Devils continue slide in Carolina

The New Jersey Devils slide from playoff contention continued in Raleigh as the Devils fell behind early and never really threatened in a 6-3 defeat to the Carolina Hurricanes.
The loss was the Devils seventh in their last eight games as the teams playoff hopes continued to wobble as teams continue to gain on them in the standings.
Ilya Kovalchuk scored twice for New Jersey (8 shorthanded and 9) with Patrik Elias adding the other goal (8).
The Devils will have a chance to bounce back today at the Rock against Winnipeg.

Hell Raisers

1) About the only positive out of this one was the two goals by Ilya Kovalchuk.
Kovalchuk's shorthanded breakaway was about all that one could ask for and his even strength goal played to the strengths of Kovalchuk-firing from the outside....

2) Johan Hedberg was bad in this one.
Bad. Five goals on eighteen shots.
One goal barely trickled across the line and only one could be considered not on Hedberg.
This situation is bad and getting worse by the start....

3) Jeff Frazee played the third period and made all the saves in garbage time,but once again it will Johan Hedberg in net against the Winnipeg Jets.
I am not saying Frazee is the answer in any case,but continuing to run a 40 year old backup that is in the middle of a huge slump is not the answer either.

4) I've tried not to be critical of Travis Zajac since his contract extension,but his play has been very disappointing.
I wrote that Zajac was not a true number one center,but was a solid two.
Right now,the Devils are paying a lot money for less production then they are getting from Ryan Carter.

5) One thing that I have noticed is that other teams are getting a ton of shots out of the slot.
That tells me that defensemen are either not clearing the area or not getting to their designated defensive slot.
When offensively challenged teams play such bad defense,losing streaks like the Devils are currently on tend to occur.

6)Peter Harrold was especially bad last night.
I know that Henrik Tallinder and Bryce Salvador were out,so he was forced into the lineup against the Hurricanes,but Pete DeBoer played him over Adam Larsson against Buffalo.
I've seen more than enough of that already...

Gibbles Potato Chips-Goodbye to another icon

Icon might be stretching it,but when something is part of your life for as long as you can remember,it's kinda of iconic.

The Gibble's potato chip company threw in the towel just a few months after being sold to Gibble foods on December 1st of last year.
The local company was formed in 1959 and had been a local standout ever since along with the Utz brand out of Hanover PA.
A spokesperson for the former owners,Martins Pastry Shoppes,appeared to be stunned by the sale,although I am not sure how much of that was crocodile tears as more often than not,one has an idea of why another side wants to buy something in a business deal.

Reading between the lines in the article,this could be the case of someone wanting to buy the assets and then "put their own stamp" on a new brand.
Mind you,this is incredibly stupid as said plan could have been implemented with more success had the Gibble's line been used to draw people to the new line.
Imaginze someone buying Pepsi and then shutting it down in order to manufacture a new soda for an example.
If this is the case,this is stupider than I can imagine..

However,this is more than an ode' to things that have been around for years and disappear,never to be seen again.
This has happened for years and as long as there are businesses to make items,they will be there to take them away.
It is more of a goodbye to the Gibble's chip from their locally famous Nibble with Gibble's slogan or their various colored bags for their products.

When I go back to Ohio,often I get requests to bring back Gibble's chips,much like I have my parents grab me some Jones chips from there when they go out.
The chips were that good.
The regular were my favorite of the local chips and the red hot was one certain to be loved.,
Their barbeque could have been a little better,but was not terrible.
My favorite thing to do with Gibble's chips was right after an Ohio trip and taking a bag of Gibble's Red Hot and mixing them with a Jones Salt and Vinegar package of chips into one bucket,shaking them up and letting the seasonings mix for a day or two before some,as Alton Brown would say, Good Eats.

Gibble's always bragged about using lard to fry their chips and although this likely made it among the least healthy on the supermarket rack,it sure allowed the taste of the chip to stand out with the elite of any chip around as well.
The saltiness of the chip cut through with every bite and the crunch was always firm and crisp.
As a weirdo,I also always liked the occasional "green" potato chip that slipped through into the bag from time to time.
They had an odd taste that for some strange reason appealed to me.....

