(God I can’t believe November is almost done, the NFL is in Week 12… and my birthday is coming… good God the older you get.. the FASTER it goes… really….)

It was nice to actually SEE THIS TEAM WIN A GAME (and hockey played as God, or whatever being you crawl into the corner and beg for more goals from, intended it played)… and actually play kinda well…..
This one had all the feelings and makings of an “aw shit they’re gonna lay an egg here” moment… but it never happened… that first period was pure comatose… neither team wanted to be there… the team was blah, because the place seemed lifeless… the place was lifeless because the quality on ice was bad and it was an ugly cycle!

But it’s kinda funny how things woke up in the second period… two moments of fluke shots (and well me just randomly screaming at Hassan to get the Farooq outta my seat during the intermission… I let them move me out of my seat for the opener and I HATED IT)…but anyway… that only set the pace for one of those great moments in section 209 history!!

We have a habit of booing the late showers (well some of them) just to give them grief and to be punctual! So anyway… I wanted to step it up for the 2nd period… so here he is walking up the steps… 2 beers in hand all ready for some Devils hockey… I curl up a napkin and all I am thinking is… oh god.. .hit the chest… be Jamie Langenbrunner…. right into the logo…the chest, not the beer… hit the logo…. so OF COURSE… I throw the napkin and the damn shot is SO PERFECT it doesn’t even hit the plastic cup part of the beer and just splashes in perfect like a Michael Jordan shot on the Knicks

(and just to bring it back to the Devils… they took one shot in the second too and it counted just as much!! :p)

At least it was a nice, solid pounding on a crappy, well BAD, Panthers team (though making Scott Clemmensen look like Mary Brodeur was usually what WE do to backup goalies… was nice to see that and going 1 for 1 on shots in the second period happen!)… the Third Period was pretty decent too!

The Good:
– Elias-Zubrus-Gionta….. this line is producing and big time!!! (nice to see Patrik getting going too)
– the MOVE Paul Martin put on for his goal… HOLY SHIT (it’s funny how guys who’s jerseys I wear seem to do amazing when I wear them to games… quick someone get me a White Langenbrunner!)
– I’m not big on cheerleaders… but DAMN these dancing girls we have now… yum!!!
– Scott Clemmensen did play well (I am not taking anything away from him but I am still annoyed at the bullshit way Weekes has been tossed under the bus) and I can’t imagine why I like my Section Chanting my name!
– JAMIE LANGENBRUNNER DOWN TO REASONABLE MINUTES… hooray!
– the 5 year old kid on his birthday leading the 209 chant in the last minute (and I tell you EVERYONE got into this one!)

the Bad:
– getting dominated in play by this crappy Panthers team… that’s just bad!!
– you could say the attendance and the flat crowd, but the crowd energy was siphoned from the lack of play on the ice (and I really don’t give a shit about attendance numbers i find it BETTER to have a small crowd… you know I can like.. um… DO STUFF in the arena like harass the crazies and stuff)… and you gotta figure… beat up team… AHL jobber as your goalie… and the Florida Panthers… yeah that’s as hot a ticket as Rutgers Football :p

So anyway not really a LOT to say here… so might as well save it for tomorrow… after all IT’S FRIDAY NIGHT (and what the hell ELSE do I have to do right??)

And thus ends the saga of Brodeur V. Avery, at least for the time being. A 5-0 thrashing by the Devils, with every single player wearing the NJ crest looking spectacular. Check out Scott’s analysis below - even he couldn’t come up with someone to chew out!

As Scott mentioned, Andy Greene looked stellar, putting up two assists and bringing us back to the Andy halcyon days of the 2007 playoffs. Dainus Zubrus clearly is as upset as we are that the Zubbie Counter remains in the cob-webbed cellar of 2MA and is working to change that. Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond had a wicked hit late in the game to go with his first career NHL point. Zach Parise continued his stellar start, adding another goal and assist to his growing point totals. And of course, John Madden finally scored on a fast break-like situation!

Perhaps most importantly though, is that - save for a bad penalty by Clarkson in the first period - the Devils FINALLY figured out how to keep Sean Avery from getting under their collective skin. In fact, I submit that the Devils/Clarkson/Brodeur gave Avery a small dose of his own medicine. Even ESPN took notice of the little shoves and the clearing attempt by Brodeur that whizzed by Avery’s head. The Devils frustrated Avery and made him a non-factor. My only question is why they needed a thirteen-game study session last year to figure it out.

So now, with a 5-1-0 record, we move on to a home-and-home with our dear dear friends, the (still winless) Philadelphia Flyers. This could be fun.

