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)

A couple of notes to pass along regarding the locals. So let’s get to them:

1.Holik Out 3-4 Weeks-The Devils will be without C Bobby Holik for about a month due to a broken pinkie suffered during last Saturday’s shootout win over the Capitals. He underwent surgery yesterday. The Devils recalled left wing Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond for tonight’s home game versus Sean Avery and the Stars. No matter what’s being said, he’s likely up for one reason only. We’ll just have to see if Avery obliges.

2.Rolston likely to miss significant time-The Devils also could be without top pivot Brian Rolston for an extended period due to the severe ankle sprain he suffered in the club’s 1-0 shutout of Atlanta last week which ironically he scored the lone goal in before losing an edge crashing hard into the boards during a two-on-one. Though the team has indicated that x-rays were negative with no structural damage, the recovery from an ankle sprain can be slow. According to Roto World, don’t expect to see Rolston anytime soon even going as far as to say he could miss 1-2 months. I would venture to guess he’ll be out at least another three weeks.

3.Rissmiller on waivers-The Rangers placed forward Patrick Rissmiller on waivers yesterday following Monday’s 2-1 home defeat to Dallas in which he was a minus-one with no points. Why Glen Sather inked the 29 year-old depth forward to a three-year contract worth $3 million is beyond comprehension. He was nothing more than a mirror image of Blair Betts when he played for San Jose making his signing baffling. Now, if another team picks him up, the Rangers will suffer a $1 million cap hit. I can’t really see anyone claiming him and figure he’ll pass through and play in Hartford. This dwindles the Ranger logjam at forward to 14 with Petr Prucha and Dan Fritsche now battling for ice-time with rookie Lauri Korpikoski, Nigel Dawes and Colton Orr though our coach seems to like having the enforcer in the lineup.

4.Rivet to miss 2 weeks-Also of note, Sabres captain Craig Rivet will miss up to two weeks following arthroscopic knee surgery. In six contests this season in which the team has gone a 5-0-1 including a nice comeback 3-2 shootout home win over the Bruins last night, the former Shark defenseman has posted three assists while racking up 29 penalty minutes. He was acquired for forward Steve Bernier, who then was dealt to the Canucks. Rivet is a steady puckmoving D who has bolstered the Sabre corps along with a healthy Teppo Numminen. Notice how much better they are without Dmitri Kalinin. According to BONY contributor Brian Sanborn, it’s no coincidence.

5.Lilja undergoes appendectomy-Detroit D Andreas Lilja underwent an appendectomy yesterday and will be out for tonight’s visit at St. Louis but could return Friday.

6.Avery and Giannone in spat-Apparently, former Ranger Sean Avery’s mouth was in rare form in his MSG visit Monday. Not only did he take a verbal jab at Stephen Valiquette but unleashed profanities during the first intermission at MSG’s John Giannone nearly getting into it before they were separated. Some things never change.

Don’t forget the Devils play host to the Stars tonight at 7 at The Rock. Figure it to be quite interesting. Here is the rest of the league’s schedule:

Sharks @ Flyers, 7 ET- Philly still looking for first win look to avenge OT loss in San Jose and will start Antero Niittymaki with struggling No.1 Martin Biron riding the pine. They’re the only team left without a win bringing an 0-3-2 record into a rare home and home four days apart with a Western foe. Odd.

Panthers @ Senators, 7 ET- Ottawa has broken up their top line shifting Mike Fisher between Dany Heatley and Daniel Alfredsson while Jason Spezza works with the improved Nick Foligno and rookie Jesse Winchester. The Panthers come in having scored only 12 goals in five games with Nathan Horton the only consistent threat. Craig Anderson gets the start.

Red Wings @ Blues, 8:30 ET- The defending champs meet an improved St. Louis club which is out of the gate 4-1-0 with a perfect 3-0 home record. The Blues have gotten balanced scoring from Keith Tkachuk, Brad Boyes, Andy McDonald and Paul Kariya while former Wing Manny Legace is off to a great start. Detroit could have Conn Smythe winner Henrik Zetterberg back in what figures to be a good test.

Oilers @ Blackhawks, 9 ET- Historically, Edmonton doesn’t fare well in Chicago but split two games at United Center last season taking the season series 3-1. They’ll put they’re perfect 4-0-0 mark on the line against Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and a high flying Hawks’ offense. Both teams are extremely fast with Edmonton countering with talented forwards as well in Andrew Cogliano and Sam Gagner (lower body injury). So, this could be a fun watch.

I’ll also be on talking puck with Gary Harding and Joe McDonald for a NY Hockey Report live show between 9 and 10:30.

See ya later.

They blew two third period leads. The Islanders led 2-0 entering the third and seemed on their way to a routine victory. However, that was far from the case the rest of the way in what amounted to a nice bounce back 4-3 overtime road win in Tampa thanks to Trent Hunter’s heroics.

The Isles seemed in control thanks to goals from centers Mike Comrie and Doug Weight. But early in the third as FSNY color analyst Billy Jaffe was heaping praise on the game defenseman Freddy Meyer had played, suddenly there was the ever dangerous Lightning captain Vincent Lecavalier using his speed to receive a Vaclav head pass staying onside beating Brendan Witt before tucking the puck under Joey MacDonald’s pads to suddenly cut it to 2-1 at 3:43.

With New York still nursing a one-goal lead with Jon Sim in the box, Tampa Bay used all two minutes before Prospal stuffed home an Andrej Meszaros rebound to tie it with 7:58 left. Scott Gordon’s team showed resiliency a couple of shifts later thanks to a great Jeff Tambellini rush down the right wing forcing Olaf Kolzig to leave a rebound which an emerging Hunter backhanded home for a 3-2 Islanders lead with 6:09 to go.

