyes peeled for which line Shanny plays with for the rest of the game. OK, Shanny is back with Holik and Rupp.
This just in, Mike Rupp and the Fourth Line are playing intermission in the main concourse. Catch their latest hit, “Everybody Hurts (After I Crunch Them Into the Boards).”
Thank you, Brent, for taking my suggestion. If things get back to normal, I’ll take partial credit for suggesting the lines go back to normal.
17:58, Gio gets some great chances in front of the net. He’s really working hard in front of the net. You have to respect the smallest guy on the ice taking the beating in front of the net.
19:30: Clarkie gets called for hooking. Not what New Jersey needed. Paul Martin lost his stick on the PK, and still was able to clear the zone. He and the other defensemen work very hard, and are not recognized often. So, as we head to another break, here’s a raised imaginary Molson to you, Paul Martin.
End of two, Capitals 3-1, and they still have 1:30 left on the power play when we return.
Third Period:
There is some good news to report. First of all, Ovechkin has been quiet since the first period. He doesn’t have any shots on goal tonight. Any time he is in play, there is a chance of a Caps goal, so keeping him in check is key to any attempt at a comeback. Second, the third period has treated the Devils well the past few games, to say the least. Shanahan and Parise have the most ice time, which is good for the offense. They’re also out-hitting the Capitals 20-10, my favorite way to judge the tempo and control of a game.
He did it again. :41 seconds into the third period, short handed none-the-less, Langbrunner flew up the right wing, skated infront of Theodore, and put the puck in to the left of the goalie. 3-2 Caps, but possibly not for long. Jamie is ridiculous right now. Seven goals in four games. Wow. Zajac had the assist.
It’s very apparent as the lines have returned to normal that a certain comfort level was disrupted when Sutter switched up the lines earlier tonight. The fact that he recognized that and fixed it mid-game is a testiment to Sutter’s desire to win and put team above ego. He may give lousy press conference quotes, but he’s a darn good coach.
Quick stat update: Jamie is plus 20 for the season. Keep that man on the ice the entire third period, please.
The Devils have been completing some pretty shnazzy passes up and down the ice for the past few minutes, which is a departure from the past two periods. The offense has been creating great opportunities and keeping the pressure on Theodore. With just under 12 minutes left in the period, Gionta had a great shot from Theodore’s left that just cleared over the net. There is hope.
9:09 Mike Rupp just got called for interference, which is a questionable call. Rupp was tripped up crashing the net, and because he ran into Theodore, it’s going to cost the Devils another two penalty minutes. The NHL off ice officials are in the box behind my seat in the pressbox, and they even said the call should have been tripping against the Capitals.
10:59 Power play goal for Nylander, five hole. Just ripped it from the left corner. 4-2 Caps. The Caps are now 3 for 4 on the power play. What happened to the excellent PK for New Jersey? Maybe it is time to reinsert Pando into the line-up, since it seems the current unit can’t clear the zone. Nylander’s second tonight. Good teams get help from every player.
11:52 Donald Brashear just slammed into Clemmensen, putting NJ back on the PP. Can the Devs answer?
The answer, apparently, is no. Several shot attempts, but not enough bodies in the zone to keep the rebounds from passing the blue line.
Shanny just ripped three fantastic shots and a nice pass to Gionta in the last 20 seconds of the power play. Theodore is just on tonight, making some serious saves.
The Caps are up 4-2 with 3:47 left in the game. I don’t mean to be a quitter, but I’m going to admit, the winning streak is over. Also, I’m going to admit that I need to pack up my computer now if I”m going to make my train.
Thanks for reading, and even though I’m 0-2 on game threads, I hope you enjoyed it.
Posted under Game Threads
This post was written by Melinda Quasius on February 3, 2009
Tags: Anchor Desk, Array, Brendan Shanahan, Brian Engblom, Cable Provider, Caps, Captain Chris, Cbc, Comb, Crack, Dainius Zubrus, Faceoff, Game, Hershey, Important Announcements, Jose Theodore, Langenbrunner, Leonhardt, Lip Synch, National Anthem, New Jersey Devils, Nhl Center Ice, Offensive Zone, Opponent, Prudential, Prudential Center, Sixer, Warmups, Washington Capitals, Web Guy, Wrist Injury, Zajac