9:44 PM: Brent Sutter: “Ankle sprain. He’ll be fine.” Uhhhhhh…yeah. Kay. Thanks, Brent, you’ve been quite informative.

9:41 PM: Alright, so no word on Rolston yet. If they say anything that actually means anything, I’ll post it up here. I’m expecting “lower body injury” (or possibly “head cold”) with no actual idea as to how long he’ll be out. If it’s different, I’ll let you know. If not, goodnight all!

9:24 PM: And, like the game itself, the first LiveCap of the season is in the books, it wasn’t pretty, but it happened. I’ll stick around a bit longer to see if we get an update on Rolston’s condition, but I’m not holding my breath…

9:22 PM: GAME! 1-0 Devils. It wasn’t pretty, the offensive production still sucks, the power play still sucks, but it’s a win nonetheless. Marty’s now 10 wins from tying Patrick Roy for most all-time by a goalie (11 from breaking the record), and six shutouts away from tying Terry Sawchuk for most shutouts of all-time., seven from breaking the record.

9:22 PM: BEAUTIFUL defensive play by Martin to prevent a shot on goal on the rush. Twenty seconds to go.

9:21 PM: Empty Thrasher net.

9:17 PM: Ice is tilting Atlanta’s way with two minutes to go. Meep.

9:15 PM: ANOTHER two-on-one featuring Jay Pandolfo, another non-shot-on-goal. At least no one crashed in a heap into the boards this time, though, so, y’know, take what we can get, yes?

9:13 PM: No updates on Rolston (what, you expected the Devils would reveal anything ever at any time?), but the replay reminds me a little Sidney Crosby’s crash into the boards last year that resulted in his high ankle sprain. Let’s hope that’s not the case here…

9:12 PM: Still 1-0, seven minutes to go in the game. Zubrus is now centering Elias and Gionta, so I guess the great line shake-up of the second period has ended. The 32 fans in attendance are chanting! It sounds impressive for 32 people.

9:09 PM: Rolston hit the boards after losing an edge, Chico says he needed help getting into the locker room because he couldn’t put much weight on his foot. Me no likey.

9:07 PM:Elias and Rolston two-on-one gets broken up, and after the play, Rolston is down and looks to be hurting…crap. Just…crap.

9:05 PM: Shorthanded two-on-one for Madden and Pando, Madden passes, and Pando fires it directly into Lehtonen’s pads. Another two-on-one, Elias and Pando, again nothing doing. But it’s chances, at least! …right?

9:04 PM: Atlanta’s on a power play and I have no idea why. Either I wasn’t paying attention or MSG didn’t think it was important to tell me. Neither would be surprising. Atlanta hits the pipe on the power play.

9:01 PM:Penalty kill’t. Big save by Marty (and then again possibly by Salvador’s backside) at the end of the Thrasher power play. Our power play may be awful, but at least the penalty kill’s holding up it’s end of the bargain…

8:58 PM: Paul Martin going off for a holding-the-stick penalty, Thrashers to the PP again.

8:55 PM: Marty with a save on Bogosian. Come to think of it, has Bogo scored yet in his pro career? Marty seems to like giving up first career goals…

8:52 PM: Third period’s on, goal credited to Rolston after all. Zubrus and Gionta on the assists.

8:35 PM: And that’s the end of period #2, 1-0 Devils. 20 shots on goal (I still refuse to believe that). Third period coming up soonish.

8:33 PM: The official announcement at the arena is giving the goal to Langenbrunner from Rolston and Zubrus. Lehtonen with a huge glove save on Elias keeps it a one-goal game.

8:31 PM: FINALLY! Rolston, let off the point at the power play, forces his way in front of the net and jams home his own rebound. Devils lead 1-0, Rolston notches his first of his second Devils go-round, and the Devils power play finally picks up another goal. Alllll right.

8:30 PM: Exelby takes the roughing penalty for his tackle of Langenbrunner, the ever-dangerous Devil power play takes the ice.

8:27 PM: Now it’s Rolston, Langenbrunner, and Zubrus. And hey, even a little scrummy-ness involving the Cap’n and Garnet Excelby. The most life I’ve seen tonight. The 32 fans in attendance even seemed to wake up.

8:26 PM: Rupp/Zajac/Parise? Really?

8:24 PM: Cangelosi just said the shots for the second are 13-5 Devils. I refuse to believe this. There is no way I’ve seen thirteen Devil shots on the night, let alone this period.

8:19 PM: Clarkson wraparound try! Gasp and shock, it’s not even close.

8:15 PM: Zubrus charging in on a three-on-one, opts to shoot…and misses the net entirely. Blast.