So, the Isles were home free, right? Not exactly. Instead, the topsy turvy third continued when former Pen Ryan Malone netted his first as a Bolt parking in front of MacDonald finding a Jussi Jokinen rebound to retie it just 66 seconds later.

Meyer, who had played a strong physical game almost turned into the goat when he was sent off for holding with 4:23 remaining. However, the Islanders killed it off and the contest eventually required OT.

It wouldn’t take long to decide thanks to the hard work of Frans Nielsen who got in and forced an indecisive Kolzig into a brutal turnover. With the former Cap out of his net, Nielsen quickly passed out to an open Hunter who buried his second of the night for the game winner. Sadly, Olie the Goalie didn’t even bother hustling.

Hunter’s fourth of the season came only 51 seconds into overtime giving his club a huge spark responding well after being blown out 7-1 by Buffalo at home.

For all the talk about when Rick DiPietro’s going to make his season debut, the Isles are .500 (2-2-0) with MacDonald doing a solid job in his place. Last night, he finished with 33 saves and you couldn’t blame him on any he allowed.

The play of the 28 year-old from Nova Scotia has allowed his team to hang in there. More than you can say for the Flyers, who lost yet again 5-2 in Colorado dropping to 0-3-1. It might be early but did myself and Hasan jinx them?

All in all, it was a good win for the Islanders. Especially after blowing two leads. They stayed with it and came away with two points increasing Barry Melrose’s misery with Tampa Bay now 0-2-2 sitting in 14th a point ahead of the Flyers.

THREE STARS

3rd Star-Jeff Tambellini, NYI (assist, 3 SOG in 17:21)

2nd Star-Vaclav Prospal, TB (goal, assist, 4 SOG, plus-one in 20:35)

1st Star-Trent Hunter, NYI (2 goals including OT winner, 4 SOG, plus-one in 19:16)

Quick Hits:

-The teams combined to go 2-for-15 on the power play. (NYI: 1-for-9, TB: 1-for-6)

-Kolzig finished with one less save (32) than MacDonald because SOG were dead even (36-36).

-Tampa Bay controlled the faceoff circle finishing 35-26.

-Eight different Isles factored into the scoring with Hunter, Nielsen (2 A) and Comrie (G, A) each posting multi-point games.

-Rookie Kyle Okposo netted a primary helper on Comrie’s marker for his second point of the season. He received 10:39 and shared the team lead with four shots.

-Both defensemen Bruno Gervais (assist in 21:25) and Mark Streit (team high 25:07, 4 SOG, plus-one) logged big minutes.

-In a losing cause, TB’s Meszaros tallied two assists in a game high 25:17.

-D Paul Ranger made his season debut for the Lightning logging 23:46 finishing with two minors, two shots and a minus-two rating.

-The Islanders held Martin St. Louis off the scoresheet with only one SOG and a minus-two.

-New Bolt forward Radim Vrbata is still without a point.

-2008 No.1 overall pick Steven Stamkos played only 9:22 registering a shot while taking a penalty.

-In other action, the Caps used a spirited three-goal third period scoring four unanswered to stun the Pens at Mellon Arena 4-3. Alex Semin and Michael Nylander tallied to tie it. Boyd Gordon’s wrister was properly reviewed with replays confirming that his shot went off the back bar and in at 15:43 for the winner. Nylander and Semin each had a goal and helper. Though Alex Ovechkin finished with no points, his ferocious hitting sparked the comeback and even left a flustered Sidney Crosby shoving him when it was over like the baby he is. While Sid The Kid had two assists, he finished minus-three. Meanwhile, Evgeni Malkin was in on all three Pens goals netting a goal and two helpers along with nine SOG.

Also of note, after he lost Tom Poti to injury, Bruce Boudreau took a page from Scotty Bowman shifting Sergei Fedorov to the blueline with success. One of the most talented players of our time was invaluable making a seamless transition logging 22:17 while assisting on the winner and finishing plus-two. He might not be the scorer he once was but the 38 year-old Fedorov still has the skating and hockey sense which is what’s allowed him to last this long. Maybe the Caps should keep him on D. He was that impressive.

-The Canucks got a 4-3 OT win at Detroit when agitator Alex Burrows rebounded his own wide shot off a carom past an out of position Chris Osgood. He finished with two points, a plus-three, five SOG and the game’s first star. Willie Mitchell added two helpers. Pavel Datsyuk and Nick Lidstrom had two assists in the loss while Henrik Zetterberg (groin) sat out.

-The Wild got a five point performance from emerging top pivot Mikko Koivu (1-4-5) and three points (2-1-3) from ex-Star Antti Miettinen in a 6-2 road victory over the Panthers remaining perfect on the season at 3-0-0. They’ve outscored opponents 14-7. Not bad considering Marian Gaborik sat out and is off to a slow start and they lost Brian Rolston. Somehow, Jacques Lemaire keeps them winning. Meanwhile, a team expected to be better in Florida is 1-2-0 having been outscored 14-9.

-As noted earlier, the Flyers remained winless falling to Colorado 5-2. Simon Gagne scored his fourth on a penalty shot going to a backhand deke. However, the Avalanche made the Flyers pay for their lack of discipline converting on 3-of-11 power plays with PPG from Marek Svatos, Milan Hejduk and Paul Stastny. Ageless wonder Joe Sakic setup three of his team’s goals including a wonderful set play to Hejduk responding to Gagne’s tally.

