He gave us a chance to win tonight. Goals were CLEARLY, CLEARLY, CLEARLY not his fault, in fact the first one should’ve been a goaltender interference penalty.

But it’s the rest of this team’s fault. Their absolute unwillingness to take the body, or try to permeate the interior of the Ottawa defense, and just hope that the puck would go off Emery and make it into the net. We were awful tonight from goal crease out. Marty deserved a better effort from his team tonight, and that’s why we lost. A half-ass effort could’ve beaten the Sens tonight, but the forwards and defense couldn’t even come up with that.

Detroit-San Jose tonight at 10, enjoy that.

Wonderful stuff from #30 tonight so far. 20 of 20.

Devils can win a game in one period if the game is tied. They just need to win this period and take control of the series.

I’m back folks. Thanks to CRASHER for his help, and he will be gladly welcomed for a second opinion on the Devils any time he makes it to the computer screen until the Devs are ousted from the postseason.

That said, some keys to tonight’s game:

1. Discouraging the Sens, and the crowd, early. A goal in the first 5 minutes would be huge. This crowd has a taste for meat and a true belief that this is their year. An early strike would quiet them quickly.

2. The Madden line. Jay Pandolfo agreed that they have not been playing up to snuff the first two games of this series. They have to stop the Spezza line. We can deal with one mildly dangerous scoring line. What we can’t deal with is the CA$H line going through us faster than Chinese food thru the digestive system.

Tonight’s game is on VERSUS, in Jersey and Nationally. Here are the VERSUS channel listings:

MSO/System Name
Service Area
Ch #
Blue Ridge/Gouldsboro, PA
Gouldsboro
62
Blue Ridge/Hemlock Farms, PA
Hemlock Farms
66
Blue Ridge/Huntington Hills PA
Huntington Hills
57
Blue Ridge/Milford, PA
Milford
66
Blue Ridge/New Foundland, PA
New Foundland
62
Cablevision/Allamuchy, NJ
Allamuchy
408
Cablevision/Bayonne, NJ
Bayonne
408
Cablevision/Bergen, NJ
Bergen
408
Cablevision/Bridgeport,CT
Bridgeport/Fairfield
408
Cablevision/Brookhaven, NY
Brookhaven
408
Cablevision/Cross River, NY
Cross River/North Salem
408
Cablevision/Dutchess Cnty, NY
Dutchess County
408
Cablevision/East Hampton, NY
East Hampton
408
Cablevision/East Hampton, NY
East Hampton
408
Cablevision/Elizabeth, NJ
Elizabeth
408
Cablevision/Hamilton, NJ
Hamilton
408
Cablevision/Hudson, NJ
Hudson County
408
Cablevision/Long Island, NY
Long Island
408
Cablevision/Lynbrook, NY
Lynbrook
408
Cablevision/Monmouth, NJ
Monmouth
408
Cablevision/Morris, NJ
Morris
408
Cablevision/New York City, NY
New York City
408
Cablevision/Newark, NJ
Newark
408
Cablevision/Norwalk, CT
Norwalk/Westport
408
Cablevision/Oakland, NJ
Oakland
408
Cablevision/Ossining, NY
Ossining/Wappinger Falls
408
Cablevision/Paterson, NJ
Paterson
408
Cablevision/Port Chester, NY
Port Chester
408
Cablevision/Port Jervis, NY
Port Jervis
408
Cablevision/Ramapo, NJ
Ramapo
408
Cablevision/Raritan Valley, NJ
Raritan Valley
408
Cablevision/Riverhead, NY
Riverhead
408
Cablevision/Rockland, NY
Rockland
408
Cablevision/So Westchester, NY
So Westchester
408
Cablevision/VTV Long Island, NY
VTV Long Island
408
Cablevision/Wappinger Falls NY
Wappingers Falls
408
Cablevision/Warwick, NY
Warwick
408
Cablevision/Westchester, NY
Westchester
408
Cablevision/Yorktown, NY
Yorktown
408
Charter/Newtown, CT
Newtown/Fairfield County
41
Comcast/Danbury, CT
Danbury
69
Comcast/Hopewell, NJ
Hopewell
75
Comcast/Jersey City, NJ
Jersey City
35
Comcast/Lambertville, NJ
Lambertville
75
Comcast/Long Beach Isle, NJ
Long Beach Island
43
Comcast/Meadowlands, NJ
Meadowlands (NJ)
70
Comcast/Monmouth-Eatontown, NJ
Monmouth/Eatontown, NJ
54
Comcast/Northwest, NJ
Northwest/Port Murray
40
Comcast/Ocean, NJ
Ocean/Bay Head
69
Comcast/Plainfield, NJ
Plainfield (town)
76
Comcast/Toms River, NJ (R)
Toms River/Dover
43
Comcast/Toms River, NJ (R)
Toms River/Dover
43
Comcast/Union, NJ
Union
71
DIRECTV

