OPEN CALL TO RANGERS BLOGS: Let’s do business. Want to make a friendly wager on the Devils-Rangers series? We’re down! Let’s see what you got!

_____Congrats to the Ottawa Senators on defeating the New Jersey Devils in five games to make it back to the Eastern Conference Finals. Unfortuantely for me, poor little Devils fan, the Senators truly were the better, more talented team. I wish nothing but the best for the Sens and their fans — you guys definitely deserve the world right now, I’ll tell you what.

The boys have a lot of questions surrounding them, ranging from head coaches to overrated and (soon to be) overpaid centers, but we’ll deal with that another day. I just spent the night driving to and from Albany, so, as you may very well imagine, I’m quite tired.

It was a good season, folks, but the fun doesn’t stop with the (unfortunate) heartbreaking end to the year — I’ll still be around dishing out all the dirt, and Joe will be making some cameos as his schedule permits.

Once again, congratulations to the Ottawa Senators and, hey, let’s give a shout to the boys in Devil black and red as well — they weren’t too shabby all in all, right?

…disregarding the past three games, at least…

Contrary to my amazingly pissed off ramblings last night, I do not think Ray Emery is garbage. Granted, I don’t think he’s exactly the greatest invention since sliced bread, but he’s no worse than leftover fast food that has been sitting in the back of the refrigerator for that one extra day that really doesn’t make it seem worth it.

Follow what I’m saying? Cause I sure as hell don’t.

Senators fans, I whole heartedly apologize if my remarks offended you guys in any which way. You are merely watching a Devils fan who is so gosh darn frustrated with her team that she feels the need to channel that anger into yelling at others who are not (completely) at fault.

Mr. Emery happened to fall in the cross-fire of this good ole die-hard Devils fan.

Don’t get me wrong, I still don’t think “Rayzor” (as Senators fans seem to affectionately call their netminder…I thought that was Raycroft’s nickname(?)) has been particularly good in the series, but he hasn’t been awful. His lack-of rebound control has been quite disturbing, and his puck handling has also been pretty terrible, but outside of those two main components, I suppose he’s been relatively decent.

I do, however, think Ray has a weak glove hand, and I oh-so-desperately wish that the New Jersey Devils could expose said weakness, but it just does not appear to be happening.

At the end of the day, the Senators are the better team.

Yes, I said it.

The Ottawa Senators are the better team.

…oh, wait, that wasn’t a mystery? Damn. I thought I was being all awesome in admitting Ottawa’s superiority, but I suppose not. Oh well.

Alas, can the Devils overcome such insurmountable deeds? It’s possible. They’ve done it before, and they could do it again. Unfortunately, though, this isn’t the year 2000 and the 2007 Devils don’t possess the sheer heart and determination that Larry Robinson’s group had all those years ago. It’s saddening, but I’ll get over it.

I guess all that’s left for the boys to do is to, well, take it one game at a time. Hell, take it one period (and I don’t mean those yucky things that happen once a month to the female species) at a time if need be. Gotta do something here, and the Devils really don’t have time to sit and ponder what the heck that “something” actually is.

I say, quadruple shift the Zajac line and hope for the best.

…and that’s why I’m not coach.

No, seriously, I would really like to see the Zajac line out there as much as possible. If the Devils prove undisciplined once again, throw Parise on the penalty kill like he was for the remainder of Game 5. Give Clarkson a bit more playing time, and tell him that his first born will be eaten if he does not park his caboose in front of Emery to gobble up a rebound or two.

And for the love of bologna (or whatever you so happen to love), shoot anything and everything at the net! Emery is not God, despite how the Devils have made him looked thus far. He cannot stop them all, and if the rebounds keep on coming, a Devil will surely pounce and finally hammer a couple home.

Oh, and might I also add — can Rafalski and make Paul Martin the go-to guy on defense. Unlike Emery, Rafalski has been garbage.

*DISCLAIMER*: Everyone tune up your sarcasm meters and suck on some salt.  Hear me out, here.

