March 16, 2010, Boston Bruins-New Jersey Devils game story
Published 09:05, March the 16th, 2010
Devils bust out early, beat Bruins
Devils 3, Bruins 2
Jamie Langenbrunner was incensed.
Five minutes into last night’s affair with the Boston, The Captain skated over to over Mark Stuart and challenged him. Stuart had just rode Zach Parise headfirst into the end boards and that was not acceptable to Langenbrunner.
The brief skirmish ended with Langenbrunner assessed a two minute penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. It energized 15,801 while setting a tone for the night—and perhaps the next three months.
Julius Caesar was warned to Beware The Ides of March. The NHL would be wise to Beware The Rise of The Devils, after their 3-1 numbers-are-deceiving-win over the Bruins Monday night at The Prudential Center. With the win, the Devils are two points behind the Penguins for second place in the Eastern Conference and first in the Atlantic Division. The Devils host Pittsburgh Wednesday. It is the second game in five days for the rivals as Jersey beat the reigning Stanley Cup Champions, 3-1, Friday night. The Devils are 5-0 against Pittsburgh this season.
“You win your share of games, you don’t have to look at the standings,” Jacques Lemaire said. “It’s (an Atlantic Division Championship) there. We want it.
“We’re good. We’re fine.”
Following the morning skate, the Devils testified to the importance of matching the barely-holding-onto-the-last-playoff-spot-in-the-East Bruins’ desperation.
They did.
The Devils had a 3-0 lead at the end of the first period, thanks to a Rob Niedermayer tip of a David Clarkson wrist shot from the low slot at 9:58, a Clarkson breakaway backhander with 2:37 remaining and a Parise goalmouth backhander with 1:52 left. The final two periods was glorified garbage time against a broken team.
“We played (well). In the second, we stopped doing certain things, we slowed down just a little bit. But the first and third, I thought we played very well, even though they came close at the end,” Lemaire said.
As has been the case since being united last week, the third line of Niedermayer, Clarkson and Brian Rolston was thoroughly dominant as they controlled the puck and wore down the Bruins. The triumvirate combined for two goals, an assist and was plus five last night. Overall, they have totaled four goals, four assists, eight points, are plus-12 and have 11 penalty minutes in four games. The Devils are 3-1 in those games.
“We’re playing simple hockey. We’re going to the net (and getting) into (opponents) faces. I didn’t know we had (eight) points in four games,” Clarkson said. “We’re playing good hockey. We’ve got to continue to play good hockey to make this team a better team.”
Martin Brodeur was not tested much while earning his 38th win of the season and the 595th of his career. Brodeur stopped 34 shots, with his lone blemishes a Blake Wheeler side-of-the-net tip of an off-angle Mark Stuart shot 43 seconds into the second period and a Patrice Bergeron score with 1:03 left.
“We played solid. We didn’t do anything crazy. We stayed within our limits without giving up much. Even though they had a lot of shots, the quality of shots was reasonable as far as what I was able to handle and see out there,” Brodeur said.
He also factored into the scoring. Brodeur’s clearing pass sprung Clarkson for the latter’s breakaway goal. The assist was the 34th of his Hall-of-Fame-to-be career. The NHL all-time leader in goaltender assists is Tom Barrasso with 48. Barrasso played 19 years with Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Ottawa, Carolina, Toronto and St. Louis. Barrasso is an assistant coach and the goaltending coach for the Hurricanes.
“It’s always nice to contribute a little bit offensively. You’ll take that one,” said Brodeur.
Tuukka Rask replaced Tim Thomas before the start of the second period. Thomas allowed three goals on 12 shots in 19:52. Rask stopped all 16 Devil shots over the final 40 minutes.
NOTES:
Call it a powerless play.
The Devils have struggled with the man advantage in the last five games, having only connected on two of 15 opportunities.
