Things to improve upon.

Lou needs to read this. After paying close attention to the play of the Sabres, Ducks, Canucks, rangers, senators, and, of course, the Devils, I noticed exactly what's wrong with us. In short, we suck. But we wouldn't suck if the following would be improved:

The offense. Some of our offense (re: Parise, Zajac, Gionta and Clarkson) has been pretty good. If only they could score. Their shots aren't the best, and they're not getting on the rebounds quickly enough (I finally noticed them!). The problem isn't lack of rebounds, but the fact that we can't seem to get to them in time. By the time we get there, the D cleared it, or Emery covered.

The defense. With the exception of Matvichuk, Martin, and Greene, it sucks. Rafalski's mind hasn't been with him, White has anger issues and Lukowich hasn't been bad, but he hasn't been as good as usual. Matvichuk blocks anything he can, Martin's great at breaking up plays (namely odd man rushes), and Greene's been good all around. I think Oduya would be a better choice than White or Rafalski right now.

The lack of heart. Minus the seven that aren't really having offensive or defensive problems and Marty, no one has any heart. Elias, our captain, is playing with less heart than imaginable. I think you all know by now that I'm always the first one to defend him, unless he's just that bad. None of them seem to care if they make it to round three or not.

The lack of pressure. Boy, are they lacking a lot of things, but pressure has to be the most important. If they would pressure Emery, even a little, he would crack like an egg. They need to shoot what ever they can at him, and get a goal (preferably more) early in the game, just as a blow to his confidence. He's not like Marty. He's not as good, and he doesn't shrug off those goals like he does.

The lines. The line choices just suck. Not so much the lines themselves, just how much they're played. Was it just me, or was the Zajac line playing better against the Spezza line the the Madden line was? They had the puck in their zone, and they were creating some scoring chances. The Madden line was creating scoring chances too, just not for us. That line is being over played. Save them for if we make it to round three and have to play the Sabres. Let ZZPop get the job done and be done with it. Oh yeah, put Clarkson with Parise and Zajac, stick Langenbrunner on the first line with Gomez and Gionta, and put Elias where ever there's an opening. That would play out well.


Things that aren't that wretched:

The rookies. Clarkson, Greene, and Zajac have been some of the best players in this series, and they're only rookies. If I was Rafalski or Elias, I'd be a little embarrassed that rookies were out playing me.

Parise and Gionta. Scoring or not, they're still amazing. They both hit (and hard, which is pretty cool, since they're both kind of small), shoot, and do anything possible to score.

Marty. After the very first period of this series, he's been a God on skates. That's all I have to say about him.

So, the end. And someone try to get this to Lou.

Strange, isn't it?

I was always one of those weird children, that preferred writing over playing with Barbies. Why am I telling you this? Because I felt like writing something, so you're gonna get an unbiased (that's my favorite word) recap of the Sabres/rangers Game 5.


As Maxim Afinogenov scored just 4:39 into overtime, the Buffalo Sabres took a 3-2 series lead over the new york rangers (unbiased or not, none of those words are getting capitalized).

At 16:41 of the third, martin straka broke a scoreless tied with an even strength goal from karel rachunek and Brendan Shanahan (he was a Devil, so his name can be capitalized), only to have Chris Drury of the Sabres tie it up with less than eight seconds left in regulation. Daniel Briere and Tim Connolly picked up the assists.

When blaire betts was called for hooking at 4:28, both teams were unsuccessful on the power play, with the Sabres going 0/5, and the rangers 0/7. Eleves seconds later, Afinogenov scored the only power play goal of the night, which stood as the game winner. Jason Pominville and Dmitri Kalinin assisted on this important goal for the Sabres. Neither team had been sucessfun on the road, with each now suffering an overtime loss, and the rangers losing games 1 and 2, and the Sabres game 4 in regulation.

The Sabres out shot the rangers 40-22 through out the whole game, with the rangers only registering more shots on goal in the first (8-7) and both team only having 3 shots in OT.

With a win on the road on Sunday, the Sabres can close out their series against the rangers in six games, and wait for the Devils/Senators series is over to find out who their next opponent will be.




I like being biased better. Oh well.

Dude, that's harsh.

I know Elias has been (chose one: wretched, sucky, lame, horrible, a disgrace, just plain bad) in the playoffs, but some people are blowing this way out of proportion. Just because he hasn't been his best lately doesn't mean the guy needs to be chained up and put away, or worse, be stripped of Stevens' "C". Yeah, he hasn't been the best captain (so it seems), but who do we have to compare him to? The only guy I can really think of is Scott Stevens. We were lucky to have such an amazing player and captain for so long, we took it for granted, and now people are calling for Patrik's head. Give the guy a break. He missed half of last season, and about 8 games this season, due to illness and injury. I've seen all of these guys play better, and no one wants to see any of them gone (with the exception of Madden). Which brings me to another point. Madden's been (chose one of the above) too, but wanting the guy gone is a bit too extreme don't you think? Pelley does a good job of taking his place, but until Madden's retired, I don't see him being replaced by anyone.

