The New Jersey Devils take on the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight in the second ever game at the Prudential Center.   The Devils and Lightning both come into the contest struggling.  Here are Boltsblog's RJ's thoughts on the Lightning success and what it will take to defeat the Devils on Halloween (sorry abo

LET’S GO DEVILS!

According to James Mirtle, players are not enthusiastic about the new jerseys (not Devils).  He could not think of any moment in his coverage of the league (he’s not a newcomer) where a player chose the new uniforms over the previous sweaters.  From reading numerous other intelligent reports,

"The Devils were 15-5-4 in home openers at the Meadowlands.... Defenseman Mike Mottau was a healthy scratch," according to Rich Chere, staff writer for the Star Ledger...

ESPN GAME NOTE:

The New Jersey Devils opened Prudential Center tonight on a bang, the sellout crowd of 17,615 on their feet, but ended it on a sour note, losing to the Ottawa Senators 4-1.  For the Devils, they failed to score more than one goal for the second consecutive game, and were nearly shutout for the fifth time this season.<

9:44 Devils lose 4-1... recap in a few moments... bear with us

9:28 tv timeout... Devils fans head to the exits, who can blame them? the Devs have one goal on 29 shots and refuse to score... it's not in their game plan I guess...

The Sens Army blog decided to do the Q and A with me prior to the Devils game tonight.  He seemed to insult the Devils with his final question, but I managed to fire back.  If you missed Bon Jovi on Thursday night, I hope you make it for the game in less than one hour. Oh... sorry, enjoy!

For the last 25 years, the New Jersey Devils called Continental Airlines Arena (soon to be Izod Center) home.  Starting in 1982 and continuing through the 2006-2007 season, the Devils were very successful in the Meadowlands, winning three Stanley Cups, and making the playoffs in 17 of the last 19 seasons.

The New Jersey Devils hired Kevin Clark as their new public address announcer.  He will make his debut on Saturday night when the Devils host the Ottawa Senators in their inaugural Prudential Center opening game.

Goaltender Henrik Lundqvist made 22 saves for his second shutout of the season and Nigel Dawes scored his first two goals of the season to lead the Rangers to a 2-0 victory over their cross-river rivals, the New Jersey Devils.  Lundqvist has allowed just one goal in his last three games, the lone bright spot for the Rangers and their 15 goals scored

Around the League:

Columbus Bluejackets goaltender Pascal Leclaire continues to impress…he completed his fourth shutout in six starts tonight. The team is 5-3-1, definitely its best start in franchise history.

Game Over- Rangers 2 Devils 0-- Devils cannot find a way to take advantage of power play opportunities and fail to even their record in the 2-0 loss. This it the Devils third shutout of the season, most in the league. When a team has four PPs and cannot score on any of them, it's almost heartbreaking.

Continuing my Q and A, I was honored to speak with Daniel Akeson who writes a column for Outside the Garden titled Pucks on Broadway. We spoke about tonight's contest between the New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers.

The New Jersey Devils have off from Saturday night’s 4-3 OT loss, until they face the New York Rangers on Thursday evening. In that extended time frame, they need to work on special teams and defense especially.

My former college roommate Godfrey A. and I took a train ride from New Brunswick to Newark, for a tour rather personal visit of the New Jersey Devils state-of-the-art Prudential Center on Sunday.

This is a metric of popularity we fans don't look at too often.  It's the amount of search traffic done on a keyword phrase in Google.  Take a look at the below results for "new jersey devils" (red) and "new york rangers" (blue).  This isn't really surprising consider the Devils are up against a New York team, but looking around on Google Trends teams like

Congratulations to the Boston Red Sox for coming back from a 3-1 series deficit to win the final game 11-2 and the series 4-3.  The organization is amazing, players, management, and of course the fans...

The Devils needed just 3.7 seconds more to send this game into a shootout. Islanders forward Bill Guerin would not let that happen tonight, however, scoring an overtime poweplay game-winner with 3.7 seconds remaining.

Backup goaltender Kevin Weekes will be in goal for tonight's contest against the Islanders.  Weekes is making his second start of the season and the first since making 32 saves in a 4-1 win in Florida on Oct. 6, according to Fire and Ice's Tom Gulliti.

This season I will attempt to do a Q and A with bloggers of opposing teams prior to each New Jersey Devils game.

Two shutouts in four games do not sit well for New Jersey Devils fans. I hope that it does not sit well for the players either as they enter Long Island tonight for a 7p.m. battle with division rival New York Islanders.

