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Category: New-Jersey-Devils

The Jersey Trap

by Paul on 11/15/09 at 12:43 PM ET
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from Rob Rossi of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review,

New Jersey’s trap is perfectly designed for winning on the road during the regular season — though having Martin Brodeur between the pipes is a nice part of the equation.

Watch how the Devils trap under head coach Jacques Lemaire, the godfather of its modern-day standing. His players are seemingly never out of position. They almost always know when to flip the switch from patient to aggressive. Opponents are left shaking their heads by midway through the first period — because the Devils’ trap not only denies time and space to force turnovers; it also causes frustration that leads to unforced turnovers.

In its own way, the Devils’ trap is a thing of beauty.

Full disclosure: Given the choice, I’d rather watch the Penguins play than the Devils, especially if I was a paying customer. Still, count me out of any discussion that begins with, “The NHL needs to do something about the trap ...”

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Lemaire Having Fun

by Paul on 11/14/09 at 09:10 AM ET
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from Tom Gulitti of the Record,

Despite a slew of injuries, Lemaire is off to as good a start in his second stint with the Devils as he had the first time around.

The Devils head into tonight’s game against Washington at Prudential Center in first place in the Atlantic Division with a 13-4 record. That’s the same record they had in their first 17 games under Lemaire in 1993-94.

“It’s been fun,” Lemaire said Friday. “Coaching is fun for me. Maybe after the first couple of games, I thought it would be a little different. But as soon as we started to win a few games, you’re back in the pack and now the team is going well. You know it’s always winning that takes care of the good part.”

read on

Filed in: NHL Teams, New Jersey Devils | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: Jacques+Lemaire,

Talking Devils/Penguins Game Tonight

by Paul on 11/12/09 at 10:44 AM ET
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It’s an all ESPN post…

E.J. Hradek and Barry Merose talk about the game tonight and Scott Burnside takes a closer look at the Devils with a little Pittsburgh thrown in.

Filed in: NHL Teams, New Jersey Devils, Pittsburgh Penguins | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Get Rid Of The Trapezoid?

by Paul on 11/10/09 at 03:22 PM ET
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from Tom Gulitti of Fire & Ice,

Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur is among those hoping the NHL general managers decide at their meetings over the next two days to remove the trapezoid behind the nets.

The trapezoid was implemented in the NHL following the 2004-05 lockout to limit the goaltenders from handling the puck in the corners behind the net. It begins at the goal line with angled lines six feet from each goal post and widens to 28 feet at the end boards.

Former Flyers general manager Bobby Clarke was one of the leaders in getting the trapezoid implemented. It was commonly known as the “Martin Brodeur rule” because it was clearly aimed at the Devils netiminder, who was one of the best at getting behind the net to handle the puck.

But, now general managers are looking for ways to cut down on the number of injuries on defensemen who are being hit hard by forechecking fowards.

continued

added 5:01pm, via Darren Dreger’s Twitter,

NHL gm’s discussed removal of the trapezoid, but have decided to leave it in.

Filed in: NHL Teams, New Jersey Devils, NHL Talk | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: Martin+Brodeur,

Lamoriello Has Mellowed Over The Years

by Paul on 11/10/09 at 06:51 AM ET
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from Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe,

“I called Lou’s room,’’ said Brian Burke, then a pugnacious, 185-pound Friar forward, recalling a memory of more than 30 years ago. “And I said, ‘Coach, you’re not going to believe this, but some guy’s got a bunch of dogs outside here . . . they’re making a real racket, and there’s no way we’ll get to sleep.’ Lou screams, ‘What?!’ then says, ‘I’ll be right there!’ and hangs up.’’

Burke and his fellow Friars then turned their attention back outside, watching gleefully from their hotel rooms as the diminutive coach from the Dominican Friars college located in Rhode Island’s capital - dedicated to a “spirituality that embraces the whole person’’ as its stated mission - transformed into a ferocious bulldog.

