Thursday, February 21, 2008
Devils 3 - Sharks 2
Yeah, I know I didn't further analyze the Devils 5-1 win over Carolina, so here it is summed up:
This is Example #3.
- The Devils were strong in both ends and succeeded in hammering Carolina with offensive pressure and shots. Rare in general and in a matinée.
- Carolina's defense was a joke, seemingly half a step behind in coverage all game and allowing the Devils to keep up pressure. I can't believe I'm writing this, but they have to be missing Mike Commodore's stability. No, seriously, he actually was a leading defensemen in ice time among the Canes.
- The Devils didn't suffer at the hands of back up John Grahame, but thrived, which is rare.
- The Devils won 5-1 and the win pushed them to a tie in first place in the conference. What more can one ask for?
- OK, one more point. In my opinion, Andy Greene had an impressive game with 2 hits and 4 blocked shots. It's impressive considering he's been on the outside looking in on the blueline for the past few weeks. Good to see him take advantage of his ice time.
So, let's talk about last night's game. Where the Devils were simply strong against Carolina, this one was a very weird game. The 3-2 win against San Jose is indicative that the Devils are clearly rolling, not just because they are 5-0-1 in their last 6 games. Here is example 1: in the first period, I believe Paul Martin made an errant pass in his zone leaving the puck to be wide open. As a Shark was stretching for the loose puck, he fell down. The Devils picked up on it and rushed up the ice for an odd man rush. Example #2: how all 5 goals were scored
- Jonathon Cheechoo got the game's first goal by tying up Martin Brodeur with his stick from behind, and tapping the puck bouncing off the boards just inside.
- The Devils responded when Thomas Greiss - San Jose's back up goaltender - went out for a loose puck, missed the poke check (thanks to Jamie Langenbrunner bravely going after the puck), had the puck bounce off his legs, and allowed Zach Parise to take it and put it in the empty net.
- The Devils went up 2-1 when John Madden tucked a puck between Greiss' left skate and the post.
- Sergei Brylin capped off the second period with a fairly average speed shot squeaking through Greiss' legs and in.
- Kyle McLaren's shot was re-directed by Brian Gionta to beat Martin Brodeur in the third.
All very odd, none of them were just well placed shots or what you would consider a standard goal. You can't fault Marty on either of the goals given up. You could fault Martin for not destroying Cheechoo in the slot prior to his cuffing of Brodeur - except he was behind and didn't want to hand the Sharks a 2 Man Advantage. You could fault Gionta goal #2 but that was just an unfortunate re-direction. Were Greiss more experienced, he never would have went out for that puck - and if he did, he would have made damn sure he got to it first. He also would have kept his legs closer to the post and with each other. Even so, Greiss did well for a guy who gets even less time than Kevin Weekes.
Oddly enough, San Jose effectively curtailed the Devils' attack by limiting them to 20 shots on net, 17 blocked shots (!!), and 10 missed shots. San Jose got more on net with 32; but it didn't matter. The Devils got the breaks, as they keep on winning. San Jose definitely did not, as they earn their third straight loss on the road and their fifth straight winless game. Considering San Jose went into this road trip with more wins than any other NHL team and while challenging for a top spot in the West, this entire experience must be very demoralizing. On paper, they did a lot of things right. But the Devils out did them in faceoffs, got out hit, and while neither team really outworked the other, the Devils capitalized on plays which normally most don't capitalize on. But that's just example #2.
Oddly enough, San Jose effectively curtailed the Devils' attack by limiting them to 20 shots on net, 17 blocked shots (!!), and 10 missed shots. San Jose got more on net with 32; but it didn't matter. The Devils got the breaks, as they keep on winning. San Jose definitely did not, as they earn their third straight loss on the road and their fifth straight winless game. Considering San Jose went into this road trip with more wins than any other NHL team and while challenging for a top spot in the West, this entire experience must be very demoralizing. On paper, they did a lot of things right. But the Devils out did them in faceoffs, got out hit, and while neither team really outworked the other, the Devils capitalized on plays which normally most don't capitalize on. But that's just example #2.
This is Example #3.
Thanks to Jeffler on HFBoards for finding this. (BTW, check out his Youtube channel, it's awesome.) A save like this was actually made in a game. That's weird, that's odd, and it's all fantastic. Any critics of Brodeur, saying that he's too old or that's overated or whatever else idiots say these days should watch this video and promptly shut up.
Labels: 2008 Postgame
# posted by John Fischer @ 6:27 PM 0 comments 
