The Devils are in Philadelphia tonight for a 7 p.m. division showdown, after one-upping the Pittsburgh Penguins last night 5-4.  It's also a busy night in the rest of the league with 18 teams in action.  Here are some of tonight’s story lines:

NYR-ATL
The lowly Thrashers have yet to win a game this season (0-6) costing head coach Bob Hartley his job.  GM Don Waddell will take over as interim coach.  Let's hope this move can light a fire under the Thrashers, who can take one from the Devils archrivals, the New York Rangers.

TB-BOS
The Bruins have gotten off to a hot start, going 3-2-0, even though they have yet to play a single home game.  Their road trip comes to an end tonight when they host the Lightning (3-1-0), of whom they are 19-2-0 with six ties all time at home.  Goaltender Tim Thomas has been brilliant in net so far for the B’s, basically stealing a game in a 26 save effort over San Jose on Saturday (2-1).  Let's see if he can stand strong with his home crowd behind him against a potent Lightning offense, which includes MVP candidates Martin St. Louis and Vinny Lecavalier.

NYI-WASH
Two teams that got off to hot starts but have since dropped their last two will be matching up tonight in Washington.  Capitals forward Alexander Ovechkin should be a delight to watch, as usual.  I expect him to be taking the team on his shoulders in an effort to snap the slide.  Can the Islanders defense handle the revitalized Capitals offense?

MTL-OTT
This one is shaping up to be an exciting game as the focus will be on the goalies for this battle of Canadian supremacy.  Rookie Carey Price will get his second start of the season for the Canadians and Martin Gerber will be in net for the Senators.  Ray Emery is back from off-season wrist surgery for the Senators, but Gerber has made a strong case for the starting role, if not at least split-time with Emery, by recording a league-leading five wins while maintaining a 1.99 GAA and a .941 save percentage in six games.  Can the rookie Price hold his own against the powerful Senators attack and make Gerber work to earn his sixth win of the young season?

DET-SJ
The Sharks are coming off a big win at Vancouver Monday and look to put together back-to-back wins for the first time this season.  Talk about obstacles in your way, Detroit is no easy task.  Red Wings’ Henrik Zetterberg has appeared unstoppable at times this season, recording 13 points in his first seven games (5 G, 8 A).  The Sharks are going to have to take advantage of an aching Detroit defense as NHL future hall of fame defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom is “nursing sore ribs,” but is in the lineup tonight, according to Helene St. James.

Other games around the league tonight:
FLORIDA @ TORONTO
LOS ANGELES @ CALGARY
EDMONTON @ PHOENIX

Check back later for Devils post-game wrap up

Dude Joel

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