The Flyers were badly outplayed in the first and third getting outshot 26-7 (17-3 in 1st) and outscored 3-0. They also were sloppy late in the second turning it over in the neutral zone leading to Cody McCormick’s first with 36 seconds left. Andrew Raycroft was the beneficiary finishing with just 16 stops for his first win as an Av. It all added up to Colorado’s first win in four tries.

-And finally, the Blues continued their surprising start routing slumping Dallas at home 6-1 scoring five on starter Marty Turco (5 GA on 18 shots) chasing him. St. Louis captain Keith Tkachuk and Brad Boyes each tallied and Paul Kariya added two assists as St. Louis improved to 3-1-0. Manny Legace finished with 29 saves. Meanwhile, the Stars have been outscored 18-12 and have just 3 points in four games (1-2-1).

Considering that my left index finger is jammed from something I did at the game in an electric MSG atmosphere, well at least the title kinda fits. I can’t really think of anything else except that the darn ice didn’t help much. Oh well.

Onto what was a successful Rangers home opener with a 4-2 win over the Original Six Blackhawks last night in which the newly acquired Aaron Voros had a big game notching his first goal as a Blueshirt and tallying an assist for a multi-point night playing alongside super soph Brandon Dubinsky and Russian lightning rod Nikolai Zherdev.

The newly formed trio combined for three goals and four assists in a well earned victory over a game Chicago squad which really has no more excuses for not qualifying for the postseason. With young talent like new captain Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Martin Havlat, Patrick Sharp and Dustin Byfuglien, this team is loaded up front and was dangerous when they attacked the Rangers.

The good news for Tom Renney’s club was that a jittery start which saw a few too many turnovers with speedy Hawks getting behind the D didn’t result in any goals against due to some shots fired wide and the clutch play of Henrik Lundqvist, who was busier than in the first two wins making 30 saves including some timely stops like one on Sharp in close denying him.

Despite the Hawks’ speed, it was the Rangers who drew first blood when the 25th captain in franchise history Chris Drury wisely floated a low shot at new Chicago No.1 goalie Cristobal Huet which he couldn’t control caroming out to Wade Redden, who blasted into the top portion of the net for his second in two games 6:47 into the contest. Markus Naslund also picked up an assist.

The goal didn’t deter Denis Savard’s young squad as they picked it up carrying the play by attacking the Rangers with an aggressive forecheck leading to some neutral zone turnovers. However, they couldn’t get one past Lundqvist until late in the period when Kane was left alone behind the net to find a Brian Campbell rebound tying the game at 17:18.

Playing a more up tempo style which even was against Renney’s liking due to it favoring Chicago, the Rangers managed alright getting the only two markers of the second. Both came off their own attack forcing the Hawks into bad decisions.

First, a couple of Chicago players had trouble playing a puck due in large part to the aggressive forecheck of Voros, Dubinsky and Zherdev with the trio taking it away before the second-year pivot handed off to the ex-Wild grinder who buried the chance from 15 feet for his first as a Ranger at 5:15.

Before Dubinsky tallied his second of the season 10:21 later on an outstanding solo effort showing strength before blasting one upstairs, the Hawks forechecked vigorously getting their chances including an excellent one for defenseman Duncan Keith, who couldn’t beat Lundqvist as King Henrik got his blocker up brushing it aside. The play of the fourth-year 26 year-old Swede was the difference. He was just a little better than Huet, who by no stretch was bad in turning aside 25 of 29.

Trailing by a pair, the Blackhawks came hard in the third and it paid off when they kept the Rangers pinned in allowing converted forward Byfuglien to dish off to a cutting Keith in the slot who made no mistake ripping one top shelf to slice it to 3-2 with 12:47 remaining. Sharp also registered an assist.

However, just when it seemed the younger club would make the climb all the way back, some more heady play from Dubinsky, Voros and Zherdev resulted in huge insurance when the trio combined in the neutral zone to setup Zherdev on a three-on-two with the exciting 23 year-old ex-Jacket making no mistake wristing one top shelf for his first in True Blue, making it 4-2 just 2:20 later. Where Mama hides the cookies to quote legendary Buffalo play-by-play man Rick Jeanneret.

Most impressive on the well executed play was the perfect cross-ice feed from Voros, who notched 16 points a season ago with Minnesota. I knew he was a hard worker and liked the addition right away because of his energy and forecheck ability. What I didn’t realize was his ability to read plays. A great pass from an underrated player who fans will really grow to appreciate.

No question this Voros came to play in front of a fun atmosphere debuting well much like the other Voros. He earned No.1 star with Dubinsky getting No.3 while rookie center Lauri Korpikoski earned second star logging 12:43 in his third NHL regular season game. Not bad for the hard working Finn who looks to have promise. He played alongside Nigel Dawes and Ryan Callahan with the speedy trio providing solid energy with a couple of near misses from Korp’s linemates.

If Renney wasn’t satisfied with the track meet his team prevailed in, he had to at least come away pleased with how his club protected a two-goal lead. Despite Chicago outshooting them 13-7 in the final 20 and 32-29 overall, the Blueshirts were sharper in the last 10-plus minutes following Zherdev’s goal keeping Hawks outside and limiting opportunities.

All in all, I’ll take it.

Three Stars

3rd Star-Fredrik Sjostrom, NYR (11:23 TOI, two hits)

2nd Star-Brandon Dubinsky, NYR (goal, two assists, plus-two, 5 hits, 4 SOG in 16:15, 11-4 on draws)

1st Star-Aaron Voros, NYR (goal, assist, plus-two, 4 SOG in 14:38)

Ranger Lines

Naslund-Gomez-Drury

Voros-Dubinsky-Zherdev

Dawes-Korpikoski-Callahan

Sjostrom-Betts-Orr

Redden-Rozsival

Staal-Mara

Kalinin-Girardi

The Rangers warm up for home opener

Both teams during pregame skate

Quick Hits:

-The Rangers are 3-0 to start a season for the first time since 1989-90.