I can’t take it anymore.  I just can’t stomach this kind of hockey in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.  This is not the New Jersey Devils team that we watched during the regular season. Tonight’s game was nothing short of nauseating to watch. 

As far as Game 4 is concerned, my particular gripe is with Colin White and Captain Patrik Elias, who seems to have never figured out how to unlock the safety control on his stick that will allow him to actually shoot the damn puck.  Don’t throw that “Emery has been great” garbage at me.  It’s disgusting.  ‘Rayzor’ gives up a 9,000-foot rebound on EVERY shot that New Jersey takes, yet there is not a forward to be found within 15 feet of his crease.  It’s an Ottawa blessing that the Devils offense is so laid back.  Patrik Elias has a wonderful opportunity from just inside the hashmarks with Emery scrambling to get back to his feet, and he forces a pass to a completely covered Scott Gomez.  Unreal.  You better start hanging out with Paul Martin, Patrik, he could show you a thing or two.  Oh, and that crafty little stop, pull-up, wrist-shot move… lame.  It doesn’t work.  Just ask Jeff Friesen.

Colin White’s “ho-hum, I have all day” mentality has gotten old and gotten old quick.  He nonchalantly carries the puck around his zone, gets knocked off the play, and then the self-control goes out the window and he takes a stupid penalty.  How many times has that happened?  I can’t count that high.  Good thing we locked this guy up long-term. 

I’m not going to start venting about Martin Brodeur.  The guy has kept us alive obviously a lot longer than the team should be, but Marty, you better start caring about those horrid goals that are finding their way through you.  Seriously, hug the post, man.  Another one of those and our season is over.  If this is how the playoffs are going to look with you playing seventy-two million minutes a season, then I think a change is in order.

The envelope is open, but the winner hasn’t been announced just yet.  It’s going to take 3 solid, textbook New Jersey Devils hockey games to win this series.  Of course I have the faith, but please forgive me if it’s dwindling rapidly.

 

_____
9:51 PM ET: Oh, and I feel bad for Brodeur — he was sparkled so brightly in Game 3, and then he puts together a crapper of a performance for Game 4. What’s up with that? Ugh.

9:41 PM ET: Welp folks, that’s all she wrote. It’s been fun, maybe next year the boys can actually prove they have what it takes in the playoffs.

…oh, wait…series ain’t over yet? Could have fooled me. This one is done. All that’s left are the formalities of giving the Sens their fourth win of the series.

9:29 PM ET: Of course no game is complete without the obligatory Colin White Anger Management penalty. Yay!

SIDEBAR: Elias should be stripped of the ‘C’ — it’s just not working out. On a positive note, though, Paul Martin has kicked some serious ass lately. He’s finally developing into the defenseman he should be. Brian Rafalski, on the other hand, sucks.

9:19 PM ET: Babysteps folks, babysteps. 3-2 Sens. Granted, Martin’s shot towards the net was the first on goal the entire third period, but, uh, does this not prove something? Oh, hey I know — THROW ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING AT THE NET! Emery is NOT that good. Pepper him, and drive for the rebounds, for the love of Stanley!

9:07 PM ET: Series over. 3-1 Sens. Devils aren’t going to overcome this.

8:43 PM ET: I miss my good feeling. I’m pretty much convinced the Devils will not win this series. Prove me wrong.

8:35 PM ET: Crap.

8:28 PM ET: Did anyone else’s heart just stop there when the puck nearly trickled through the crease? Whoo-boy thank goodness Marty was able to pounce his lil glove on the puck right before it was about to cross the line. Yikes. NOW we have a game on our hands, folks. This is what this series should be looking like.

I also gotta admit, Rasmussen looks good tonight.

8:14 PM ET: Yay, a power play goal…took long enough. Of course, it’s followed by a penalty. Good job boys.

Special mention to VERSUS for the AWFUL camera angle. Couldn’t even tell it was a goal on that live camera feed. Thanks guys, once again proving your coverage is top notch.

