Zach Parise took over a tie game in the second period with a goal and two beautiful assists in the middle time frame to give the New Jersey Devils the cushion that they needed to hold off the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-4.Parise's goal (9) returned the lead to the Devils after a lost two goal lead in the first period.
The remaining Devils netburners to Ilya Kovalchuk (9),Dainius Zubrus (9 power play),Adam Henrique (7 shorthanded) and Petr Sykora (6).
New Jersey travels further down the highway to Miami for a game at 7:30 tonight against the Panthers.
Hell Raisers
1) Zach Parise was the dominant player in the game without a doubt.
With a bit of luck,he could have added two more goals on the evening.
Terrific game from the Captain..
2) The two passes on the Kovalchuk and Henrique goals were exactly how to use the man advantage on the breakway against the outnumbered defender.
Beautiful timing and that shows just how the Parise/Henrique/Kovalchuk line is really starting to show flashes of dominance...
3) Adam Henrique had a goal and two assist evening that might have been overshadowed by the Parise game,but what I like the most about Henrique is that he finishes.
By that I mean that if you give him solid opportunities,he gives you a chance of scoring.
I realize that sounds very simplistic,but many players struggle with just that,think of the troubles that Vladimir Zharkov has always had with the chances that he has had....
4) I do wish the team would have not allowed the Lightning to crawl back into the game.
I don't want to say that the Devils have a letdown,although it sometimes seems that way,but no matter how one slices it-this issue needs to be addressed...
5) Still too many penalties as Devil blueliners committed four penalties in an eight minute span in the second period,two of them by Adam Larsson.
I thought the Devils D-men played pretty well,except for Alexander Urbom,who struggled throughout,but the trend of somewhat silly penalties must stop....
6) Three fights in this one.David Clarkson vs Ryan Malone was the best one,but despite a loss in his fight,I was glad to see Alexnader Urbom drop the mitts against Steve Downie.
Many times,players and fans see Swede and think soft.
Urbom is attempting early on to avoid that tag.
Good for him....
7) The Devils swung a trade before the game as the team sent center Rod Pelley and defenseman Mark Fraser to Anaheim along with a seventh round draft pick in exchange for defenseman Kurtis Foster and minor league goalie Timo Pelmeier.
Foster is reported to be a power play specialist and his righthanded shot fills a need for the Devils PP.
Foster is a question mark to play in Florida tonight,although he may,but is a definite for Friday night against Dallas.
I'll miss Pelley and Fraser as effort guys,but both are the type of players that can be easily replaced on the talent end of the spectrum.
Photo Credit-AP Photo
No comments:
Post a Comment