-In his first game this season, Fredrik Sjostrom played well in 11:23 demonstrating good speed while playing fourth line, killing penalties and nearly had his first on a great effort with a forehand stuff try missing wide.

-There were a couple of scraps with Callahan getting the decision over Colin Fraser and Paul Mara showing some character in a win over Jack Skille earning cheers. A crowd will always appreciate when a defenseman drops’em though I’m not sure how wise it is when our roster only has six due to being overstocked up front.

-Marc Staal was very good getting the second most minutes on the blueline to Michal Rozsival (23:15) with 20:21 finishing plus one and winning the majority of the battles in his end. He looks very polished. I also feel Mara has played well with him. He really has worked hard.

-One shaky moment for the new Malik Dmitri Kalinin but otherwise the former Sabre was alright.

-Blair Betts played a decent game working diligently and even getting a shorthanded chance testing Huet’s glove with a slapper labeled.

-Drury was very active and really seems to have chemistry with Scott Gomez and Naslund. The question is will they remain intact?

-I thought Keith was good for the Hawks offensively but he was minus-two despite his goal. He did play big minutes (29:46) along with partner Campbell (29:06).

-The Hawks have a solid top four that are young and can all skate but the bottom couple Jordan Hendry and rookie Niklas Hjalmarsson hardly played combining for less than 10 minutes which puts a lot of pressure on the other four with James Wisniewski out indefinitely due to a torn ACL.

-While Toews, Kane, Sharp and Byfuglien all had good games, Havlat was awfully quiet with only one sharp angle shot which Lundqvist ate up. He’s in a contract year and really needs to stay healthy and play inspired if this team is to make the playoffs.

-Chicago held the edge in the circle going 32-23 in faceoffs.

-Each team went 0-for-3 on the power play.

-The Rangers are back at it tonight in the Flyers home opener with Sarah Palin dropping the ceremonial first puck. Scrooge trashed it. I’m iffy on how I feel about John McCain’s running mate being there but she’s a “hockey Mom”. Gee. Golly.

-Couple of surprises from last night with the Thrashers scoring seven on the combination of Jose Theodore and Brent Johnson for a 7-4 win over the Caps. Bryan Little notched two goals and an assist and Niclas Havelid had three helpers to offset a pair of Mike Green power play goals. Kari Lehtonen (39 saves) came up big thwarting Alexander Ovechkin on a penalty shot with the game tied in the third before Atlanta erupted for three in 2:10.

Also getting a win was Columbus despite blowing a 4-2 lead in the last 3:18 with Brad Richards and Trevor Daley scoring on consecutive shifts to help Dallas force OT. But Jackets’ captain Rick Nash stepped up for the deciding tally with 21 seconds left finishing off a three-on-two by wristing one past Marty Turco for a 5-4 road victory. Jason Chimera notched his second assist on the winner and ex-Ranger Christian Backman got a secondary helper finishing plus-two. Stephane Robidas chipped in three assists for the hosts in a tough loss.

There were two other ex-Rangers in this one with Sean Avery playing 16:54 registering no points and a slashing minor playing with Mike Modano. On the winner’s side, Fedor Tyutin donning his familiar No.51 logged 23:07 picking up two minors while finishing plus-one.

Other winners included:

-The Blues 5-2 over Nashville getting two goals from Keith Tkachuk and two assists from Paul Kariya.

-The Hurricanes defeated the Panthers in their home opener 6-4 getting goals from six different players including new defenseman Joni Pitkanen with Tim Gleason netting three helpers offsetting a goal and assist efforts from ex-Cane Cory Stillman and David Booth.

-The Sabres made it a successful home opener by a 2-1 count in the shootout over the Canadiens. New Hab Robert Lang tallied for the visitors and Thomas Vanek answered in the first with Teppo Numminen returning with a primary assist after missing 81 games last season due to heart surgery. Both netminders were solid with Carey Price finishing with 35 saves while Ryan Miller had 27. Ales Kotalik and Drew Stafford each tallied in the skill competition giving Buffalo the extra point.

Get out the magic crystal ball. We’re about to embark on a long journey. Thirty teams get a fresh start where they can dare to dream of winning Lord Stanley. The most spectacular trophy in all of sports which arguably is the hardest to win.

It’s not just because you have to gut out an 82-game schedule which at times can be trying due to the tireless back to backs, three in four nights and even seven in 11 days the Rangers have beginning with tomorrow’s home opener versus Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and the Blackhawks following a hectic preseason concluding with a two-game sweep of the overmatched Lightning in Croatia.

Such can be life in a league which seems to be pointed for expansion towards Europe emphasizing just how global the game has become with the Penguins and Senators also splitting a series in Stockholm last weekend.

Finally, the other 26 get started including an improved Devils team who dialed up Doc Brown’s time machine and went Back To The Future literally to the year of their first Stanley Cup luring free agent centers Brian Rolston and Bobby Holik for one more run while Martin Brodeur’s still good enough.

For other teams like the Islanders, the immediate future doesn’t look so bright with new coach Scott Gordon behind the bench where returning leading scorer Mike Comrie had only 49 points on what’s a rebuild around Rick DiPietro and young former No.1 Kyle Okposo. They’ll try to overachieve in an ultra competitive Atlantic where the Flyers fresh off a run to the Conference Finals losing to the Pens appear to be the favorite while Pittsburgh lost Marian Hossa, Ryan Malone and are without top D Ryan Whitney and Sergei Gonchar for at least the first three months.