“Lou’s out there screaming at the guy, ‘What’s this! Pack these dogs up . . . get ’em outta here!’ ’’ said Burke. “The poor slob . . . didn’t know what hit him . . . and he gives Lou some lip. That really set Lou off. ‘Look,’ Lou screams, ‘you’ve got five minutes to get these bleepin’ dogs back in their boxes, get ’em outta here. Five minutes! And if you don’t, I’m telling you, I’ll start strangling them, one by one, with my bare hands!’ The guy had to think Lou was nuts. No question. But you know what? He got outta there, dogs ’n all.’’

read on

Filed in: NHL Teams, New Jersey Devils | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: Lou+Lamoriello,

Elias Plans To Play A Simple Game

by Paul on 11/06/09 at 08:25 AM ET
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from Mark Everson of the NY Post,

When Elias returned from Hepatitis A, which he contracted during the lockout, on Jan. 3, 2006, the Devils were a game under .500 and in serious danger of missing the playoffs. They went 30-9-4 after his return and he had 45 points in his 38 games.

“That was ridiculous,” Elias said. “Don’t expect that from me, even though I’d like to play that way. It’s different things in your body. They’re cutting into you and doing things to you, repairing. It’s different for an athlete.

“It’s two separate issues, and the body reacts totally differently.”

read on

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 Tags: Patrik+Elias,

Deciding When Elias Can Play

by Paul on 11/03/09 at 01:05 PM ET
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from Tom Gulitti of Fire & Ice,

Asked if he could play Wednesday, Elias said. “I don’t know. They just asked me how I feel. That’s all. So, I don’t know.”

Initially Lemaire said, “I don’t know” when asked about Elias’ status for Wednesday’s game. He pulled Elias aside and spoke to him briefly after they left the ice following today’s practice.

“We want to make sure he’s 100 percent, close to 100 percent and he’s the one that will determine that,” Lemaire said. “Myself, the way he’s playing right now, he can play. If it’s only me, he’s going to play. He’s the one that makes the decision.”

When informed that Lemaire said the decision would be up to him, Elias said, “Really? That’s funny.”

Elias sounded concerned about having a setback by coming back too soon.

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 Tags: Patrik+Elias,

Elias Practices, May Play On The Weekend

by Paul on 11/02/09 at 12:55 PM ET
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from Tom Gulitti of Fire & Ice,

Elias said “nobody has said a word” to him about when he might play.

“If you ask me, I haven’t practiced, I haven’t played a game in five months,” he said. “I don’t think two practices will do. I think there’s more danger to it than the positive side. Today was practice and the guys knew it was my first time, so they backed off me a little bit and gave me time. Nobody’s going to do that in a game. You don’t want to get caught out there with your head down looking for the pucks all the time and give the other team the opportunity to get you.”

Elias sounded optimistic, however, about playing in one of the games this weekeend—Friday against the Islanders at home and Saturday in Ottawa.

“There’s back-to-back games, so one game would be great to jump in and just to get my feet wet a little bit,” he said. “Then, we have three more practices after that. That would be a perfect scenario, but, like I said, nobody has said a word. We haven’t talked about it. For me, it was good to get out there and not really feel much with the leg.”

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 Tags: Patrik+Elias,

Injuries Hit The Devils

by Paul on 10/26/09 at 11:13 AM ET
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via Tom Gulitti’s Twitter,

Pandolfo, Martin both out 4-6 weeks. Martin: non-displaced fracture of lower left arm above the wrist. Pandolfo’s right shoulder popped out.

added 11:16am, Tom has more on the injuries at his Fire & Ice blog.

Filed in: NHL Teams, New Jersey Devils | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: Jay+Panfolfo, Paul+Martin,

Devils Suffer Two Injuries

by Paul on 10/24/09 at 10:46 PM ET
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from Tom Gulitti of Fire & Ice,

It appears defenseman Paul Martin and left wing Jay Panfolfo might both be out for a while.

Pandolfo’s right shoulder popped out of the socket on a hit from behind from ex-Devil Mike Rupp in the second period of the Devils’ 4-1 win over the Penguins tonight.

Martin said his left forearm “maybe” broken after he was hit with a shot and slashed on it in the third period.

continued

Filed in: NHL Teams, New Jersey Devils | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: Jay+Panfolfo, Paul+Martin,

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