Devils 3 Flames 2

Why is it that the Devils can beat one of the better teams in the league, the Flames, as well as their previous victories over Boston and San Jose and get smashed by the Islanders twice in a row?!

I am quite sleepy so I am going to make my observations brief.

-Marty Brodeur said in an interview that he doesn't feel 100% healthy. Besides the clunker on Long Island, he looks fine.

-The Parise-Zajac-Langenbrunner line still looks to be one of the most dangerous lines in the league. Zach Parise's goal summed up his work ethic.

-The Flames weren't at the top of their game. I thought Keenan threw in the towel by pulling Kiprosoff after the third Devils goal. McElhinney is 0-5-1 this year and had no business being in between the pipes when the Flames were only down by two goals with most of the third period to play.

-Patrik Elias had a good game although he didn't score any goals. He needs to SHOOT. The thing holding him back is his linemates. It seems that Dainius Zubrus has played himself off of the first line in favor of Brian Rolston. Rolston had one of his best games of the season. Brian Gionta was a non-factor and needs to step up to give that line the punch it needs to be a good second scoring line.

-The Devils have Phoenix on Thursday, Montreal on Saturday, Chicago next Tuesday, Carolina next Wednesday, and the Minnesota Wild next Friday. I believe that Marty will tie the record against Montreal and beat it at home against Chicago on St. Patty's Day.

-Quote me, the Devils will win the Eastern Conference this year. They even have a shot at the President's Trophy. The Boston Bruins are 6 points up on the Devils right now while the Devils have two games in hand.

-The Devils only have three division games left. They will play at the Garden and in Philadelphia before the month is over and in Pittsburgh in April.

-Havelid played better tonight than on the Island on Saturday. He and Salvador will get used to playing on the same line and will become a force on the blue line. Havelid got his first point as a Devil tonight assisting on Brian Rolston's goal.

-Flames out shot the Devils 37-31.

-The refs need to PUT THE WHISTLES AWAY. There were penalties called every two minutes!!!!

-Goals:

Zach Parise (39)
Brian Rolston (13)
Jamie Langenbrunner (22)

The Devils record against division opponents is:

Rangers: 3-2-0
Islanders: 4-2-0
Flyers: 3-1-1
Penguins: 3-2-0

13-7-1 against the Atlantic (3 games left)

Canadiens 3-0-0
Sabres 1-2-0
Maple Leafs 1-0-2
Senators 3-0-0
Bruins 2-1-0

10-3-2 against the Northeast (5 games left)

Capitals 2-2-0
Panthers 3-1-0
Hurricanes 0-1-0
Thrashers 3-1-0
Lightning 3-0-0

11-5-0 against the Southeast (4 games left)

Red Wings 0-1-0
Blue Jackets 1-0-0
Blues 1-0-0
Predators 1-0-0
Oilers 0-1-0
Flames 1-0-0
Avalanche 1-0-0
Canucks 1-0-0
Stars 1-1-0
Ducks 0-1-0
Kings 1-0-0
Sharks 1-0-0

9-4-0 against the West (4 games left)


The Devils are 8-1 in games decided in the 5 minute overtime.
The Devils are 5-2 in shootouts.

Gary Bettman?

I don't understand why the commish gets booed when he appears in front of NHL fans. He fought hard against the players union to put this system in place.

The fans flipped when the NHL was changing uniform systems to the RBK Edge. Now, I, and most fans, wouldn't want to see the previous uniforms on the ice. The current problem is the price of the RBK Edge jerseys. The Premier jerseys cost slightly under 200$ on NHL.com but have steamed on numbers and names. They look TERRIBLE. You want the authentic? It's close to 400$. That has to change.

The best thing about Bettman is what he did to this leage to create competition. In the East, the #5 team has 79 points. The #10 team has 73. The West is even closer. The #5 team in the West has 76 points and the #13 team has 67 points.

Speaking of the standings... I thought I'd take a minute to show what my ideal playoff matchups would be... (this has nothing to do with the current standings)

Bruins vs. Canadiens
Devils vs. Rangers
Flyers vs. Penguins
Senators vs. Leafs
Caps vs. Pens

Wings vs. Hawks
Flames vs. Oilers
Sharks vs. Stars
Flames vs. Canucks
Blue Jackets vs. Wings


What to watch for Wednesday:

Bolts vs. Sens = nothing to see here
Prediction= Sens 5 Bolts 1

Hawks vs. Canes = The Canes are hot. The Hawks need to solidify their stance in the West. They need to go on a tear come playoff time. Havlat is playing his first full-ish season in a while and he is a fantastic player. They have some great young talent. Goaltending will be the only issue on this team.
Prediction= Hawks 4 Canes 3

Canucks vs. Ducks= The Ducks are slipping from the playoff picture and the Canucks are one of the hottest teams in the league right now. The Ducks can do some damage if they come together as a team. Not likely in this game.
Prediction= Canucks 4 Ducks 1




Andrew Timoni
atimoni@vzw.blackberry.net