Dearest Patricia,

We’re pretty awesome huh? I know, I know, we’ve given you some scares in the past couple of days; what with Zach losing his boyish good looks and Marty nearly losing his head. But really, we were about to turn it around, we just needed to wait for the right moment.

Sure, there were plenty of Rangers fans to say we didn’t deserve that goal, it was a fluke or whatever. I’m sure another few might break out the rule books and say the refs missed all the calls and argue Brodeur really should have been called for trying to disrupt Sean Avery’s view of that blonde in the third row.

But we’ve tasted blood now, and we’re coming back for more.

Regardless how we got here we’d just like to say as a team — from the bottom of Johnny Oduya’s beard — thank you Patricia. If we had known the indigestion and drug dependence we were causing Devils fans, it would not have ever been an issue in the first place. Our bad! Really!

Ok, so maybe we didn’t channel the spirit of Claude or Scotty like you asked, we went for a more Randy Mckay vibe, but it still fits the bill, right?  Riiight.

Bottom line, we’re back in it and we just wanted to let ya know, we appreciate the heads up about our crap play of late.

Hugs and Kisses,

The Devils

P.S. If you see Zach’s front teeth anywhere, give us a heads up.  Much love to Dano, but NOT a good look for a guy in his early 20s and dude wants to hit the bar.

Nothing like a visit from the Flyers to save your season.

Hot damn, that was awesome.

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.

UPDATE 12:13 AM ET: According to published reports, winger Jay Pandolfo suffered a groin injury in tonight’s win over Dallas and will be re-evaluated tomorrow to determine the extent of his injury. Pando was injured after slamming into the end boards while attempting an off-balance shot on Stars’ netminder Marty Turco in the third period of the contest. Hopefully it’s not too serious, but groins can be pretty concerning sometimes. We’ll surely be on top of this story as it unfolds!

_____

Let’s get this party started!

Too dorky?

Apologies.

Anyway, our fearless red and black clad clan have successfully beaten the Dallas Stars 4-2 tonight, sparking a now-legitimately awesome five game winning streak. Oh, even more impressive, Black ‘n Red snapped a six-game streak for Dallas, who had earned points in their previous eight contests before tonight. Take that, Texas!

So, what happened tonight?

Let’s recap! New Jersey started off in craptastic fashion, with Mr. Vezina giving up two soft serve ice cream goals about three minutes apart to a couple of jokers named Stu Barnes and Jussi Jokinen. Worse yet, the first softie was also a shortie! Not good.

Surely, many fans were calling for the head of poor Mr. Vezina. He clearly had a bad start. However, Marty simply was in no mood for decapitation, as he turned his game around and made some sparkling saves to help lead his team back into the contest.

Atta boy, Marty Brodeur.

With Marty back in his normal state of awesomeness, it was now time for the rest of the team to right the ship. Fan-favorite Davey Boy Clarkson provided such spark with an EA NHL 2004 trademark wraparound goal that we have all grown to know and love.

So, at this point, it’s 2-1. We have Martin Brodeur on one end doing his thing, and Davey Boy Clarkson on the other end doing his thing. Cue Brian Gionta breakthrough.

Yes, the three-foot-tall forward, who has easily underachieved thus far this season, actually scored a goal. Better yet, he scored said goal off of a prettyful feed from the immune system-challenged forward Patrik Elias, who has been equally disappointing this season.

It’s nice to see familiar faces do what they should be doing, isn’t it?

And we’re tied at two.

Great, but damnit, it’s not enough!

Who better to score the would-be game winner than a third underachieving player in the seven-foot-tall Ruskie that goes by the name of Dainius Zubrus?

It’s like it was in the stars!

Zubbie made it a beauty, too, gobbling up a free gimme from Mike Modano and skating down the ice on a mini-breakaway with Jamie Langenbrunner to face a surely nervous Marty Turco in net. Zubrus would then make good on his attempt, connecting on an awesome pass by the Captain-worthy Langenbrunner to give the Devils their first lead of the night.

Now we’re talkin’!

The only thing that would be the black ‘n red colored frosting on this devil’s food cake, in my eyes, would be an empty net goal. You see, I like empty net goals. Especially when they are scored by the Devils. They certainly please me.

So what happened?

My dreams came true for once!

The achieving (no over, no under, juuust perfect) Zach Parise would net his ninth goal of the season with a lovely empty netter, officially giving New Jersey a very awesome 4-2 win for the night.

