Devils run roughshod over Rangers 4-1

The New Jersey Devils dominated the first and third periods and repelled a New York Ranger charge in the second period as the Devils won a richly deserved 4-1 decision at the Rock.
Devils goals to Ilya Kovalchuk in the first (26) and the remaining three goals were scored in the third by David Clarkson (26),Patrik Elias (22 empty net) and Ryan Carter (3).
The Devils return to the ice tomorrow at the Rock against the Islanders in the first of a two game/three day set against the Gorton Gang....

Hell Raisers

1) Nice night for fourth liner Ryan Carter,who not only scored a goal,but set the stage for the game with a first period fight with Ranger instigator Brandon Dubinsky.
Carter showed the Rangers that the fire that was lacking against the Islanders was there on this night.
An additional bonus went to Carter as Dubinsky injured his hand in the fight,which ended his night early.
Rough night for Dubinsky,who was clearly outpointed in the battle...



2) Kudos for a similar fast start to Ilya Kovalchuk,who scored the games first goal 49 seconds into the game and ended a nine game streak without a goal for himself.
When the Kovalchuk/Henrique/Parise line is running strong,the Devils are a tough team to stop....

3) David Clarkson's deflection of a Petr Sykora shot took all the air out of the Rangers after a strong second period by the Blueshirts.
The intensity difference from the visitors was quite apparent thereafter...

4) Martin Brodeur was brilliant in goal with one spectacular face first diving saves and several strong saves with the glove.
Super performance from Brodeur....

5) I also thought Marek Zidlicky played his best game as a Devil,but Anton Volchenkov was very sharp as well.Volchenkov seemed to be the bully of the ice on this night and was a major part of the Rangers poor first and third periods....

I doubt that I will have much Cavalier news for a day or two.
I missed some of the loss to Utah and the nine o'clock start on a worknight tonight in Denver makes that unlikely.
The Friday night tipoff at eight in Oklahoma City gives me a fighting chance on that one.

Photo Credits:AP Photo

Pirates sign Andrew McCutchen to extension!

The Pittsburgh Pirates made another step in the right direction as the team is reported to have signed Andrew McCutchen to a six year contract worth 51.1 million dollars.
The deal removes the remaining arbitration years from McCutchen and keeps him away from free agency for the first two seasons of eligibility for the speedy centerfielder.
The Pirates also have a club option for the 2018 season that would be worth just under 15 million.
The deal for McCutchen comes on the heels of the August contract with Jose Tabata that should,in theory,keep two-thirds of the Pittsburgh outfield together for the next six seasons.

My thoughts?
Well,give Bob Nutting and the Pirates credit for spending some money and keeping the best everyday player that the team has produced in years in Pittsburgh for a lengthy contract.
Give Andrew McCutchen credit as well for settling for a reasonable contract that will keep him set financially for the rest of his life,but yet not asking for so much money that it could hinder the teams chances of putting talent around him to build a contender.
McCutchen gets a guaranteed payout that protects him against a freak injury,while the Pirates get cost certainty for their star for years to come...
The contract buys the Pirates time to hopefully develop Gerrit Cole and Jameson Tallion among others to be part of the future turnaround and make McCutchen part of that team.

As McCutchen's game matures,it is easy to see that his numbers could improve on his current stats and solidify himself as one of the better centerfielders in the game.
The power numbers rose last season (16 to 23),but the average fell (.286 to .259),but on the Pirates,I could argue that McCutchen was more valuable with the increased power than with the higher average due to the teams needs at the plate.
OPS shows that to be true with a rise of a few points last season (.820 from .814)
If McCutchen hits .280,20+ HR's and continues his strong defense,he will be more than worth the contract compared to the going rate for players in a few more seasons.

 I was not as thrilled with the Jose Tabata signing as I thought Tabata had not earned that extension yet and I still have questions on that one.
I have no such questions on this contract with McCutchen.
Andrew has proven his talents on the field and then started talking extension.
This is a happy day for Pirate fans as now Andrew McCutchen can truly become the face of the franchise....

Photo Credit:Unknown

One extreme to the other...

Two days after a five goal explosion against the Washington Capitals,the New Jersey Devils were unable to get anything resembling a cohesive offense against AHL callup Anders Nilsson and as a result lost to the New York Islanders 1-0 at the Nassau Coliseum.
No offense to speak of,so no need for offensive notes.
The Devils host the Rangers tomorrow night in their next game...

Hell Raisers

1) This was a ugly outing for New Jersey,who seemed to be not only out of sync offensively,but either overinflated themselves for the Washington win or looking forward to the Rangers.

2) For most of the game,the Devils tended to overpass and not take the open shot.
That could have been because the Islanders did not give many in an excellent defensive effort,but it still was overkill to me...

3) The defense was decent enough as was the penalty kill ,which killed off a five on three that could have put the game out of reach,but they did not create a ton of takeaways that could have turned into scoring chances either...

