Tue 18 Mar 2008
Seventy-two grueling games in the books for the New Jersey Devils. After such they stand as the team to beat in the Eastern Conference. The final ten games for the horned ones will be the biggest all season long, as nine of those ten games will feature an Atlantic Division foe at the other end of the ice.
Never before have I seen less elbow room in the standings as we’ve all witne
ssed throughout the entire season. You could go to bed on Sunday night sitting on top of the conference, and awake Monday morning only to find yourself fighting for a playoff spot! If this is what the Salary Cap was supposed to bring to the NHL, then I like it!
The way I see it, the Devils need only to worry about one team — Pittsburgh. I know Montreal is hot on our heels and even Ottawa to a lesser extent, but it all comes down to the Division. If you don’t win that, you can’t take the conference anyway. Yes, the Pittsburgh Penguins are, for the better part of the next 3 weeks, our mortal enemies.
The Devils will square off with those very Penguins twice before the season’s end, both games combining for a home-and-home series on Tues., March 22nd & Sat., March 25th, respectively. There is no doubt in my mind that those two games will go a long way in determining the 2007-2008 Atlantic Division champion.
We’re in the stretch fun, folks - the final lap, the last hurrah - the final ten games are going to be a Royal Rumble the likes of which even our very own Scott Mackie has never witnessed. There isn’t much more to do but get those lucky underwear/facial hair combo’s ready, and hope that Johnny Oduya can carry us (end-to-end) to the promised land.
Wear your horns proud, my fellow Devils fans. This is going to be a war.
March 18th, 2008 at 2:22 pm
Ummm I think you mean “Wear your horns proud…”
Other than that, I completely agree with you about how exciting the last ten games will be, even though I’d much rather that the team be in a more comfortable position at the top. But then again, who would have thought they’d be in the top position after how well the first couple of months went this season?
March 18th, 2008 at 3:59 pm
This Atlantic showdown has only fueled my hatred for the Pens since “Mr. Endorsements” entered the league. Bring it on.
March 18th, 2008 at 5:38 pm
It’s hard to root for that overpaid team in New York but a win tonight against the Pens would be nice!
March 18th, 2008 at 6:49 pm
Speaking of beards, i cant wait to see Colin White’s playoff beard.. I remember 2 playoff seasons ago he had like a mustache, it was funny and made him look nothing like himself.
March 18th, 2008 at 8:22 pm
I hate to say it, but I’m still more concerned about the Rangers. At the time of this post, they’re up 5-2 on the Pens in the 3rd. If that says put, the Rangers will move to within 5 of the Devs w/ the Devs holding a game in hand. There are still 3 more games between the two before the season’s over and since the Devils can’t seem to beat the Rangers, it could very well be that the Rangers move 1 point ahead of the Devils with the Devils still holding the game in hand. Factor in 2 games against the Islanders, with whom the Devils have struggled all season (only 1 win out of 6), and this becomes a whole lot closer than it looks on the standings page.
March 18th, 2008 at 8:31 pm
i must admit, i’m scared crapless on how we’ll handle this stretch. hopefully we can keep a positive run, but its so tight right now that every win seems absolutely crucial…needless to say, the penguins must be stopped.
March 19th, 2008 at 2:38 pm
Mmm spell check…
Just kidding. Good stuff, Joe.
March 19th, 2008 at 3:48 pm
Speaking od funny playoff beards, anybody see Jamie Langenbrunner when he won the cup with Dallas? He looked like a Mexican outlaw!