While things are looking pretty fantastic for Black ‘n Red right now, there is concern over the injured Jay Pandolfo, who slammed into the end boards after tripping awkwardly attempting an off-balance shot on Turco in the third period. We are surely hoping that the worst to happen to Pando is a bruised ego, as the former Selke nominee unfortunately hit the goal post with his attempt. Ouch.

NOTES: Martin Brodeur was honored before the game by the Devils for achieving his 500th win earlier this season. Brodeur reached the milestone against the Philadelphia Flyers on November 17th, helping the Devils to a 6-2 victory. After a shaky start tonight against Dallas, Brodeur finished with 19 saves on the night…Andy Greene and Johnny Oduya were both healthy scratches as defender Karel Rachunek returned to the lineup. Patrik Elias also returned for the Devils, registering an assist and one shot on goal for the night…Dainius Zubrus was named the game’s first star, tallying a goal and an assist while skating at a plus-two.

Are you buckled in tight? Are you sure? Like I said after the last game, I have a feeling that there really won’t be any easy games this season. That’s not to say the Devils won’t have a good season, I am just saying that there are going to be a lot of tight games.

The Devils did get some breaks in this game, mainly due to the lack of anger management on the part of the Penguins but that happens to the best of us sometimes. I have to say that the gods smiled upon Marty and made sure the Penguins had too many men on the ice during a ridiculous 2 on none play that made it seem like the Lowell Devils were out on the ice. It’s been a while since I’ve seen a crowd in Pittsburgh get so angry but it was the right call. There were some calls that I thought were questionable but you have to take what you can get because you know there will be calls made against the Devils that will be questionable.

It is starting to become extremely clear that Sutter hockey is completely different game. These aren’t the Devils I grew up with but that is not really a bad thing. This team has really started to look like more of a run and gun type of team and not the systematic defensive team from the past, at least in the last two games anyway. After the first few games I was worried that this team was relying too much on the Parise/Zajac line but with Elias scoring 2 against the Thrashers and Madden and Pando having an extremely good night last night that worry is gone. I just hope that Sutter decides to continue to keep the Madden and Pandolfo team together.

I do still have some worries with Marty as he looks continues to have issues stopping the puck. It’s early and maybe Marty needs to get some of the off-season rust off but the bottom line is that he won his second in a row and that’s all that matters, I just wish the Defense would help him out a little bit more. Larry?? Can we get on that???
Now it’s on to Filthadelpia who seems to be living up to that name this season. This is a game where I wish we had a healthy Cam Janssen because you know that the Flyers will come out hitting.

I have this feeling that last night’s game is a preview of what the season may hold for the New Jersey Devils, a complete roller coaster ride. I think the Devils came out with some jump in the first period but once again took the second period off. I’m not sure why NJ feels the need to not play an entire 60 minutes but it’s something that Sutter needs to address in the very near future. NJ owned the third period and showed everyone that when they work together and concentrate on the basics, they can be successful, especially on the power play.

Let’s start with the bad: What is going on with Marty? He doesn’t look very confident in goal and I felt last night that he was playing too far back in his net which gave the Thrashers too much of an advantage. In the last three games, Marty has seen 12 pucks get passed him (plus an empty netter he watched from the bench). This isn’t the Marty we are used to but judging how he broke his stick against the wall on the way to the locker room after the game last night, Marty isn’t happy about it either. Hopefully he straightens this out in a hurry before Syd the Kid comes shooting our way because 6 goals on 17 shots is not acceptable. I have to put this down on paper even though the question in my head feels completely stupid but is Marty feeling some kind of pressure with a completely viable backup sitting on the bench? Or is it more that the defense is so mediocre right now that he is trying to do too much?

Now the good: Well good morning Mr. Elias, did you just realize that its hockey season and even though there are 82 games, they all count? Glad to see he figured out where the net was tonight but honestly he seemed to be everywhere when the Devils were rolling. The power play was also coming together last night. The Devils cycled the puck extremely well which resulted in a number of shots on goal.

Hopefully this comeback win can build a little confidence in the Devils as the head into a group of Atlantic Division battles starting with Sydney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins. Even if the Devils come out of this road trip with a 3-6 record, I am certainly not about to hit the panic button. There are a lot of new changes on the ice at the moment and I think it is going to take time to come together and really be comfortable out there. I keep reminding myself of the horrible start that was 2005 and how eventually this team came together but putting that aside, hang on because this roller coaster is going to have many ups and downs.

