Devils steamroll over Florida

February 28, 2009   ·   Hasan   ·   Jump to comments

With the Devils currently holding the third seed and Florida sitting sixth in the conference tonight’s matinee at the Rock shaped up to be a playoff preview.  Instead one team came to play and the other came I guess spoiling to fight anyone and everyone.  Florida had as many fights as goals, and scored almost as much after the whistle as before it.  I guess the Panthers don’t mind that the Devils beat them 7-2 outshooting Florida 46-17 in the process, so long as they can audition for SlapShot 4.

Like Derek, I was surprised to see Martin Brodeur in between the pipes again this afternoon, if only because the division showdown with the Flyers still looms tomorrow afternoon and playing three in four nights coming off a four-month injury wouldn’t be in the cards for normal goalies.  Of course, Brodeur isn’t a normal goalie, and fortunately tonight turned out to be a second straight rocking chair game as the Devils jumped out to a lead early and poured it on throughout the second period.

It was the Zach Parise show in the first period, as the Hart candidate scored his 37th goal just 78 seconds in when he put home a rebound off his own shot between the pads of Craig Anderson.  Parise’s second goal of the game was almost as much of a highlight reel goal as the one he scored last night.  He stripped Nathan Horton of the puck, sped past Jay Bouwmeester and showed great hand-eye coordination keeping the puck away from Keith Ballard before beating Anderson with a wrister.

Up 2-0 in the second, the Devils continued to attack.  After some nice passing by Paul Martin and Brian Rolston, David Clarkson found himself on a breakaway.  Anderson stopped his shot, but could do nothing about Brendan Shanahan flicking a rebound over the prone goaltender at 3:51.  Then the real fireworks started. 

Florida was determined to be physical against the Devils all afternoon, running Brodeur once without it being called in the first period then when they swarmed the crease soon after, Kerry Fraser gave us a make-up penalty.  Of course he also gave us two of the stupidest calls imaginable, sending Bryce Salvador to the penalty box for what looked like a clean hit then even more astonishingly giving David Clarkson an interference penalty for nothing more than incidental contact where Clarkson could not have seen the Panther who skated into his path.  It is par for the course for Fraser, who loves to be the center of attention.

In any case, the real nonsense started in the middle of the second period when Anthony Stewart took a run at Salvador and the two players engaged in a good scrap with both going to the box for five minutes.  On the very next shift, Clarkson plowed over big Nick Tarnasky, who responded by jumping Clarkson and getting an instigator penalty in addition to the five both players earned with another good tussle.  Last but not least, Michael Frolik pulled a bush move by tapping a loose puck into the net long after the whistle had blown, although it was so subtle most of the players on the ice didn’t realize what he’d done right off.  You could tell even Chico Resch was annoyed when he made a crack about how Brodeur probably told him that’s the only way you’re scoring tonight.

During the midst of all this nonsense the Devils put the game away with three more goals within a four-minute span.  Travis Zajac scored on the power play at 15:56 for his 18th goal.  Just 24 seconds later, Brian Rolston put home a rebound from a Brian Gionta shot to make it 5-0 and give Rolston his 12th goal of the year.  Right when MSG+ was putting the graphics up about Brodeur’s ranks in career wins and shutouts, potential shutout number 100 was spoiled when Ville Peltonen scored an otherwise meaningless goal at 18:30.  At least Steve Cangelosi couldn’t be blamed for this jinx.  Clarkson would get that goal back just 65 seconds later, completing the coveted Gordie Howe hat trick (goal, assist, fight).

Bryan McCabe and Danius Zubrus traded stat-padding goals late in the third, and the Devils quietly wrapped up a 7-2 win that gave them their third win in four games against Florida this year (and 28th win in their last 36 games against the Panthers overall since 2000), avenging a 4-0 loss in the Sunshine State less than two weeks ago.   

Notes: Jay Pandolfo played for a second straight game in favor of Mike Rupp, who if I had to guess will probably be back tomorrow against a physical Flyers team.  Todays’s win extended the Devils’ lead over the Flyers to seven points going into tomorrow’s showdown.  If Brodeur per chance plays and wins every game he starts the earliest he could break Patrick Roy‘s win record would be in Montreal on March 14.  Things that make you go hmmm…

BoNY Three Stars:

1. Zach Parise (2 goals, assist, +2)
2. David Clarkson (goal, assist, 7 PIM)
3. Paul Martin (assist, +4)