7:39 PM ET: The Devils WILL lose this series if they do not friggen get the concept of PUTTING SOMEONE IN FRONT OF THE GOSH DARN NET. Holy crap this is beyond ridiculous now. Emery is garbage, he looks like garbage, he’s playing shaky and giving up tons of rebounds…yet he WILL continue to stop the puck if not a single Devil will stand in front of him. I just don’t get it, I really don’t. Now I’M starting to get pissed.

7:29 PM ET: Well…uh…damn. Cap’n, you suck. Thanks for turning the puck over twice in one shift on the power play. Seriously.

Oh, and goal post? What did I ever do to you, really? Come on.

7:27 PM ET: Oh goal post, how I hate you right now! Huge power play for the boys…hey, every power play is huge at this point.

7:21 PM ET: If there’s one saving grace right now, it’s that the Gomez line looks like they’re flying. I anticipate a Devils goal…but, uh, they just gotta actually get into the zone for that to happen. Can’t win a game when you’re spending the whole time in the defensive zone boys.

7:17 PM ET: Even when the Devils look halfway decent the Sens still find a way to get the job done. 1-0 Sens early. Granted, Ray Emery still looks like garbage and is giving up monster rebounds, but my good feeling has really gone away already…

7:12 PM ET: In-tros-ting…Mike Rupp is sitting, David Clarkson is playing. Spark plug maybe?

7:09 PM ET: Well, puck’s about to drop. Marty says the Devils aren’t worried. Dany Heatley says the Sens are purely awesome. Okay, maybe I paraphrased…but you get the gist.
_______
Once again, it proves to be difficult to be in two places at once, so I will try my damndest to update as much as possible. Stupid VERSUS…

For serious though, I do have a good feeling about the game. I dunno, maybe it’s just me but I expect a good game out of the Cap’n tonight. He’s looked like garbage so far this series, and I gotta believe he’s still sicky-poo. Hopefully he’s bettery-poo now, cause, uh, we need him…bad.

Ray Emery is a beatable goalie, the boys just need to keep firing at him (psst…shoot glove side!) and scoop up all those juicy rebounds he seems to enjoy giving out, and all will be okay.

If not, well, it’s going to massively suck. Going down 3-1 is quite the poopy situation, and I’ll be quite sad if the team does lose tonight.

Don’t make me sad, New Jersey Devils. Don’t make me sad…

11:56 PM ET: One more little nugget of info for y’all before I head to bed. Joe and I would like to once again thank all the readers of the site, you guys and gals have been seriously awesome in this itty bitty blog’s short time on this here planet. As another month draws to a close, we are proud to announce that April has been our busiest month YET, totaling nearly 17,000 visits! I know, I know, it’s nothing to sneeze at or anything, but we’re certainly proud. This site has only been around about six months, and to build a blog from the ground up ain’t no easy task. To be mentioned on websites like MSG, Spector’s, The Score, and Kukla’s Korner is such an honor and accomplishment, for serious. And better yet, this blog would be NOTHING without the readers. We love each and every one of you and can’t wait to make that number go even higher yet! Night all!

9:50 PM ET: Unless Joe does it, there won’t be a Game Breakdown tonight. I’ll do one tomorrow if my schedule allows it, but I’ve updated the site far too much today that I’m just going to take the rest of the night off. Sleep could do me well.

9:33 PM ET: Joke. Purely a joke. Great to see a brilliant performance by Martin Brodeur overshadowed by (once again) bad officiating and a shaky netminder in Ray Emery. You know what though, Emery could have just stood there all night scratching his head and still would have gotten a shutout. Ridiculous. And to boot, our offense apparently was bi-polar to the max. You just can’t skate out there, give it your all, and then forget you’re even playing hockey the rest of the time, only to come back in strong and knock the opposition’s socks off. What a disgusting game to watch.

9:23 PM ET: Huge opportunity to tie the game Part 2.

