Thursday, February 21, 2008

Devils win two at the Rock.

Missed a lot of time haven't I?

And it could be more as a "winter event" charges into the area tonight and the possibility of being stranded at work until Saturday morning is looming as a possibility.
So considering that,I suppose that I should catch up before things really get out of control.

The New Jersey Devils won both their games this week at home at the Rock with wins over Carolina 5-1 and San Jose 3-2.

The Carolina game was one of those holiday matinee games and the Hurricanes looked weary and overmatched.
New Jersey leaped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period behind goals by Travis Zajac (13) and Mike Mottau (4) on the power play and never was threatened again as Marty Brodeur was top notch all afternoon.
Sheldon Brookbank was activated for the first time in 20+ games and picked up an assist on the Zajac goal.
I have a soft spot for guys that worked their way up through the minors and earned their way to the top and Sheldon certainly has done that and kudos to Brnet Sutter for activating him for this game against Sheldon's brother (Wade) of the Hurricanes and enabling the family to attend and enjoy the contest.
Jay Pandolfo (11) opened the second with a goal and Johnny Oduya(4) sandwiched their goals around the only Carolina lamplighter of the game before the Devils finished the game off with Zach Parise scoring his 23rd as the only goal of the final period.
The Devils dominated both ends of surface with hard nosed,physically banging play and the Canes certainly were not able to match the Devils effort on this day.
Not much more that I can say about this one other than-GREAT!!!

Devils Pitchforks
Gold:Marty Brodeur-Who else?
Silver:Travis Zajac-Goal and assist
Bronze-Sheldon Brookbank-assist and physical play

Last night the San Jose Sharks and personal favorite Joe Thornton visited the Rock for the only time all season.
First off,the 3-2 final was deceiving as both Shark goals were flukey.
The Cheechoo goal in the first was a combination of Cheechoo making a quietly excellent play and the puck taking a crazy bounce off the boards to slide through the crease.
The McLaren goal was deflected by Brian Gionta by Marty and those things will happen in hockey.
So I hold Marty pretty much blameless for either goal.
The Devils won this one with 1 excellent period of play and 2 decent ones as all three Red and Black goals were sent home in the middle period.
Zach Parise tied the game at 1 with number 24 of the season off a great pass from Jamie Langenbrunner,Patrik Elias picked up the secondary assist on the goal.
With three minutes remaining in the period,the Devils popped in the two goals that would mean the difference in the game.
John Madden scored number 16 of the year to snap the tie and give New Jersey the lead with Sergei Brylin and Paul Martin assisting.
And just 1:08 later Sergei Brylin scored what proved to be the game winner (6) beating Shark goalie Thomas Griess with under two minutes to go.
Anytime the veteran Brylin plays well,it always makes me smile as Devils fans remember his solid professionalism through all three title winners without drawing a ton of attention to himself.
San Jose did not mail the game in as Carolina did on Monday and continued to make this a interesting game to watch,but the Devil D held its own and grabbed the two points.
The Devils play the Islanders (OH NO) Saturday at 1.

Devils Pitchforks
Gold:Sergei Brylin-Game Winning Goal and assist
Silver:John Madden-Goal
Bronze:Patrik Elias- 2 Assists.

Bullpen notes

Looks like Toshiba is preparing to toss in the towel in the High Definition DVD battle against Blu-Ray discs.
Battlin Bob sends us this link on the decision.

Its a Battlin Bob twin-killing in Bullpen Notes as he sends us this link on how the vanishing Honey Bee could make a huge difference in Ice Cream flavors and prices.
The bee problem is larger than one could think,due to up to a third of the food that we eat is pollinated by Bees.
A possible reason for this problem is due to a virus that is the final straw among many reasons that are killing off the Honey Bee.
Scientists think that this theory is workable,but not the total answer to the problem.

In other animal news,the Beelzebufo frog or "Devil Frog" hit the news with its size and reputed to have been the largest frog ever in the Dinosaur age.
In fact,this frog was so large,it could have eaten hatchling Dinos-Now that is a big frog!
Beelzebufo is reported to be an ancestor to the "Pac Man" frog that reptile enthusiasts can find at a good pet store.

And wrapping up with more of this screwball version of Bullpen Notes.
1988 Kentucky Derby winner Winning Colors died last Sunday at the age of 23.
Winning Colors was the last filly to win the Derby and was the first winner ever for trainer Wayne Lukas.
Winning Colors is also remembered for her effort that year in the Breeders Cup Distaff,where she was nipped at the wire by the miraculous late charge of the undefeated Personal Ensign in Kentucky.
The race capped the undefeated career of Personal Ensign,who retired after the race.

Until next time,whenever that may be

Photo Credits
Mottau-Bill Kostroun-AP Photo
Hockey-Bruce Bennett-Getty Images
Beelzebufo-Reuters News

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