DING DING DING! Round 1 of Devils vs. Rangers about to begin.

No Sean Avery tonight, and a more cuddly, controlled verson of Andrew Peters to make an apperance tonight, so the fisticuffs may wait until later in the season, but the action is moving fast and furious from the opening whistle.

The Devils score less than two minutes in, when Jay Pandolfo controlled the puck off the boards and found Rob Niedermeyer in the right faceoff circle, and Niedermeyer one-timed it into the upper right corner of the net.

The Rangers took a timeout after the Devils earned another shot on goal, and immediately took a 2 minute interference penalty. The Devils look like a completely different team than Saturday’s version, and we’re only 2 minutes in.

The Rangers kill the penalty, but the momentum is still with the Devils. And our first look at Pikkarainen, the Devils biggest offseason acquisition, is in the penalty box. 2 min for hooking. Awesome. Brodeur makes a save on his right side to start the PK.

Michael Del Zotto, one of the youngins playing for the Rangers this season, scored on a wide open rebound from the left side of the ice off of a shot by Vinny Prospal.  First power play goal given up by the Devils this season, and second goal of the season for Del Zotto. FANTASY HOCKEY TIP: Pick up Del Zotto. Now. On an offensively-challenged squad, he may be the scoring leader sooner rather than later.

Devils kill a second penalty very aggressively, and in turn create a penalty on the Rangers. Time to see if the Devils power play is less anemic than its’ Saturday version. With one shot on goal in the fifrst 20 seconds, the answer is yes.

Just as I was telling my colleague Denis Gorman that I didn’t like the Devils new power play set up, with both Zajac and Clarkson crashing the net, Clarkson gets a pass from Parise down low, and makes a sweet backhand, no-look pass to Zajac on the right side of the net. Zajac threw the puck into the upper right hand corner of the net to regain the Devils’ lead.

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The smell of popcorn in Penn Station. The click-clack of heels on the press-row floor. The mischievous look on David Clarkson’s face as he dodges Sean Avery.

It’s good to be back.

I won’t say the Prudential Center is rocking, but a healthy preseason crowd gave a great ovation to Jaques Lemaire before the game, and rowdy boos to Sean Avery during. It does help when Avery picks up a double minor at the end of the first half, goalie interference and unsportsmanlike conduct (Really? Avery? Would’ve never guessed).

But while the league’s favorite villain (besides Rangers teammate Donald Brashear) is in mid-season form, the rest of the Blueshirts looked a little pathetic on offense.

Shanny looks great in number 14 again, despite it meaning Gionta is truly a Canadien.

The refs are in preseason form too, as I just saw one grab onto the goal post for dear life to Yann Danis left-hand side. Nothing like a freshly resurfaced sheet of ice.

You know this whole getting back into the rhythm of writing and watching and eating and such is harder than I expected. I totally just missed a fabulous fight between Mark Fraser and Aaron Voros. Fraser is a younger guy trying to earn a roster spot. Going toe-to-toe with Voros, a legitimately tough guy, should give him some attention. Fraser held his own.

Side note: This is my friend, colleague and neighbor Mike Ashmore. He covers the Trenton Devils for the Hunterdon County Democrat. Mike and I are usually quite good friends, but on Rangers-Devils games, I feel it is bad karma to carpool with him. I may not be green, but I’m definitely not Blue.

Back to the game, Clarkson just scored his second power-play goal of the night. The power of the Assistant Captaincy is with him.

 It seems that the Devils’ drills are paying off more than the Rangers skating. A Rangers beat writer told me that the Blueshirts used the first two days of training camp to skate in circles (or ovals, to be more precise). Brian Rolston told Bergen Record writer Tom Gulitti that the first few days of camp have been instructional and game-paced.

Also, Yann Danis has proven himself as a solid backup for Marty Brodeur. With 2 minutes to go in the second, he’s stopped all 20 shots faced, including several power play opportunities for the Rangers. He’ll be replaced by Jeff Frazee for the third period, but the first two have made a believer out of me (if the shutout he posted against the Devils last year while with the Islanders wasn’t enough).

End of second period, 2-0 Devils in the David Clarkson show.

By the way, for those on Twitter (and who’s not these days), I am tweeting @devsblog  any updates, random thoughts and shameless self promotion. I suggest if you are a fan of any of those three options, I suggest you follow my twitter @devsblog.

So, less than a minute into the third, Clarky already has another offensive opportunity, which begs the moral question; do you throw your hat onto the ice for a pre-season hat trick? Please leave your feedback in the comment box below!

