Or at least their teams as the Devils clicked up back to back wins over the Gotham squads and lengthened their lead in the Atlantic Division.
Scott Clemmensen defeated the Rangers with his first shutout of the season on Monday 3-0,while Kevin Weekes KOed the Islanders last night 4-2.
Bobby Holik's second period goal(4) was all the Devils needed against the Rangers,but Zach Parise would score a minute and a half later on the power play to salt the game away and would add an empty netter to end any Ranger hopes and finish with a two goal night (31 and
32).The Devils had to battle back from deficits twice against the Islanders,but two goals in the 3rd period put the game away.
Zach Parise scored two more goals (33 and 34) to pair with two assists and Jamie Langenbrunner popped in the remaining two goals as well (16 and 17) to pace the New Jersey offense.
Hell Raisers-Combined Edition
1) The Ranger win was one of total defensive control of the game.
Scott Clemmensen was outstanding,but the Rangers seem to be a team spiralling out of the playoff picture.
At the same time,that should take nothing away from the performance of Clemmensen....
2) Zach Parise continues to be on a roll and has a chance to score 50 goals for the season.
The Devils have never had a 50 goal scorer,which tells you one of two things.
The commitment to team play is commendable and one player doesn't overshadow this team or
The Devils have just rarely had a player with the offensive talent of Zach Parise.
3) Jamie Langenbrunner just keeps on his crazy run of goal scoring.
Hard to believe that this is the same guy that had 6 goals just a few weeks ago.
4) About the only thing that the Rangers had going for them was Colton Orr's one punch demolition of Mike Rupp.
The fight was pretty even until the one punch and brought two memories to mind.
One was the 1980 WBA Heavyweight title miracle with 45 seconds to go in the 15th (yes 15th) and final round,when Mike Weaver ruined the career of Big John Tate.
The other?
I will keep it to myself,but a few readers remember that night about 22 years ago!
5) Nice to see the Rangers getting so much use out of Wade Redden.
That signing is looking like an albatross already,as Redden was either lacking in effort or his ability was decreased significantly over the last few years.
Hard to believe that Ottawa once kept Redden over Zdeno Chara.
Think the Canadian Capital would want a re-do of that one???
6) The Islanders are not very good,but they always show up to play against the Devils and despite their talent issues,Scott Gordon looks to be a keeper on the Island as coach and injuries havent helped them either.
7) The goal by Kyle Okposo in the second period was about as dazzling an effort as you'll see.
The youngster has arguably been rushed this season,but this kid is a real player and could turn out to make quite the impact in Long Island,Kansas City,Winnipeg or wherever the Islanders turn up.
8) Kevin Weekes was good enough to win against the Islanders,but not outstanding.
Weeks had no chance on the Okposo goal and was hung out to dry by the defense on the first goal,but I got the feeling that against a better team,Weekes would been beaten by his occasional poor positioning....
9) Jay Pandolfo returned to the ice after a stretch of scratches.
Pando replaced Mike Rupp in the lineup.
Could Brent Sutter have a "Cowboy Bill Watts" rule in his mind?
Watts was famous for firing wrestlers in the old Mid-South promotion,if they lost a fight outside of the ring,perhaps Rupp's loss to Orr cost him a lineup spot for a while.
10) FIFTY shots against Joey McDonald?
That many shots should have sent him from the ice in a daze,but a nice effort from a fellow that has been pretty decent in his first real shot in the league....
I had to work yesterday,so that kept me from blogging,so I will return later today with thoughts on issues that I missed....
Photo Credits
Clemmensen:Al Bello-Getty Images
Parise:AP Photo
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