Gibble's chips bring back another memory for me that I always associated with their brand.
I was never especially close with my grandfather here,but Pap always had Gibble's chips in the cupboard and Royal Crown cola stocked in their fridge.
For some reason,he refused to go into the local country store near my house (the still standing McNamee's),so when he needed something from there,he would call my house and as the oldest grandchild,I would go with him to the store to get his stuff,while he waited in the truck.
Always,he would add extra for me to get a pack of Topps cards and a bag of Gibble's.
It is my fondest memory that I have of a man that I loved,but didn't really know as a person.

It's funny what memories that products bring to us.
A chip company makes one think of a deceased relative and I would wager anyone somewhat close to us has a similar association if we think about it enough.
These are the connections that the things that we enjoy bring to our lives.
More than just taste or preference,it is what brings us together as family and friends and most of them come and go through our lives.
Thirty years from now,with some luck,I'll talking to my grandkids and maybe great grandkids by then,talking about defunct products from days gone by.
Bet on Gibble's being near the top of that list..

Photo Credit:Rachel Heimberger

Roaring finish ends Devils losing streak

Two goals in the final six minutes forced an overtime for the New Jersey Devils against the Buffalo Sabres and allowed the Devils to advance to the shootout after a scoreless overtime.
Shootout goals by David Clarkson and Patrik Elias against Ryan Miller won the game 3-2,broke a six game losing streak and handed the Devils two points in the standings.
Adam Henrique (7 power play) and Patrik Elias (7) tallied the Devils goals in the victory.
The Devils will be back to back this weekend with a road game against Carolina and a home game against Winnipeg...

Hell Raisers

1) First off,the Devils sent Keith Kinkaid back to Albany after making his NHL debut in mop up time Tuesday night.
Jeff Frazee was called up to be the backup for Johan Hedberg and I didn't have a problem with the move.
I had been a proponent of this very move from the beginning as my thoughts were these-If the Devils plan was to play Hedberg all the time and the backup is essentially an emergency man,then Frazee is the pick so Kinkaid can play every game at Albany.
The problem is that Kinkaid played so well that if Hedberg played poorly,the chants would start for Kinkaid.
The issue isn't the move,it was the timing....

2) All things considered,Johan Hedberg played well against Buffalo.
Neither goal that he allowed could be considered his fault and made a few great saves to boot.
Hedberg needs to step up and be the Devils bridge to getting Marty Brodeur back into the lineup.
Against Buffalo and with the heat on-Hedberg was able to do just that.

3) Some of Peter DeBoer's decisions have made me wonder of late,but his decision to use David Clarkson in the shootout paid off.
Clarkson uses some different moves in the shootout than many players and he can be quite effective when spotted properly.
Good call.

4) Clarkson also had a huge part in the game tying goal as he blasted a shot off Jhonas Enroth,who made a nice save on Clarkson's shot,but left a fat rebound for a diving Patrik Elias.
Enroth made a vain attempt to block Elias,but stretched so far to make the save that he injured himself in the effort.

5) Funny that I didn't see Ryan Miller mouthing off after the loss like he did when the Sabres won in Buffalo in the shootout.
It's called class,Ryan....

6) Tom Kostopoulos made his Devils debut and did not do much to impress or disappoint.
But he did make an impression in one area-During one of those wonderful between period interviews with Deb Placey that make you want fall asleep,Rachel turns to me and says "boy,he's loaded with charsima,isn't he"?

7) Adam Larsson and Mark Fayne were scheduled to be the defensive scratches for Henrik Tallinder and Peter Harrold.
Tallinder sat for Fayne though as Tallinder suffered a lower body injury in warm ups....

A little busy

Been a little busy and without a ton to write about,I have not updated things.
Due to work reasons,I missed much of the Devils losses on both Monday and Tuesday,so I did not write about them.

I do have some recent Devils thoughts,but I'll add them to tonight's recap from their game against visiting Buffalo.
Other than that,the only news is the Devils claim of Tom Kostopoulos off waivers from the Penguins to try to add something to the slumping squad.

With some luck,I'll get part one of our next interview up tonight from the road office...

Meanwhile,enjoy the picture of my favorite member of the Devils family!

