Bruins own the third period in 4-1 Devils loss

At the end of two periods,the New Jersey Devils led the Boston Bruins 1-0 on a Petr Sykora goal (12),but it was one of those leads that seemed like it should have been larger with wide open nets that were missed and shots that clanged off the iron of the post.
Considering the opponent was the Boston Bruins,you had to know that they would be coming and they did with four goals in the final period (1 being an empty netter) in a 4-1 Boston win.
New Jersey hosts Philadelphia tomorrow at one.
Onto the notes....

Hell Raisers

1) No excuses for the loss,Boston's play in the third period might have won the game anyway,but the officials helped little.
David Clarkson was called for a ridiculous hooking call that gave a power play to Boston,who promptly scored on a Nathan Horton goal that could have been overruled for interference.

2) As noted above,it was one of those nights that you could see the end result coming-Steve Zalewski,Mark Fayne and David Clarkson all hit the posts on shots that might have been goals.
Ifs and buts....

3) Kurtis Foster cost the team the first goal as Foster simply stood in front of Martin Brodeur and screened Brodeur off completely.
No chance Marty even saw the shot...

4) Foster will need to step his play up as will the other defensemen as Henrik Tallinder will miss the next 6 to 8 weeks with blood clots in his legs.
Tallinder is not flashy,but is a huge steadying influence and will be missed.
Between Tallinder and Andy Greene's injury,Lou Lamoriello may have to spring into the trade market early to see if he can upgrade the defensemen.

5) Great game by Martin Brodeur.None of the three goals allowed could be close to being considered his fault and his save on Benoit Pouliot ranks among the best of the season.

Photo Credit-Bruce Bennett-Getty Images