Johnny Oduya, who had a career high four points in the Devils 7-3 showing over the Flyers, doesn't think that the All-Star Game will interrupt momentum they recently generated.  The rest of the Devils organization seems to feel the same way.  Head coach Brent's Sutter club has displayed a "knack" this season in putting halts to short losing streaks, and then feeding off that "win-after-a-loss" kind of game with an extra special effort.

After they lost two early contests in October, the Devils won the next two.  New Jersey followed the two victories with a 0-3-1 mini losing streak.  They won the next two, 6-1 and 3-2.  More recently, the Devils could not score on the power play (0-5 both games), as the Islanders and Panthers earned hard fought road wins at the Prudential Center.

Sutter credits the Devils for staying with the Atlantic Division lead all season long and their ability to "keep their foot on the pedal."  Yet, there are no Devils skaters "patting themselves on the back."  After Thursday’s game with the Canadiens, and the All-Star festivities in which the Devils have virtually no involvement, they will be looking to do exactly what the NY Football Giants have done on their magical run to the Super Bowl with the Disrespected Patriots, except at home.

That's right, the Devils are looking at a stretch of 11 of 13 games played on their home turf.

The Canadiens are currently second in their division with a 25-15-8 record and trail first place Ottawa by six points.  However, the Devils will be riding on some recent success versus Montreal when the two clubs meet for the second and final time at the Rock this season (two more meetings in Montreal).  The Devils will be looking for their 10th straight win against the Habs.

Last time these teams met was probably the crispest game of the season for New Jersey, as they won 4-0.  Zach Parise recorded his career hat trick and Martin Brodeur made 27 saves.

However, you can't underestimate the talent of the Habs, who are coming off a whopping 8-2 win over the Boston Bruins on Tuesday, agains B’s goalie Tim Thomas no less.

The Canadiens are led by Andrei Kostitsyn and Mark Streit, and will be looking to build upon their big offensive outputs.  The Devils will need to use the same sort of mindset that they used against Flyers goalies Antero Nittymaki and Martin Biron, when they face Cristobal Huet  tonight at the Rock.

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