9:19 PM ET: Way to ruin your best shot at tying the game, boys. Jeez…

9:09 PM ET: Devils are being outplayed tremendously. There ain’t a physical edge right now, the Sens are seriously downright dominating the poor lil Devils physically. Ugh. Let’s stop with the pretty stuff and just GET TO THE NET any way possible now. And for Lord Stanley’s sake, throw a HIT someone!

9:04 PM ET: Le sigh. I’m seriously bumming now. 1-0 Senators in the third.

8:41 PM ET: That’s more of what I’d like to see. Much better period by the Devils, the top line has life! Marty continues to shine, that’s always nice, and Emery? Dude is giving up some gigantic rebounds and his glove ain’t looking so hot. Pounce boys, pounce!Word out of Ottawa is that Comrie had to leave the ice not once, but twice due to injury. What a bone-head.

8:23 PM ET: Mr. Bechtel is under the impression that Comrie’s fall into the boards courtesy of Mr. ‘chuk was more or less a dive. Upon further review, I tend to want to agree. But why throw yourself into the boards, potentially seriously injuring yourself? Mr. Comrie ain’t the smartest cookie, is he?

8:15 PM ET: Comrie is a little fire ball out there tonight, ain’t he? Yikes.

8:09 PM ET: Oh my goodness my heart just stopped. Marty, amazing play. And also…Marty…don’t EVER do that again.Memo to Mike Comrie: You guys might be on cable right now, but the kiddies are still up! Watch the F Bombs! HA!

7:50 PM ET: Scoreless after one. Vermette is a piece of garbage for whacking the puck into the net after the buzzer clearly went off. That’s how goalies get hurt, buddy. The referees really need to step in now, if Ottawa is going to keep on whacking at Marty after the whistle, someone needs to get a penalty. Granted, it’ll likely be Scott Gomez or something, but nonetheless, call the damn game like it should be called.

Onto my next gripe…The Devils need to, uh, start playing some hockey.

Marty can only be God for so long. The Senators WILL score and score often on him if this keeps up. I was quite shocked to see Gomez actually backcheck on a play, but then he had to ruin my buzz and take a “Johnny Oduya” penalty — no, not two for being Swedish, but a hooking call. Stop it with the hooking, boys!

Start of the second soon. The boys better come out flying, cause while this game may be 0-0 on the scoreboard, it’s easily in Ottawa’s favor right now. Strong start boys, strong start!

Oh wait…we’re killing a penalty…poop.
_________

Unfortunately I cannot be in two places at once despite my best efforts, but I will try to live-cap as much as possible for the duration of the game.

Which, by the way, do the Devils know that the game started at 7 PM ET? Seriously. They’re getting their asses handed to them by Ottawa right now. It easily should be 1-0 Sens if it weren’t for a whistle-happy official.

Get your butts in gear, boys. This is not acceptable.

And we’re back with Part 2 of our Q and A session with Ben from Sens Army. I hit him hard with some awesomingly thought-provoking questions, and I gotta say, he held up strong under pressure! Here’s what our Senator-loving friend had to say:

PATRICIA INTERVIEWS BEN!!

2MA PATRICIA: Yous guys are coming into this series as the literal underdog, but the whole NHL world knows what’s really goin’ down here — the Senators are pretty much the favorite in this series. What are your thoughts?
SENS ARMY BEN: People from New jersey actually talk like that? “Yous guys”? You even spell it?! Awesome. Anyway… There was some debate about this ‘underdog status’ before the Pittsburgh series, but thankfully that issue has faded away. Most of the media and fans in Ottawa have realized that both the Devils and the Senators are capable of winning this series – it’s just a matter of who steps up to the challenge. Those psychological games have faded away in Round 2.

2MA: So, we’ve seen the same story for a few years now, Senators come into the playoffs like a monster of a team, putting up huge numbers during the regular season and showing they really are the real deal…and then, they fall flat on their faces. As a Devil fan who has dealt with the crushing blows of disappointing playoff performances in the past, I feel your pain. Do you think this year is different though, and why?

