Devils lose Buffalo shootout

In what was expected to be a tight,defensive game,the Buffalo Sabres and New Jersey Devils or rather Ryan Miller and Martin Brodeur lived up the expectations as the Sabres earned a 2-1 shootout win.
The Devils swoon continues,although they did pick up a point in the loss.
Brian Rolston's second period blast from the left faceoff circle (16) was the Devils only goal.
The Devils take tonight off before hosting games on Friday and Sunday against Toronto and Los Angeles.

Hell Raisers

1) Ryan Miller is a good goalie as it is,but win or lose against the Devils,Miller always seems to raise his game (39 saves last night).
I don't know if it is facing off against Martin Brodeur or not,but Miller is always so sharp against New Jersey.

2) Scoring woes continue in New Jersey with just 12 goals (including 2 empty netters) over the last eight games.
With just two wins in that span,the stat tells you a lot about what the major issue in the struggles currently are...

3) Sometimes,you can just see goals coming and the Buffalo regulation goal by Adam Mair was one of those.
Suffocating Buffalo pressure just would not allow the puck to leave the Devils zone and so many blue shirts around the net eventually gave Marty Brodeur no chance to stop the eventual goal.

4) I thought the defense was better other than on that occasion.
Bryce Salvador was very good and Johnny Oduya assisted on the Rolston goal with a sharp long bomb pass that showed what he is capable of when motivated.

5) Jacques Lemaire shook up the lines a bit and early on it looked like the Devils were energized by the move.
The newer arrivals Nick Palmieri and Patrick Davis were both quite active and played well..

6) There isn't much to criticize Martin Brodeur on most nights,but his shootout gamble on a poke check of Jochen Hecht was a huge mistake,as Hecht dodged the outstretched stick and placed the puck in the net.
Marty was far out of his element and Hecht had no problems dealing with the move.
Even the greatest ever makes mistakes..

7) Illka Pikkarainen will not be a Lowell Devil after all as he will be joining Central Red Army in the Russian league.
A good move for the Finn as he will play more there than in Lowell and re-adjust to the European game,since he will likely be back there next season.


Photo Credit
Bill Wippert-Getty Images