I'm getting way off track here, but, don't get me wrong, I love Parise, but give him a few more years until he's an alternate, let alone captain.

Oh, and can someone please tell me when White started wearing the "A"? Wasn't it Langenbrunner all season? Now all of a sudden it's White? When did this happen? I'm not even joking, can someone please tell me when this happened?

Here's an idea.

[10:13] Just a quick note to Lou: When a guy like Ken Daneyko says to play Janssen, do it. The guy played (professional) hockey for 21 years. I'd trust his word over Lou's crappy coaching any day.

[9:43] Season over. We sucked.

[9:26] Just BTW, Brodeur had the secondary assist on Gio's goal.
STOP PASSING AND SHOOT THE FREAKING PUCK!!

[9:20] Martin?! Didn't see that one coming. If the Devils can do that 2 more times, and Marty can not let anything in, I'll be good. I'll make the cookies, I'll do anything. Oh, that goal was from Pandolfo, with assists form Martin and Brylin.

[9:08] We lost. We lost the game, we lost the series, we lost the cup, we just plain lost. It's over. We're wretched tonight. Nice, Lukowich, or Marty whoever that was. Let's just take the L and be done with it. I don't care what anyone says. It's over.

[8:44] ..It's he said, she said/LET'S EVEN OUT THE SCORE. Got it guys? I'm gonna start singing if you don't tie it again, then win. Regroup during the intermission, and remind me why I love you guys.

[8:41] Another PP. I bet you anything it's gonna be useless.

[8:36] I refuse to count that goal until heatley learns how to spell "Danny." There's 2 N's, not one, sweetie. And Madden, next time Parise's standing right in front of the net, all alone, try to get it to him. That goes for all of them.

[8:26] First of all, nice trip on Zajac. Second, did they forget to freeze the puck? It's bouncing around a lot. Nice shot to the pads, too, Rass. We're not very good.

[8:12] Why do their fans even boo when they're short handed? We never score. And I just jinxed it. Not really. Gionta just tied it with a wrister from Elias. Oh, but nice hook Martin.

[8:10] I've given up hope on us. If they're gonna keep playing like this, we're gonna lose, no question. And we deserve it. Step it up, or just give it up. Pressure guys, pressure!!

[7:50] ( Our 3rd power play. Does that lack of goals surprise me? No. We haven't had a goal in forever, let alone a PPG. Tonight, I'm sending each player a copy of that picture. They could use it, that's for sure. They need to stop shooting to Emery's pads and the rest of the Senators, and maybe try aiming for the net. Unless you're like Fultonsp?) Reed from the Mighty Ducks (the movie, not the team), you can't make the puck go through someone. Get close to the net, and shoot at that, not the players. Stop passing, and shoot. Shoot your little hearts out. Remember last time, when I said pressure Emery, and they seemed to listen, and they not only scored, but won? If Marty can play like he did last game, and the offense plays like they did in the 2nd period of game 1, we can win it. K, Lou?

[7:40] This needed to come back. I think it worked last time.


[7:37] I take that back. Out PP isn't lame. It's as wretched as out offense. And chris simpson. She knows less than I do. And she doesn't do a good job of covering that up. I doubt she knows Clarkson's name either (the announcers called him something, but it wasn't David). Anyway, PP number 2. They play their PPs like it's full strength. That's not good.
All these goal posts are giving me a headache. Score, Devils, score!! Either that, or get your golf clubs ready.

STOP PLAYING THE FREAKING MADDEN LINE. They're not very good at all. Stick the EGG and PZL lines on and be done with it. And if he had to sit someone, why Rupp? He's the best. Not really. But he is pretty good.
Stupid goal post. Go die. That goal was as in as the Sens'. And the refs are continuing their non call thing. But here's a Power Play. Make it useful, please. It's been kind of lame lately. Like, really lame.

..Who..?

Just out of curiosity, who is Paul White? I was cutting out the articles on the Devils from Sunday's Bergen Record, and something caught my eye. It said, and I quote:
"This time, defensemen Paul White and Richard Matvichuk failed to level Heatley.." (It's not my fault that's the sentence it was in.)
Had I not seen Matvichuk there, I would have assumed there's a Paul White on the Senators. Could it have been a typo? Yes, since the two previous sentences were about Colin White. But even I proof read my writing (though it is hard to tell sometimes), and my writing isn't even published (surprising, right?). Normally, I would have let it slide, but the girl who wrote the article made another error by stating that Langenbrunner's goal was unassisted. Big deal. A lot of breakaways are unassisted, right? Right. But I've noticed, in reading several other articles, that she makes mistakes like that all the time. If the girl wasn't clearly a Devils fan, I would probably written a letter complaining about it instead of wasting your time writing this. I've said it before, no one's perfect, but at least proof read, especially if you know your writing's gonna be read by thousands of people. And if that tying goal "sucked the life out of the arena," we were watching a different game. I wasn't there, but the fans never seemed to lose their enthusiasm at any point of that game.