SENS ARMY: Not entirely different, but modified, like when Optimus Prime replaces his arm with a bazooka. For one thing, the Senators didn’t win a thing this regular season; not the President’s trophy, not the Eastern Conference or even the Northeast Division title (keep in mind the Sabres are in the Northeast too), that has got cut into the ego of a team that has destroyed the Eastern Conference for the two previous seasons.

Secondly, after the lockout the Senators got a new coach: Bryan Murray – he’s a real hardass. Last year his tough philosophy was rejected by many players. At the beginning of this season the Senators lost Zdeno Chara, and Martin Havlat, and they were replaced by Dean McAmmond, Joe Corvo and Tom Preissing – notice a regional difference here? North Americans, who, presumably, want to win the Stanley Cup as much as the fans in Ottawa. In the off-season sens’ GM John Muckler stated that he wanted a more mobile defense, and offensive defensemen like Corvo (who you’ll often see rush up the ice on his own) and Preissing (who finished the season +30 or so) fit that mould. If Bryan Murray can get Jason “drop-pass no-look” Spezza to buy into a physical, defensively responsible game then the sens are getting some defence from the forwards and some offense from the D – a potent combo. Unlike last season, the Senators didn’t kick ass all this regular season. About 20 games in, the Senators were doing terribly and there were calls for Alfredsson’s head, as well as GM John Muckler. They have faced adversity this season unlike previous versions of the Sens.

2MA: I know, I know, you bleed red and black…oh wait…those are the Devils colors too…uh, well, okay, so you bleed, uh, SENS red and black (there we go!), but at the end of the day, which goalie’s coat tails would you rather ride to Stanley Cup glory — Mr. Martin Brodeur or Mr. Ray Emery?

SENS ARMY: Well there’s no question that Brodeur is the more established goaltender, but Ray Emery has the ability to win games on his own when hot. Would I trade Emery for Brodeur? Certainly – anyone in their right mind would. But does Brodeur have a theme song? Sens fans are hoping for a Cam Ward-like performance from Rayzor. But in Ottawa we don’t really base a team’s success rate solely on the goaltender’s performance (but don’t tell that to Patrick Lalime.)

2MA: Your team is in quadruple overtime and the opposition is breathing down your neck…you need that go-to guy to get the job done. Who’s your hero? And similarly, who do you think is the most, or POTENTIALLY most lethal player left in the playoffs?
SENS ARMY: The Senators will live and die with Daniel Alfredsson. Alfie, Alfie, he’s our man, if he can’t do it no one can! (well no one on the Senators).

Most lethal left in the playoffs? Teamu Selanne rings a bell, Jagr is a solid pick, and for the wildcard, Jason Spezza – he has the talent to go end-to-end and score a goal, it only happens once per season but when it happens even the Devils’ fans jaws will drop. He’s lethal like a snake that only makes enough venom for one bite per year.

2MA: Everyone else has something to say about it, so let’s just get this question out of the way — what are your thoughts on the NHL’s less-than-amazing attendance figures? You being a Sens blogger and me a Devils’, we really come from two completely different sides of the coin. Let’s face it, your building could easily sell out three times over, and ours, well, is on life-support when it comes to attendance figures. Buuuut, in our defense, for what butts we DO have in the seats, our fans are as loud and supportive as they come. Quality over quantity, right? …or am I just sugercoating a dire situation?
SENS ARMY: You may not hear it in the ‘States, but Gary Bettman is a (expletive deleted) moron. He attempted to sell the game to locations that never see ice, even on their coldest days. Solid, passionate, small-market teams like Winnipeg were moved to Phoenix – hockey makes front pages in Canada, does the city of Phoenix know that their team is coached by Wayne “Jesus on skates” Gretzky? Do they even know they have a team? Honestly, I would have little sympathy if New Jersey or Phoenix or LA moved their team – would the city even miss them? Quality is great, but no matter how loud you are, each fan only pays for one ticket.

