10:38 PM: My stomach feels MUCH better now.  Next game is Tuesday, Devils lead the series 2-1.  Goodnight everyone!

10:34 PM: Devils lead the series 2-1, and hot damn that was huge.

10:32 PM: Devils FINALLY beat the Hurricanes in Carolina, and in overtime!  3-2 the final score.

10:31 PM: YESSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!  TRAVIS ZAJAC ON A REBOUND!!!!  DEVILS WIN!!!

10:30 PM: Overtime is not the time to try a move with a 0% success rate, David Clarkson.

10:29 PM: The key to winning in overtime is NOT PLAYING ALL OF IT IN YOUR OWN ZONE!

10:27 PM: Zach tries a fancypants move to Rolston from behind the net.  Didn’t work.

10:26 PM: The linesman takes a spill.  I’d laugh if I was physically able to at the moment.

10:24 PM: Welp, here we go.  It looks like Johnny Oduya’s playoff beard has filled in even more over the course of this game.

10:09 PM: And we’re going to overtime.  Again.  Christ.  I need another beer and something to calm my stomach.  Be back in another seventeen gang.

10:08 PM: We’re spending too damn much time defending.  I don’t like this.  Overtime might be a blessing, despite the fact that this team can’t seem to play overtime in the playoffs ever.

10:07 PM: One minute left in the third…I need a Tums…

10:06 PM: Carolina fans cry for a penalty when no infraction occured.  No wonder they got the most power plays in the league, the refs probably got sick of hearing the fans whine every time one of their players fell.

10:04 PM: My feed just freak out.  We were deep in the Carolina zone when it sputtered out, and when it returned 15 seconds later, we were deep in our own zone.  Never do that again, MSG+ feed.

10:03 PM: Oh jebus.  Loose puck in the crease but Marty’s got it.  Four minutes left in regulation.

10:00 PM: Big giveaway by the Canes in the offensive zone gives Patty Elias about a year to set up and shoot the puck, and it winds up being blocked.  Dammit.

9:58 PM: I’d really prefer that we try to win this game in regulation…

9:55 PM: Timeout, Devils.  Icing on the Devils, so it makes sense.  Neither Chico nor Canjo notice this, though, and they are a little confused as to why they took the timeout so early.

9:54 PM: Playoff hockey makes me sick to my stomach.

9:52 PM: Nine minutes left.

9:48 PM: Penalty killed.  Phew.

9:46 PM: Well, at least the ‘Canes look as bad on the PP right now as we have all night…

9:44 PM: Oh come on now.  Colin White gets called for a roughing penalty after the play, but only after the Hurricanes fans cry about it.  That’s weak.

9:42 PM: Thirteen minutes left in the third.

9:39 PM: Since I’m drinking Irish beer, I’d really like to see Brendan Shanahan score tonight.

9:37 PM: Ahhhh, a new wrinkle in the Clarkaround – he isn’t physically on the ice at all, but rather inhabits the body of Dainius Zubrus!  Still nothing doing, of course, but it’s nice to see Clarkson try something new.

9:36 PM: Bobby Holik just took a shift, without taking a bad penalty.  YAY BOBBY!

9:34 PM: Mmmmm, Harp Lager.  What can I say, I LiveCap better with a slight buzz.

9:32 PM: Third period on, 1:10 to go in four-on-four, and Parise/Elias on the ice up front.  Memories of overtimes past…

9:13 PM: And that’s the end of two and more scrummy stuff to end the period.  Score is tied at two, go grab yerself a sammich, this third period’s gonna be fun on a bun.

9:11 PM: Marty and Staal getting pissy with each other.  Staal gets called for cross-checking, Marty for roughing, and now we’re at 4-on-4 with 36 seconds left in the period.

9:08 PM: And the power play is once again over.

9:07 PM: Our power play, doing exactly as our power play has done all game long – a lot of not much.

9:06 PM: Oh my god, the penalty was on Erik Cole, not Paul Martin.  Goalie interference.  Even I gotta say, that’s a weak call.  I’ll take it though.  We’re on the PP, not them.

9:03 PM: WHOA!  Someone laced Paul Martin’s pot brownies with something fierce.  He just creamed Eric Cole for crashing Marty’s net.  Paulie got a taste of the penalty box, and he liked it, ’cause he’s going right back into it with a very Holik-ian penalty.  He’s doing it to spite me.

9:02 PM: Oh dammit.  As the power play is ending, Chad LaRose wrists it in and we’re tied.  Sigh.

9:01 PM: Holik outta the box, 50 seconds left on the Martin penalty!

9:00 PM: If we can get the Hurricanes to run into each other the entire time, we might be in good shape in on this kill.

8:59 PM: I expected this out of Bobby Holik, but not you, Paulie Martin.  For shame.

8:58 PM: Oh for chrissakes.  Paul Martin gets called for slashing and the Devils will be on a 5-on-3 kill for the next 50-odd seconds.  Gulp.

8:57 PM: High-sticking was the call on Holik.  Interesting.

8:54 PM: Oh Bobby Holik, how I missed your terribly stupid and ill-timed penalties this post-season.  Roughing or interference or something stupid, Carolina to another power play.

