Devils 3, Rangers 2 (Shootout)
Goals:
First Period: Paul Martin, Devils (Gomez, Elias)
Karel Rachunek, Rangers (PPG) (Nylander, Avery)
Second Period: Zach Parise, Devils (Langenbrunner, Oduya)
Third Period: Jaromir Jagr, Rangers (unassisted)
Shots on Goal: 30-21 Rangers
Penalties: Devils - 14 minutes, Rangers - 8 minutes
Well, the Devils did it. Granted, they gave a point to the Rangers. The Devils seem to go into overtime against divisional foes all the time. But they won. !! They won a SHOOTOUT!! And why? Because Brodeur was the man, that's why. That's all it took. 3 tries, 3 stops. And the Devils win again. I've been saying this a lot, but the Devils escaped with 2 points yet again. I'll take it. They are clearly one of the best teams in the league and doing it in old-school fashion. Well done, Devils. You didn't deserve it, but maybe you did. Exciting stuff.
--FIRST PERIOD--
Was having major technical difficulties, but I did sort of figure out a couple of things. One is that when Paul Martin scores, I always wonder what it must have looked like. The other is that you don't let the other team score right after you score. But it happened. It was actually a pretty even period it seemed to me. Gionta got screwed with a 4-minute call on a high stick, and it turned into a big deal as the Rangers got a power play goal off of it, even though they were down a man at almost the same time. The shots on goal were pretty even until the Rangers had a little flurry late. Jagr wasn't supposed to play tonight, so that's an unpleasant surprise. And the Rangers just got Sean Avery which is supposed to mean something to me because he's physical. I don't care. The Rangers are always physical. A.K.A. dirty scoundrels. Nothing has changed for me. A tie game is what I was expecting, but not at 1-1. At least the offense has picked things up. Let's hope the defense can do the same. And how about that faceoff thing I keep whining about? The Devils killed in the first, winning 17 of 25. Nice.
--SECOND PERIOD--
Okay, explain something to me please. I mean, you can't. But you're going to try it anyway. The Devils were NOT the best team in this period. In fact, they weren't even the second-best team. The Rangers played this period by themselves practically. And yet, at the end of the period, when the horn sounded, everyone turned to the scoreboard and saw that the Devils had the lead. They all shook their heads and went about their business. But to me, I had to question it. The shots on goal are nowhere near close. The Rangers have a decent amount, maybe a little low. The Devils have 12. They have split it nicely, 6 a period. If not for lack of shots, they haven't had lack of opportunities, scoring twice thus far. A little more offense would be nice, that much is for certain. But it's working just fine. They let Marty do the dirty work, they take unnecessary penalties, and then they seize a great opportunity and turn it into a goal. I can live with this. It hurts my heart and raises my blood pressure, but if they're winning, what's the point? I can live with it. It might not make sense, but it's happening. Must be those dang faceoff victories.
--THIRD PERIOD--
What's up with the penalties? The Devils are usually pretty disciplined. Either they are lacking that tonight, or the refs are out to get them. Either way, it's annoying, though they are playing the penalty kill pretty dang well. Better than their power plays, that's for sure. I don't like Jaromir Jagr, and he scored. So that was upsetting to me. At least he cut his hair a long time ago. That was ugly. Ah frack. It's just coming to the point where, when the Devils go on the power play, I sigh. I'm like, "Oh, daaaaaaaaang." Because they just can't do it. Throw the dang monkey off the back man. Score a freakin' goal or something like that. It's not like they're not working, it just doesn't pay off. I think it's worth complaining. Where are the shots on goal? Like I said, the quality is good, but still, hard to beat taking a lot of shots. That's how they've beaten Lundqvist in the past, but sometimes you just can't get it going. The Devils receive at least a point. Here's to overtime -- let's hope it ends there.
