It seems that every time the Devils need to break out of a slump, it needs to be done in a Marty Brodeur shutout fashion. The Devils continued their success at Montreal with a 3-0 win at Bell Centre. Their last loss at Montreal was a 3-0 blanking by current Habs goaltender Carey Price back in March 2008. But that was way back, tonight was Brodeur's night to silence his critics with a 29 save effort to blank the Habs 3-0. Zach Parise, Jason Arnott and Matt Taormina scored the Devils goals. There were many who had doubt in Marty before the game even saying, his game is starting to drop and slip, but he made some sliding saves tonight.
Tonight's win showed that three tough grueling days of practices paid off. Their power play definitely still needs some work and they do need to build some momentum after the win. Olivier Magnan-Grenier had a good NHL debut as he was involved in some key physical battles. He wore #29, which Alexander Urbom wore before being sent to Albany. Matt Taormina continued his impressive play after a somewhat sluggish start to the season. His puck handling ability is getting better, though he needs to get somewhat smarter in his decisions. But, he definitely is taking small steps forward towards becoming an every day NHLer.
-----
Notes: Tonight's game also featured new Devils pregame host Christine Simpson, who will occasionally fill in for Steve Cangialosi, whenever he gets called to do play by play. She conducted intermission and post game interviews. Ilya Kovalchuk had some chances, but the Devils found some secondary chances production. There was no word on who will start in net on Saturday night at home against Buffalo or whether Anton Volchenkov will practice or skate tomorrow. It seems unlike Anton would play this weekend due to limited practice time. With 3 games in 4 nights, it seems tomorrow's practice will be a short one or even an optional. It would not surprise me if Marty starts both games this weekend, but it would be better if they gave him the night off before a huge Sunday night game at MSG vs Rangers. My odds are on Johan Hedberg to make his season debut on Saturday night at Prudential Center against Buffalo. The Devils will seek their first home win of the year this Saturday before embarking on a 6 game road trip with 5 of them against Western Conference teams.
-----
Here is their road trip schedule (all times Eastern):
Sunday October 24th at NY Rangers 7 PM (MSG+ HD)
Wednesday October 27th at San Jose Sharks 10:30 PM (MSG+ HD)
Friday October 29th at Anaheim Ducks 10 PM (MSG+ HD)
Saturday October 30th at Los Angeles Kings 10:30 PM (MSG+ HD)
Monday November 1st at Vancouver Canucks 10 PM (MSG+ HD)
*Wednesday November 3rd at Chicago Blackhawks 8:30 PM (MSG HD)
* = Blackhawks are Defending Stanley Cup Champions.
No comments:
Post a Comment