Road trip proves too rocky for Devils

March 23, 2009   ·   Hasan   ·   Jump to comments

After yesterday’s 4-1 loss in Boston where the Devils gave up three PP goals, coach Brent Sutter warned of hockey karma and how particularly bad penalties usually came back to bite you.  Apparently his team didn’t listen as more hideous penalties tonight led to another three power play goals against in a 4-2 defeat at Philadelphia.

Yes, the past two days represented the first Devils losing streak in more than two months, a remarkable feat to be sure.  Some disturbing trends have cropped up though, mainly among them a suddenly clueless PK.  While not having Colin White around for the last four games certainly hasn’t helped (or Patrik Elias tonight), fact is their play just hasn’t been up to snuff.  And the actual penalties themselves have been mostly unneccesary – but more on that later.

While both teams came into this game on the back end of grueling stretches (three games in four nights for the Flyers, an unreal five in seven for the Devils) and the game proved to be sloppy as a result, it lacked nothing in terms of intensity.  Just 2:29 into the game Riley Cote and David Clarkson got tangled up and their clumsy attempt at a fight turned into matching minors.  It would be indiciative of the entire evening.  Even the Devils’ first goal at 9:42 was something of an accident when a Danius Zubrus pass towards the net deflected off Brendan Shanahan’s skate and past Martin Biron for Shanny’s fifth goal of the year.

That goal proved to be the high water mark of the evening for New Jersey.

Literally seconds after Cote and Mike Rupp squared off in a spirited bout, Bobby Holik took another of his dopey penalties by shoving a skidding Braydon Coburn into the boards and the result was predictable – a Danny Briere power play goal at 15:57 off of a fake shot turned pass by Kimmo Timonen, tying the game at one.  Early in the second period, Coburn drew another penalty when Rupp held his stick, and once again a bad penalty proved to be costly, when Mike Knuble scored into an empty net after a cross-ice pass from Briere 4:45 into the second.

If falling behind was bad, missed opportunities in the latter part of the second period would sting even worse.  True, Jamie Langenbrunner tied the game at 9:58 on a Devils’ PP with a wrister in the slot, getting back one of the special teams goals they’d given up – and it looked for all the world as if the Devils would take the lead later in the period when the Flyers conceded three straight power plays. 

One shot trickled past Biron and was headed in but a diving Scottie Hartnell saved the day – I still don’t know how since VERSUS didn’t deign to show a replay until the second intermission, by which point I was out of the room.  Almost as annoyingly, Doc Emrick pulled a Gary Thorne by calling a Travis Zajac backhander that clearly went over the net a goal…maybe five games in seven days (in four cities and on three networks, no less) was too much even for the great Doc.  I knew right then karma wasn’t going to be on our side tonight.  Then for the coup de grace late in the period, Jay Pandolfo narrowly missed scoring shorthanded in the final minute, which would have been the Flyers’ first shorthanded goal against all year.

All of those missed opportunities in the second (with a 26-19 shot advantage) proved costly, just as the late second period penalty to Bryce Salvador was when the Flyers scored their third power play goal 55 seconds into the third, giving Philly a lead they wouldn’t let go of.  Simon Gagne scored on a shell-shocked Devils team barely two minutes later and even after receiving six minutes on the power play in the third, the Devils didn’t have enough tonight to make a dent in the two-goal deficit.  Despite outshooting the Flyers in every period the only numbers that mattered at the end of the night were 4-2 and the 3 PP goals given up.

In another disturbing trend the Devils are losing games to teams who clearly need it more…not exactly the way you want to go into the playoffs.  Granted, all three of their losses this week were on the road and two were on the back end of back-to-backs.  Clearly however, Philly had more motivation given that not only do they want to lock up home-ice for the first round but at seven points back (though they have one more game played than the Devils) they still have an outside shot at the division after tonight’s win.

Just another trend I’m sure coach Sutter will harp on in the postgame.  At least now the team will get three days off before another grueling stretch of six games in nine days, which the team will need to do well in to lock up the division and stay ahead of the Caps (who have a weak schedule on paper) down the stretch for the second seed.

Notes: No word yet on the status of White for Friday’s game in Chicago.  Elias apparently will be back for that game and missing tonight was as much a precaution as anything else.  Shanahan as it turned out missed yesterday’s game as more of a rest – which is probably smart given that you don’t want a 40-year old playing five games in seven nights, especially one that is supposed to be an offensive contributor.  Andy Greene also got hurt in the third period, which might prove to be convenient timing if White’s back on Friday anyway, and if not Jay Leach may at least give the team more size on defense, which could help the sagging PK.

BoNY Three Stars:

1. Simon Gagne (goal, two assists)
2. Danny Briere (goal, assist)
3. Kimmo Timonen (two assists)