The Jim Bouton baseball league

Slow news day,but a fun day nonetheless as my favorite fantasy baseball day has arrived as the Jim Bouton baseball league begins its minor league draft phase.
The Bouton league is named after former 20 game winner and author of Ball Four-Jim Bouton and is a pretty standard league with one exception-every team has a 20 player farm system.
In affect,franchises are drafting tomorrow's stars today and holding their rights.

The league is great fun,except I haven't won it yet and we have ten solid teams.

Considering the rules,the minor league draft is far far more important than the major league draft,which is generally filled with role players and backups and rarely lasts more than two or three rounds.

I released six players,so I have six picks in the draft and just made my first selection in the draft with the second overall pick in 2012's draft-Byron Buxton an outfielder in the Twins organization.

I may be filling some slow days with some looks at the six new players that I have drafted and maybe even a glance at the remaining players that I protected.
The draft is always fun and I enjoy it more than any draft that I do with the possible exception of the IFL draft in our football league.

Very excited to add Byron Buxton and hopefully five more future stars.....

Shot down in Buffalo

The New Jersey Devils rallied back from two deficits,but did not have enough left in the tank to win a shootout in Buffalo as the Sabres took a 4-3 shootout win. The Devils do earn one point in the standings for their first point in three games.
Devils goals to Steve Bernier (6),Adam Henrique (5 shorthanded) and Andrei Loktionov (3).
New Jersey takes today off before traveling to Toronto tomorrow and the waiting Leafs....

Hell Raisers

1) Ryan Carter returned and assisted on the Steve Bernier goal.
For the things that could be tweaked,the Carter/Bernier/Stephen Gionta line will not be one of them....

2) Don't want to hit the panic button,but this recent string of play has sent the Devils from first in the conference to seventh.
Just a note...

3) The Devils shootout squad really misses Zach Parise,perhaps more than any other part of the team.
Basically,it has come down to this-Ilya Kovalchuk needs to score on his chance or the team loses.
The Devils do not have enough players skilled in the shootout to overcome a Kovalchuk miss...

4) More great playing on the penalty kill as the Devils killed all six of Buffalo's power plays with one huge overtime kill.
Combined with the Adam Henrique goal shorthanded and the PK is performing well.

5) Wish I could say the same of the power play which put up a goose egg in five attempts and allowed Jason Pomenville to score shorthanded.
If the Devils make a move soon,it could be to add some one to strengthen this unit....

6) I thought Ryan Miller's taunting of Adam Henrique after the game ending save was pretty bush league.
Considering Miller has played for the gold medal in Olympic play to get that hyped up over a regular season game was pretty weak.

Photo Credit:AP Photo

Jets jab Devils 3-1

The game started badly for the New Jersey Devils as Andrew Ladd scored just eight seconds into the game for the Winnipeg Jets,but the team settled down and played well thereafter (from what I saw) as they tied the game on an Andrei Loktionov second period goal (2).
However,as I drove into work,Ladd scored again on a 4 on 4 goal and the Jets added an empty net goal for a 3-1 win in Winnipeg.
New Jersey travels to Buffalo Saturday afternoon...

Hell Raisers

1) The Andrew Ladd goal to start the game was the fastest the Devils had ever allowed to start a game.
Not a record that you want to have...

2) I missed the second Ladd goal,so I don't know whether that was a bad goal or not,but Johan Hedberg played well.
Hedberg was hung out to dry on the first one and was the main reason that the Devils hung around and had a chance to win.

3) I liked the drive to the net on the Andrei Loktionov goal.
Loktionov just put his shoulder down and bull rushed his defenseman,keeping his body away from the puck and then aggressively took the puck to the goal.
Very impressive as he has scored points (2 goals,2 assists) in each of the last four games.

4) Adam Henrique may be struggling with scoring,but his penalty killing is still strong as he made two different plays on the PK that were phenomenal,one coming without his stick and super play on a five on three kill.
Henrique has been seeing more time at left wing of late and that could mean a winger is sent down to Albany when Ryan Carter returns,which could be Saturday.

5) More power play problems as three more chances went by the wayside.
The Devils rely too much on Ilya Kovalchuk and Marek Zidlicky to get things started and teams are beginning to push the outer edge of the umbrella and as a result make those two shoot from further out,if at all.

Photo Credit:AP Photo