Can the new look Rangers featuring Nikolai Zherdev, Markus Naslund and Wade Redden make fans forget Jaromir Jagr or did Glen Sather slip up?

Are the Panthers ready to qualify for their first postseason since Pavel Bure was the league’s best finisher or will their revamped blueline not be enough without departed captain Olli Jokinen? Can Alexander Ovechkin and the Capitals do it again even with Jose Theodore in net?

Meanwhile in Carolina, the injury bug has already hit infecting Justin Williams, Scott Walker and Rod Brind’Amour making the loss of Erik Cole big though Joni Pitkanen was brought into help anchor the D. Will Barry Melrose’s return to the NHL bench be ruined by the Lightning’s apparent weak blueline?

Should the Thashers even bother taking the ice? They’ll have company in Columbus, St. Louis and Los Angeles who all should be ticketed in the John Tavares sweepstakes. Are the Leafs going to be in this process too without Mats Sundin? Maybe Toronto fans should hope.

Can Carey Price recover from last Spring to lead what looks like an even stronger Habs roster into serious contention? Are Craig Rivet and the return of Teppo Numminen enough to get a talented Sabres team back to the postseason? Is Tim Thomas a fluke and will Patrice Bergeron be the same in Beantown? Can the Senators continue defying logic despite losing another key cog?

These questions and more will get answered in due time along with whether Hossa’s addition is enough for the Red Wings to become the first repeat winner since they did it a decade ago. They’ll have plenty of stiff competition in the loaded Stars, Sharks and Ducks with maybe a couple of newcomers sneaking into the parade.

This is how we see it:

EASTERN CONFERENCE

*1.Flyers- plenty of talent in Richards/Carter but can Biron build off last year’s run?

*2.Canadiens- adding Lang and Tanguay up front makes them scarier but it all depends on Price.

*3.Capitals- the game’s best player, a healthy Nylander plus Green and Backstrom should be enough.

4.Senators- best line in game plus deep forward corps and tougher D help despite questions in net.

5.Devils- Rolston and Holik should boost scoring, D remains question but can’t bet against Brodeur.

6.Rangers- Drury leads an improved transition game. could miss Jagr and Avery but Lundqvist helps.

7.Penguins- Crosby and Malkin get them in but we don’t like Satan or Fedotenko. Hard to take seriously.

8.Sabres- balanced scoring led by Pominville, Vanek, Roy plus better D and steady Miller in net.

9.Bruins- Ryder added to solid forward corps but it’s dependent on Thomas and system.

10.Panthers- love their new look with Ballard and McCabe but who’s scoring the goals up front?

11.Maple Leafs- Wilson will get them to play hard but there’s just not enough there to get in.

12.Hurricanes- injuries already taking toll. Laviolette’s a fine coach but Ward needs to be consistent.

13.Lightning- Stamkos should win Calder and they’ll score but the D is brutal and will tire out goalies.

14.Thrashers- Schneider was good addition but they’ll have to outscore teams until Lehtonen improves.

15.Islanders- they’ll work hard but they’re young and don’t have enough scoring even with Streit.
PLAYOFFS

Flyers over Sabres in 6

Habs over Pens in 7

Rangers over Caps in 6

Devils over Sens in 5

Flyers over Rangers in 6

Devils over Habs in 7

Flyers over Devils in 6

WESTERN CONFERENCE

*1.Red Wings- until proven otherwise, they’re the best team and add Hossa to mix. Conklin’s solid backup.

*2.Stars- play in top division but Avery, full year of B. Richards should be plenty. Need Zubov healthy.

*3.Canucks- scoring could still be tough but like changes and see Luongo bouncing back big time.

4.Sharks- Marleau with Thornton, Boyle, Blake plus Nabokov make them awfully tough.

5.Flames- nice additions including Bertuzzi/Keenan reunion but they’ll be hardpressed to win a round.

6.Ducks- Teemu’s back plus Getzlaf/Perry, Niedermayer/Pronger and Giguere make them lock.

7.Avalanche- Sakic takes one more shot with Tucker added but can Budaj or Raycroft do job?

8.Blackhawks- Campbell and Huet help young core led by Kane/Toews. Huet could get them in.

9.Oilers- bolstered scoring with Cole and Visnovsky. Lots of young talent but what about goalies?

10.Predators- Radulov’s departure hurts scoring. Solid D but can Ellis repeat? Trotz is a great coach.

11.Wild- possess nice blueline led by Burns/Zidlicky and Gaborik’s great but is there enough scoring?

12.Coyotes- Jokinen helps but D is thin past top 3 and they’re depending on too much young talent.

13.Blue Jackets- Umberger and Huselius boost Nash plus revamped D and Leclaire but who else will score?

14.Blues- Love Boyes and Kariya’s due for bounce back season but they’re extremely young.

15.Kings- top line of Brown, Kopitar and O’Sullivan will be fun but LaBarbera in net? They can’t be serious!

PLAYOFFS

Wings over Hawks in 5

Stars over Avs in 4

Ducks over Canucks in 6

Sharks over Flames in 6

Wings over Ducks in 6

Stars over Sharks in 5

Wings over Stars in 7

Stanley Cup Red Wings over Flyers in 7

NHL Awards

Conn Smythe- Henrik Zetterberg, Detroit

Hart- Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit

Vezina- Roberto Luongo, Vancouver

Norris- Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit (renamed The Lidstrom)

Calder- Kyle Okposo, Islanders

Selke- Mike Fisher, Ottawa

Byng- Henrik Zetterberg, Detroit

Adams- Denis Savard, Chicago

AP Photo Courtesy Getty Images by Alan Diaz

“It had to end some time. Can’t win’em all.”

