Brian Gionta

• Devils Rebound With Solid Effort Over Leafs- The Devils quickly ended a two-game losing drought with an important 4-1 decision over the Maple Leafs last night.  Zach Parise tallied twice, snapping a 4-game pointless streak, David Clarkson scored for the first time in 11 games, and goaltender Martin Brodeur stopped 41 shots in front 19,507 at the Air Canada Centre. “We played pretty well outside of a few minutes in the second period,” head coach Brent Sutter said afterwards.  “Marty made some huge saves.”

• Devils Daily 2008 Blog Recap- I am sitting in my bedroom, reading Devils fans criticize Johnny Oduya 24/7. I quickly check Yahoo Sports for Oduya's numbers. What I see surprises me as much as other supporters. Among defensemen, Oduya is tied in second with 16 points. His plus/minus 12 is second on the team to Paul Martin. Instead, three other blueliners are a combined -18 with a combined 21 points. Colin White, Vitaly Vishnevski and Mike Mottau have struggled from the get-go, but nobody is ripping into them. Maybe, we do not see eye to eye, but I'm stating facts, not opinions.

• Devils Fall to Montreal, I Lose My Mind on Officiating or Lack There Of Last Night-

  The previous game, a 4-0 loss Washington, I described as unintelligent. Head coach Brent Sutter ensured a more competitive match in the second half of a back-to-back stretch, yet the Devils fell for the third straight game, 2-1 to Montreal, in front of a soldout raucous crowd of 21,273 at the Bell Centre.
  
  Both teams worked hard in the first period, with the Devils leading 13-8 in shots on goal. However, after 20 minutes of action, the game remained scoreless.
  

• And They're Off...- 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 Finally Conquer Islanders; Extend Point Streak to 7- Maybe, Sutter's family should move to New Jersey permanently. After attending the last contest, a 3-2 Devils win, the Sutters, made another appearance, watching the Devils first win in six tries over the Islanders this season over head coach Brent's former team. Alongside a rare sellout crowd of 17,625, the Sutters and Co. witnessed the 4-2 effort

  Trailing 1-0 after eight minutes of action, the Devils responded valiantly, utilizing a brilliant

• Devils Look for Sweep of Thrashers- The Devils will look to sweep the season series from the visiting Thrashers tonight at the Prudential Center. The Devils enter tonight's contest on a two-game winning streak. That included a 3-2 overtime victory over the Eastern Conference leading Ottawa Senators. Brian Gionta snapped a 13-game scoreless streak, netting the game winner in the extra frame from captain Jamie Langenbrunner. Elias added two assists for the second straight night. The Thrashers have also won two straight, including a 3-2
• Gionta Lifts Devils by Senators in Overtime- Scoring his first in 13 games, Brian Gionta gave New Jersey an important 3-2 overtime decision over Ottawa last night. After circling around the net, Gionta found a loose rebound and slipped it through Martin Gerber's legs. Captain Jamie Langenbrunner assisted on Gionta's 14th of the season at 2:14 of the extra frame. In the process, Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur extended his NHL record 30-win seasons to a 12th straight year. The man he trails in career victories, Patrick Roy, only managed 8 consecutive 30-win seasons.

• Devils Suffer Deja Vu to Sabres- When the fourth and final meeting between the Devils and Sabres went into overtime, Buffalo was thinking, "Here we go again." However, Buffalo overcame its early season woes to New Jersey and finally found a way to win in the shootout period. After squadering a 2-0 lead in regulation, the Sabres regrouped for a 3-2 effort.

  The Devils overcame a 2-0 deficit again with two more unlikely heroes.

• Devils Travel to Sabre-ville, One More Shootout?-

  I enjoyed the VERSUS telecast of the Devils game on Monday night. Nevertheless, I am glad that FSNY will return to its normal duty for Wednesday night's Devils-Sabres game at 7 o'clock. The Devils are playing their fourth and final meeting with Buffalo this season. Since the first three ended with Devils' shootout wins, Buffalo may want to seal a win in regulation.

  Not so fast.

• Devils Shoot Sabres Out of Newark-

  The Devils were clearly frustrated after they allowed the Sabres to to tie the game with 1:37 remaining in regulation, preventing goalie Martin Brodeur from earning yet another shutout. Instead of succumbing in the last 90 seconds plus overtime, they regrouped and captured the 2-1 shootout win.

• Gionta's Struggles Disturb Fans-

  I agree with the recent negativity surrounding Brian Gionta. He has certainly not produced to par. Since Jan. 1, Gionta has scored twice (none since Jan. 10). Since the beginning of the season, he has potted merely 13 goals (t-98th), 31 less than Ovechkin’s 43 league-leading tallies. You are probably thinking about what to do with Gionta. Should GM Lou Lamoriello include him in trade discussions? Bench him? Move him around the lines? I have considered these options as well.