8:13 PM: I wonder how we managed to win two games so far this year considering I can’t recall ever actually scoring any goals…

8:06 PM: Hey hey, something interesting! Brodeur with a stop on the big blast by White (not Colin, Todd), leaves a huge rebound and manages to get in front of the follow-up shot as well. Stellar stop by Marty. The 32 fans in the building agree.

8:04 PM: I think Sutter’s futzing with the lines again. Clarkson was just out there with Holik and Rupp. Zubrus is centering Rolston and Elias at the moment as well.

8:01 PM: God, Lehtonen is leaving some juicy rebounds. However, in shades of last year, the Devils can’t do a damn thing about it. Penalty’s over, though. Devils have killed three of three of ‘em tonight now.

8:00 PM: Okay, second period on, Devils still on the PK. A little bit more…something, this period? Anything? Please?

7:42 PM: Aaaaand that be the end of a very boring first period, scoreless after one. See you in seventeen for what can only be a more interesting second. I hope.

7:39 PM: Welp, least they killed that one. Holik gets booed by the 32 Atlanta fans in attendance tonight. Yet another Devils penalty coming up, Zajac for hooking. Less than a minute to go in the period.

7:36 PM: See, this is why I miss Doc. Cangelosi lied to me, it’s actually Atlanta on the power play, not so much the Devils.

7:34 PM: And just as one penalty expires, and new one commences. The Devils get their turn on the power play, again. So in two minutes, the score will still be zero-zero, again.

7:31 PM: And so Colin White goes off for interference. This game is rather boring. Sorry. Last year’s early-season game in Atlanta was all kinds of crazy. I miss that game. A little.

7:26 PM: Even Chico’s mentioning how few fans are in the building. And is also touting the Thrashers “Buy a ticket, eat all you want for free” sections deal. Chico Eats: HOTlanta Edition!

7:23 PM: How they managed to not get it in, I don’t have the slightest. Good pressure again, but once again, nothing doing as far as scoring. Devils PP is now 0-for-2 on the evening, and 1-for-13 on the year. Ouch.

7:22 PM: I say it every time the Devils play Atlanta, but DAMN the Thrashers have ugly jerseys.

7:20 PM: ‘nother penalty on the Thrashers, this one interference on David Clarkson. Don’t the Thrashers know they don’t have to interfere with David Clarkson, that he’s perfectly capable of stopping his own progress? Regardless, Devils PP again.

7:17 PM: You know, as a Devils fan, I should be used to empty arenas…and yet, I keep finding myself strangely drawn to the swaths of empty seats whenever the camera catches the stands. It’s almost hypnotizing.

7:15 PM: A nice chance in front for Pandolfo, who sends a backhander at the Atlanta goal with the speed of a honey-soaked tortoise. Sigh.

7:13 PM: Surprisingly strong on the puck deep in the zone, but Atlanta manages to clear each time. We’re not looking stellar tonight boys.

7:11 PM: Schneider with a puck-over-the-glass deal and the vaunted (ha!) Devils power play hits the ice. Oh boy oh boy.

7:09 PM: Puck’s on the ice in Atlanta. You wouldn’t know it from the crowd though. My goodness, and they say we don’t draw in Jersey. Hot damn.

7:01 PM: Oh dammit. First LiveCap of the year, and Doc’s sick. Sigh. Get well Doc. Other Devils news for tonight: Salmela’s hanging out in the press box tonight, and Andy Greene gets into his first game of the year. He’ll be paired with Johnny Oduya.

6:45 PM: What’s that coming over the hill? It it a LiveCap? It it a LiveCap? Ahhh musical references no one will get…see you in 15!

Before I begin, I’d like to apologize for the lack of pictures in this post. I have them up and ready to go, but I seem to be having a problem with getting them posted. I’ll try to have this problem rectified as soon as possible. - Josh
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So it’s in the books, the Devils open the 2008-09 season with a 2-1 victory over the Islanders. It wasn’t all pretty, but it wasn’t all bad either. So, I present to you, loyal 2MA reader…THE AWESOME, THE NOT-SO-AWESOME, AND THE DOWNRIGHT RIDICULOUS of the Devils’ season opener as I saw from my perch in 114:

THE AWESOME – No more Zombie Nation!

I’m not going to lie – I’m conflicted with this awesomeness. After Gary Glitter’s arrest and persecution, I was perfectly fine with the Devils’ choice to stop using Rock And Roll Pt 2 as their goal song. When they used Ole! by Bouncing Souls two years ago, even better – awesome band, awesome song. But last year’s song, Kernkraft 440 by Zombie Nation, just sucked.

So, I guess the annoyance with last year’s song trumps the distaste of the performer of the new/old song. And in the end, Glitter’s paid his debt to society, so maybe it is alright after all to be using his song again.