8:53 PM: Clarkson’s really gotta stop making it so obvious that all he wants to do is score on the wraparound.  He can’t even get a shot off on it 95% of the time anymore.

8:49 PM: Zubbie’s out of the box, and another nice bit of penalty killing by the Devils.  If we’re not gonna score on the PP and least we’re not letting them do it either.

8:46 PM: Rutuu starts stuff in front of the net with Zubbie.  Zubbie paws back at Rutuu.  Zubbie gets the penalty, Rutuu does not.  Sigh.  Power play, Carolina.

8:43 PM: We’re looking much better this period.  It’s making me smile.

8:41 PM: Clarkaround attempt!  But without Rolston out there to clean it up, nothing comes of it.  Havelid takes a weak backhander.  And Havelid’s weak backhander is no Rolston slapshot from the slot.

8:38 PM: Penalty killed!  Chico informs us that for some reason Oduya is paired with Mike Mottau at the moment, and Havelid with White.  Which must me Salvador is paired with Martin.  Interesting.

8:37 PM: We actually look pretty good on this kill, thank god.  Also, Hasan of Battle of New York informs me that it was actually Shanahan who caused the turnover that resulted in the diminutive Gio’s goal.  Which just makes me like Shanny even more this season.

8:35 PM: Second period underway, and Madden goes off for hooking thirty seconds in.  Not the way to start after deflating them at the end of the period, guys.

8:18 PM: From now on, we decline all penalties.  5-on-5 is where it’s at.  2-1 Devils after one, see y’all in seventeen.

8:15 PM: WHOO!  Joe Corvo gets made to look a fool by Brian Gionta, who pickpockets him and stuffs it behind Cam Ward with 8.6 seconds left in the period!  2-1 Devils!

8:14 PM: If he ever makes it out of the first two rounds, Johnny Oduya’s playoff beard could be EPIC.

8:12 PM: Eeash.  We can’t even set up anything this time around.  Carolina’s cleared the zone some four or five times on this power play alone.

8:11 PM: Are we 1-for-11 now, or 1-for-12 since we couldn’t score on a double minor?

8:10 PM: Rod Brind’amour takes a hooking call.  Our amazing…amazing…amazing power play takes the ice.  If I say it enough times, it’ll come true.

8:06 PM: At least we’re not line-matching ourselves to death?  Elias/Zubrus/Gionta out against the Staal line.  Not long after, Gleason and Clarkson have a staring match, but, this being the playoffs, they don’t fight.  Wimps.

8:02 PM: Aaaaand that’s that.  Goddammit.

8:01 PM: Oh fer chrissake, we had one of their defenders hobbling and without a stick and still wouldn’t do anything.  30 seconds left on the PP.

8:00 PM: First two minutes killed.  Havelid and Oduya on the points for the second PP.  Lots of pressure, but also, lots of blocked shots.

7:58 PM: Rolston and Martin on the point for the first PP unit.

7:56 PM: Oh crap.  Bryce Salvador has his face rearranged by Ryan Bayda’s stick.  Salvador bleeds heavily, so at least we’ll be on a four minute power play – and it looks luike Bryce is getting fixed up on the bench.  Hardcore.

7:54 PM: In all seriousness, the experiment of putting Rolston with Parise & Zajac looks like a great idea so far.  I was in the Clarkson camp myself, but I’m willing to give this line a chance for awhile based on early returns.

7:49 PM: DAMMIT!  I HATE THE RUPP/HOLIK/CLARKSON LINE!  Someone leaves Ryan Bayda (who?) alone in the slot, and it’s tied already.  Only 21 seconds after Parise’s goal.  The sounds of silence post-Devils goal was far too fleeting.

7:48 PM: WHOO!  I LOVE THE PARISE/ZAJAC/ROLSTON LINE!  Oduya does a good job of keeping the puck in, the newly formed top line cycles a bit, Martin fires from the point and Parise deflects it in.  1-o Devils!

7:46 PM: Marty is going to have one of those games where he might stop just about everything, but he’s gonna scare the living crap outta me while he does it.

7:45 PM: The puck is played with a high stick.  The Carolina fans erupt in cheers, thinking the referee is calling a high sticking penalty on the Devils.  At the risk of sounding, well, like Scott Mackie…this is why they shouldn’t have hockey in the south.

7:43 PM: Bobby Holik’s been on the ice for about 20 seconds and has yet to take a penalty!  Maybe things are looking up after all!

7:42 PM: So the Devils are traditionally pretty awful in this building in the playoffs.  My tummy hurts already.

7:41 PM: Puck on the ice in Carolina.

7:32 PM: So, bad news good news with tonight’s LiveCap.  Bad news:  I’m not at the bar with Mr. Mackie and friends.  Good news:  I have commandeered control of the high def television in my home!  Bad news:  Doc called the Pens/Flyers game earlier, so we got Canjo.  Good news:  If you’re relying only on the LiveCap, you don’t have to hear him.  Bad news:  Captainbrunner’s out tonight and Tuesday with injury.  Good news:  Brian Rolston will take his place on the ZZPops line.  Hey, that doesn’t sound like good news at all….!

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