Howdy gang, Josh here with your game recap, filling in for an under-the-weather Darren.

The Devils topped the Panthers for their first win of the young season, a 4-1 victory on Saturday in Florida. That puts the record at 1-1-0 going into Monday’s early-season gut-check match with Ottawa.

Anyone who was watching the game (or reading the 2MA live-cap, of course!) knows there is only one good reason why the Devils even had a chance to win this one after the first period, and that reason’s name is Mr. Kevin Weekes.

The Devils decided that Weekesie needed a trial by fire to begin his New Jersey career and chose to not bother with defense through the first twenty minutes. Weekes stood on his no-longer-concussed head, stopping 20 of 21 shots in the first period. TWENTY ONE SHOTS! Somehow the Devs managed to walk away from the first period locked in a 1-1 tie, thanks in large part to #1 between the pipes.

Are you surpised I’ve gone three paragraphs without mentioning one Martin Brodeur yet? THAT’S how good a game Weekes had. (Brodeur, I should note for those unaware, was out due to having to fly from Florida to New Jersey and back again because of unspecified “personal reasons.” Though he got to Sunrise in time for the game, it was decided that morning that Weekes would get the nod in goal.) Of course it’s not safe to gauge one player’s worth on one game’s performance, but I think it’s safe to say no one’s going to be too afraid of handing a game to Kevin Weekes the way they seemed to be afraid of handing a game to Scott Clemmenson.

Is it ridiculous to say that there could be goaltending drama when your number one goalie is the best in the game? Yes, yes it is. Marty will likely get the nod on Monday and is not in any danger of losing the starting job he’s earned over the last 12 years, of course. But what Weekes showed in his semi-emergency start on Saturday should go a long way in getting Marty days off without worrying about a huge drop-off in performance in the cage.

The Devils now head north for an early-season showdown with the Senators, 3-0-0 and looking impressive so far. Look out for a preview and live-cap tomorrow right here!

Breathe a sigh of relief, Devils fans: it sounds like Kevin Weekes shall be a-okay.

Though Weekes was not available for comment after the game, head coach Brent Sutter downplayed the situation, assuring that the 32-year-old netminder “would be fine.”

Weekes was injured just six minutes into tonight’s preseason contest with the New York Rangers, nearly being knocked unconscious after being viciously run into by Rangers resident a-hole Sean Avery. Avery had pushed Devils defender Johnny Oduya into the goal mouth area, causing both players to tumble on top of Weekes, who awkwardly fell into the net, hitting his head on the goal post.

Staying down for several minutes, the former Ranger was eventually helped into the locker room by teammates and medical staff.

Jordan Parise finished the game for the Devils, turning aside 22 of 25 shots. New Jersey lost the game 4-3.

Weekes joins an ever-growing list of injured Devils, including Jamie Langenbrunner, Colin White, Cam Janssen and Arron Asham.

PATRICIA SAYS: As previously mentioned (oh I dunno, maybe once or twice), Sean Avery is a pile of poo. How he is continually allowed to run goalies is beyond me. Had it been Marty, Mr. Avery would have been knocked into next Tuesday…of 2532. Alas, it sounds like Weekes should be okay. I still wouldn’t rule out a concussion here, and I also wouldn’t be surprised to see him sit the rest of the preseason, which is really unfortunate.

Too bad Mr. Anger Management didn’t play. (Did I really just say that?) I’m sure we all remember this (link opens in new window). I bet Sean doesn’t though. Ha.

There’s a silly little pre-season game goin’ down in Trenton tonight, where surprisingly enough, the Devils were actually the home team against the Philadelphia Flyers.

Alas, this was in name only, for two reasons. A) Trenton is practically Philly. And 2) the starting lineup for black ‘n red really consists of many Baby Devils rather than Big Devils.

Of course, with such a display, should it really have been expected for the Devils to win?

Surely, one would know the answer to such a silly question.

Regardless, Philly kicked the crap outta the boys, uh, somewhat literally, defeating New Jersey 3-2.

Yes, there were about nine million fights, and Cam Janssen apparently lost all of them. He also lost his head and appeared to injure his fightin’ hand.

Poor Cam.

For inquiring minds, Zach Parise and Andy Greene netted goals for New Jersey. It should also be noted that newbies Karel Rachunek and Arron Asham tallied primary assists on each goal. Woo.

It ain’t all bad, folks.

UPDATE: Word is Cam suffered an injured shoulder in last night’s contest. Janssen missed 11 games last season with a shoulder dislocation.