Rounding out the cream of the crop is never an easy task, but hey, someone’s gotta do it.  So if you’re looking for the very best teams in the NHL you’ve come to the right place. Here we go:

Goalies have always fascinated me.  When I was just nine years old, I remember watching Martin Brodeur make save after brilliant save to lead the New Jersey Devils to their first ever Stanley Cup Win.  I credit that 1995 Detroit versus New Jersey finals (Devils swept 4-0 by the way) as the reason that I decided to take up goaltending.&nb

1. Jacques Lemaire- has been the the first ever (and only) head coach of the Minnesota Wild organization... earned playoff spots in only two of the six seasons but has seen a steady rise in winning percentage in the last three seasons. The Wild are currently 5-0-1, the last undefeated team.

The Devils lost tonight, in a shameful performance on both ends of the ice. They managed a commanding 38-18 shot lead, but were shutout 4-0. John Madden had a breakaway at the end of the second period, but was denied by goaltender Martin Biron, who completed his second consecutive scoreless outing.

With the season kicking into full gear, I’m dropping in with my first blog.  Glad to be here.  Let’s take a look at some rankings, two weeks into the season. 

The Devils are in Philadelphia tonight for a 7 p.m. division showdown, after one-upping the Pittsburgh Penguins last night 5-4.  It's also a busy night in the rest of the league with 18 teams in action.  Here are some of tonight’s story lines:

NYR-ATL

If you have not yet seen the recap from tonight's game, see Joel's blog. Another Devils win,  by one goal nonetheless. I will take the new run and gun team, as long as they are winning ball games. But, getting used to this new look is frightening. Like a new coach, adjusting will take time. I just hope that the Devils can fix their penalty kill, which has been awful this season.
 
Devils-Flyers Preview
 As Joel mentioned in his post, the Flyers are a dangerous team, with newly signed Daniel Briere. History is definitely on the Devils side though, according to ESPN.

"Philadelphia also will try to avoid a third straight loss to New Jersey, which was 7-0-1 in last season's series. The Devils are 10-0-1 against the Flyers since a 2-1 regulation loss on March 21, 2006."

And I must not forget to mock my favorite division rival blog, thepensblog.blospot.com. Guys, it's 1-0 Devils for the season series. Crosby did his damage, but as the Soup Nazi said, "No soup for you," or in this case no careeer goals scored against Martin Brodeur. Sure, he had two assists, but the Devils won 5-4, so no worries.

ESPN also stated that "Brodeur, the all-time wins leader among goaltenders who needs four more for 500, is 17-12-3 with a tie and 2.62 GAA over 33 career starts in Philadelphia."

However, reports indicate that head coach Brent Sutter will start backup goaltender Kevin Weekes on Thursday night against the Flyers. Last year, Brodeur started nearly every game of the season. I like this new philosophy but I would rather save Weekes start against the Islanders. Then again, I want him starting against the Flyers, give Brodeur rest. Who knows? It's 3am so I am gonna hit the hay.

Let's go Devs and let's go Rutgers football. Huge game against No. 2 South Florida at home this year. Last season. the Scarlet Knights defeated the Bulls, 22-20. on a two-point conversion stop. This year, unranked Rutgers (4-2, 1-1 BIG EAST) will look to give unbeaten South Florida (6-0) a warm welcome to Piscataway. A win tonight would most likely place the Scarlet Knight back in the rankings, who at one point were in the top ten in the country. Two consecutive home losses knocked them out of the top 25 national rankings. ESPN is covering the game tonight, and bringing one of its better television media staff, including the sexy Erin Andrews.

While this game might not have the same implications as RU/Louisville last season, it's a very significant game nonetheless. Rutgers needs to regain its confidence by upsetting South Florida, of whom it is a 2.5 point underdog, another reason that critics will not compare this matchup to that of Louisville. Ray Rice is going to be our key for the game, since he has run all over the Bulls defense, which is highly improved since allowing over 200 yards on the ground. They have not given up another 100-yard rusher since Rice's explosion for two rushing touchdowns as well. Quarterback Mike Teel needs to be at his best tonight, while his receiving tandem of Tiquan Underwood and Tim Brown must accept his passes like it's their last will and testament. Well, I should not be comparing death to football... But, you get the point... right?

Good morning!

After a wild first period, a confusing second period, and a scrappy third, the Devils were able to walk away with a win and even their record at 3-3 (.500) over the feisty Pittsburgh Penguins.  Devils forward Arron Asham's third period and decisive goal came as a result of hard work and good puck movement by three guys who have played well recently, including Zach Parise, Patrik Elias, and Asham himself.

Parise was the only consistent force in the Devils offense until the Devils exploded for 11 goals in the last six periods of play, including a 6-5 thriller over the Atlanta Thrashers.  Linemates John Madden and Jay Pandolfo continue to impress in the new offensive-minded system.  The checking tandem combined for four more points in the game (2G, 2A) and played well on both sides of the puck throughout the contest.

