Sizzlin start sinks Rangers!!

The New Jersey Devils scored early on a Brian Rolston power play goal (4) and then slammed the door on the New York Rangers with a Patrik Elias shootout goal (17) and despite two Ranger rallies,the outcome was never in doubt as the Devils grabbed a 4-2 win over the Rangers at Madison Square Garden.
Travis Zajac (10) and Zach Parise (19) each scored goals that pushed the lead to two goals after the Rangers cut into the lead.
The Devils are off for the next two before hitting the midwest circuit for back to back games in St.Louis and Dallas.....

Hell Raisers

1) The Devils played with tenacity tonight and never seemed to be on the verge of losing even when the Rangers were outshooting them and trimming the lead.
The Rolston goal came on a blast from the point,but credit to David Clarkson for screening Henrik Lundquist,who never saw the shot.

2) Hustle points to Patrik Elias,who was doing his job killing a penalty and that put him in position to breakaway and beat Lundquist one on one.
After that play,you could see the Rangers sag and effectively end their evening.

3) Tossing some credit to Scott Clemmensen and the penalty killers that killed off a five on three situation without allowing a goal.
Clemmensen made an excellent save on Chris Drury's shot and turned aside the Nikolai Zherdev followup shot.
The was especially impressive considering the absence of Bryce Salvador,who is a key member of the penalty killers....

4) The Travis Zajac goal was a pretty one as well,as Zajac smashed a shot off the pipe and past Lundquist.
Zajac got a lot of stick on that shot and showed the power that he rarely unleashes.

5) Dainius Zubrus showed up,I could have almost sworn that he sat out the last two games,his name was seldom called.
Zubrus was solid in this one though.....

Bullpen Notes

Sorry to hear of the passing of one of my old favorites from the horse racing game as Ruhlmann passed on at the age of 23.
The winner of the 1990 Santa Anita Handicap has been pensioned from stud duty since 2004 and had been living at Old Friends,which a retirement farm for racing stars of the past to live out their days....
Click the name of Ruhlmann for a nice blog post on him by the people that cared for him.

Quick Picks
Steelers 38 Browns 3
Seahawks 21 Cardinals 20

The Browns would pick 7th in the NFL Draft as of now,but could get as high as fourth depending on the events of today.
Cleveland gains a spot with each win by the following teams;Seattle (playing at Arizona,Cincinnati (Home vs Kansas City) and Oakland (at Tampa Bay).....

I figure Arizona will try to rest some players and that might be enough to get the Seahawks a win.

Photo Credits
Parise:AP Photo
Ruhlmann:Flashpoint/Old Friends