Give the Devil his due

November 20, 2008   ·   Hasan   ·   Jump to comments

Okay, I admit it.  I didn’t want to see Scott Clemmensen in net tonight.  How could anyone, after his uneven performance on Saturday that was barely salvaged by winning the shootout?  But obviously Brent Sutter is seeing something most of us aren’t, and for the third time in four games the Devils’ formerly third-string netminder turned in a quality start (to borrow a baseball term), stopping 23 of 24 Panthers shots including 18 in the final two periods to help the Devils grind out a 3-1 win at the Rock.

After a first period controlled if not dominated by the Devils with no scoring for either team came a role reversal in the second period.  While Florida dominated in terms of shots and play (outshooting the Devils 10-1), Clemmensen made his best saves of the night during the second to keep the Panthers off the scoreboard, while the Devils made their lone shot count when a Brian Gionta pass found Patrik Elias alone in front of the net, and Elias deked out goaltender Tomas Vokoun to put the Devils on the board.

Leading by one heading into the third period, the Devils scored two quick goals to put the game away against an offensively challenged Panthers team.  First, Paul Martin faked Richard Zednik out of his skates and scored on a quick wrister for Martin’s first goal of the season.  Then, Gionta and Elias combined for another on a pretty give-and-go, this time finished off by Gionta on a tap-in, his fourth of the season.  The only blemish of the game came when Elias took a penalty moments later and the Panthers’ Michael Frolik scored his first-ever NHL goal on the ensuing power play, ending Clemmensen’s bid for his first NHL shutout in four years. 

Oh well, the Devils did what they had to do – especially given this is the first of a four-game stretch where the Devils absolutely need to make hay, with games against the Isles tomorrow, at Tampa on Sunday and at Florida the night before Thanksgiving before the schedule becomes brutal after that.

And for a change the Devils exhibited some offensive skill in this game, almost all of it coming from the reunited Elias-Gionta-Danius Zubrus line, who were all named stars (Zubrus had two assists) at the arena.  My order’s slightly different:

BoNY Three Stars:

1. Patrik Elias (goal, assist, +2)
2. Brian Gionta (goal, assist, +2)
3. Scott Clemmensen (23/24 saves)