4) The Parise/Henrique/Kovalchuk line certainly had an off night.
None of their six shots on the net forced any difficulty on Anders Nilsson at all..
Parise had somewhat of an excuse after being hit in the left hand with a shot in the second period.
X-Rays were negative on a break,so Parise should be ready for the Rangers.

5) Alexei Ponikarovsky missed his second game in a row and Andy Greene sat out with back spasms.
Both are possibilities for the Rangers game tomorrow.

Photo Credit:AP Photo

A night at MCI Center as Cavaliers fall

 I was able to make a visit to MCI Center for basketball for the first time for the Cleveland Cavaliers 101-98 loss to the Washington Wizards last night.
Antawn Jamison led Cleveland with 29 points as the Cavaliers lost their fifth game in a row.
Cleveland plays Utah tomorrow night at the Q for their next game...

Today's post will be a bit different as I write about the game and going/being there and I'll add some points on the game as we go along....

The atmosphere was totally different than going to a Capitals game.
Perhaps that is because the Wizards are pretty bad and the place was maybe half full,but the Wizards fans did not have a chip on their shoulder like the Capitals fans often did.
One thing that I did notice about the difference between the two teams and maybe I just was not checked in the past was that the Wizards security almost "pat you down" when entered and test you with a metal detecting wand,where the Capitals did not.
Perhaps I just missed the Caps test,but that was different.

The worst part of the evening was that the Metro stop at Shady Grove and the two stops following that one were closed for the weekend,so one had to take shuttle buses and the initial ride was an interminable one.
The return trip was far smoother due to lighter traffic,but that first one?Whew....

The game itself was about what one would expect from a game with two young and less than solid teams-close,competitive,but not always well played.
Ryan and I talked basketball throughout and realized that as I faded away from the college game,I did not know some of these guys on Washington.
Ryan also had a very perceptive thought that the only real difference between the two teams was the reliable scoring of Antwan Jamison every night.
To me,that is all the more reason to try to move him before the trade deadline next Thursday,if the team truly wants to improve for the long haul.
I think a healthy Anderson Varejao adds something that the "Bullets" lack as well,but Varejao,of course,is out with an injury.

Ryan was not impressed with Tristan Thompson,who did not score a point in over twenty minutes of play and Jan Vesely,who Washington picked two picks after Thompson,ran the floor well and slammed home a few spectacular dunks looked strong in the game and Ryan questioned Thompson over Vesely.
Yet,looking at the numbers-Thompson is averaging seven points and six boards to Vesely's three of each,so one can see how one night is a small slice of data to look at.

The Kyrie Irving-John Wall clash of young point guards saw both play well,but my evaluation of the promising pair is this-Irving is a point guard that can score,Wall is a scoring guard playing the point.
Over the long haul for a contending team,I would think that Irving's skills are a little more team centric than Wall's,but I can appreciate what Wall will bring to a team.

Glad to see former Xavier Musketeer Jordan Crawford developing into a reliable player on the wing for Washington.
Crawford led all scorers with 31 points on 13 of 22 shooting.
Crawford is the type of player that Cleveland needs to open up the lane for Kyrie Irving as currently the team is lacking a consistent type of outside threat to avoid packing the lane....

Finally,the last shot.
Cleveland needs a three to tie with a nick under six seconds to go.
Time out-Cleveland.
Ryan turns to me and asks "who do you have take the last shot?"
Me: "The guy that I would have take it won't be who takes it".
Ryan: "Who then?"
Me:"It'll be Anthony Parker,I've seen this film before"
Anthony Parker gets the inbounds pass,tries to dribble a bit,which removes any chance of an open man getting a look,jumper-no good......
Ryan: "Guess you called that one".
I would rather have been wrong.

Thanks to Ryan and Corey for a great evening and for going with me...

Back later with the Devils 1-0 loss to the Islanders...

Photo Credits:AP Photo

Slaughter in the Capital!!!

The New Jersey Devils dominated the Washington Capitals from beginning to end at the MCI Center in Washington and were never threatened in a 5-0 whipping of the Capitals.
Zach Parise scored three goals (25 power play,26,27) before leaving the game in the second period after receiving a high stick.
Parise was ruled fine for tomorrow's game against the Islanders,but was not needed to return in this one.
Patrik Elias (21 shorthanded) and Dainius Zubrus (16) also scored for the Devils in the triumph.
The Devils take today off before a afternoon clash at the Nassau Coliseum against the Islanders tomorrow.

Hell Raisers

1) Zach Parise's hat trick came in under two periods and Parise narrowly missed a fourth goal before being hit with a Brooks Laich high stick.
Parise was dynamite in the win and fortunately passed the NHL mandated concussion test afterwards,so he should be ready to go for the Islanders tomorrow...

2) Dainius Zubrus finished the game with a goal and assist that came complete with a somersault after the goal.
Looked to me that Zubrus slipped and just added something silly in mid stream as the flip was did not bring back memories of Olga Korbut to me!

3) Johan Hedberg earned the shutout in the rare start and was not threatened too often,but his first period stop on Troy Brouwer set the stage for the evening as Hedberg slammed the door on Brouwer and did not allow Washington to create any offensive momentum at all....

