Devils rally to get first home win falls short in 3-2 setback against Avalanche

The Devils had every opportunity to win the game in the first period against Colorado, but failed because of one guy, "Craig Anderson." Anderson was the star of the game and probably a one man show for the most part with 41 saves. What made the loss worse was the fact that the Devils had a 5 minute power play in the first period and failed to score on it after very good cycle passes, but Anderson just had a good feeling about the puck. The Devils had 7 minutes of Power Play time in the first and had it not been for a Scott Hannan swipe at the puck at the goal line after Dainius Zubrus had Anderson beat. Marty Brodeur continued his early season struggles after allowing a stoppable shot to Cody McLeod to squeak by him with 4 seconds to go on a 4 minute Colorado Power Play. Minutes later, McLeod was ejected from the game for a boarding penalty, but the Devils failed to capitalize.

T.J. Galiardi and Chris Stewart scored the other Avalanche goals. Galiardi is quietly becoming a hit in Colorado behind Matt Duchene and Ryan O'Reilly. Anderson played like a Vezina trophy winner today. If the Devils can manufacture a 60 minute effort and put the puck in the net early and often, they can go on a tear, but they are getting close to breaking out of their funk. Matt Taormina scored his first NHL goal today and Ilya Kovalchuk cut the deficit to 3-2 midway in the 3rd, but again Anderson stood tall. The Devils had a partially open net with like 10 seconds left, but Jamie Langenbrunner delayed his shot a bit which let Anderson get back into slight position. So, for now the Devils are an early season disappointment with their roster but they have to start their winning ways very soon or else it can turn out to be a long season.

Notes: Johan Hedberg is likely to get his first Devils start tomorrow against Boston, so the team will look to him to get their season rolling. With 5 games in, their really is no time to panic for the Devils fans, but a loss tomorrow would be painful. They really gave a great effort tonight, and tomorrow will not get any easier with Tuukka Rask coming into town. The Devils have to get Zach Parise going and especially Clarkson, Langenbrunner and Elias in the goal column. If those guys do not produce, it will be a long season for them and Devils fans.