608
Patriot/Somerville, NJ
Somerville/Hillsborough
143
RCN/Manhattan, NY
Manhattan (D)
80
RCN/New York, NY
New York
80
SECo/Sparta, NJ
Sparta
35
SECTV/Hunterdon, NJ
Hunterdon
52
SECTV/Phillipsburg, NJ
Phillipsburg
52
SMS/Brighton Arms, NJ
Brighton Arms (D)
214
SMS/Glen Ellen Apts, NJ
Glen Ellen Apartments (D)
288
SMS/Kuser Village, NJ
Kuser Village (D)
213
SMS/OceanTerrace, NJ
Ocean Terrace (D)
17
SMS/Quail Ridge, NJ
Quail Ridge (D)
213
SMS/Trump Tower, NY
Trump Tower (D)
300
TWC/Bergen Cnty, NJ
Bergen County
122
TWC/Manhattan, NY
Manhattan (North)
122
TWC/Mid-Hudson Valley, NY
Mid-Hudson Valley
81
TWC/Mt. Vernon, NY
Mt. Vernon (D)
122
TWC/Newburgh, NY
Newburgh
81
TWC/Orange, NY
Orange Cnty/Sullivan Cnty
81
TWC/Orange, NY
Orange Cnty/Sullivan Cnty
81
TWC/Queens, NY
Queens (D)
122
TWC/Quics, NY
Quics - Consolidated (D)
122
TWC/Saugerties, NY
Saugerties (Town)
81
TWC/Staten Island, NY
Staten Island Cable Division
122
TWC/Upper Manhattan, NY
Upper Manhattan (D)
122
TWC/Warner Comm of Brooklyn,NY
Warner Comm of Brooklyn (D)
122
TWC/Warner Comm of Queens, NY
Warner Comm of Queens
122
US Cable/Paramus, NJ
Paramus/Hillsdale (D)
304
WVTC/Warwick, NY
Warwick
22

Sorry for the delay, but the Rags are able to make it a 2-1 series, beating the Sabres on Michal Roszival’s big drive from the point.

Game 3 is on Tuesday at 7:00 on VERSUS.

5:34 PM Overtime is over, as Avery misses the net. OT Intermission report, take a short break, back in 15 minutes at 5:50 PM!!!!

5:33 PM ROY HIT THE POST!!!!!

5:32 pm Diluted 2-on-1 is broken up, Rangers now have possesion the other way. Nylander had one tipped wide by Jagr. 1 Minute left power play, Straka a backhander, Scramble in front! Nothing from it,loose puck, to the back, Roszival shot it wide!

5:31 PM Shanahan and Drury on the draw, it’s cleared, one man outta the box, 5-on-4 Rangers.

5:31 PM What an atmosphere!

5:30 PM Timeout Rangers. :05 of a 5-on-3, then 1:55 Of a 5-on-4, 2:33 left in the Overtime. Renney’s talking to his players on the bench.

5:29 PM Chance for the Sabres 2-on-1 Connolly couldn’t get it away, Rangers take it back, they don’t produce anything but the Sabres clear it OVER THE GLASS!! PENALTY ON BUFFALO!!! BRIEF 5-on-3 Followed by another 5-0n-4

5:28 PM :55 to go power play, Avery missed wide and they clear, puck into the mesh, 3:05 Period, :37 power play.

5:27 Roszival long bomb blocked by Miller. Offside Rags.

5:27 PM Buffalo clears with 90 seconds on the kill.