2MA: If the Senators did happen to fall in the post season, which team would you grudgingly root for?
SENS ARMY: Probably any remaining Canadian team – Vancouver I guess.

2MA: At that same token, do you think this is Buffalo’s year?
SENS ARMY: Very nice. But we’ve seen great regular seasons fall apart too many times in Ottawa – ask me after the Cup has been handed out.

2MA: Senators aside, what has been your favorite playoff storyline of ‘07?
SENS ARMY: The goalie duel between Luongo and Turco in Round 1 of Vancouver vs Dallas was quite a story line, especially considering it was Luongo’s first taste of the playoffs. The fact that Anaheim (one of those previously mentioned no-ice towns) is so strong is surprising – nicely done (Ducks GM) Brian Burke!

2MA: Thoughts on the officiating thus far in the post season? If you ask me, some of these referees need to be brought out back and pelted with smelly, rotten tomatoes. Seriously.

SENS ARMY: I scream ‘WEAK!!’ at the TV at least 3 times per period because of the questionable calls that occur each and every game. But it’s consistently retarded… at least it’s uniform.

2MA: And finally, what is your favorite part about this time of year?
SENS ARMY: The fact that there’s hockey every night, and a sens game nearly every-other night, and the Leafs are nowhere to be seen.

Much thanks again to Ben and Sens Army!

Oh, we don’t have a problem whatsoever with Sens Army, they just happen to be rooting for the wrong team. Oh, snap!

I kid, I really do. We love all of the hockey blogs out there, and it really is great to see what the opposition’s fans have to say. During the playoffs, we’ve been sifting through some of the blogs and finding a couple sites that we really wanted to showcase and poke fun at (kidding!), and in the process we’ve met some really awesome bloggers. Ben over at the Sens Army came up with the idea of doing a little Q and A with the enemy and we just couldn’t say no…who doesn’t love cross-promotion, right? Ha!

Without further ado, here’s Part 1 of the Q and A:

BEN INTERVIEWS PATRICIA!!!!

SENS ARMY BEN: Who is the backup goalie for the Devils and does he know how to skate?
2MA PATRICIA: Believe it or not, I am actually the backup goalie for the Devils. My skating abilities aren’t the best in the world, but if Marty did happen to die on ice, I think we’d have a relatively decent shot with me between the pipes.

…or, more likely, I’d be decapitated by the first Dany Heatley shot that whizzed my way.

SENS ARMY: Who are the Devils’ Leafs? (ie: a team that you would like to spontaneuosly combust and then piss on the ashes)
2MA: We Devils fans tend to really not like the Philadelphia Flyers. It’s more or less a ‘hey, your fans are assholes’ type of deal though. Honestly, don’t really have too much of a problem with the team itself, and without Floppa on the team anymore to make fun of, there isn’t much I can really do with Philly right now. There were times when we could say the Rangers, Leafs, and to an extreme lesser extent, the Hurricanes were our ‘jeez, the league would be better if you didn’t exist’ teams, but unfortunately, that heat just ain’t there anymore. It’s quite disappointing, really.

SENS ARMY: Who is the Devil’s #1 D-man that will be assigned to shut-down the Spalfredheat line? (It’s the best name we have so far - Spezza, Alfredsson, Heatley)
2MA: Wow, the sheer awesomeness of that name took my breath away for a second. Whew. The best we seem to have right now is the “ZZ-Pop line” for our wonderful Parise-Zajac-Langenbrunner line. I hate it.

Alas, to answer the question at hand, I’d have to give the #1 D-man responsibility to Johnny Oduya.

…just kidding.

