Devils go into first with 3-1 win over Ducks

November 12, 2009   ·   Hasan   ·   Jump to comments

On a night where the Devils commemorated their ‘03 Cup winners, the present day version continued to show they aren’t half-bad either, beating the Ducks 3-1 for their 12th win in the team’s last 14 games despite a rash of injuries that makes looking at the scratch list on the jumbotron before every game almost comical at this point.  Too bad the interesting reunion of brothers Scott and Rob Niedermayer couldn’t happen on-ice with both of them in opposite uniforms from where they were in the ‘03 final, where the Devils beat the Ducks in seven games.  Of course, they’re two of the few players actually left from that series.  Only the ghost of Jean-Sebastian Giguere remains for the Ducks, and even though he came off of IR he did not play last night.

After just 38 seconds last night, Jamie Langenbrunner gave the Devils the lead when he deflected Andy Greene’s shot from the blueline past Jonas Hiller for his third goal of the season.  Zach Parise also had an assist on the captain’s goal, which was more or less the only action in a quiet first period although Illka Pikkaranen could have given the Devils a 2-0 lead if he’d just put his stick on the ice after a nice feed from Danius Zubrus in front.  David Clarkson started what would be an interesting night by taking penalties on back-to-back shifts for hooking and tripping.  He nearly took a third straight penalty, which would have been an unwanted natural hat trick, though he would wind up taking a third later on (more on that below).

Even though the Ducks outshot the Devils 32-25 the only stretch you can say they really had the better of play was the first five minutes of the second period, when they came out like gangbusters and tied the game almost immediately (actually 2:25 in) when Bobby Ryan fed a wide-open Corey Perry at the side of the net and the young winger scored his 12th goal of the season.  Ryan’s goal would be the only one Martin Brodeur allowed last night, as he made 31 saves and actually was not named one of the game’s top three stars.  To be fair, Brodeur had plenty of help from a penalty kill that was six-for-six on the night and two terrific goals by skill players late in the second period that decided the game.

At 12:52, Clarkson found himself one-on-one with James Wisniewski and toe-dragged him into oblivion, beating Hiller with a video-game type of highlight goal that gave the Devils the lead and Clarkson his fifth goal of the year.  Greene got his second assist of the game by springing Clarkson, as he’s continued his stunning rise from healthy scratch the first two games of the season and being thought of as a back-pairing defenseman at best (a terrific #7 defenseman by me) to playing 25 minutes a night and being an offensive force.  Clearly we all underestimated the little guy but sometimes things like this just happen in sports, a breakout performance out of nowhere.  Greene had nine points in 49 games last season, it was impossible to think he would have eight in just thirteen games and basically replacing Paul Martin’s contribution on defense all by himself.

With only seconds remaining in the period and the Devils killing off a Zubrus penalty, it was ironically a Scott Niedermayer turnover that led to Langenbrunner springing Parise for a chance shorthanded.  Though Hiller stopped Zach’s partial breakaway he kept at it and reached back with his stick to poke the puck past Hiller for his eighth goal of the year at 19:47.  Colin White also contributed a rare secondary assist on Parise’s goal, which made the score 3-1 where it would stay despite some annoying moments in the third.

My main source of consternation was Clarkson’s third penalty of the night at 7:02 - yet another too-many-men on the ice penalty.  That’s continued to be a problem for this team, and actually it was their second of last night’s game.  This one was different because I freely admit I’m not the most observant person in the world, but even I could spot Clarkson’s blunder, playing the puck when Parise still hadn’t gotten off the ice yet.  Yet you have to say if too many men on the ice penalties are the team’s biggest problem right now (sans the injury bug, which also claimed Brian Rolston before last night’s game with an unspecified ailment) then that’s not too bad since I can’t see this bizarre spell of penalties going on all season.  Overall the Devils remain one of the most disciplined teams in the league, ranking fifth in fewest power play opportunities given up.

Of course, the Devils did wind up killing the too many men penalties last night and hung on for a 3-1 win that evened the team’s home record at 4-4 and gave them 24 points overall, tying them with Pittsburgh with two games in hand.  Did I mention tonight the Devils go to the Igloo for a first-place showdown, site of their most impressive win of the year to date a couple weeks back?

Notes: New Jersey called up former first-round pick Matthew Corrente, but he didn’t dress last night.  Patrik Elias did return last night for his second game since coming off of IR but the Devils still missed five regulars in Rolston, Martin, Niedermayer, Johnny Oduya, and Jay Pandolfo. 

BoNY Three Stars:

1. Zach Parise (SH goal, assist, +2)
2. Martin Brodeur (31/32 saves)
3. Andy Greene (two assists, +1, 25:43 TOI)