You’ve asked for it, and here it comes: An actual schedule of Live-capping goodness. It’s been a rough month in 2MA-land but here’s to getting back to some semblance of normalcy!

Wednesday, January 16th: NO live-cap. Preview and recap, however, are a go.

Friday, January 18th: LIVECAP! And a preview, of course!

Sunday, January 20th: LIVECAP! And again, a preview as well.

And of course there will be commentaries. And rants. Perhaps some news. Lots of cynicism, smarminess, and irreverence. Y’know, the usual 2MA fare. Stay tuned!

9:34 PM ET: So in the end they played pretty poorly early, picked it up in the end, and won 3-2. Madden left with an injury, the live-cap looked really bad and I lost a full bottle of beer to that jerk named gravity. But, the Devils come away with two points, sweep the mini-road trip, and head into the 15-of-18-at-home stretch on a winning note. Expect lots of the usual 2MA commentary, rants, and general shenanigans in the coming days! Goodnight!

9:31 PM ET: Shootout results:

Parise with a beautiful move on Miller, 1-0 Devils
Brodeur stones Kotalik, 1-0 Devils
Miller with a poke-sweep-check-thing on Gionta for the stop, 1-0 Devils
Brodeur with a glove save on Vanek, who is 0-3 against Marty this year. 1-0 Devils
Elias outwaits Miller and scores! Devils win the shootout, 2-0 and the game 3-2! Holy hell that’s impressive considering how bad they played through two periods.

9:30 PM ET: I wish arenas would stop using the cheesy western movie music for shootouts…

9:27 PM ET: Tallinder with a shot in the slot and a big stop by Brodeur! Wonky stuff late in the overtime and we’re going to yet another New Jersey/Buffalo shootout!

9:23 PM ET: Parise with a hard-working steal behind the Sabres net to feed Vish in the slot, who slaps it off a Sabre and into the mesh.

9:20 PM ET: And for the third time in three games against Buffalo, we’re going to overtime.

9:18 PM ET: Remember what I said about the defensive contributions before? Andy Greene picks up an assist on the Clarkson goal.

9:16 PM ET: Did I say gulp? I meant AWESOME! David Clarkson with that damned wrap-around and we’ve got a tie game!

9:15 PM ET: Gulp…our net is empty.

9:14 PM ET: Icing on the Sabres with just a touch under two minutes to go. If something’s gonna happen for the Devs it’s gotta happen now.

9:11 PM ET: Coming up on 4 minutes left and the Devils are still down 2-1…

9:06 PM ET: A couple of nice chances for Clarkson and Asham but they can’t bury the puck. Coming up the other way and Pominville hits the post behind Marty! I hope Marty’s buying his posts a nice bottle of wine tonight.

9:03 PM ET: Oh CRAP. Madden was injured on the last little flurry. Something with his ankle, a possible laceration, Ouch.

9:00 PM ET: Late little flurry in front of Miller and penalty time is up.

8:59 PM ET: Not a very good looking power play so far…less than a minute to go on the double-minor to Kotalik.

8:55 PM ET: Hey, it’s a Devils power play! High sticking on Kotalik, and Langs, being the true captain that he is, bleeds a little and it’ll be a double-minor.

8:52 PM ET: Penalty on Vish has been killed. Pretty quiet in Buffalo right now…

8:51 PM ET: Ryan Miller looks like Noel Gallagher of Oasis. Minus the unibrow.

8:49 PM ET: And we be back for period #3.

8:31 PM ET: And that’s the end of that. Two periods in the books and amazingly it’s a one-goal game. See ya in seventeen.

8:30 PM ET: Penalty to Vish for holding the stick in the defensive zone. 50 seconds left in the period and the Devils to the PK.

8:25 PM ET: If we can take nothing else from this game (and so far, we can take nothing else from this game), at least we can take solace in the fact that the defensemen are finally picking up goals and points in the last few games (Johnny Oduya had the primary assist on Martin’s goal).

8:20 PM ET: PAULIE MARTIN! Blast from the point bounces off Miller’s glove and in. An extra skater was on as a penalty was about to be called on Buffalo. 2-1 Buffalo now.

8:18 PM ET: If it seems like not much is going on in the game, you’re right. One penalty through one-and-three-quarter periods. Clarkson just rang a shot off Miller’s facemask. I’d make a Yo Momma’s So Ugly joke right now but I can’t think of one. I’m not a goalie, obviously, and I can’t react in 0.5 seconds.

8:14 PM ET: I guess it’s gonna be one of those nights for everyone. During the last TV time-out I went to get a slice of pizza and a beer from the kitchen and dropped the beer. Glass and alcohol everywhere. Hence the silence here for awhile. The beer is cleaned up, can the Devils do the same with their play…? Stay tuned to find out!