No, really, I think Richard Matvichuk and Brad Lukowich are two key players for the Devils. Number one defensemen they are not, but they’re some of the only size we have left these days and Mr. ‘chuk seems to be amazingly versatile for a man who is coming off of a dangerous, sometimes career ending season-long salary cap injury. Brian Rafalski is our poor man’s Scott Niedermayer, and I’ll tell you what — I sure as hell miss Nieds. Stupid Ducks…

SENS ARMY: Now that Scott Steven is gone, who is most likely to end someone’s career (and possibly life) with a hit?
2MA: If I didn’t say Cam Janssen, all of Toronto Maple Leaf nation would threaten to end MY life. I’m still bitter about that, you know. Yes, I will FULLY admit it was a late hit on Mr. Kaberle, but dude hit the boards awkwardly! Can’t fault Janssen for an awkward fall! Yeah, we can get super technical and say that if Cammie J never hit Kaberle to begin wtih, then he wouldn’t have nearly snapped his neck against the boards, but you know what? That’s hockey. You live with it, you die by it. Hockey’s a rough sport. Deal.

SENS ARMY: What’s the state of NHL hockey in New Jersey? We see alot of empty seats on TV…

2MA: Yeah, uh, we kind of have a problem getting butts in the seats. Have you seen the sorry state our arena is in though,a nd I don’t mean the state of New Jersey itself wise-akers! Seriously, the arena is in the middle of nowhere and worse yet, in the middle of all that nowhere, there’s a gigantic sea of parking garage construction. We got this whole Xanadu garbage going on now — the Devils are getting a new arena in Newark and the remnants of the Continental Arena are turning into some super mall or something…I don’t know. Thing is, the fans (yes, we HAVE fans) just don’t want to spend $150+ to sit in an eyesore of an arena in the middle of swamps and parking garage construction. And, really, there ain’t much to exactly entice the fans either. I mean, seriously, when unscrambling the name “COLIN WHITE” on the jumbotron is the best you have to offer for entertainment value outside of the game itself, there’s something seriously wrong.

SENS ARMY: I once called the NJ Devils “laziest team in hockey” and “from a pure spectator perspective, they produce the worst hockey games in the NHL” - do they deserve the reputation as a defense-first team?
2MA: Hardly. Long gone are the days of Scott Stevens, Scott Niedermayer, and Ken Daneyko. When your top defensive unit more or less consists of Colin White and Brian Rafalski, you’re NOT a defense-first team. Problem is, we, uh, kind of aren’t really an offense-first team either. At the end of the day, it comes down to Marty. Marty stinks up the joint, the team obviously begins to falter. He shines, the rest of the team shines. Really, if it were possible for a goalie to be the Cap’n, he’d be ours. Patrik Elias isn’t exactly a Joe Sakic or Steve Yzerman, you know? I’m just not quite sure how to really describe this particular New Jersey Devils team. We’ve seen huge offensive threats like the 2001 team (a la A-Line and Mogilny/Gomez), and we’ve seen defensive domination like the shutdown capabilities of Stevens, Niedermayer, and the John Maddens and Jay Pandolfos of 2003, but the 2007 team is in a class of its own…and I’m not quite sure that’s a good OR bad thing.

SENS ARMY: If the Devils don’t win the series will Lou Lamoirello look like a total ass for firing Julien?

2MA: Not at all. Claude Julien never found a place with the team. Believe it or not, a lot of Devils fans called for Julien’s firing merely WEEKS into the season…a bit much, eh? Well, sure, they didn’t really give Claude much of a chance but I think their initial thoughts of him were on point — he never really fit with the team. There are two extreme sides of coaching — you have the hard-ass-bad-guys and the I’m-going-to-be-your-best-friend-guys. In between, theres a whole mess of variation. The Devils actually need one extreme or the other — the Pat Burnses (Bad Cop) and the Larry Robinsons (Good Cop). Claude was more or less a “hey, I’m here if you guys need me, but I’m going to let you make the decisions and whatever that decision is, I’ll be okay with it” kind of guy…it didn’t work. Some teams, it would work, but for New Jersey, it’s gotta be one way or the other. Does that, uh, make sense at all? Ha.

Whew, that was fun, I’m definitely looking forward to grilling your butt in Part 2 of our Q and A! Stay tuned, we’re not done yet!