For Boston University fans checking in tonight, Matt Gilroy scored his “first” professional goal 3;03 into the first period. The 25-year-old NCAA Championship hero has made an impression on the Rangers staff, and could likely make the team. He does have an age advantage over some of the other rookies in the chase for a roster spot. I would assume that with age comes maturity, but anyone who knows hockey players knows that’s not always the case.

I’d love to take the time to comment on the Devils’ youngsters, but other than Fraser’s fight, I haven’t really seen much of anything, good or bad. Bergfors has an assist, but I’d hardly call him one of the youngsters. He’s been on the cusp of making the big leagues for at least a season, and it is good that he’s taking advantage of the opportunity this time around. PL3 (Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond for some, PL3 for me) also had a terrific fight, this one against Brent Henley, but again, he’s had opportunity with the NHL-level Devils before.

Well, since it is preseason, I’m going to head to the bench early to save my typing fingers for the regular season. Again, welcome back, hockey fans. We’ve missed you.

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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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Announced at 12:14 today, Sean Avery is once again a New York Ranger.
A thorn in the Devils’ side for several years, Avery has completed his anger-management treatment as well as a stint with the Hartford Wolfpack and will be back with the Rangers later this week.
In related news, Rangers coach John Tortorella put two separate want ads in the paper today. The first was for a therapist specializing in troubled children, and the second was for a veteran hockey player with the patience of a saint. Tortorella can be reached at Madison Square Garden with any responses.

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First and most importantly, the return of the….

Gio Tracker!

Gio Tracker! Brian Gionta scored a shorthanded goal Friday night against the Atlanta Thrashers in “Revenge of the Worst Hockey Game Ever,” at 8:08 of the third period. The Devils won 5-1 infront of a very solid Kevin Weekes, raising the Gio Tracker stats to 11 wins in the 12 games that Gionta has scored a goal. The current GT winning percentage is: 91.7%. 

In other news, Colin White will not play tonight against the L.A. Kings after taking a shot to the left hand during last night’s win. He missed the second and third period, and it is possible that he may have a broken hand. Jay Leach skated during warm ups, indicating he may replace White in the line-up tonight.

Speaking of Leach, a Trenton Devils alum, another reminder to check out my interview with T-Devs beat reporter Mike Ashmore. Learn about the players like Leach who are trying to work their way up to the big game.

The Devils defeated the Kings in January, 5-1, in Los Angeles to begin a six-game road trip. Scott Clemmensen got win, and New Jersey scored three power play goals (Zajac, Elias, Rolston) in seven attempts.

While the Devils were crushing the Thrashers last night, the cross-Hudson rivals were also getting their rear ends handed to them. Dallas put a 10-2 beating on the Rangers, who were without Henrik Lundqvist, on a night where rumors were afloat that despised forward Sean Avery would be placed on waivers by the Stars and claimed by the Rangers. Personally, I find it disturbing that someone with so little respect for the game would get yet another chance, but it may work out for the best for the Devils. Avery is known as a locker room cancer, being a pest not just on the ice surface. The Rangers are struggling for offense, and Avery, who is completing anger management therapy, truly had only one tremendous goal scoring season.

Another concern for New York would be whose responsibility it would be to keep Avery in check. During his last stint with the Rangers, and partially while in Detroit, Brendan Shanahan was a calming influence on the volitile Avery. With Shanny now with the Devils, who will take that role? Chris Drury doesn’t seem like the type to want to deal with the drama… Is a mediocre player worth this much trouble?

Shanahan, on the other hand, has completely endeared himself to his teammates (as if he hadn’t already) by tussling with Eric Boulton of Atlanta in the first period. Mike Rupp was going to take the offense for a cross-check on Shanny, but the vet went to bat for himself. After watching Shanahan in his first few games with the Devils, you could tell he was looking to take on someone, and I’m glad he finally had the chance. If no one signed me for half the season and I was still an elite player, I’d want to hit someone, too.

Heard at the media dinner table before the game against L.A.: Trade rumors- Chris Pronger to the Devils? Brian Gionta to someone? Kevin Weekes to the Islanders? … Much speculation on the ration of time spent covering Alex Rodriguez’ steroid use versus the Devils’ success. Best guess is estimated to be 12 days of A-Rod, 5 minutes of Devils. Ah, the anonymity of the NHL.

Check out http://www.nysportsday.com for my game story on New Jersey vs. Los Angeles.

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