In Lou We Trust

The New Jersey Devils travel to Madison Square Garden to take on the New York Rangers.

GAMETIME: 7:00 PM, EST on 11/14
National TV: Versus
Local Radio: 660 AM, WFAN

Yes, they play tomorrow night. I won't be around a computer for most of tomorrow, so I'm putting up a preview now. The Devils finally got their offense and their power play productive and beat the Florida Panthers 4-2 on Saturday night. The Rangers went to DC and got soundly beat by the Washington Capitals 3-1. Regardless, the Rangers last beat NJ 4-2 at Madison Square Garden and the Blueshirts will be looking for some revenge after their loss to the Capitals. The Devils won't make it easy, as they are on a 4 game winning streak.

It's still unclear as to whether Scott Gomez and Jim Fahey will play on Tuesday. As it is the team is looking pretty good now that Elias finally broke his slump with a goal and an assist for the Devils. Zach Parise is still burning, with 2 goals and 3 assists in his last 5 games. Brian Gionta is still in his slump, with his last point - an assist - on October 24 against the Penguins. Martin Brodeur says in his book, Beyond the Crease, "I hate the Rangers, and Lou hates them to death." Now that the Rangers are finally a team of decent talent, we're going to have a game on Tuesday. My expected line up sans Gomez and Fahey:


I know we can trust Marty to do well against the likes of Jaromir Jagr (5G, 21A - yes 21 ASSISTS), Michael Nylander (7G, 18A), ex-Devil Brendan Shanahan (13G, 9A), and Martin Straka (9G, 9A). The Rangers are not lacking in offensive talent, with the 4th best power play in the league with a 20.8% effective rate and 6th in the league in goals scored with 57. What NJ must do is go up early (as they are still undefeated with a lead), continue being effective on the power play (Rangers are only average on the penalty kill, 16th in the league with 83.3% efficiency), and pound their OK defense and their talented goaltender Henrik Lundqvist with shots and scoring chances - they will go through as the Rangers are 27th in the league in goals against with 59 given up. Now that Elias is over the hump, it should be a bit easier for that to happen (instead of solely relying on the Puzzle Line). It will also help if Cam Janssen teaches that punk Ryan Hollweg some things if Hollweg gets nasty (and he will, it's kind of his thing what with him being a jerk).

It's always a good day when the Devils beat the Rangers. Go kick the stuffing out of them and make my day tomorrow night, Devils.

IN OTHER NEWS:

• Mark Messier will present a new monthly award for leadership, for players who best feature it on and off the ice (CBC article). An annual award will be presented for the NHL's best leader. I can see why Messier is the guy for this, but personally I think it should be Scott Stevens. He best represented the big change in the Devils' success since the early 1990s and led best by example. Of course, this is also a Devils blog and that's another reason why I think it should have been Stevens...
• Patrick Roy, Dick Duff, Herb Brooks, and Harley Hotchkiss were all inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame this year. NHL.com has the full word as well as other articles you can persue to learn more about them. The New Jersey Devils' main website highlights an article written by Phil Coffey of NHL.com covering former Devils head coach and head coach of the Miracle on Ice 1980 USA squad, Herb Brooks. It's a good read, check it out.

As always, go Devils.

Labels: Devils Game