 

It’s apparent the Ottawa Sun hates us. No worries, really. I otherwise would not care very much about what some bitter Canadian columnist had to say about the Devils, but Mr. Earl McRae takes the oh-so-delicious cake.

THIS (link opens in new window) is what I’m referring to, folks.

So, apparently, New Jerseyans are two crayons shy of an empty box.

Reeeeeeeeeally?

I’m gonna have to RANT ’bout this one!

WARNING: THIS RANT CONTAINS GRAPHIC LANGUAGE AND IMAGERY. CONTINUE IF YOU ARE A PERVERT…JAY-KAY ABOUT THE PERVERT PART. CLICKY THE MORE TO READ THE FUN STUFF: (more…)

Being tied 1-1 is oh-so-much better than being in the hole 0-2, ain’t it? Ya’ll ready? I think so. Well, here we go, it’s time for 2 Man Advantage’s Playoff Breakdown: The Awesome, the Not So Awesome, and the Downright Ridiculous!

THE AWESOME: Jamie Langenbrunner’s heroics.

After mightily disappointing fans in the I’m A Hero Department, Jamie finally pulled through and netted what easily can be deemed New Jersey’s most important goal of the 2007 playoffs. The fact that his tally easily made Ray Emery look like a fool just made things all the much better. I love it, and you should too.

Seriously, though, Mr. Langenbrunner couldn’t have picked a better time to shine. Despite Joe Corvo’s best attempt at hooking the poop out of Langs, he found a way through the Ottawa zone a la Gomez Style-e and, well, scored. Oh, and Mr. Corvo — sorry, but violently knocking the net off its moorings really isn’t going to do much once the puck is already easily past the goal line. Nice try though. Oh, I jest!

Alas, the boys needed a hero, and since the Cap’n was too busy with Kleenex shoved up his nose to notice, Jamie had to suffice.

Okay, so maybe Patty didn’t have a wad of tissue in his nostrils, but all the same, right?

THE NOT SO AWESOME: Letting the Sens tie the game with like-no-time-left in regulation.

Last thing you want to do is give the Ottawa Senators of all friggen teams a chance to get back in the game. With about nine million Devils in front of Marty and a couple more Sens sprinkled in the mix, Dany Heatley managed to find a way to awkwardly deflect the puck off of MVP-Goalie and into the net. It was quite disappointing, really. The boys looked lazy on the whole play. I really didn’t appreciate the lack of clearing attempts, nor did I appreciate their skill for simply standing on the ice with their thumbs up their butts, looking up at the scoreboard and hoping that maybe the Sens would bow out gracefully. Let’s face it, despite his best attempts, Marty is not God.

Buuuuuuuut….

THE DOWNRIGHT RIDICULOUS: Martin Mother F’n Brodeur.

I’m pretty sure he made close to eight million saves tonight.

Really.

Okay, maybe seven million, but he was seriously more than awesome tonight. Bouncing back strong after giving up a not-so-awesome five goals in the series opener, Marty propelled himself back into awesome territory by finishing the night with a seriously awesome 43 saves. That’s a lot of rubber…and a lot of use of the word ‘awesome.’

It makes me happy to see our Vezina goalie actually play like a worthy Vezina winner. Yes, he did make some solid saves after giving up a ba-gillion goals in Game 1 to, believe it or not, keep the Devils in the contest, but unfortunately he did give up one (or five) goals too many to come away with a big, fat Double-Ya. Hey, water under the bridge now though, right?

He made some key saves tonight, and I’ll give him all the credit in the world, especially since his playoff OT record ain’t so hot. I’ll take any playoff overtime win this man can get, because, well, there sure aren’t going to be a lot of them.

But all is well with the world, because New Jersey’s finest are tied one-all with Ottawa’s finest and we got ourselves a SERIES on hand now! Going to Canada for Game 3 is going to be one fun affair…and yes, Sens fans, I know it would be so easy to throw in a Marty-Affair joke right there, but come on friends, that was so three years ago.

To Ontario we go!