The New Jersey Devils continued to play off and on hockey as they lost in Reynolds Coliseum to the N.C St..err Carolina Hurricanes 3-2.
The Devils scored both of their goals on 6 on 4 situations in the third period and only turned a lopsided 3-0 game into a closer than it looked 3-2 final.
Paul Martin scored the first of the two (3) and Patrik Elias fired the other (18) with 22 seconds remaining.
The Devils return home tomorrow against Atlanta before the brutal road trip begins Saturday for a weekend SoCal doubleheader against the Kings and Ducks.
Hell Raisers
1) Damn it,the effort better be turned up soon!
2) I feel better.
3) No,I don't.
This team is not good enough to float through games and lately that has been the case more often than not.
Even in winning games against St.Louis and Ottawa,the team didn't look totally into the game.
4) Brent Sutter showed some creativity with pulling Scott Clemmensen midway through the third period with the Devils being on the power play and the 6 on 4 advantage resulted in Paul Martin's goal.
I liked the gambit,like 4-0 with 12 minutes to go is that much worse than 3-0?
5) I especially like the Sutter reaction to questions on it-“You’re not creating anything offensively, so what have you got to lose,” “If you’re on the power play you’ve got a two-man advantage. We were down three goals. It was’nt like we were down a goal. We were'nt generating a whole lot. We took the chance and it paid off.”
Good answer,coach-this isn't college football where size of victory counts in the polls,a one goal regulation loss counts the same as a 4 goal loss....
Bonus Rounds
I thought the first Carolina goal should have never happened.
One minute into the game,a Wolfpack pass bounced off the end boards into the Devils zone.
Bryce Salvador assumed the play was icing and was stripped of the puck by 65 year old Rod Brind'amour,who then fed 62 year old Ray Whitney for the goal that set the tempo for the night.
I thought it looked like icing,but for a formal rendering of the rule,lets go to the notably even tempered Brent Sutter-
"It's close, but it's a missed call," "The rule states very clearly that on on a pass to prevent an icing, the player that's receiving the pass his stick has to be on the offensive side of the blue line and it was not. That's why I was upset with it. His stick was not on the offensive side of the red line. It was on the defensive side of the red line."
All that said,Salvador should have just brushed the puck away anyway.
If you think it could be close,move the puck away and make the referee chase it,that is called playing it safe,Bryce.
Bullpen Notes
The Browns might be getting cold feet from the less than rousing response from their fan base on hiring George (Buy Mangini and I come free!) Kokinis as their GM as they have asked for and received permission from the Eagles to talk to their General Manager Tom Heckert.
Herkert does not have total control of the football operations,but is in charge of both the college and pro personnel departments and shares control with Andy Reid on all personnel matters.
The Cleveland Plain Dealer broke this earlier this morning.
The resume' of Heckert far outshines that of Kokinis and would be an incredible hire.
The Eagles usually draft very well and think of the guys that you never heard of on Philadelphia that turn out to be solid contributors......
I am not sure why the Eagles would allow him to interview,but this looks like it would be a tremendous coup' for the Browns.
Which means they will likely hire Gilligan (little buddy) from Baltimore instead of doing the smart thing.....
The Plain Dealer writes in the same article that Heckert's coach of choice would be the Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo.
I have no problem with Eric Mangini,but if I have to choose from Spagnuolo/Heckert or Mangini/Kokinis,it is an easy choice to make.
The NFC guys win every time....
In a note that should simply destroy Battlin Bob and the folks over at Grumblings and Rumblings,it appears that the Battlers close friend Drew Himsworth has left the Hagerstown Suns for a position in the front office of the Nashville Sounds.
Long time readers may remember the classic showdown between the Battler and Himsworth in the 2008 season and the resulting hilarious post from Battlin Bob at GaR that found yet another riotous battle between "CakeFace" and an anonymous fan of the Suns.
The best part of the whole thing for me was the way Himsworth would avoid Battlin Bob for the rest of the season even if that meant going FAR around him or stopping whatever he was doing at that time to avoid him...
Good times...
A serious note on the Suns now,here is a chance for the team with both Will Smith and Himsworth gone to finally correct the wrong and relax the ridiculous policy on autograph collectors not being allowed to stand in the "suite area" before the game.
This was never in place before 2007 and perhaps now with Smith and Himsworth gone,the Suns can relax and allow their hard core fans to have a bit of space to spread out before the game starts....
The Indians signed Carl Pavano to a high incentive,low guarantee one year deal.
Pavano is worth the risk at such a low cost and he should be motivated and in shape as one more injury would likely end getting this type of contract for his next chance..
Pavano is also notable here for this-the first ever post besides the welcome of this blogs history and no,he will not be getting an incentive based contract for that!
I plan on being back at least once later as I finally slept well and long for a change and that means more Browns thoughts,a look back at the Fiesta Bowl and some comments on a fans letter to the Pirates and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that has set the Bucco blogsphere on fire....
Photo Credits
Elias-AP Photo
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