5:26 PM Here we go with a Ranger Power Play…

5:25 PM Prucha blocks a shot, here come the Rangers, a save by Miller on Callahan, another try was blocked!

5:24 PM Big chances for the Rangers lately, the tide seems to be turning.

5:22 PM 7:10 to go in Overtime. Very cautious still, the Sabres are being very cute on this one.

5:21 PM Long shot on goal is stopped by Miller, Rangers clear the puck and the PENALTY IS KILLED!

5:21 PM Wonderful work by the Rangers on this kill. Offside on the Sabres, :30 to go on the man-advantage for Buffalo in Overtime.

5:20 PM Cleared by NYR with 1:10 to go.

5:20 PM This is the Sabres 6th consecutive power play uneventful through 40 secs.

5:19 PM 8th Power play for the Sabres, they are 1-7 this afternoon.

5:18 PM Malik is off for I believe a hook.

5:17 PM Nylander and Hossa! Two shots , big stops. Stafford centered one off of Lundy and a PENALTY ON THE RANGERS!

5:16 PM Rachunek blocked a Briere shot. Wrister by Hecht went wide.

5:16 PM Shots are 4-2 Buffalo in OT

5:15 PM Prucha fed it to Rachunek for a shot, then another that Spacek blocked. Oh, it is tense right now.

5:14 PM Drury a big shot the Lundqvist stopped.

5:14 PM Buffalo gets it out.

5:13 PM Isbister a brilliant pass to Jagr and he missed it. Rangers with possesion as Tyutin shoots wide.

5:12 PM Offside Rangers

5:12 PM Cullen shot one wide.

5:11 PM Tyutin a big shot that got the glass.

5:10 PM Icing on Buffalo

5:09 PM A feed in front went through Nylander and a few seconds later, the Rangers go offside

5:08 PM Offside BUF, they get a change.

5:08 PM Stoppage in play as the puck was frozen.

5:07 PM Afinogenov’s backhander wouldn’t go. Icing on the Rangers.

5:06 PM Callahan fed one to Cullen that he couldn’t handle, Callahan and Prucha combined for a chance in front that Miller stopped and covered.

5:05 PM Briere a shot that Lundqvist blocked down and covered. Nobody wants to risk too much right now. Somewhere, an NBC exec sweats.

5:03 PM That crazy deflection hit the post!

5:03 PM Timeout Sabres

5:02 PM Betts took one that took a crazy deflection on goal that Miller kicked away. Kotalik took a huge hit and iced the puck.

5:01 PM Kotalik the first shot, shrugged away by Lundy.

4:59 PM Briere came right out in front untouched, but the net dislodged.

4:59 PM Here we go…OT at the Garden has begun!

4:58 PM Pierre McGuire says that Brendan Shanahan told him that the ice was as bad as it’s been here all year.

4:56 PM I really hate that Comcast Spiderman commercial. Is that comedian Zach Galifinakis as the Spidey dude?

4:55 PM Commercial during OT here, 1-1 is our score of course. Jagr for NYR, Briere with a possible tip from HG Chris Drury for BUF. NBC looks to be sticking with this game for the duration. I remember FOX going with a Philly-Florida game through 3 OTs, but I can’t imagine NBC staying with this game past 6PM for local news.

Possible locations? VERSUS? USA? MSNBC? CNBC? If anyone knows of a precedent for this, leave a comment or E-Mail at SMLepore@comcast.net and we will try and get it to the readers as soon as possible.

More coming up very, very shortly.

Hey, let’s liveblog OT of Game 3.

Jagr got a lucky one to make it 1-0 in the 2nd at :33.

Later in the 3rd, Briere got a howitzer going that went off of somebody in front, maybe Drury, maybe a Ranger, but regardless it’s 1-1.

Well good to see it took only one game under both teams belt for their play to go from nappy to snappy, eh? The Devils came out FLYING in this game taking the play to the Sens and dominating the tempo of play with two quick goals on the power play, Brian Gionta ripping a wide open (but stoppable) right wing blast through the armpit of Ray Emery, and Sergei Brylin with a dramatic 0.2 second shot that was flicked over a stunned Ray Emery, but the end of period buzzer as well (for anyone who needs to know the definition of CONFIDENCE ….it’s simply seeing that play happen and going… IT’S A GOAL and beating the rush to the bathroom!).