The Devils came out of the gate soaring, scoring the games' first two goals within 3:12 of each other.  A bad luck play which led to a Maxime Talbot goal quickly threw the Devils into a tailspin.  Before the Devils knew it what happened, they had taken a bad penalty by Madden and allowed the feisty Penguins to tie the game, 2-2, going into the second period.

The second period was a sloppy one on the part of both teams, as there were 22 minutes worth of penalty time handed out and six straight handed out to Pittsburgh to start the period.  The Devils were only able to capitalize on two of the eight Penguins mistakes though, while the Pens netted three of their seven man advantages. All four goals in the period were scored on the man advantage as the referees wanted a 'no-touch' style of play, calling every infraction.  2006-2007 rookie of the year Evgeni Malkin scored the last powerplay goal of the wild period to even the score at four apiece, resembling the first period's 2-2 ending.  Captain Sidney Crosby and defenseman Sergei Gonchar assisted on his 5-3 two man advantage.

Both teams came out ready to fight in the third period.  Both teams fought hard, unwilling to yield what everyone seemed to know would be the game winner.  Head coach Brent Sutter's decision to leave the scrappy Asham out with Parise and Elias paid off as the trio tic-tac-toed the puck around the net for a bang-bang goal at 10:32, with Parise hitting Asham right in front of the net for the game winner.  The play would not have happened without the experience of Elias, who was credited with one of the two assists on the play. The Penguins fought hard for the final 10 minutes, but aggressive checking from the Devils forwards thwarted every Penguins opportunity. The Devils also missed two or three wide open nets in the final minutes of play, which would have put the game out of reach.

Devils star goaltender Martin Brodeur finished the game with 26 saves on 30 shots, definitely not Brodeur-esque numbers, looking average in four of his five starts this season. In the third period though, he showed why he's the best in the game by locking down for the final 10 minutes and holding on for his second win of the season. Pittsburgh's goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury kept his team in the game by making some sprawling saves, finishing with 30 saves on 35 shots.

The Devils quickly packed their bags for Philadelphia tomorrow night at 7:00 p.m.  Expect another high scoring affair if the Devils are to keep pace with newly signed Daniel Briere and his hot-start Flyers, who were in first place coming into tonight with a 4-1 record on the season.

Until tomorrow,

Dude Joel

8:15 2manadvantage has a live blog of this game as well... so you can check them out while I am gone
10:02 John Madden makes the lead 2-0 with a one-timer... sweet blast
10:05 Unfortunately, I have other responsibilities so  I will not be able to finish this live blogcast... Dude Joel or I will definitely have a recap on the game

13:13 Jay Pandolfo scores his second goal in two games... Devils look much better than their 2-3 record

15:00 Both teams are having great offensive chances... Brodeur and Fleury are definitely keeping this game at zero apiece

17:07 Martin Brodeur robs Evgeni Malkin and then snags the puck out of the air... what a goaltender
19:10 Sidney Crosby has never beaten Martin Brodeur in six career games... still no goal for you

19:30 Devils have first shot on goal, nice save by Marc Andre Fleury...

Let's go Devils!!!!!

His picks for the entire week!
Wed. Oct 17- New Jersey Devils - **Pittsburgh Penguins  (no pick for the Devils vs. Flyers game on Thursday night)

Sat. Oct 20- **New Jersey Devils - NY Islanders
 

Look, the Penguins are a feisty team, with superb talent... the Devils are coming off a big win over Atlanta and are still missing some key players...SO with that in mind...

After the Devils beat the Penguins on Wednesday night, they will fly to Philadelphia for another win, back to New Jersey and drive to Long Island and rip the Islanders apart. It's that simple.

Even if head coach Brent Sutter is sidelined again by the flu.

I will definitely be following these three games closely as thepensblog wants a Penguins win badly. When the Devils win all three, I might be forced to whip out my solja boy moves.



 

The 24/7 NHL Network is rolling...finally!

1. Stay away from Onfrozenblog's John Keely, who may be cohabiting with his new found love... (just kidding of course)-  he's really only "sleeping" with the NHL Network... who can blame him really? NHL, 24 hrs a day, in HDTV no less... I'm practically drooling myself...

2. Shakedownsports may need to see a doctor for never leaving his living room seat.

3. Me? I have Optimum's TV package, not Comcast... it might be better that way...

Wow... I am jumping for joy right now. Not really actually... Kelly was a former US assistant district attorney before this nomination so he comes from a strict line of a-holes... Do I care really? Well, yeah of course- this is a big freaking deal... but MSG GameOn's Stan "The Maven" Fischler's stance on Kelly's nomination is kind of frightening because of his potential stances on players rights.

"So, Paul Kelly becomes new boss of the NHL Players' Association. Since Chris Chelios and Eric Lindros were on the selection committee we can expect the new union's new Executive Director to share Bob Goodenow's militancy – unless we hear different from Kelly, himself. Should Kelly take the NHLPA to a more compromising position, it will be the upset of the half-century.