In a league where the specialty teams are vital to success, and with the playoffs in their future, the league’s 16th ranked power play must be better than they have been since the February 4 acquisition of Ilya Kovalchuk in order to make a run at The Cup.
Lemaire believes that his team may grip their sticks too tight and try to make plays that are not there.
“Teams protect certain things on the penalty kill and they give you other plays that they can deal with. You have to take what they’re giving you,” Lemaire said after the Devils early skate Monday morning at The Rock. “What we’ve been doing is try to make these plays that are not better, that (the opposition) is protecting.
“I think they recognize it but they still look for other plays,” the coach added. “When you do have success, it comes natural to find the right play, find the man that is open, what they give you and use it to your advantage. If it’s not going well, you’re not scoring, you’re not making these passes, you’re pressing. You don’t see all the other plays you can make. It has to come natural.”
The Devils were 0-1 on the power play.
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The Bruins and Devils are expecting to receive a boost to their defense corps very soon. Andrew Ference and Paul Martin may return to their respective teams as soon as this weekend.
Ference has missed the Bruins’ last six games with a groin injury, while Martin has been out since October 24 with a broken arm. Following the Devils’ early skate, Martin showed reporters a six-inch pad that protects his wrist. He believes that the Devils trainers will devise a way to connect that pad to his elbow pad for maximum protection.
“It’s been a long time. Definitely anxious (and) excited to get back in the lineup,” Martin said. He noted that “strength is lacking” and “there’s a ways to go” in his wrist due to being “in the cast for so long.” Martin later visited hand specialist at Beth Israel Hospital.
*
While the return of Ference is undoubtedly a boon for the Bruins’ back end, the team is still reeling from the loss of center Marc Savard. Savard suffered a Grade II concussion after being hit in the head by Pittsburgh’s Matt Cooke last Sunday. The Boston Globe reported last Friday that Savard could miss the rest of the regular season
“Savvy is still the same. He’s not doing very well,” Julien said after the Bruins’ early skate at The Rock.
No teammate can better understand what Savard is going through than Patrice Bergeron.
In an October 2007 match against the Flyers, Bergeron was driven headfirst into the end boards by Philadelphia’s Randy Jones. Bergeron, who was taken off the ice on a stretcher, suffered a broken nose and a concussion. He missed the remainder of that season.
“He needs some time to rest. When I went through it, (what) was key for me to improve was to take my time, stay patient, stay positive. It’s more of a rest kind of thing more than anything else,” said Bergeron, who was a member of Canada’s Olympic Gold Medal winning men’s hockey team.
Bergeron did admit to being angered at the league for not punishing Cooke.
“For us, losing a guy like Marc Savard is tough for us. You don’t want it to happen to anyone as a player. It is disappointing. I thought it wasn’t a good hit. There was no need for it. But that’s the league’s decision, can’t really control it,” said Bergeron.
*
In an attempt to add more size and grit, Lemaire added Pierre-Luc-Letourneau-Leblond and Rod Pelley to the lineup.
“It’s nice to get back in the lineup when given an opportunity. Just try to take advantage of it,” Pelley said. “Whenever you can find your role on the team, that’s only going to benefit you out on the ice, and the team in general. Try to bring a bit of energy and a bit of grit.”
The move paid off as Pelley decisioned Stuart in a first period fight and Letourneau-Leblond dropped Shawn Thornton in the second.
*
Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin was suspended two games for his hit on Brian Campbell Sunday. Ovechkin checked Campbell from behind in the first period of the Capitals’ 4-3 overtime win. The two-time league MVP was given a five-minute major for boarding and a game misconduct. According to NHL.com, Campbell suffered a broken clavicle, a broken rib and is expected to miss the rest of the season.
“We have no problem with the way Alex tried to finish his check. Unfortunately, an injury resulted,” Capitals GM George McPhee said in a statement released by the team. “We are disappointed with the suspension but do not want to comment further.”
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posted by Denis P. Gorman at 12:16 PM
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