It’s still better than Zombie Nation.

THE NOT-SO-AWESOME – HE’S NOT WEARING A MASK!

I was in the middle of a conversation with a friend about hockey rules when Marty was run into by Paul Martin and lost his mask. I know hockey’s a fast sport, and sometimes things happen faster on the ice than we notice them on television or in the stands, but can someone please explain to me why someone was allowed to fire a shot even in the general direction of a mask-less goalie before a whistle was blown? Pucks have been frozen by overzealous referees in less time than it took for play to be blown dead after Marty lost his mask.

Brodeur is on track to shatter records left and right. This should be a huge deal for the NHL. A slow whistle by the referee could have easily ended any chance Brodeur has at taking his place in the record book – and ultimately raising the NHL’s profile on non-hockey friendly outlets such as ESPN. There are some things that are just too dangerous to mess around with, and a mask-less goalie is one of them. Any time a goalie loses his mask, play needs to be whistled dead immediately. Period.

THE DOWNRIGHT RIDICULOUS – Green men and dancing guy strippers…wait, I’m at a Devils game?

Look, I know the Devils get a bad rap over their marketing and fan relations and in-game entertainment. Usually I’m one of the ones complaining the most. But if this is what’s in store for this year, I recant all of my prior complaints. Just don’t make me watch these people anymore.

First is the guy with the multiple shirts. He does some kind of strange dancing stripping routine that was funny at first – especially when he stopped a guy who clearly didn’t want to have anything to do with him. But the next five or six times? Not so much. The enthusiasm is nice. The shirt-removing routine grows old really fast.

The green guy was less obnoxious, but far more difficult to understand. My friend tells me it’s a reference to It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia, which is probably more correct than my guess – an overzealous fan of Andy Greene. Whatever it is, I’m reasonably certain green guy was not wearing underwear beneath his frighteningly form-fitting costume. And I really didn’t need to see that.

You know what? I think Rangers fans are scared.

A mere two days away from the puck hitting the ice stateside for the first time this season and those Rag loving Wall Street types are torpedoing our economy into oblivion with the hope that maybe, just maybe, the entire country will dissolve in time to put off the hockey season, and as a result their inevitable demise. It’s gotta be that. Or the Russians.. Hmm.

Well I will not be deterred! It’s Devils season preview time baby!

Three days to go before the New (Old) and Improved New Jersey Devils hit the ice against the New York Islanders at the Rock. If you’re like me, you’ve read the 645 other season previews out there who are writing off the Devils as an aging group running an outdated system.

I say eff that.

Marty

Yes Brodeur is a year older. Of course we’ll need to address this in the coming years but I for one am not gonna even pay a passing thought to this considering he won the Vezina for oh, the 4th time in 6 years. Next topic.

The new old guys

I’m actually extremely excited to see what this offense can do this year. On paper I see it as a solid blend of experience and youth, speed and size. I think that in the second year of Sutter’s reign, the boys will come out with a lot more confidence and gusto working in his system that will produce a noticeable increase in goals with the addition of Rolston and Holik.

The retooled front lines could also fall completely flat, but after several lean offensive years and two years of epic collapses from my beloved Mets, I’m prepared to handle everything short of the top three lines tearing up their contracts on the ice and signing with the Rangers, Flyers and Islanders, respectively.

Oduya’s army

Oh the defense.. You know, I’ve got no idea on this one. They were so befuddling last year I’m not going to even try. Maybe someone taught Johnny Oduya to skate backwards. Maybe Paul Martin will step up and show the offensive prowess we saw glimpses off last year. Maybe Annsi Salmela will become the next Scott Niedermayer and alleviate the need for me to start calling him salmonella by mid-November.

Anything’s possible, I suppose. If I were a betting man though, I’d be placing my chips on the guy in net and the offense carrying this team forward.

The Tykes

Speaking of Salmela, the potential youth influx certainly bears watching. I think Lou and Brent made the right choices on Vrana and Salmela for opening night, but I’d also like to see what Matt Halischuk and Niklas Bergfors can do at some point in the season. Who knows, maybe if they take Matt Corrente off suicide watch after his miserable pre-season performance he could even make an appearance. Definitely a wait-and-see approach with the new guys though.

All-in-all, I’m optimistic. If the D steps it up I think we’re a cup contender. If not, we could at least make up for a terrible showing last year by beating up on the Rangers and Islanders in the season series. Friday night’s a great time to start. Go Devils!

P.S. Church claps all around to the Rags fans who will undoubtedly point out that they scraped by with a pair of victories against a Tampa Bay Lightning team that had played together for all of 35 minutes before the first game. Kudos.