“But I’m a lawyer. I win!!!!!!!!!!”

So said Al Pacino’s devilish John Milton character to Keanu Reeves’ Kevin Lomax character during a classic exchange near the end of The Devil’s Advocate.

Such was the case last night in Florida as Panthers’ captain Olli Jokinen had other ideas on whether the Rangers would reach 14 straight with at least a point. With his suddenly red hot club needing the two points to extend to a six-game win streak, Jokinen got to a loose puck in front and rebounded it past a sprawled Henrik Lundqvist for the deciding power play tally before the halfway mark of the final period.

It was only Jokinen’s third goal in the last 15 but ultimately did in the Rangers as they saw their 13-game unbeaten streak (entered 10-0-3) come to a halt Friday night.

They did get quite a few opportunities to tie but Florida No.1 goalie Tomas Vokoun wouldn’t allow them to force the usual overtime down south as he proved to be the difference in allowing his team to get even closer to the eighth seeded Flyers, finishing with 32 saves.

That included a point blank denial on Chris Drury who was perfectly setup for the potential tying marker in the slot during a late six-on-four advantage with Lundqvist pulled thanks to another soft bs call. Good thing he stopped it because the penalty was about as tacky as you get. A Gary Bettman special. Or as a good buddy of mine at Ranger games likes to refer to as the BHL (Bettman Hockey League)!

Truthfully, the Panthers deserved the game as they were a little better. Especially around the net in rallying from a goal down (Scott Gomez 5-on-3 PPG 23 seconds into the 2nd) to notch their sixth in a row- pulling suddenly within three of the Flyers with still Buffalo in between them after a much needed 7-1 home blowout of Carolina preluding a pivotal HNIC showdown against the Maple Leafs at the ACC.

Recent blueline addition Jassen Cullimore knotted the contest when his left point blast off a Ville Peltonen setup went through a screen trickling past Lundqvist’s pads.

The former Stanley Cup winner with Tampa played a solid game finishing with a goal and assist with a plus-two rating while logging over 23 minutes. The 35 year-old veteran who could’ve signed with anybody has played extremely well for the Panthers posting three goals and nine assists for 12 points with a respectable plus-19 rating and just 28 penalty minutes in 57 games including last night.

The deadline pickup of underrated defender and key shot blocker Karlis Skrastins from the Avs has helped solidify the Florida blueline. That along with the continued development of second-year speedy forward David Booth has Jacques Martin’s club thinking playoffs for the first time since 2000.

If they keep winning, why the heck not? Especially with Boston continuing to slide and the Flyers not exactly lights out. The Panthers’ next three will also be on home ice. They’ll host the Thrashers tomorrow and then the Hurricanes and Lightning will visit during a vital week.

So, what did the hard fought win do for them? They’re still ranked 11th with only nine games left. Obviously, they’ll need to keep winning and hoping for a little help from some of their friends. John Lennon would be oh so proud. 

Meanwhile, the Capitals were also big winners getting a couple of goals from Brooks Laich and NHL leading scorer Alexander Ovechkin’s league best 57th in a 4-1 victory over Atlanta in the nation’s cap.

Here’s how the bottom of the Eastern race shapes up:

7.Bruins 71 GP 80 Pts    36 Wins

8.Flyers  71 GP 79 Pts    35 W

9.Sabres  72 GP 77 Pts    33 W

10.Caps    72 GP 76 Pts    34 W

11.Panthers 73 GP 76 Pts  34 W

12.Leafs     72 GP   74 Pts   32 W

*Wins are first tiebreaker

Notes: Rangers will look to bounceback tonight when they conclude Florida swing in Tampa Bay. Since struggling, the 15th ranked Lightning have reeled off two straight outscoring recent victims Boston and the Islanders by a combined 11-5. Vinny Lecavalier has tallied four times including a hat trick in an 8-4 home win over the Isles. … Blueshirts are 15-12-8 on the road compared to 22-13-1 this season. … Lundqvist turned aside 27 of 30 in a losing effort. … Brett McLean tallied two assists for the winners. … Ranger D Dan Girardi notched his ninth of season and first in 29 games. … D Marek Malik was again a scratch due to upper body injury with veteran Jason Strudwick taking his place.

In case you missed it last night, the Rangers got a big one-goal win in Buffalo. It wasn’t pretty but it didn’t have to be as neither team which entered tied with 68 points played the kind of D which allowed for it to be a lowscoring game.

Instead, it was literally back and forth action keeping you on the edge of your seat with each team taking turns carrying the play. Jaromir Jagr snapped his goal drought by neatly deflecting home Fedor Tyutin’s left point shot to put the Blueshirts out in front.

It didn’t last long as the Sabres cameback thanks to an Ales Kotalik blast off some poor defensive coverage. It was the first of two goals for him. Rookie forward Nigel Dawes would put his team back ahead with a sneaky wrister top shelf past Ryan Miller’s glove. It was his ninth.

However, Buffalo got the next two 6:06 apart in the second off the sticks of Jason Pominville and Kotalik. Just when it seemed the Sabres had the momentum, the Rangers came right back on the next shift with Michal Rozsival setting up rookie pivot Brandon Dubinsky for the equalizer only 34 seconds later. It was a huge goal because it allowed New York to relax and get their game back.

Though the Sabres generated a few dangerous chances in the third, they wouldn’t find that fourth goal on Ranger goalie Henrik Lundqvist. If he struggled with the puck and maybe gave up one questionable one earlier, the 25 year-old Swede made up for it by flat out stoning red hot Buffalo sniper Thomas Vanek on a breakaway. Sprung by an excellent breakout pass, Vanek tried to go stick side but Lundqvist stood tall blocking it away.

