Devils tame Panthers 5-1

The suddenly offensively powered New Jersey Devils continued to pop goals into the net as the Devils ripped off four first period goals and cruised to a 5-1 win over the Florida Panthers at the whatever it's called in Miami.

Five different Devils scored goals with Mike Cammalleri scoring his 3rd of the season on the power play and four others scoring their first of the year-Ryane Clowe,Martin Havlat (Power Play),Tuomo Ruutu and Damon Severson.
The Devils continue their season starting road swing on Tuesday in Tampa against the Lightning.

Hell Raisers

1) As a long time fan,a offensive explosion like the Devils have started the season with is a rare thing,but even though the Devils lack a top notch scorer,they can run three (and I suspect maybe even four by the end of the season) lines that are going to make a defense work.
Balance feeds the wolf....

2) Cory Schneider was all around strong in the net and his one goal allowed was not a bad one.
Add to those numbers that he had to fight off eight power play chances on the evening,his day looks even better...

3) Speaking of those- a very sloppy third period with far too many silly penalties.
Yes,I know much of that time was defending a four goal lead,but getting unneeded trips to the penalty box is one of those things that becomes a habit and leads to losses down the road..

4) I like the fourth line of Ruutu,Gionta and Tootoo's potential and I think they could develop into one of the league's better scoring fourth lines.
After saying that,they didn't play well in this one,five of the eight penalties were on this line.
Time will help to smooth out the rough edges,I hope..

5) Loved the play of the young defensemen tonight with Damon Severson scoring his first NHL goal,Eric Gelinas finishing with two assists and Jon Merrill with one.
The young defense will have growing pains,but it could be one of the best groups around in a year or two.
I'll talk about the Adam Larsson situation in a upcoming post.

6) Interesting notes-The Devils scored ten goals in their first four periods of the year.
Last season,the Devils scored their tenth goal in the first period of game five...

7) The Devils 11 goals in first two ties a team record set in 1991-92 for most in first two games...