I bet you anything there are a ton of typos in here that are gonna make me look like a huge hypocrite, but hey. At least I'll admit it. Till tomorrow, my friends.

Do they get peanuts in the penalty box?

[9:33] So Gionta gets tripped and they score. Not us, them. I really really really really hate Emery. He's a crappy goalie and he doesn't know how to play hockey. He doesn't deserve that freaking win. He's not good at all. I don't care what anyone says. If you can't make a normal save, then go play golf. He's a freaking cocky..ugh. He doesn't deserve half the credit he gets. Either do the refs. Are they all blind or something? Langenbrunner fell, so he gets called for tripping. Elias and Gionta were both tripped and nothing. I'm starting to hate emery more than I hate avery. Freaking tard made me break my computer. I hope he pulls his grion covering the puck next time.


[9:22]So Jamie falls, and gets sent to the box. Screw Montreal next summer. I'm going to Ottawa tomorrow. Those refs and emery need a reality check, and the refs need glasses. I'll send them mine. They obviously need them more than I do.


[9:17] What's worse: the crap calls or the constant covers by emery, for which I might just have to hit him with the puck right in the..? Seriously. They missed at least 2 calls on the Sens in the last 3 minutes (interfearence and tripping), but as soon as we do (or even don't do half the time) something, they're blowing the whislte. The penalty on them right now is working, but when you were shorted 3 power plays in one period, there's a problem. This game sucks. No, wait. We suck. Gahh.


[9:07]Hey Marty, guess what? You SUCK. I don't care how many freaking saves you have, how could you let that one in? Seriously. Stop checking out the ref, and keep your head in the game. Stupid. And these announcers are really making me sick. I'm gonna vomit all over my keyboard. I hate to say it, but the checking line sucks too. They're not doing their job very well.


[8:45] Is this reminding anyone else of the game on April 3rd, where it was scoreless until about half way through the third, then Madden scored, then the Sens tied it, then we won in the shootout? Ugh. How bout the Devils score and get the 1-0 lead, the Sens pull Emery, and it backfires this time and we get the eampty netter? That works for me.


What's with the Planters wall paper thing in the Sens' penalty box? Do they give away free peanuts? They must. Why else would Matvichuk be making so many trips there? I want peanuts.

So the Devils are kind of sucking right now. Like, seriously. I bet they all want free peanuts. Then they'll be happy. Wouldn't you be happy if you got free peanuts? Enough peanut talk. Someone needs to tell emery to stop covering every freaking puck that comes near him, or I'm gonna have to go and do that. And trust me, he doesn't want that to happen. Eh. I'm not liking the short handed-ness and the lack of shots and puck controll. We suck. End of story. But I'm finding this all very amusing. Oh, another cover. I need a ride up to Ottawa. This is crazy. When you've only faced about 10 shots half way through the game, it's safe to say you can give up a rebound or two. And if they score, oh well. That's hockey. I ramble a lot. Good bye, until something *good* happens.

STEP IT UIP, GUYS!!

New links

So I found a couple blogs I happened to find interseting, so I figured I'd link to them. If you have a site or blog you want me to link to, just send me an email or drop a comment. That's all.


LET'S GO DEVILS!!

Moment Number Two

Remember about a week ago, I posted that thing about Lowell's "Inaugral Season Moments?" If you don't, I don't blame you. I posted a lot of crap after that, so it's not your fault. Anyway, this week's moment is David Clarkson's awesomeness back in January. In two consecutive games (both against the Philadelphia Phantoms), he had 5 goals and 3 assists (that's 8 points, to those of you who are also math-challenged). The first game, he gave the Devils the 2-0 lead, and broke the 2-all tie in the 3rd. He got the primary assist on Ryan Murphy's (game winning) goal, and scored the empty netter, to collect the 2nd hat-trick of the season (for Lowell) and the first on home ice. The next night, he had a goal and 2 assists on 2 goals form Aaron Voros. So, that's really all it said, but here's the link, if you wanna read the actual article thing.


LET'S GO DEVILS!!

The impossible has happened.

Final Ducks/canucks update: Ducks 3, canucks 2. GWG- (PPG) Perry at 7:51 (3rd) from Chris Progner and Andy McDonald. The end.


Update (already?!): The canucks tied it at 19:12. Just in case you care.

The rangers won. Over the Sabres. I'm just as shocked as you. But they copied us. Seriously. They were leading until (kind of) late in the 3rd, and they won it in 2OT. Copy cats. But, on the bright side, it needs to happen 3 more times for them to win the series, so that's good.

And the Ducks are up 1-0 on vancouver late in the 1st, with a wrist shot goal from Dustin Penner (Corey Perry). I'll keep you posted.


As usual, I had to put something off topic in here. So I found this, and the first thing I thought was "Captain Crunch."