With the game on the line, tied in the third period, someone from the New Jersey Devils bench (rookie coach Brent Sutter refrained from revealing the culprit) uttered some abusive language towards one of the referees.  As a result, a bench minor infraction was called on the Devils bench, coupled by a penalty to Devils defenseman Shelden Brookbank, leaving them down two men for a full two minutes.

The New York Islanders scored on the ensuing 5-on-3 power play, finishing what they started in a 2-1 win.  The win prevented Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur from reaching the 500-win plateau and joining only Patrick Roy (551) as the two most winningest goalies in league history.

My brother told me to be positive in losses so I will try.  The Devils managed some good chances late in the contest to net the equalizer but fell just short.  They were definitely trying to get Brodeur’s milestone win, even if they did not admit to it after the game.  Then again I could be wrong… nobody in the media knew about the game’s importance, less for Tom Guliti, Rich Chere, and NY Post’s Mark Everson among fans.

More people are concerned with Jeremy Roenick scoring career goal No. 500, good for 40^th all-time.  Congratulations to Mr. Roenick for being an asshole and having a great career.

Brodeur’s milestone would place him in a category with one other goaltender in Patrick Roy.  When Mark McGwire was close to breaking the single season home run record, the media went nuts.  ESPN showed every one of his at-bats, as well as for Barry Bonds, when he neared the all-time home run record.  Understandably, Major League Baseball is a bit more popular than hockey, but Brodeur has earned himself three Stanley Cup trophies, numerous awards, much success in his profession.  Give the man some respect.  This world, including the money-grubbing media only care about wealth, not about success anymore, unless they benefit from it… it’s a shame.

Anyway, the Islanders scored first, Josef Vasicek’s fifth from Chris Campoli and Richard Park at 17:13 of the first period.  That 1-0 advantage stood up for over a period as the Islanders controlled play and led in shots through the first two periods.

Newcomer Danius Zubrus scored his third goal in two games, netting the equalizer merely one minute ten seconds into the final period.  That point was supposed to be the turning point, when the Devils take over and score a few more times, putting this game out of reach.

The referees would not let that happen as Miroslav Satan scored a five-on-three power-play goal five minutes later, which stood up in the 201 Islanders win.  Satan completed his third game-winner in three games.

Goaltenders Martin Brodeur (saved 20 of 22 shots on goal) and Rick DiPietro (20 of 21) were not tested that much.  I was hoping that the Devils would use Langenbrunner and White’s returns as inspiration.  Instead, they cursed at the referees… just brilliant…

On the bright side, it’s a one-goal loss, not a disastrous effort like last week.  There are still 66 more games this season for the Devils who dropped to 6-8-2, while the Islanders rose to 9-4-0, one of their best starts in team history.  Everyone knew that the Devils might struggle this season, especially after losing defenseman Brian Rafalski and forward Scott Gomez to free agency.  Langenbrunner should be returning to the lineup soon as the Devils take on yet another division rival, Pittsburgh Monday night.

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