8:07 PM ET: Kaleta takes out Vishnevski when Vish lines up Kaleta for a huge hit. It really looked like Vish would clobber the slug, I have no idea how Vitaly wound up flat on his back.

8:02 PM ET: Marty beaten cleanly with a shot that rings off the right post. By rights this game should probably be 4-0 or 5-0. Nothing is going right for the boys in Red and Black tonight.

7:58 PM ET: Puck thrown at the net bounces into the crease but Colin White manages to clear it away from the Sabre with a wide-open net in front of him. Oh dear, this is not going the way it should.

7:57 PM ET: Game back on. Perhaps the Devils have opted to play this one?

7:53 PM ET: Okay, reading difficulties be damned, I’m not messing with the spacing and bolding of this cap anymore. I’m sick of working on it and you’re sick of reading about it. It’ll be fixed all nice and pretty with pictures and proper spacing after the game’s over. From now on, however, only talk of the game will occur!

7:39 PM ET: How do the Devils reaction to letting Paille score twice in the first period? Easy, let him walk in on a two-on-one with no resistance whatsoever! Luckily Paille takes the pass and fires wide.

7:37 PM ET: Devils are finally managing some offensive chances. Zajac with a blast that Miller catches a piece of, squibs through but someone not in goaltender getup manages to clear it from the crease.

7:36 PM ET: Zubrus with a great pass to Gio, but Gio is stipped of the puck right as he one-times it at the net. Dang.

7:29 PM ET: Daniel Paille with both Buffalo goals. This is annoying me. As is the look of this livecap. I’ll try to fix it between periods.

7:25 PM ET: Awful angle shot beats Marty. 2-0 Buffalo. There goes my prediction…

7:22 PM ET: Hooking is the call and the Devils to the PK.

7:18 PM ET: Okay the temporary solution to the spacing issue has been found but won’t be able to be implemented ’til longer stoppages in play. My apologies. It’s all Buffalo early. Meep.

7:11 PM ET: Goal counts.

7:09 PM ET: Uh…that’s not good. The puck takes a wonky bounce in front off a Sabre and/or Mike Mottau and into the Devils net. 1-0 Buffalo. They’re reviewing it.

7:08 PM ET: Game on. My apologies for the last of proper spacing, I’m working on rectifying that now.

7:02 PM ET: Third time in three weeks we’ll be playing Buffalo. I’m predicting a final score of 2-1 Devils in a shootout. Pattern recognition, y’see.

6:55 PM ET: OMG Livecap! Here it comes!

Boy is this getting to be redundant! Winning, however, isn’t. Good thing, too, because that seems to be all the Devils have done this year whenever they square off against their logo-confused conference rivals.

The Sabres had the misfortune of playing the first two against New Jersey at The Rock - a building the Devils have really made their own - posting a bowel-loosening 10-1-0 record in their last eleven home games. The first of the two games saw Buffalo take a 1-0 lead, and the Devils fighting back late in the contest to tie. The latter of the two games was a bit of a role reversal, with the Devils jumping out to an early 1-0 lead, and Buffalo tying the game in the waning minutes of the contest. One thing that was a constant: the Devils adding to the “W” column via the shootout both times.

Don’t get too certain, though, as the scene shifts a little more north tonight - HSBC Arena to be exact. The Devils will make their first trip to Buffalo since the closing months of the 2006-2007 campaign.

For the Sabres, Ryan Miller will return to the net after handing the workload to backup Jocelyn Thibault, resulting in a 3-2 loss at Ottawa to put the Sabres free-fall at eight straight losses. Buffalo has never lost nine consecutive games in the history of the franchise. Although not as bad as the Hurricanes, the injury bug has built a nest among the Sabres roster. Max Afinogenov (groin), Derek Roy (shoulder), and Tim Connolly (groin) are not expected to play. Jaroslav Spacek left Thursday’s contest at Ottawa in the 2nd period with back spasms and his status is unknown for tonight.

Nothing has been reported on the status of the Devils lineup for tonight. It is expected that the Devils will once again dress the same lineup that has been used for the games in Boston and Carolina.

Well, although it’s a familiar team the Devils will be facing, the points are just as huge as ever with the Penguins hot on their tail for the Atlantic Division lead. Only one measly point separates the two teams and has for over a week now. The Penguins are in action tonight at Atlanta. Devils included, four of the five Atlantic Division teams will be in action, making tonight’s battle in Buffalo almost a must-win for the Devils.

The concept is simple: stay on top of your game, stay on top of the Atlantic.

