That's better! A win yay! When Florida scored first, I thought - oh no, here we go again! The guys played fairly well and were looking a bit more like the Devils of old. Still, when Carolina scored first, they fell apart. This time they held it together and matched Florida goal for goal until they went ahead on a power play in the third.
Speaking of power plays - this time the Devils managed to capture most of them, remaining disciplined and staying out of the box. It really looks like the referees are sticking to not evening up the penalties. I guess that's good, but it seems a little strange. I'm always waiting for the make-up penalty.
Robinson shuffled the lines around and seemed like it worked out well. I was very impressed with the 4th line of Marshall, Oliwa & Rheume - lots of good hard work and hustle from these 3. The other 3 lines clicked as well and the scoreboard showed it. I especially liked the Gomez-Gionta-Brylin line (Brylin is fast becoming one of my favorite players) Mogliny, Kozlov and Parise are meshing nicely too.
Lame-o between periods game this time was a dress up thing. Contestants had to put on parts of a hockey uniform at different stations, race to the next station put on another piece of gear, then after they were dressed they had to shoot a puck. Dumb.
I am glad the "Kiss Cam" has only made 1 appearance so far. I hope they trash this idea. I just find it really annoying. I mean, what if you are sitting with someone who is just a friend - or a sister/brother. What if your spouse had to work and you went to the game with a friend of the opposite sex. The crowd doesn't let up if the couple the camera person picked out doesn't kiss and some of the camera people keep the camera on the pair. If they don't kiss - take the hint and move on. I keep wanting to bring a sign that I can hold up if they ever pick my husband and me. It will say "Kiss ma grits!" (I know, I'm dating myself.)
I wasn't at the Pittsburgh game - it's a bit far! But way to go Devils on the 6-3 win!
My feelings on Saturday's game can be summed up in one word - disgusting! Mites on Ice looked more disciplined. The Devils better get on the ball and learn how to stop taking so many penalties. Larry Robinson said that they weren't going to play too many pre-season games so that they could practice and get used to the new rules. Doesn't seem to have worked.
I think they are really missing Neids and Scott Stevens. None of the defensemen have stepped up to fill their skates. I think Brodeur is really missing his defense core as well. He was brilliant in the first period of the Ranger game last Saturday, but I don't really think we are going to see performances like that from him game after game. He plays every game and I think that's too much to ask. Larry better get the boys on track or it will be a very long season.
The Devils also must have conducted a contest during the season off to see who could come up with the lamest between periods game. The one they had Saturday - racing sumos (2 guys dressed in blow-up sumo wrestler suits - really dumb) was the lamest so far. Makes me long for Scoro.
The Catch the Flying Money in a Box game is tolerable and I do hope they bring back the tricycle races - that was fun.
I hope I have better news to report after tonight.
Well we had another fun, but somewhat stress-ridden day at the Meadowlands.,
We haven't gone to many Devils - Ranger games over the past 10 years - mostly because I can't deal with the obnoxious Ranger fans . They get me very angry, and I often end up arguing with them - even though I know that I should ignore them because they are only doing it to get a rise out of the Devils fans. With their abysmal record over the last 8 years or so they have lost any bragging rights they may have had. The Devils are the dominant team in the NY Metropolitan area and have been for quite some time. They are 25-3-13 against the Blueshirts since 1997. Deal with it Ranger fans.
We had one of these jerks sitting behind us Saturday night - in a box no less. He kept shouting taunts at the Devil fans seated in the area and thankfully other than turning around to glare at him occasionally, we didn't take the bait. One of his taunts involved empty seats - a common Ranger fan jibe. The attendance was somewhere between 17,000 and 18,000 - considering that the garden only holds 18,200 - that would have been a sellout in their building.
People who go on about empty seats at the Meadowlands never stop to check that it is one of, if not the biggest capacity buildings in the league. It holds 19,040 ( I think they did that on purpose!) for hockey and the Devils average 16000 thereabouts each game - a sell out in many of the NHL arenas. So please can we lay that myth to rest.