Already, we've heard from one prominent agent who makes it clear that he'll be surprised if the majority of players allow Kelly to lead them into another no-win war. "There's too much to lose," the agent insists. The problem is this: will the small, but dominating, Chelios clique take another one of their macho, war-like stances?"

James Mirtle, hockey blogging master, quoted the Sports Business Daily, in his one-lined piece, "Kelly to receive offer tonight."

From the SportsBusiness Journal: "Hard-nosed former Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Kelly will be offered the job of NHLPA Exec Dir during a conference call involving the union's board of player reps tonight, sources said. It is not expected that the 30 team reps will vote to hire Kelly on the conference call, according to one source, because the NHLPA constitution calls for a secret ballot vote to elect the post. It is not clear if the NHLPA will be able to offer Kelly an employment deal he can accept. While some sources said his hiring was a fait accompli, others said a number of details have to be worked out."

From what I understand, Kelly is a hard-nosed man, for gosh sakes... he worked for the US district attorney's office. All I hope is that if he takes the position, that he does not have a pool cue shoved in his rectum like Vito Spatafore from the Sopranos. The NHL and its players association need to be on the same track, especially with declining attendance figures and bland television contracts. Otherwise, the NHL may actually plummet faster than those riding Six Flags Great Adventure's El Toro.

ESPN's Scott Burnside's Ranking the NHL coaches lists New Jersey Devils head coach Brent Sutter as No. 29 out of a possible 30 NHL coaches due to never having coached before in the NHL.

In his estimation, " 29. Brent Sutter, New Jersey Devils
We know, he's a Sutter and he's like the Sidney Crosby of coaching prospects. But he never coached an NHL regular-season game before this season. Get back to us in April."

Even though he never coached in the NHL, he should not be listed this far down the list. Sutter is definitely underestimated.

You look at so many teams in the league with rookie and veteran talent, but their coaching staff sucks. The Great One himself, Wayne Gretzky- I think he cannot coach for shit. His team's talent is decent, alright maybe a crap goaltending crew, but they've finished in the bottom of the league since his reign.

Whereas Gretzky has the player talent, as we all know how great he was, Sutter has proven talent as a coach in the minor leagues and a player. There is a huge fucking difference between playing and coaching. Sutter has been coaching since retirement, earning team trophies for Canada, and winning the minor league's version of the Stanley Cup. What does Gretzky have to show for it?

Burnside, take your head out from you ass. Sutter deserves a higher ranking than the bottom of the barrel. He is a proven coach, with a really solid record, and so what if he never coached an NHL regular season game before this year. You said get back to us in April. I'd say, "You need to do some more homework my friend."

The Devils are a proven team with a ridiculously good track record of making the playoffs (17 of last 19 years). Sutter is going to lead his team to the playoffs come April... maybe then, your head will either be so far up your ass or you will be admitting your blatant underestimation of Brent Sutter.

According to a report in the Star Ledger, the New Jersey Devils new arena will cost taxpayers more money than originally planned.

"To date, the total public contribution of city, state and federal funds to acquire land, build the arena and reroute pedestrian and vehicular traffic is $311.5 million. Add the Devils' $156 million investment, and the $467.5 million project will make the Newark project one of the most-expensive arena developments ever."

Apparently, the city officials are a bunch of idiots. When you can calculate the cost of something you have to take many facets into consideration. Did these guys take basic economics classes in college, or did they even attend college for that matter?

The estimated cost for the physical construction of the Prudential Center was $310 million by Mayor Sharpe James and the Devils organization three years go. However, that price continued to rise, eventually reaching about $360-375 million, depending on who you asked.

Taxpayers and the city agreed to that number before building the arena. But, I am not sure if they would have agreed to a project nearing a record-high $500 million for the city of Newark. Nevertheless, the Devils organization and city officials are now making several adjustments to prepare for the center's opening on Oct. 25 and Devils home opener on Oct. 27.

What I still do not understand is why the development costs, which include creating additional ramps from the transit, thousands of parking spaces nearby, etc. were never taken into consideration.

The state of the art facility is nearly ready, but taxpayers are definitely going to suffer for years to come. I was definitely in support of a new Devils arena, in Newark or wherever, and I expected the average person to suffer financially, but people also have a reasonable expectation of knowing the truth. I just hope that this arena brings enough money to store owners, the city, and everyone inbetween, and really make this project worth a half a million dollars.

Over at AOL Fanhouse, Jon "J.P." Press discusses NHL coaches who are possibly on the "hot seat," coaches who are on a tight leash by the management staff. In that article, he mentions New Jersey Devils head coach Brent Sutter, who was signed in the off season by GM Lou Lamoriello.

