John Madden gave New Jersey their first lead and Sergei Brylin delivered the knockout punch, defeating San Jose 3-2 and sending the Sharks to their fifth straight loss. After a scoreless first period, the Sharks took the 1-0 lead, taking advantage of a Vitaly Vishnevksi penalty 35 seconds into the middle frame.  However, the Devils scored the next three goals, all in the second, including Madden and Brylin’s 1:10 apart, before a late Kyle McLaren tally in the third, finishing the count.

As the clock ticks until Feb. 26 at 3 pm, the trade deadline rumors are sizzling. Eklund and Lyle "Spector" Richardson have been on the phones calling their contacts, trying to find something going on. I hear many things about Mats Sundin, Darcy, Tucker, Rob Blake, Olli Jokinen and Alex

I have researched the list of the New Jersey Devils unrestricted free agents after the 2007-08 campaign.  There are only two players that I am overtly concerned with, winger Jay Pandolfo and defenseman Karel Rachunek.  Pandolfo, 32, earned roughly $836,000 this year but has been out of commission since Nov. 28 with a pelvic/abdomen injury.  Before suffering the injury, Pandolfo scored 13 points in 24 games and was on pace to easily surpass his career high in goals and points.

Since fellow New Jersey Devils bloggers focused their eyes and ears on the New York Giants 23-20 thrilling NFC Championship win over Green Bay following the Patriots win over San Diego, the posts were shorter than usual, as expected.

The New Jersey Devils enter tonight's fourth meeting of the season against the Florida Panthers as one of the healthiest teams in the league.  There I said it.  You might hate me for saying this, but it's the truth.  Only Jay Pandolfo remains on injured reserve with his ligament injury.  Relative to the rest of the NHL, that is good news for the Devils, who are battling for the divisional lead.

For only the second time in the last eight years, the New Jersey Devils will host the Florida Panthers Friday night without two of its best defensive forwards.  While Jay Pandolfo is still nursing a pelvic bone ligament he suffered on Nov. 28, linemate John Madden will miss the fourth meeting between these two teams this season with a laceration on the inside of his right ankle dating back to Jan. 11(TG).