NJD? Moe like NJDeezNuts, amirite?
As dreadful as the Senators game turned out to be, the Bruins have gotten seven out of eight possible points in the last four games. It's too early to say whether there's a positive trend in the works, but tonight might be a good indicator of whether this was a flash of above-average play in a season that could be charitably described as mediocre, or if it's a sign that they may still right the ship. Why? Despite a better record and entering the game as 1.5 goal favorites, the Devils are reeling, having lost four straight and nine of their last eleven. Two keys to the game IMO are: 1) Smarter puck protection. Even in what was a gaudy 6-3 line with the two empty-netters, we gave up dumb goals against the Sharks. We can't do that again--the Devils are in a rut, but they're measurably better than San Jose with a far better defense that gives up more than half a goal fewer per game than we do, and 2) Stay out of the box--only the Jets and Red Wings have higher power play percentages, while we have the third worst. They also have a far better PK percentage than we do.
I know we don't have the hate for the Devils like we do the Habs or even the Panthers, but I still remember the 1988 Wales Conference finals where douchebag coach Jim Schoenfeld physically confronted the referee after getting blown out. When the ref either fell or was shoved by Schoenfeld, depending on whose version you believed, Schoenfeld responded to the ref who accused him of pushing him, "Good, 'cause you fell you fat pig! Have another doughnut! Have another doughnut!." In doing so, he earned himself a one-game suspension, but the Devils found a sympathetic judge who moonlit as a housing provider to young Devils players. That judge in turn put them in touch with a NJ Superior Court judge who hastily threw together a hearing in his apartment and ultimately issued a court order reinstating Schoenfeld about forty minutes before the game was to start. The ref and linesmen walked out, and we got these amateurs in yellow sweaters who didn't know dick and had the start the game about an hour or so late. During the game I thought Terry O'Reilly was going to leap into the Devils bench and beat the shit out of Schoenfeld, which I remember my dad and I hoping he would. The Bruins lost that game, but ultimately won the series before falling to Edmonton in the SCF. So fuck the Devils.
Puck drops at 7:23 (yes, really--they're honoring a former coach before the game) at Prudential Center. NESN, MSG, NHLN (which means a lot of us out-of-market fans are SOL), 98.5 FM, SiriusXM 91. WIN.
As dreadful as the Senators game turned out to be, the Bruins have gotten seven out of eight possible points in the last four games. It's too early to say whether there's a positive trend in the works, but tonight might be a good indicator of whether this was a flash of above-average play in a season that could be charitably described as mediocre, or if it's a sign that they may still right the ship. Why? Despite a better record and entering the game as 1.5 goal favorites, the Devils are reeling, having lost four straight and nine of their last eleven. Two keys to the game IMO are: 1) Smarter puck protection. Even in what was a gaudy 6-3 line with the two empty-netters, we gave up dumb goals against the Sharks. We can't do that again--the Devils are in a rut, but they're measurably better than San Jose with a far better defense that gives up more than half a goal fewer per game than we do, and 2) Stay out of the box--only the Jets and Red Wings have higher power play percentages, while we have the third worst. They also have a far better PK percentage than we do.
I know we don't have the hate for the Devils like we do the Habs or even the Panthers, but I still remember the 1988 Wales Conference finals where douchebag coach Jim Schoenfeld physically confronted the referee after getting blown out. When the ref either fell or was shoved by Schoenfeld, depending on whose version you believed, Schoenfeld responded to the ref who accused him of pushing him, "Good, 'cause you fell you fat pig! Have another doughnut! Have another doughnut!." In doing so, he earned himself a one-game suspension, but the Devils found a sympathetic judge who moonlit as a housing provider to young Devils players. That judge in turn put them in touch with a NJ Superior Court judge who hastily threw together a hearing in his apartment and ultimately issued a court order reinstating Schoenfeld about forty minutes before the game was to start. The ref and linesmen walked out, and we got these amateurs in yellow sweaters who didn't know dick and had the start the game about an hour or so late. During the game I thought Terry O'Reilly was going to leap into the Devils bench and beat the shit out of Schoenfeld, which I remember my dad and I hoping he would. The Bruins lost that game, but ultimately won the series before falling to Edmonton in the SCF. So fuck the Devils.
Puck drops at 7:23 (yes, really--they're honoring a former coach before the game) at Prudential Center. NESN, MSG, NHLN (which means a lot of us out-of-market fans are SOL), 98.5 FM, SiriusXM 91. WIN.