"Not since they lost their first four (one in OT) in 2001, have the Devils started so poorly," Press said. "That 01-02 season cost Larry Robinson his job after two straight trips to the finals and the 2000 Cup"

In my opinion, Sutter's style of play made me very nervous in the first five (2-3) games this season. Definitely not accustomed to the Devils uptempo, run and gun offense, I was scared that they would not adjust properly. Since 1995, the Devils played a more defensive style game, winning 2-1 and 3-2 rather than a 6-5 shootout over the Thrashers on Saturday night.

Press does make a valid argument regarding Robinson being fired even after his success within the organization. However, I do feel that Brent Sutter is the coach of the future. He is born and raised on hockey, one of seven brothers, six of which made the NHL. He was a captain and two-time Stanley Cup champion with the New York Islanders in the 1980s.

After a successful career, in which Sutter scored 829 points (363 goals, 466 assists) in 1111 regular season games and 74 points (30 goals, 44 assists) in 144 playoff games, he moved on to coaching.

Sutter became the Head coach, General Manager, President, and owner of the Red Deer Rebels, a Western Hockey Leagueice hockey team based in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada. The Rebels were a very successful team in the early 2000s winning three consecutive division and conference titles between 2000-01 and 2002-03. This period began with a WHL and Memorial Cup championship in 2001, but they were unable to duplicate this feat, however, falling in the league championship series the next two seasons.  Brent Sutter was also highly successful while serving as Team Canada's coach at both the 2005 World Junior Ice Hockey Championship and 2006 World Junior Ice Hockey Championship.

My previous Sutter post indicates that he has his work cut out for him and he is entering the NHL team that has a lot of coaching change over. Sutter has already dealt with several important injuries to Jamie Langenbrunner and Colin White, key players to this team's success. Nevertheless, I do not agree with Press about the over/under for Sutter being fired.

"Over/under on when he'll be fired: March 26, 2008, with the Devils having already secured a playoff spot," according to Press.

I believe that Sutter will definitely lead this team to the playoffs this season, especially once Langenbrunner returns from his groin injury. White is still out with blurriness in his right eye due to a deflected puck in training camp and his return is indefinite, maybe around Christmas time.

The Devils are entering a new era, with the state of the art Prudential Center opening in less than two weeks. They are entering Sutter's Era.

Since the NBA Store opened in September 1998, it has only blossomed. The store is a huge visitors attraction in New York City averaging over one million customers per calendar year. Now, the store may face some heated competition from The NHL Store Powered by Reebok is open to business.

While the NBA Store features 35,000 square feet of retail space covering two floors, Reeboks' NHL place caters to a more devoted and cozier atmosphere in the 6,700 square-foot unique centerpiece.

Some former Devils players were in attendance signing autographs including Ken Daneyko and Bruce Driver and even the Stanley Cup itself made an appearance. Many people were excited about the new shopping store, forming a huge line down Sixth Ave as Martin Brodeur was staring at them. Well, not Brodeur literally, but a billboard of him looking over the dozens of hockey shoppers. The store is located on the corner of 47th Street and Avenue of the Americas

The NHL and Reebok have a deal in place for this new store in addition to their deal over the summer regarding the new NHL jerseys.

According to 1010WINS, "The store, which is a joint venture between the NHL and Reebok, gives die-hard fans a place to find everything hockey, from jerseys and skates to t-shirts and hats.
The store had its grand opening, Friday, and lines apparently stretched down the block."

I have to say that this ploy by Gary Bettman is his first step in the right direction. Establishing a store in Manhattan, the capital of the world, is a brilliant move and I hope that it helps the NHL grow again to at least the fourth best sport in the USA. Bettman is also spreading the NHL to other countries in hopes of generating international coverage and global attention. While at first I was vehemently opposed to this logic, I am beginning to understand the NHL is a European, Russian, and Canadian dominated sport. Therefore, it is wise to globalize hockey like they NHL did this year with two games in England. Both were sell outs and popular games in the United Kingdom.

The Devils promotional schedule includes 13 promotional games, including an opening night limited edition print schedule. Then ranging from calendar night to food drive, the Devils will be offering free pucks on Friday Nov.

I will do my best to update you on the Devils organization, from minor leagues through the National Hockey League. The goal is for you, the fan, to know what is going on inside this corporation from soup to nuts.

The New Jersey Devils were not the only team within the organization that had success this weekend.

The Trenton Devils and Lowell Devils, both owned by the New Jersey Devils, were victorious in their respective matches.

The funniest part is that all three teams played tightly contested and hard fought games, resulting in comeback one goal victories.

The Trenton Devils, a member of the ECHL – North America’s Premier “AA” Hockey League, had to come from behind to defeat the Elmira Jackals, 2-1, in front of 2,628 at the First Arena in Elmira, N.Y.