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.

Fresh off their second shootout victory over the Buffalo Sabres in less than two weeks, the Devils are back on the road again, this time storming into Carolina to take on the Hurricanes.

Up until only a few hours ago, I was not aware that this will be the first meeting between these two playoff-rivals in almost a full calendar year. Perhaps that’s the reason I am so juiced for this game? Or maybe it’s the fact that I just can’t stand the whiniest team in the league…either way, I’m amped!

The Hurricanes have been having some trouble on the back-end this season, giving up an average of three or more goals per game. That, my friends, is good enough to earn the Hurricanes one of the worst defensive percentages in the entire NHL. (Party on, Garth!) But, then again, that’s what a 76.4% PK will earn you.

As much as their woes on the blue line grow, they may have relieved some of the pain as they recently acquired Blackhawks-reject Sergei Samsonov off of re-entry waivers this past Tuesday. Samsonov is a bit of a gamble given his recent production and (lack of) work ethic - but I feel that surrounded by the veterans that Carolina has in their lineup, he may surprise a few people before the All-Star game.

As far as the Devils are concerned, tonight’s trip to Raleigh will be business as usual. Brent Sutter has openly stated that there will be no lineup changes from Tuesday’s victory over Buffalo. Karel Rachunek will miss another game due to a sore knankee. (knee+ankle…anyone?) Sheldon Brookbank will be a healthy scratch yet again, (no surprise there) and his brother Wade will not dress for Carolina due to a wicked flu bug - probably the same one that had me on my deathbed for about a week.
So much for that much-heralded Brookbank showdown we’ve all been waiting for!

It’s always a fun, scrappy game when these two get together so be sure to check back with 2MA after the final horn for a breakdown of what happened, what should’ve happened, and who should be traded as a result!

Enjoy!

Haliswho?

If you happened to tune into the Devils Saturday night loss to the Boston Bruins you may have noticed that Doc and Chico, our beloved commentators, didn’t spend much time talking about the game itself. This made Joe angry.

Much of their non-game coverage focused on Derian Hatcher’s decision to eat a piece of Travis Zajac, but once word trickled down that the NHL had decided not to take action against Hatcher, the conversation largely shifted to 19-year-old Matt Halischuk.

Who?

Well turns out this Toronto-born, Mississauga, ON raised sprite had recently become Canada’s hockey hero of the moment, scoring an overtime goal in the World Junior Championship Finals to propel Canada to their fourth consecutive gold medal.

It also turns out that Mr. Halischuk is a Devils draft pick, selected 117th overall in the 4th round of last year’s draft.

So who is this kid anyways? Well, as a little reporting work revealed, Halischuk has quietly been making a name for himself over the last year. Now in his second year playing for the Kitchener Rangers of the OHL, the young forward got off to a blistering start in the 2007-08 season, notching 12 goals and 29 assists for 41 points in only 23 games and recording a team best +13.

His scoring has trailed off a bit since then as he collected six assists over the next eight games to bring him to 47 points over 31. Still nothing to scoff at. Especially not combined with a strong World Juniors performance that saw him collect three goals and three assists over his seven games.

So what’s this guy’s future? It’s tough to say at this point, especially considering he was virtually unknown until, oh, about five days ago. Scouts have criticized his size, and rightfully so considering he fills out his 5′11″ frame with a meager 173 lbs. By contrast, Halischuck been praised for his energy, speed and scoring sense which he’s been able to use to overshadow his small stature thus far.

It’s also worth mentioning that we’ve had a few small players, ahem Zach Parise, Brian Gionta, who have done just
Hockey’s Future speculates that with two solid OHL seasons behind him, Halischuk might turn pro as early as next year. Considering the Devils like to baby their prospects though, my bet is we won’t see him in a regular season game for a few more years. Nonetheless though, this kid’s got me excited for the future.

David Conte might have found us another draft steal.

If there is one team the Devils wouldn’t mind facing-off with after their loss in Boston, it would be the Buffalo Sabres. Losers of their last six, the atomic slugs will invade The Rock searching for a rare win in New Jersey.

Despite their high-powered offense, the Sabres have only been able to muster ten goals over their last six games, which I previously mentioned were all losses. Although, the Devils haven’t exactly been lighting it up either, and the previous meeting between these two took a shootout to decide.

I smell a fun game a-brewin’!

Some good news for Devils fans - (well, some of you) Defenseman Karel Rachunek has been skating and although nothing is official until game time, he is a possibility to dress for tonight’s game. I for one would breathe a little easier should Karel return tonight, especially with a mini road-trip coming up with stops in Carolina and Buffalo (again?!). It would be nice to see him healthy and able to contribute when on the road, where it seems the team is most vulnerable.

