The Montreal Canadiens limped into New Jersey as beat up as the Devils were earlier in the season and the Devils took advantage with a decisive 4-1 win at the Rock.
Scott Clemmensen made 33 saves and the Devils never trailed in the win.
Zach Parise (22) and Jamie Langenbrunner (6) each had a goal and an assist in the win with the remaining Devils goals to Brian Gionta (10) and John Madden (4).
Hell Raisers
1) I read somewhere (I cannot remember where or I would provide the link) about whether the Devils would consider dealing Scott Clemmensen before the trade deadline if Martin Brodeur is back in the lineup.
One school of thought says that you move him,as his play has warranted a full time shot next year with another team and his contract expires at the end of the season.
The Devils might even get a decent prospect or draft pick if a team has a goalie go down.
The flip side offers this-what if Brodeur does not come back 100% and Clemmensen is moved?
Then the season could be really lost...
2) John Madden's goal was his first in 24 games!
Hopefully his slump is over.
The Devils depend on Madden more for his defense,but a little goal scoring pop can go a long way on the 3rd line!
3) The Devils moved into a second place tie in the Atlantic Division with the Philadelphia Flyers with the win and only 2 points behind the first place Rangers.
Last night's win,tomorrow's game against Ottawa and the Thursday game against Atlanta are games that have to be put in the pocket with the long road trip on the horizon.
4) Fire and Ice assumed that we noticed (and we did) David Clarkson going after
wannabe tough guy Mike Komisarek after the Montreal blueliner smashed Brian Rolston with a big hit in the first period.Komisarek was not willing to drop the gloves with Clarkson,so Clarkson had to settle for a battle against Tom Kostopoulos,which he won pretty easily.
Nice to see Clarkson taking on all comers after the Dallas game where Brent Sutter criticized the team for allowing Dallas Star Steve Ott to hammer Devils all game long without retribution..
5) Bryce Salvador and Mike Mottau played well in the win as both picked up an assist to go with a plus three for the evening.
Mottau has never been a favorite of mine,but Salvador is rapidly becoming one with his steady and physical play.....
Bullpen Notes
It only took a quick look to see the score of Utah's win in the Sugar Bowl to see that yet another crack in the BCS occurred.
If Florida beats Oklahoma on Thursday,the BCS has a serious problem on their hands and even more so if the Gator win is less than impressive.
How can you give the National title to a one loss team that earned its way to the title game with a less impressive win over a undefeated team that beat the common opponent in a far more impressive manner???
Answer: It just will be done that way....
A eight team playoff as many propose is not the answer either.
The eight team version will just give you a tournament that does not include the Utahs and Boise States.
Same BS,different style.
You have to have 16 tournament with the 6 BCS champs with the Mountain West,WAC,Conference USA,MAC and Sun Belt champs getting bids with the exception of the lowest rated champ,they stay out for a round number of 6 at large teams.
That stops the undefeated team from losing out to the two loss major team.....
That is the only fair way to get this done!!
If the BCS really wanted to keep credibility,they would announce that the Mountain West was being added to the BCS every year,if their champ was rated higher than any of the BCS leagues.
With the Mountain West boasting Utah,Texas Christian and BYU,can anyone argue that either the ACC or Big East has better football than the Mountain West???
Please tell me that either Cincinatti or Virginia Tech beats any of those three teams,so I can argue that with you!!
Photo Credits
All Hockey:AP Photo
Utah:Helmet Project
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