Getting back to the game. The Devs were tired from the game against Philly on Friday night, and you could tell. The Rangers dominated the first and most of the second, but Brodeur (Marty's better!) came up big making 24 saves. The Devils did score on the 1 shot on goal they got in the first period to tie the score. Doesn't matter how many shots you take if they all go in!
The Devils must have gotten their second wind in the third period because they padded the shot tally with 17 while holding the Rangers to 6, and they evened up the score at the same time.
Some of the lights went out during the second period. I'm not sure what happened, but The Record said it was a weather-related power surge. Also the roof was leaking and water was dripping onto the ice, but we didn't notice that.
We'll be at the Carolina game on Saturday. More then ....
Well that was fun!
The very excited-to-be-back-at-a-hockey game, nearly sell-out crowd (18,101) lent a playoff atmosphere to this home opener. In a penalty-filled game (19), the Devils kicked Penquin butt big time. Marty B was sensational - hotter than the griddle in an all night dinner. He made awesome save after awesome save especially in the first period when a Devil was in the box 4 times and the Penguins took 17 scoreless shots at him. Way to go Marty!
All the hype was about Pittsburgh's new sensation, Crosby, but he didn't look so sensational last night, mustering only an assist on the Pens loan goal. Our own Zack Parise, on the other hand got his first NHL goal and an assist. Fans were quick to jump on the comparison chanting "Parise's better" midway through the third period.
So far I'm liking the "ignore the redline" rule, but I don't really care for all the others. The crack down on infractions which resulted in all these penalties, slowed the game down IMO. The Devils seem up to the task, if last night was any indication. I'm feeling more hopeful that they can do well without Stevens and Niedermeyer.
It was like old home week in section 111 and all the regulars were in rare form. The Devs introduced 2 new between period games. Guess the NHL decided Scoro was so old school.
I forget what they called the first, but it involved 2 fans tied together. The idea of the game was to shoot pucks into the net while your opponent tugged on the rope. Looked to me like an lawsuit waiting to happen. Even though the fans were wearing helmets, I can see someone getting hurt.
The second was kind of fun, but dumb at the same time. "Fan Bowling" involved 2 fans getting sling-shot into some inflatable bowling pins while seated on one of those saucer sleds. Strange - ya had to be there! Who thinks up these things, anyway.
Matt Murray the morning DJ from WDHA (my favorite radio station) is the new TV time out host. He gave away CD's and games in trivia contests and JumboTron games. He had the right amount of enthusiasm, but he has to learn how to pronounce the Devils' players names.
Well that's all for now - more after Saturday's match with our arch-rival Rangers.
Devils 5, Flyers 3
We went to the Devils vs Philly preseason game Friday night and all our section 111 regulars were there. It was like a family reunion! These guys don't usually go to preseason games, but like us, they were hockey starved.
This game was rougher than the Ranger game. The Devils took an early lead on a 1st period Malakov goal (from Gomez and Kaslov at 12:12) Malak and kept it. Guess Philly didn't like losing with their new high powered team even in the preseason. There were several fights - mostly between Oliwa and Brashear. Grant Marshall lost his battle big time.
Looked like Philly was out to get Parise. Poor guy got high sticked in the mouth twice. Like Gionta he seems to be tough and isn't going to let his size get in the way and the other guys were looking out for him. I'm not a big fan of fights, but sometimes they are necessary if the other teams goons are out to get one of your guys.
I thought the team looked better than the did against the Rangers. The power play still needs some work. They had a number of pp goals, but with the number of power plays they had, they should have had more.
If you haven't been to a game yet, be prepared for sticker shock at the refreshment stands. Four bucks for a bottle of water - not even spring water, just Aquafina purified tap water! Prices went up between Tuesday's game and Friday's game.
All fans attending the home opener (Oct 5th) will get a welcome back hat and a mini Stanley Cup.