Their come from behind win was decided with 2:12 left in regulation on a "Brad Mills’ power play goal, which proved to be the game-winner.

Mills took advantage of a major boarding penalty assessed to Elmira forward Chaz Johnson.

The Devils Lowell organization situated in Massachusetts scored two goals in the third period of their 3-2 victory over the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

Brian Gionta's younger brother, Stephen, scored the first Lowell goal of the contest while goaltender Frank Doyle earned his first win of the season.

The Lowell Devils come from behind win was their first victory of the season, 1-1, while the Tigers' defeated left them at 2-1.

If anyone is in attendance at NJ Devils, Lowell, or Trenton games and would like to post a blog or share with us photographs, oyour input is important to us. We are always looking for new writers and photographers to make Devilsdaily, the premier Devils blog on the internet.

New Jersey Devils defenseman Colin White's return to the ice is blurry, a month after a self-deflected puck hit his right eye, according to New York Post’s Mark Everson. White has not returned to skating since the unfortunate incident took place on Sept. 19. Thanksgiving is probably out of the question for his return, but Christmas is a more realistic return for White.

White is one of the toughest Devils defensemen, resembling Scott Stevens' stay-at-home style. The Devils defense has definitely not been the same without him or Brian Rafalski in the lineup. Rafalski was a free agent who signed with the Detroit Red Wings after spending his entire career with the Devils organization. White is also home grown and remains with the Devils for several more years before his contract expires.

While White continues to play the wait and see game, hoping that the vision in his right eye heals quicker than expected, head coach Brent Sutter continues to mix and match lines and defensemen hoping to find the ideal pairings.

The Devils continue to struggle defensively and are rumored to be interested in signing Danny Markov, one of the top free agent defensemen still unsigned, also according to Mark Everson from the NY Post.

The New Jersey Devils organization sent out a letter to all season tickets holders inviting them to tour the new state of the art Prudential Center next Sunday Oct. 12-3 p.m.

Here is the official letter regarding the Open House at the Rock for season/partial ticket holders... taken from NJDevs.com, a well known Devils forum.

Dear Ticket Holder:

Everyone is excited to be just days away from the opening of Prudential Center. We would like to invite our ticket holders to take an exclusive sneak peek of our new home.

Join us on Sunday, October 21st at Prudential Center from noon until 3 pm. This is a great opportunity to view your seats, see the building, and to win prizes. The coaching staff and current players will also be on hand.

We encourage you to bring along family, friends, and business associates who might be interested in becoming part of the Devils’ family of ticket holders. They will have the opportunity to take part in a Select-a-Seat program, which allows prospective customers to choose the best available seats.

This is an opportunity that Devils fans will not want to miss. Please register online by clicking this link to allow us to plan adequately...

The Devils are hosting season ticket holders in a very kind gesture on their part.

If you have any questions, please contact a Customer Service Representative at (201) 939-6690.

We look forward to welcoming you to our new home and hope that you share in our enthusiasm as Opening Night quickly approaches.

Sincerely,

NEW JERSEY DEVILS

I am thrilled at this opportunity to tour the Prudential Center. I think that the Devils corporate management staff are doing a great job of presenting the $365 million spectacle. The owner Jeffrey Vanderbeek has been doing a skit inbetween periods on television regarding his emphasis on taking mass transportation to and from the arena. The Devils are doing everything possible to generate fan fare including the several methods of getting to the Rock, as nicknamed after Prudential's corporate logo.

There are less than two weeks remaining before the Devils open the Rock on Saturday Oct. 27 at 7:00p.m. If you cannot wait until then, Bon Jovi is in the house for two nights and then eight more times thereafter.

October 25, 2007 7:30 PM Bon Jovi with My Chemical Romance
October 26, 2007 7:30 PM Bon Jovi with My Chemical Romance

Let's not forget though that the hockey season has started already, the Devils are 2-2 after a huge last minute victory last night courtesy of the Atlanta Thrashers. Patrik Elias may have broken out of his slump with two power play goals, including the game winner with 28 seconds remaining in the third period.

The Devils have five more games left on their record-tying nine game three-week road trip to start the season. Pittsburgh is next, a difficult matchup with 2007 MVP Sydney Crosby.

Yahoo Sports has the recap on tonight’s stressful, yet awesome one-goal victory.

Don’t forget to check out "My live blog cast" in tonight’s contest and several more this season. I will do my best to keep you afloat, up the minute of all Devils news, rumors, transactions, and injury reports.

As always, Fire and Ice’s Tom Gulliti was in attendance for "Another crazy night" between these these two teams. Gulliti is the New Jersey Devils beat writer for the Bergen Record, a North Jersey local paper.

The New Jersey Devils won a wild 6-5 shootout over the winless Thrashers tonight behind the leadership of assistant captain Patrik Elias. It was his first two goals of the season, both power play opportunities that led this team to victory, the latter coming with less than a minute remaining in the game.