• Mad Dog Back With a Vengeance, Devils End Two-Game Skid-

  The New Jersey Devils knew they were missing the services of John Madden, but until tonight, they did not know how much.

  Madden scored two goals, the second held up to be the eventual game-winner, as the Devils held off the Toronto Maple Leafs, 3-2, in front of 15,291 at the Prudential Center.

• Devils Notes From Past Week, Late-Night Statistics III-

  While I was on vacation, the New Jersey Devils went 2-1.  They were victorious  in both road contests before falling at home to the NY Islanders last night.  I am sure that everyone wants to know how London was, but, more importantly, we need to discuss the Devils current events.  A lot has taken place, including John Madden’s leg injury, special teams updates, shots on goal and the Prudential Center’s attendance figures.

• Devils Score Four, Brodeur Shuts the Door-

  The New Jersey Devils seem to amaze the hockey world night after night.  Tonight was no different as they dismantled the Southeast Division leading Carolina Hurricanes 4-1 (Just as Ethan predicted they would). 

  The Devils seem to get scoring from everyone this season.  Last night four different New Jersey players tallied goals as the Atlantic Division's hottest team collected two more points (some may argue that Pittsburgh is hotter considering it has won eight straight).

• NHL All-Star Fan Balloting Final Numbers, Brodeur's 10th Appearance, 4th Career Start- Unlike the Presidential election and last year's "Vote for Rory" scandal, there were no miscalculations this time around.  No illusions, aberrations, or inaccuracies.  The 2008 NHL All-Star Fan Balloting results were as successful as the Winter Classic.  You can't ask for much more for that.
  
• Devils Host Sabres Tonight, Begin Second Half of Season-

  The New Jersey Devils definitely slept well last night.  Even though they lost to Boston on Jan. 5, they looked at the standings and realized they remained in first place.  Despite injuries and offseason departures, they have managed to hold down the fort for the first half of the 2007-08 campaign.  They have done so with timely scoring, superior goaltending, and the addition of some new arrivals.

• Top 10 New Year's Resolutions for the New Jersey Devils-

  From Guest Blogger Ethan Kwassman, who has hosted many Devils broadcasts on blogtalkradio:

• Atlantic Division: New Year's Eve Update- In early November, the New Jersey Devils faced their Atlantic Division opponents in nine consecutive games.  They went 4-1 against Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, but 0-3-1 against the New York Rangers and Islanders. 
• Devils-Panthers Broadcast Info and Line Changes-

  The Devils host Florida tonight at the Prudential Center.  If you are not attending this contest (shame on you), catch it on FSNY, WFAN 660AM, or NHL radio. By the way, tickets are still available, but the names of back of the Devils' jerseys may seem unfamiliar at first.
  

• Elias, DiPietro Out Tonight- Unfortunately, Patrik Elias tweaked his groin in last night's 2-1 victory over Buffalo and would not play in the Devils' contest in Long Island.  Martin Brodeur started again in the back-to-back matchup.  However, reserve Wade Dubielewicz started in place of Rick
• Devils Back in Action Tonight, Host Buffalo at The Rock-

  The Devils return from a three-day holiday vacation as they host the Sabres (18-14-4) at the Prudential Center for the first time this season.  Martin Brodeur continues to shine as he leads New Jersey (20-13-3) to three-point first-place margin in the ultra-tight Atlantic Division.  The last-place Islanders are separated from the Devils by five

• Happy Holidays as Devils Rest Up...-

  First and foremost, I would like to wish everyone a happy holiday, whatever it is that you are celebrating.  I celebrate Christmas and it was one of the most hectic ones ever!  So I hope that everyone has been having happy and healthy ones everywhere. 

• Perfect Pass Leads Devils to Overtime Win-

  Merely 25 seconds into overtime, Patrik Elias took advantage of a Flame s turnover, and one-timed a Brian Gionta assist by Miikka Kiprusoff to give the Devils the 1-0 overtime win.

• Devils Break Out of Scoring Drought with Three in Third Period - Defeat Oilers-

  The New Jersey Devils were moving dangerously close to being shutout for the second consecutive game.  Then came the third period and unusual coaching decision by Edmonton Oilers Craig MacTavish.
  

• Brodeur Sets Shootout Record in Sixth Consecutive Victory -- At Expense of Canadiens- The first goal was nice, the second was sweeter, and the third the most meaningful of them all for Zach Parise.  He completed his first career NHL hat trick scoring one goal in each of the three periods last night.  Parise added an assist on the New Jersey Devils' fourth tally, completing the four-point performance and 4-0 shutout for goaltender Martin Brodeur.