However as good and as strong as the Devils stormed out of the gate in the first period, you just knew a counter-assault was coming from the Sens.. they’re too good not too come back. And 4:23 into the second period Daniel Alfredsson finds a hole in Brodeur from the left wing boards and rips one through Marty to cut the lead in half… and the assault was ON as Ottawa outshot the Devils 26-8 in the second and third period… and it took the 26th shot from Danny Heatley in the high slot, with Alfredsson in front to get the game’s tying goal with a mere 26 seconds left in the regulation. (nothing like a little bit of playoff drama is there??)

But this isn’t your Devils of old type team that would sit back and wait for a mistake that was never going to happen….this team’s strength flows through it’s top 6 forwards and their ability to control the play and make big plays in big spots (though to be fair Ottawa did have it’s share of control in the 4th period as well, thanks to some overtime penalties (and does anyone else HATE overtime power plays? It cheapens the drama of playoff OT… LET THEM PLAY) by Gionta and Matvichuk … and Ottawa did fire 14 potential game-ending shots at the goal that Brodeur steered away) and this team’s strength came through in the second overtime with Jamie Langenbrunner just WILLING his way into a breakaway and then with brute RAGE getting the puck on the deke and over the pad of Ray Emery who had NO chance in the world on as pretty a goal as you will see for a playoff OT winner !!!

–Patrik Elias returned to the line up tonight, playing shorter and semi-effective shifts and assisting on the Devils first goal, but did seem to have to hurry off the time on longer shifts and did get knocked around a little bit (yeah he doesn’t look 100% still :p) and David Clarkson sat out for the returning Elias
–Devils goalie Martin Brodeur after the bad first period in game one, burned his pads and glove for some new equipment… and it paid off as he dominated for most of the game aside from the fluke Heatley score with just 26 seconds left in the regulation (a goal that was eerily similar to a fatal second period goal by Eric Staal in Carolina in last year’s Second Round Game 2)
–Jamie Langenbrunner’s OT winner is his fourth career OT Winner
– During a first period TV Timeout Ray Emery TOOK OFF from the ice and hustled into the locker room…. possibly from a leg cramp or a left knee injury and was seen often favoring this knee and stretching it out awkwardly during stoppages.
– a strong contingent of Ottawa fans made the trip to New Jersey (we will be doing a similar trek to Ottawa for game 6) and their presence really ignited the crowd into an attack frenzy that was VERY audible on TV and it looked like the Devils came out WORLDS of fired up from it!
–oddly enough right before Sergei Brylin’s goal with micro-seconds left in the first period, I was rather upset that the refs let almost a second tick off the clock with a late whistle on a Jamie Langenbrunner blast… but hey guess these things work out eh??

As many of you know, I’m giving full extensive NHL playoff coverage over at my site Hitting Back.

If you need any articles, info or postgame analysis, I’ll be supplying it for the rest of the playoffs in the NHL Playoff section.

So what do the Rangers need to do to respond to a disappointing Game One 5-2 loss against an explosive Buffalo team?

1.Remain disciplined. They took some very unnecessary penalties in Game 1 which killed their momentum.

2.Smart decisions with the puck. The Sabres love to aggressively attack and force turnovers. The Rangers reset too much and paid the price. Move the puck quickly and get it out.

3.A better forecheck. This pretty much goes without saying. The Rangers just didn’t get the puck in the corners enough and work the Buffalo D. They can be attacked.

4.No silly turnovers. Buffalo is the best countering team in the game because of their dangerous speed and skill. The Rangers must stay away from glaring mistakes.

5.Don’t back up. Too many instances, this happened and hurt them. You can’t do it against this team.

6.Lundqvist must shine. Enough said!

7.Jagr and Avery play their game. While No.68 created chances, he didn’t get many shots (2). Avery also was a nonfactor and was minus-three with two minors. He needs a much better game.

8.Get the lead. Take that crowd out of it.

9.No mental lapses.

10.Smart changes.

Rags-Sabres game 2 at 7 on MSG, Ducks-Nucks g2 at 10 on VERSUS.

I will try to do some thoughts on the Ducks game myself later.