Not long after, Sean Avery was the beneficiary of a dreadful giveaway by Kotalik. He might have been his team’s best offensive player earlier in the crucial contest but a blind backhand up the middle to Brendan Shanahan resulted in Avery’s deciding tally. Shanahan’s shot deflected right to a cutting Avery who easily put home his 10th with Ryan Miller out of position anticipating Shanny’s blast which never came.

From there, the Rangers steadied to do a solid enough job defensively. In particular, Shanahan was terrific in the final seconds keeping a puck alive in the corner without using his hand wasting at least eight seconds.

Lundqvist finished with 26 saves as his team improved to 4-0-2 in their last six. They’ll look to continue putting up points later tonight when they return home to host the Panthers.

A few notes about this game now that I’m able to:


-Dubinsky finished with a goal and a helper. Since Tom Renney changed the lines sticking Jagr back with the rookie out of Anchorage, Dubi has seven points (3-4-7) in the last four contests. He really looks like a more confident player now. It’s no surprise anymore that it’s the former 2004 second round pick who has been his team’s best player lately. He’s a point-a-game in his last 11 and has 17 points (8-9-17) and a plus-11 rating since Jan.12.

-Rozsival contributed two assists. He’s really stepped up his game lately and has four assists in the last two games. Most notably, Rozy is playing more physical in his end. Maybe he’s feeling better.

-Marek Malik and rookie Marc Staal struggled last night. They’ll both need to be better tonight. Especially with Paul Mara getting hurt and leaving yesterday’s game. If Mara’s out a period, it could impact what the Rangers do at Tuesday’s deadline. They could step up their hunt for another defenseman. Perhaps Dan Boyle or Tomas Kaberle? The price will be hefty.

-Dawes continues to look more confident out there. He’s meshed well with Scott Gomez and is using his speed and grit to create chances. Twelve of his 18 points have come since Jan.12. If the kid from Manitoba ever consistently gets on the scoresheet, he’ll develop into the kind of player which will allow the club to keep him around as part of the plan.

-Both Tyutin and partner Dan Girardi were strong on the blueline breaking up plays and playing physical. They both were recently re-signed by the club and are proving why. Girardi’s plus-minus is now minus-six. While that’s not great, it’s a nice improvement from where the second-year find was a month ago.

-Avery finished with the ever popular Gordie Howe hat trick. He has really played well since returning. He’s factoring in offensively and is very active. It just might be the best hockey of his career. The pest has five goals in the past five contests and over that span is plus-five. If he continues performing this way, it’s going to be impossible for the Rangers not to get him re-signed. It’s going to cost.

-The Panthers are coming off a stunning OT win over the Flyers last night. Since nobody could understand what I wrote last nite, I’ll just rehash what happened.

Antero Niittymaki was four seconds away from a huge shutout which would’ve snapped his team’s inexplicable nine-game skid. Instead of getting the win though, somehow the Flyers didn’t clear the zone allowing a desperate Florida club to setup a last second shot by defenseman Jay Bouwmeester. With captain Olli Jokinen standing in front, Niittymaki allowed the puck to go through him for the tying goal at 19:56. In OT, David Booth drew a penalty with his speed. He’s really a nice player. Off the next draw, Jokinen stepped into one blasting it past Niittymaki inside the right bar for the crushing winner sending a stunned Philly crowd home.

Sure. They got a point and at least went ahead of the Isles due to more wins and an extra game left. But how the heck did they lose? They dominated most of the game and were stellar defensively until the closing seconds. Losing their best player Mike Richards on top of it with a torn hamstring hurts big time. They’re now 0-8-2 in their last 10. You have to figure Paul Holmgren will be aggressive trying to upgrade the roster. With Peter Forsberg out of the loop, might he go after Brad Richards as a replacement?

Stay tuned.


There are more games going on today with the Devils in the nation’s capital to play the Caps. We’ll have some updates later.

I didn’t see a lot of it but the Devils managed to lose at home to the Panthers. That’s like the Knicks losing to the Harlem Globetrotters. Even though if you’ve followed the Knicks at all, it actually could happen. But the Devs losing another bad Florida team who didn’t even start All-Star netminder Tomas Vokoun is inexcusable.

That might also be why frustrated first-year coach Brent Sutter came away shaking his head after his first place club blew a one-goal lead after two periods by permitting a couple of Panther goals in a 1:17 span. It was the first time in 2007-08 his team lost after holding a lead after 40 minutes were played.

It happened when ex-Ranger Radek Dvorak notched his fifth off a loose rebound in front just 2:28 into the final stanza to tie it. Another solid shift by Florida generated David Booth’s deciding tally 77 seconds later. Off a productive cycle, the second-year forward was positioned perfectly in front when a Ruslan Salei right point shot caromed off the back boards to him for his 13th.

The two quick goals were enough thanks to a 31 save effort from Anderson who stopped all seven Devil third period shots in notching only his second win in six starts this season. That included a key stop on the pesky Brian Gionta from about 15 feet out with about two and a half to go.

From there, the Panthers did a solid job outworking the normally gritty Devils by winning the puck battles along the boards. They didn’t allow a quality NHL club to generate the kind of chances they needed late to force overtime.

It all added up to a career milestone for veteran coach Jacques Martin who became the 10th coach to win his 500th NHL game behind the bench. Congrats go out to him. The 500 are the second most on the active list with only former Ranger (current Calgary) coach Mike Keenan having more.