I don’t expect any surprises between the pipes tonight - Ryan Miller figures to be in the paint for Buffalo, as he will most likely be looking at Martin Brodeur 200 feet opposite him. Both goaltenders tend to put on a show wherever they play, which was definitely the case back on December 28th, most notably in the skills competition shootout (Sorry, All-Star game on my mind!)

I leave you with some food for thought, courtesy of that relentless gopher, Tom Gulitti. He reports:

“Devils coach Brent Sutter went back to the lines he started Saturday’s game with, breaking up the fourth line of Arron Asham, Mike Rupp and David Clarkson that was so effective for the final two periods against Boston. Sutter was called into a long meeting after practice and was unavailable for comment.“

…Better watch your heads, the rumors will be flying pretty low over the next few days!

Blame the flu.

Alright, I have to admit… a minute detail of last night’s loss to Boston has been bothering me. It’s not exactly the score, a goal, or even a big hit that has me a little frustrated. It’s the mysterious Delay-of-Game penalty on “Dainius Zubrus“. (note quotation marks!)

You see, the penalty was not to Mr. Zubrus at all. The call, in fact, was a Delay of Game to Mr. Laser Beam himself, Kevin Weekes. You see, even with my rinky-dink 27″ analog television, I was able to see Weekes CLEARLY handle the puck in the restricted zone, at which point the official’s hand went up to signify the delayed penalty. It was obviously Dainius Zubrus who was given the honor of serving the minor penalty, as once again my P.O.S. television provided me a great shot of Brent Sutter mouthing “Zoobs!” - meaning he has chosen Zubrus to serve the minor.

Now, what really irks me is that that genius of a P.A. announcer in Boston actually announced the penalty as a minor TO Dainius Zubrus. Whether or not the official relayed the information to him that way, or he really is just a moron, is unknown to me.

Sigh. Doc and Chico were too busy rambling about something that had no relevance whatsoever to what was happening in the contest to notice.

For some reason, it really aggrivates me that the broadcasters AND the P.A. announcer were not in touch with the game at a crucial time. Hell, even NHL.com has Zubrus listed as receiving the minor on the box score, rather than serving it.

The first rule of broadcast? Pay Attention!

9:35 PM ET: That’s it for me tonight, Goodnight!

9:33 PM ET: A nice effort there in the third by the Devils, but in all honesty, the game’s 60 minutes long, not 20. Inconsistency through the first two periods doomed their game despite a heroic and dominating performance in the third. Bruins win in Boston, 4-3.

9:30 PM ET: MADDNESS at the end of the game as the buzzer sounds. Devils give it one last ditch effort but cant push it through a mess of bodies in the front of the net. Bruins win, but for good measure Chara and Gio go at it! Atta boy Gio!

9:29 PM ET: Thomas stops another onslaught from NJ. 30 seconds left.

9:27 PM ET: Let’s hope Weekes can skate to the bench for the extra attacker here. He looks sluggish. Bruins ice it back to the Devils zone with about a minute left.

9:24 PM ET: Weekes looks as though he may have hurt himself stretching to make a save on a quick chance by the Bs. Could be a groin. Trainer is out there, but Weeksie says he’ll stay.

9:22 PM ET: Good set up leads to little in the first minute of the powerplay. Bruins get a key clear.

9:19 PM ET: Powerplay for the Devils! The Bruins are on life-support here in the third as the Devils continue to bombard them from all angles. Zajac is taken down in front and draws 2.

9:18 PM ET: David Clarkson hearts wrap-arounds.

9:17 PM ET: The boys in red black and white are smothering the Bruins in the third. 15 shots to zilch so far in the third. 40-24 overall.

9:11 PM ET: Zajac drives in a great rebound from the slot off a point shot by Mike Mottau! 4-3! We’re still in this!

9:08 PM ET: So I have no idea why everything is suddenly bold, but it accurately reflects my anger over this game, so i’ll stick with it. Devils draw another PP on a hook by Savard.

9:02 PM ET: The good: Devils outshooting the Bruins 8-0 so far in the third. The bad: Asham takes a bad interference call. Bruins PP.

9:00 PM ET: Great PK by the by the Devils. Madden makes a crafty little move and gets a great shot on net that’s snapped up by Timmy Thomas.

8:58 PM ET: Gionta gets his stick up under a Bruin’s chin and that will give them a powerplay in a few seconds.

8:57 PM ET: Devils have come out fightin’ in the third. Thomas smothers a a point blank backhand from Parise on the powerplay.

8:55 PM ET: Clarkson draws a penalty as he’s taken down by Wideman. Devils powerplay!

