Devils 1, Penguins 0

No way, man. Another shutout? Not that hard for Brodeur these days. He's got 12. The next guy has about half of that. Three more of where those are coming from, and you've got the new 2nd-most shutouts by a goalie, which would be Brodeur with 95. But did you think it would occur in this game? Did you think it would happen in any game against the Penguins? The mighty, high-flying Penguins? No sir. But it did happen. The Devils only scored once, and if that's all you were told before looking at the recap, you would fear the worst. But then you would see that Brodeur shut them out and you would have a quizzical look on your face for a bit, and then accept it. For Brodeur does unthinkable, great things all the time. And this is one of them.

The goaltending wasn't the only impressive feat defensively for the Devils, as you can clearly tell that nobody from the Penguins scored. That would be no scoring for Crosby and no scoring for Malkin, who both score all the time. Their point streaks were snapped last night, thanks to their shots being stopped, but thanks to shots not being there in the first place. Great defensive work to shut them down last night. Crosby, Malkin, and Gonchar were on the ice all the time, and the Devils countered by giving heavy minutes to Madden, Lukowich, Pandolfo, and Martin. And those guys were pretty dang impressive, showing some grit I hadn't seen for a while. This newfound attitude would serve them well if they were to continue it.

The offense is not quite as cool, obviously. A lot of that has to do with Gionta being out. Because, right now, the first line does pretty much nothing pointwise. They get their open ice showcase stuff done, but it's not tangible, it's not practical, it's not reaping rewards. The second line continues to be the best, and Langenbrunner with the only goal, proves it again. A Power Play goal???? Only Langs, man. Only him.

Lots of penalties, but it didn't feel like a sloppy game. Felt GOOD. Dang good.

Also, David Hale was traded to the Flames for a 3rd-rounder. A 5th-rounder was given up. Not a big deal, I thought Hale was just fine, but wasn't a huge fan. Apparently, the important thing is this clears up room for Matvichuk to make his return to the ice. (UPDATE = More importantly, this appears to be making room for Andy Greene, as Lou said it himself.)