“I’ve been very fortunate to work in this league, the best league in the world and to have some good players to coach,” a pleased Martin expressed to the Associated Press afterwards.

“Everybody was working hard tonight and it was good to see a turn for the better,” Anderson said of the comeback win. “It’s good to go against a future Hall of Famer, play head-to-head with him and get the win.”

Not surprisingly, the classy Brodeur took time out to praise his counterpart.

“After not playing many games, he made some big saves,” the future Hall of Famer pointed out. “This was a real bad loss for us. Up 1-0 in your building, you have to find a way to squeak it out.”

As FSNY color analyst Chico Resch always says, it certainly wasn’t Marty’s fault. In fact, this was one of the best games he’s played this season making several acrobatic highlight reel saves. Just ask Florida’s Richard Zednik, who was robbed point blank by a sprawling Brodeur at least three times in the first two stanzas.

It’s hard to say what was better. Brodeur’s unreal stop on Zednik during the first with an open net where he somehow kicked out the puck with his legs at the last split second. Or was it the two-save sequence in the second where he denied the struggling Panther once in front on a backhand and then somehow like a cat made an amazing left glove save as the crowd stirred ripping the puck away like a cat.

Amazing stuff from one of the all-time greats.

Judge for yourself:

Brodeur amazing in defeat

He might’ve been on the losing side in finishing with 25 saves but he’s never played better.

The Devs’ only offense came from resurgent second-year pivot Travis Zajac, who found a Jamie Langenbrunner rebound for his fifth goal in the last seven 70 seconds into the second.

The problem right now for New Jersey is that leading scorer Zach Parise has gone dry. As usual, the 23 year-old kid’s effort is there as he helped setup Zajac’s goal and got a few chances himself. The North Dakota product just isn’t burying his opportunities. He’s now 0-for-8 in 2008 with his last goal coming in a 5-2 road defeat to the Islanders on Dec.29.

If you go back further though, Parise’s goalscoring struggles are pretty evident. Since a two-goal four point night in a come from behind 4-3 home win over Boston, he’s lit the lamp only twice in the last 18 contests.

That’s just not enough from the Devs’ best threat around the net. Especially with normally reliable veteran forwards John Madden and Jay Pandolfo shelved due to injuries.

Sooner or later, you figure the law of averages will catch up and Parise will get some breaks because he certainly works hard enough. When they do, the Devils will be tougher to deal with in a pivotal stretch which sees them have 14 of the next 17 at The Prudential Center.

The good news for the Devs was they didn’t lose any ground in the division because the Pens were shutout by the Lightning 3-0 at home. Sidney Crosby left the game with a sprained ankle suffered in the first and previously unbeaten Ty Conklin was finally solved for three with ex-enforcer Andre Roy out of all people tallying once and setting up two other Bolts’ goals.

Pittsburgh’s record is 0-2-2 without Sid the Kid. They’re obviously not going to have the 2006-07 Hart recipient for a while. So, this is a huge loss.

“Sid is a big part of that team,” Vincent Lecavalier said after being held off the scoresheet and remaining in a three-way tie for the league lead in scoring with Crosby and Atlanta sniper Ilya Kovalchuk. “For them to win, someone else is going to have to lead, and I think (Evgeni) Malkin is going to have to do that.”

“Right now, since we lost our leader and our captain, I’m going to try my best and raise my game,” the second-year Russian star admitted after being kept off the scoresheet. “I’m going to try to do a little more.”

Malkin is the Pens’ second leading scorer with 52 points. He had been pretty hot lately with 12 goals and three helpers in the last 12 games before last night. The Pens will need the 2006-07 Calder winner to continue to step up.

The impact of Crosby’s injury won’t only be felt by his teammates but by the league as well due to the fact the All-Star Game is around the corner scheduled for Atlanta on January 27.

That’s just great. The game’s most popular player who easily was the leading vote getter seems certain to be unable to participate. Well, maybe that frees up a spot for his teammate Malkin, who should be going anyway.

The most important thing here is that No.87 recovers quickly in time to help his team get into the postseason for a second consecutive year. The last thing the league needs is a Pittsburgh second half collapse. Having the most marketable star player in the playoffs is very important. Especially for the game in the U.S. It would also help if rookie Patrick Kane somehow led a second half surge by Original Six Chicago. They won their second game in a row in a shootout over the Avs after a long winless streak.

And now for one final random thought on WFAN Devils’ radio play-by-play man Matt Loughlin. I like Matty a lot and have even worked with him when he was a studio host between intermissions. A role which suited the likeable studio anchor well. The Matt and The Maven segments were classic. Even if you hated the Devs, you watched to see what they would say. Steve Cangialosi is boring.

They need Loughlin back between periods because to be perfectly frank, he’s brutal to listen to calling these games. You can almost never tell what’s happening. If a goal’s about to be scored or if it’s a save. There’s almost no way to distinguish.

It’s not Matt’s fault because he’s an employee of the Devils and tries his best to make the games exciting. And because of his awkward style, it’s at the very least an interesting listen. Half the time I find myself chuckling at some of his calls.

He’s just not a natural play-by-play announcer. This falls on the Devil organization. For whatever reason only known to GM Lou Lamoriello, John Hennessey was let go a couple of years ago. I don’t really know what was wrong with the former River Rats’ playcaller but he definitely wasn’t as confusing as Loughlin.

Right now, the Devils have the worst radio broadcast in the entire league. It’s flat out embarrassing that this is what airs on WFAN in New York. Do the hockey fans a big favor and put Loughlin back with Stan Fischler and find a real broadcaster.

It’s for the best. Matt is just overmatched.

Let’s save this one for tomorrow, as the Devils fall 3-0 to Florida.