Head coach Brent Sutter was feeling ill before Friday’s practice, but rejoined the team in time for the game Saturday night, according to Fire and Ice’s Tom Gulliti.

Elias' first goal, on the power play, gave the Devils a 2-1 lead. Travis Zajac and Zach Parise were credited with assists on Elias’ goal.

Teammate John Madden had opened the scoring less than two minutes into the contest, also on the man advantage. Danius Zubrus and Arron Asham assisted on Madden's third of the season.

The sports cliché “No lead is complete until the final whistle” definitely suited tonight’s goal-happy contest by both teams.

Thrashers Darren Haydar tied the contest 35 seconds after Madden’s tally before Elias closed out the first period with the second and not final Devils power play goal of the night.

In the second period, the Thrashers were much more efficient offensively, scoring three times on goaltender Martin Brodeur, who earned a much-needed first win of the season, after starting 0-3.

Ilya Kovalchuk scored the first of his two goals tonight, merely 22 seconds after stepping foot onto the ice, in the second period. Arron Asham’s late first period hooking penalty resulted in this goal. Garnet Exelby put one by Brodeur seven minutes later on a controversial play. Brodeur was definitely interfered with, but the camera angles could not indicate if it were by a teammate or via an opposing player. Former Devils Bobby Holik scored the final Thrasher goal of the second only a minute after his teammate Exelby’s, taking what would seem like a commanding 4-2 lead going into the third period.

However, Jay Pandolfo had a huge goal with 19.8 seconds remaining in that period, to close the gap 4-3. Defenseman Paul Martin’s shot on goal was deflected away by Thrashers goaltender Keri Lehtonen, before Pandolfo located the loose puck and found the open net. It was a huge goal by the Devils as that goal generated momentum going into the final period.

In the third, the Devils resembled the Thrashers second period efforts, scoring three times and allowing one goal. A bit over three minutes into the third, Travis Zajac’s first of the season tied the game at five a piece. Patrik Elias and Brian Gionta assisted on his first. Nine minutes went by as the Devils had many chances to take the lead. In the meanwhile, they held the Thrashers without a shot for several minutes.

Continuing the Devils run tonight, Sergei Brylin gave the Devils their second lead of the season at 5-4. Zajac and Paul Martin assisted on Brylin’s first of the season, on a scramble in front of the net. Brylin swooped in on the left side and found the net. Kovalchuk would not allow the Devils off the hook just yet. He continued his domination of the Devils, 15 points in 17 prior career games, with another beautiful goal with only three and a half minutes left in regulation. Todd White deserved much credit for his crisp pass across to Kovalchuk, who was able to beat Brodeur with a hard slapshot from the left point.

Patrik Elias made Garnet Exelby pay for his holding penalty with only 1:45 remaining on the clock. The Devils controlled the power play for the majority of the man advantage until Elias’ blast from the point with 28 seconds remaining beat Lehtonen, who only stopped 29 of the 35 shots he faced this evening.

Power plays, scoring chances, and shot selection were keys to tonight’s victory for the Devils. They scored on 3 of 6 man advantages tonight while allowing 1 of 2 on the penalty kill.

The Devils definitely lost the faceoff battle, 36-25, to the Thrashers, but got to lose pucks and found the net a lot more than in the previous three games this season.

They were coming off two losses, a 3-0 shutout by Florida Thursday night after being defeated 4-2 by Ottawa last Monday.

This win for the Devils could be a turning point on the season. The Devils six goals were the most since Feb. 1st at Philadelphia.

Marty’s 1-3 record is his worst since the 2001-2002 season. He had only gone 0-4 once before in his entire career. He knew that he had to get the job done even in games like these where he allowed five goals on only 17 shots. He made a huge save with less than 20 seconds remaining in the game, definitely the save of the game, inches before the puck crossed the threshold. The win gave him 495 for his illustrious career, five away from magic number 500.

Four Devils scored their first goals of the season tonight, including Brylin, Elias, Zajac, and Pandolfo. Elias had been riding a four game goal-less streak before the two goal effort tonight. The Devils are in need of a performance like Elias’ tonight to win the competitive division or just make a playoff spot this season. He finished with two goals, including the game-winner, and one assist in a three-point effort.

The Devils have three days off before flying out to Pittsburgh for a Wednesday night showdown with 2006-2007 MVP Sydney Crosby and former Devil Petr Sykora. The game time is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on FSNY.

First Period

18:14 John Madden scores for the New Jersey Devils, an all-important 1-0 lead thanks to Danius Zubrus and Arron Asham's crisp passing.

17:39 The Devils hold a lead for all of 35 seconds... as Darren Hydar scores his first NHL goal and ties the game at one apiece.

