Martin Brodeur and the rest of the NJ Devils are starting to play like the team we all know and hoped they were this season.  Last night the Devils beat the always dangerous Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 in Tampa.  Despite outplaying the Lightning for most of the first period, it was Vinny Lecavalier who opened up the scoring less than a minute into the second period.   This is the kind of thing that has been happening to the Devils this season, out playing a team and still ending up behind.  Not on this night however....

The Devils are a hard working NHL team; it is what has brought us all the success in NJ in the past 15 years (4 Stanley Cup Finals appearances and 3 Cups).  They are also a team and organization that never gives up even when the odds are against them and no one is giving them a chance (1995 Stanley Cup Finals, 2000 Eastern Conference Finals, 2006 Atlantic Division Title)

So, we all know that the Devils are able to make great comebacks and stay focused on the "one shift at a time" approach to hockey, and that's exactly what they did.  Drawing an early second period PP Brian Gionta knotted the game at one a piece sending the team into a frenzy.  It was not long after that Brian Gionta tallied his second goal of the game to give the Devils their first lead of the game at 2-1.  Less than a minute later David Clarkson scored his second goal of the season to give the Devils a 3-1 edge going into the locker-room.

Whatever John Tortorella said to his team at the intermission seemed to work.  The Lightning struck right away as 36 seconds into the period Jason Ward cut the deficit in half with a PP goal.  Tampa then proceeded to dominate most of the Devils and the period.  The one Devil that they could not dominate, Martin Brodeur.  Outshooting the Devils 14-1 in the period, including one that slipped through and needed to be reviewed, was not enough to beat the future hall of famer and the Devils went on to win their fourth straight to keep them only 4 points back of the Atlantic Division lead. 

The Devils are starting to heat up, the drag of the opening 9 game road trip is over, the nerves of opening up a new building are over, so what's left? To play NJ Devils hockey, and that it what has happened over the past 4 games.  This win put them over .500 for the first time this season; hopefully they never look back....

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