The Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference has never
been so exciting. As of right now the New Jersey Devils sit atop both the
division and the conference, but as we all know, this could change over night
with the Pittsburgh Penguins only one point behind the Devils. The New York
Rangers are also playing some of their best hockey of the season, making the
task of winning the division that much harder.
The
Devils continue (they lost the first one in OT) their post-trade deadline life
tonight against the Washington Capitals, a team who can light you up at any
given time. The Capitals were very busy during the trade deadline, trading for
Matt Cooke, Cristobal Huet, and a guy named Sergei Federov. While Cooke and
Huet are both rising in this league, many think that "Feds", as he is
called, is over the hill and washed up. Playing with Alexander Ovechkin, the
NHL’s scoring leader, may give this old dog some new life.The last
time that these two teams met, only five days ago, the Devils kept Ovechkin and
company in check, winning
2-1 in overtime on John Madden’s rebound off Patrik Elias’ shot.
In my opinion,
Martin Brodeur earned the No. 1 star, making
37 saves and stealing another two points for the Devils as he has done so many
times before.
Tonight also marks the conclusion of the season
series with the Capitals. The Devils are 2-1 to this point and will look to
maintain their dominance over non-divisional rivals as they've done thus far.
In addition, Bryce Salvador will join the team for his first
ever game in red and black. New
Jersey acquired Salvador, a stay-at-home defenseman, at the deadline for
injury-plagued Cam Janssen and it was a typical Devils trade deadline move.
With star players like Marian Hossa, Brad Richards, and Brian Campbell up for
grabs, the Devils did not jump. Instead, they did what they always do; they
dealt for the solid two-way player in Salvador,
who, as Jeremy noted, is
naturally nervous before his initial appearance with a future Hall of Fame
netminder and a team that has already won 3 Stanley Cups since 1995.
In the Western Conference and the NHL, players and
executives know Salvador for his
rugged physical play. I believe it’s definitely something that the rest of the
Devils blue-liners should take a look at when he skates up with them in
practice and during games. While he’s scored only one goal and added ten
assists thus far, he carries a huge asset, the plus 12 rating. It shows his
valued commitment to defense; he also brings veteran leadership (drafted in
1994, been in NHL since 2000) to the Devils youthful defensive corpse, all
under 30 (except for Salvador who
is 31).
As a Devils fan I wanted to see Hossa, Richards, or even
Campbell sport a Devils sweater for the rest of the season. It would be fun to
use a rental to win another Stanley Cup. But, the smarter move is the move they
made, and no one can argue with the success that the Devils have with some
virtually “no name” players (Grant Marshall in 2003 run, Devils
“us-against-the-world” mentality in upsetting Red Wings in 1995.
The
Devils currently lead the conference and division by only one point. They will
need to continue shutting down the opposing team’s main weapons in order to
remain atop in the highly competitive league.
Zach Parise, Patrik Elias, and Brian Gionta
must continue their February success into March, as Jeremy mentioned, to
help the Devils collect two points night after night.Marty has
control of the net, and if his team scores goals, the Devils will win. It’s
that simple.
Even though it is going to snow tonight, grab
the kids, call up a girl, or get in the car (or train) and come alone to the Prudential
Center in Newark
to watch the Devils fight for control of the Division and the Conference. Great
seats are still available! I'll be there, will you?
Go Devils!
Hey Bill