Thursday, December 14, 2006
Game: Devils @ Boston Pt. 2
The New Jersey Devils go back to Boston to take on the Bruins in a Thursday Night Matchup.
GAMETIME: 7:00 PM, EST
Local TV: Fox Sports NY
Local Radio: 660 AM, WFAN
NHL.com Preview
Another player I feel will need to show up tonight is Brian Gionta. The Gulitti article notes that Brian Gionta will not back down from anyone, not even 6'9" Zdeno Chara. I (and most Devils fans) know this when a young Gionta tried to check Hal Gill about 2 years ago in a game, promptly fell down (what with Gill being huger than Gionta), and promptly got back up and stormed the net. Gionta is all about hustle, heart, and a word that means fearlessness but begins with an 'h.' He'll be setting up screens in front of Tim Thomas, who will likely be Boston's goaltender tonight if he's healthy (otherwise it'll be Hannu Toivonen). The notes section of this Boston Globe article by Fluto Shinzawa has all this information and more about the Bruins. That said, here are my projected lines for tonight's game:
Go Devils!
GAMETIME: 7:00 PM, EST
Local TV: Fox Sports NY
Local Radio: 660 AM, WFAN
NHL.com Preview
BUT FIRST: Check out TSN'sTransactions page. Alex Brooks and Dan LaCouture were sent back down to Lowell yesterday. Hmm. Wonder if Lou is making room? Sometime on this coming Monday is the holiday roster freeze date, meaning teams can't trade, call up, or send down and players to and from their NHL roster. So if Richard Matvichuk is going to play soon, a move will need to be made very soon. Of course, I could be reading too much into this, as Brooks and LaCouture haven't seen any playing with NJ since being called up and are being sent down to get some minutes with a team.
OK, the Boston Bruins are coming off a tough 4-3 loss to their historical rivals the Montreal Canadiens from Tuesday night. The Devils are coming off a 3-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres, which also took place on Tuesday night. The Devils have been hot against Boston, though. The NHL.com curiously notes that the last time the Devils lost to the Bruins in Boston was on March 13, 2003. That's a good streak to have. If the Devils come out like they did against the Sabres in the first period, they got a good chance to start another winning streak tonight.
Having read today's Tom Lycan's Devils Due post, he finds this crucial article from Tom Gulitti in the Bergen Record. Here's the link, but here's what matters: SCOTT CLEMMENSEN WILL GET THE START. With Detroit and the Rangers looming this weekend, now is a good of time as any to rest Martin Brodeur. The Devils defense will need to come to play and play big tonight to help Clemmensen out. That means no giveaways, Brian Rafalski.
Another player I feel will need to show up tonight is Brian Gionta. The Gulitti article notes that Brian Gionta will not back down from anyone, not even 6'9" Zdeno Chara. I (and most Devils fans) know this when a young Gionta tried to check Hal Gill about 2 years ago in a game, promptly fell down (what with Gill being huger than Gionta), and promptly got back up and stormed the net. Gionta is all about hustle, heart, and a word that means fearlessness but begins with an 'h.' He'll be setting up screens in front of Tim Thomas, who will likely be Boston's goaltender tonight if he's healthy (otherwise it'll be Hannu Toivonen). The notes section of this Boston Globe article by Fluto Shinzawa has all this information and more about the Bruins. That said, here are my projected lines for tonight's game:
Parise-Gomez-Gionta
Elias-Zajac-Langenbrunner
Pandolfo-Madden-Brylin
Rasmussen-Dowd-Rupp
White-Rafalski
Oduya-Martin
Hale-Lukowich
Clemmensen
Go Devils!
# posted by John Fischer @ 2:47 PM 0 comments 