4) Another shorthanded goal by the Devils,this time by Patrik Elias in the second period as the Devils continue to add a dimension that they have not had in quite a while-the ability to have breakaways with players that can finish on the penalty kill.
Washington was desperate and sloppy on that man advantage and it showed!

5) The Devils so truly dominated Washington that the Capital TV crew had so little to say about a prospective comeback that they were talking about everything but the game.
In other words,what so many announcers do in blowouts!!!

6) Nice to see,the Capital fans supporting their team as more times than I can count saw the fans adding boos,Bronx cheers and a ton of them left really early.
Every team has their terrific fans,but the Capitals seems to specialize in the fair weather fans more than other franchises.
These types of wins against Washington tickle me so much more than the average win with the exception of Flyers and Rangers wins...

7) The win enabled the Devils to hop Ottawa in the Eastern Conference standings and tie Philadelphia for fifth in just one night.
Just three points separate 4th place Pittsburgh from 7th place Ottawa in the standings,so these positions are still very fluid.

Sorry,I missed last night's Cavalier loss to the Bulls,but I hope to make up for it later tonight!!!!


Photo Credit; Patrick McDermott-Getty Images.

Krejci hat trick dumps Devils in overtime

The New Jersey Devils fell behind by two goals,scored the next three goals (all in the second period) before allowing the Boston Bruins to tie the game in the third period and win in overtime 4-3.
Boston's David Krejci was the Devils nemesis on this night as he scored three of the four Bruin goal including the game winner.
New Jersey goals to David Clarkson (25),Zach Parise (24) and Patrik Elias (20).
The Devils travel to Washington tonight for a showdown with the Capitals-Great,Beninati and Laughlin-whoo hoo...

Hell Raisers

1) The Devils did salvage a point out of the Boston trip,which is something considering the competition,but I am still somewhat disappointed.
On an evening that saw Tim Thomas not as sharp as usual,the Devils should have been able to take advantage of that and grab two points.

2) The power play was 0 for 3 and not exactly potent as I did not see many great chances that Tim Thomas had to make great saves on.

3) Mixed bag from the blueline-solid games from Andy Greene and especially Bryce Salvador,but Adam Larsson still looks uneasy at times and Marek Zidlicky has done little for me in his adjustment period.

4) Super wraparound by David Clarkson on his goal.
Clarkson has not scored as much on the wrap this season as in the past and it was nice to see the return of it to his toolbox...

5) Martin Brodeur will get a break tonight in D.C. as Johan Hedberg will get the start.
I like the idea as Brodeur has played a lot in recent games and giving him this night off allows him to be rested for next week,which features all games against the rival New York teams with two games at "Beautiful" Nassau Coliseum against the Islanders and a home outing each against the Islanders and Rangers.

6) Nice fight too in the first period between Eric Boulton and Shawn Thornton.
Might have been the longest of the season for a Devil thus far.
Nice to see Boulton contributing SOMETHING!

Photo Credit:AP Photo

Two sides of the sword

Basketball is a game of two halves and the Cleveland Cavaliers showed just how different those halves often times can be in a 120-103 loss to the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
Cleveland controlled the first half and led by as many as 17 points before a halftime lead of 12 before a devastating second half that saw the Knicks outscore Cleveland by 29 points.
Antawn Jamison led Cleveland with a double/double of 23 points and 10 rebounds,with Kyrie Irving adding 22 points.
The 13-20 Cavaliers host the Bulls tomorrow night in Cleveland.

Swashbucklings

1) There is nothing more that I can say about the drastic change in the two halves that you cannot figure out for yourselves,but I did think that the Cavaliers came out less than hungry in the second half and then when the Knicks came roaring back,the team rolled over in the final period.
The occasional game where that happens will occur with all teams over the course of a season,but Byron Scott has to make sure that it stays an aberration rather than a habit...

2) First time that I saw the Jeremy Lin hype machine and I thought he was a nice player,but I'll take Kyrie Irving over the long haul.
Lin seems like a talented and multi-dimensional player,but seems to be prone to the turnover and sometimes makes me think that his stats will settle a bit once teams have more film on him to prepare for...

3) The real killer from the New York side was not Lin,or the other big names in Amare Stoudemire  and Carmelo Anthony,it was Steve Novak,who came off the bench to drill five three pointers in the second half from further and further behind the arc.
Novak's performance brought to mind a player from my youth in the 70's from Lefty Driesell's Maryland teams named Brian Magid,who seemed to have ungodly shooting range in the days before the three pointer,but never seemed to find consistent PT and transferred to George Washington.
I remember my dad and I always wondering why this guy never seemed to play more...

4) Rough night for Alonzo Gee,who was just 1 of 9 from the floor.

5) Still next to no production from the middle,with Semih Erden and Samardo Samuels combining for just eight points.
Look for more and more of Tristan Thompson shifting to the pivot as the season progresses until Anderson Varejao returns...

Photo Credit:AP Photo