8:53 PM ET: Back for the third with a strong shift by the Zubrus-Elias-Gionta line, strong enough to pique the interest of my cat, Noodle, who is now watching the TV attentively.

8:36 PM ET: That’s the end of the second folks. Get your rally caps on for the third!

8:34 PM ET: Le sigh. Savard tips a rebound up over Weekes on the very next play. 4-2.

8:33 PM ET: Evidently, the scorekeepers don’t think it’s possible that Oduya could have scored. Understandable. Asham has credit for it at the moment. Nonetheless, 3-2.

8:31 PM ET: Good God. I think Johnny Oduya may have just scored a goal. There may be hope after all. Asham seems to think it’s his but it appears Oduya’s shot from the point deflected off Chara’s leg and in.

8:29 PM ET: Laser Beam! Weekes makes a beauty of the save on a 2-1 by the Bruins. Gionta takes it the other way and nearly gets one by Thomas as he breaks in on the side.

8:27 PM ET: Kind of ho-hum action here late in the 2nd. Bruins not giving the Devils much.

8:21 PM ET: Even though he hasn’t beat up Chara yet, Gionta has really started to pick up his game here in the second half of the period. He’s created the most promising opportunities so far by zipping around the ice.

8:17 PM ET: Devils starting to show some life now, throwing their bodies around. Zubrus can’t get a handle on a great chance in the slot fed from Gionta.

8:12 PM ET: Wow, this ain’t pretty. Martin coughs it up right to Savard deep in the zone. Great save by Weekes to save the play though.

8:08 PM ET: I think the problem is that Gionta hasn’t had his regular David and Goliath scrap with Chara yet. Step it up Gio! Jump on that giant’s back!

8:05 PM ET: Penalty killed, though the Bruins get some good chances.

8:02 PM ET: No such luck. The Devils look lifeless to start the period and Zubrus takes a delay of game penalty, though for what exactly I’m not sure.

8:01 PM ET: And we’re back. Let’s hope the boys can make some use of the last minute of this powerplay and wipe away a bit of the bad taste from the end of last period.

7:44 PM ET: Period over, back in a bit.

7:43 PM ET: Holy crap. That was miserable. 3-1. Every aspect of the Devils game managed to fail right there as a bad pass gets past Oduya and Marco Sturm picks it up on a breakaway, misses, gets his own freakin’ rebound and manages to push it past Weekes with 0.6 seconds left. Wonderful.

7:42 PM ET: Powerplay! Slashing on Bigfoot.

7:40 PM ET: No good. Dennis Wideman floats a heavily screened shot past Weekes. 2-1.

7:37 PM ET: In case you’re watching tonight’s game on television you may notice there’s a hockey game going on in between FSN-NY’s round-the-clock coverage of Bitegate 2008: The Derian Hatcher Story.

7:35 PM ET: I wonder how many comical references to Chara’s height Doc and Chico utter in a Devs-Bruins game. My count is four so far.

7:32 PM ET: The crowd at the Garden wakes up as P.J. Axelsson throws one off of Colin White’s stick and past Weekes. 1-1. Bootastic.

7:30 PM ET: Martin and Elias continue their strong play tonight as a nice one-timer setup between the two gets stopped by Thomas. Maybe Elias has finally stopped moping about not being captain.

7:23 PM ET: Laser beam Weekes makes his first prominent appearance of the evening, making a big stop on a Boston 3-2. Pretty lukewarm action on both side so far despite Zubs’ goal.

7:19 PM ET: Chico takes a moment during some down time to ponder if he’d chomp down on someone’s finger a la Mr. Hatcher. Awesome.

7:16 PM ET: Alright apparently it wasn’t as close a call as I expected! Goal #7 for Dainius Zubrus!

7:14 PM ET: Woo! We may or may not have a goal here as Zubs whacks in a rebound high off Thomas. Close call on the high stick.

7:09 PM ET: Clarkson and Bigfoot himself Zdeno Chara apparently scrapped off screen there for a moment. Maybe we’ll see some hideously mismatched fisticuffs before long. Pray for Clarkson’s face.

7:07 PM ET: And we’re underway!

6:51 PM ET: I’m actually picking up the game on HD for the first time tonight which is the most exciting development in my Devils life in recent memory. I could totally see Lou’s liver-spotted head with complete clarity while he was talking about Derian Hatcher’s overactive appetite.

6:48 PM ET: Hey everyone, the live-cap makes its triumphant return tonight courtesy of yours truly after a long break. Thanks for sticking with us through the holidays, which have been extended considering no less than half of the staff has fallen victim to the new year’s flu.