Thu 10 Jan 2008
Well the Devils sure got their mini-trip off to a great start, dropping Carolina flat on their faces with a 4-1 shellacking. Let’s take a look at some of the notable aspects of the game in true 2 Man Advantage fashion. Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you: The Awesome, The Not-So-Awesome, and The Downright Ridiculous of the Devils’ win.
Scared? You should be.
We’ll begin with The Awesome: The Devils Forecheck.
It was perhaps the most consistent part of the Devils game in which it seemed that almost everything they did was nearly perfect. Yes sir the Devils forecheck almost won the game on its own…if only there was a scoring column for that stat. The cycling and passing was the crispest I’ve seen all season long, and it kept the Hurricanes chasing the puck in their own end almost the entire night. Never has the Devils forecheck exemplified the aggressive style that Mr. Sutter has been cramming down our throats more than it did in tonight’s effort. If this type of style and effort keeps up, the Devils are going to become an even tougher team to play against.
The Not-So-Awesome: The Hurricanes’ Injured List.
So Carolina was missing a key player or two.
Or Nine.
RW Trevor Letowski, D Glen Wesley, LW Ray Whitney, and D Wade Brookbank all had a touch of that oh-so-lovely flu bug and were unable to dress for tonight.
As if that weren’t bad enough, Carolina was already struggling to deal without RW Justin Williams (knee), D Bret Hedican (knee), D David Tanabe (concussion), C Matt Cullen (concussion), and RW Scott Walker (knee). I don’t think I’ve ever seen an injured list that gargantuan at one time. Hurricanes GM Jim Rutherford may want to invest heavily in some Airborne and DonJoy stock! Yikes!
The Downright Ridiculous: Sergei Brylin’s hand-eye coordination.
Do I really have to say anything else?! C’mon, give it up. That goal was nothing short of friggin’ sweet!
This game had it all - the scrappy style, the playoff atmosphere, everything I expected it to be, which is a welcome turn of events considering what happened last time I anticipated a game.
Anyway. Bad Memories.
Tonight, the Devils put together one of their most thorough 60-minute efforts in recent memory, and in the process made the Hurricanes look like nothing more than a Tropical Storm.
And that’s what’s goin’ down.
January 11th, 2008 at 9:35 am
The game had some good intenity in certain places. Clarkson’s got to be smarter than that. And what’s with him falling down all the time? Is he just uncordinated? He’s playing well, but I do expect more.
The 4th line is on the verge of scoring a goal or two. They’re drawing penalties, checking, playing hard, playing smart (most of the time) but are also getting chances. I think that’s the key. If we can rotate 4 lines and have success doing that, it can only help our scoring lines, giving them some rest.
Interesting interview with Jannsen last night. Don’t know where he’ll fit into the line up when he comes back. His intensity is there, but I don’t see a need for him right now. We’re winning, playing well as a unit and not that Cam wouldn’t come in and add more of a spark, but is he necessary at this point?
January 11th, 2008 at 12:53 pm
I wonder if you would be interested in doing a little Hockey Around The Horn. I know Pat isn’t feeling too hot right now.
Chris
January 12th, 2008 at 12:05 pm
Falcone -
I agree 110% with what you say about rolling 4 solid lines. It’s something I started bringing up back when we did our season preview. It’s the first time since the ‘03 season that I can remember the Devs being a full-on 4-line-team. Although they (the 4th line) haven’t put much on the score sheet YET, they still pose a threat, which forces the other team to work that much harder every shift. The Devs are definitely a more dangerous team than people give them credit for.
- Joe