11:25 Devils are on the power play... look to take the 2-1 lead... Parise's pp shot went wide... keeps puck in Thrasher zone...

9:15 Play stopped, Devils are looking good tonight against a Thrasher team looking for its first win of the season (0-5)

7:45 Devils lead in shots 11-4 and seem to be controlling the tempo in tonight's contest, which is important for a team that looked lackadaisical in the previous two contests

5:45 Not much going on...Devils ice the puck, television time out... Elias continues his goal-less streak... what else is new.

5:19 Can the Devils win a faceoff? They are losing faceoffs 12-3 right now...

4:30 There are 12 other NHL games going on tonight... busy night after crazy day of college football including several top ten upsets

4:20 Devils and Thrashers go for a change line, maybe the Devs can pick up another goal before the period ends

1:55 Finally, Patrik Elias scores his first of the season on the man advantage... it's about time... of course he has to wait for the review just in case the NHL overturns the call which went off his stick and then off his shin pad... ok its official now

1:05 Devils go on the penalty kill as Arron Asham goes off for hooking... the team is playing well tonight, two power play goals, 1 for 1 on pk...

0.0 Devils clear the puck as they lead after the first 20 minutes of play, 2-1.

Shots on goal were 12-4 favoring the Devils who looked much better than their 1-3 record.

Patrik Elias- first intermission interview... "I think it doesn't matter who is gonna be on the ice," Elias said. He also said that he is happy to have scored his first of the season no matter if it goes in off his shin pads.

The Rangers and Senators are also in action tonight, tied at zero after the first period. Florida is surprising its rival state foes, Tampa Bay 3-0 currently in the first intermission.

Yahoo Sports has the scoreboard for all NHL games tonight.

19:38 Second period starts with Hotlanta on the power play... Ilya Kovalchuk ties the game on a bad angle shot, short side right under goaltender Martin Brodeur's glove... cmon Marty, you can definitely make that save.

18:32 Devils earn another power play chance... let's make it 3-4 tonight on the man ad. which is a double minor since Asham is bleeding... huge opportunity here for NJ.

15:50 Devils cannot get a solid shot on goal as three of the four minutes from the PP evaporate... five seconds to go on the double minor but the Devils cannot score on this power play opportunity... can't win them all I suppose.

Jesus, head coach Brent Sutter cannot be held accountable for the Devils being down 4-2 right now... as Kovalchuk, Garnet Exelby, and Bobby Holik score to take the advantage... cannot fault Brodeur for two of the goals as he was interfered with on the Exelby tally and on Holik's, his own teammate collided with him... what the fuck is going on with this team? They are losing to the Thrashers after losing to the lowly Panthers on Th. night.

5:00 Play is stopped as the Devils are down by two goals...

Inlouwestrust says that the Devils are “likely to win” tonight, but cannot guarantee or predict a victory. I do not blame him for not supporting the Devils right now and really thinking that they can win night in and night out. They are performing poorly and need to light a fire either on the ice or in the locker room. Head coach Brent Sutter is definitely known for his leadership off the ice, so maybe he should name an interim captain before Jamie Langenbrunner returns from the groin injury. The Devils need to gain some confidence and it's not coming from the locker room.

3:15 If the Devils go into the third period down two goals, I just do not see them coming back... Sorry boys... many people think they can finish this nine game road trip with at least nine points... right now, it does not look promising...

2:00 Right now I am just shaking my head, trying to understand why the Devils are having so many scoring problems...

18.9 Huge goal, I mean huge... Paul Martin brings the puck into the offensive zone, drills the puck on net, Jay Pandolfo is awaiting the rebound and finds the net with less than 20 seconds remaining in the second period... maybe the Devils will use this goal as motivation going into the break.

The Senators scored three goals in 52 seconds and lead the Rangers 3-0 after two periods. Flyers are up 2-0 on the Islanders after two. Buffalo's is commanding Washington 4-1 ... even though they lost three star players during the off-season

Stats after two periods in Atlanta, GA...

Shots
Devils 22 Atlanta 14

Faceoffs
Devils 13 Atlanta 24

Power Play
Devils 2 for 4 Atlanta 1 for 1

Even though the Devils had many chances to score tonight, they remain down 4-3 after two periods. Martin Brodeur has not looked like a hall of famer this season in three starts. Old age may be catching up to him. Who knows?

Third Period
18:30 Devils look to even up the score, lets go Devs!

16:56
Goal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Travis Zajac with the backhand, ties the game at four apiece... sexy shot around four of the Thrasher players... Elias, Pandolfo, and Zajac have scored their first of the season tonight... Thrashers were definitely the right opponent for a high scoring performance.

Devils go on the power play at 15:17
Thrashers kill off yet another important penalty kill but are being pushed around in the third.

8:52 Devils are now on the penalty kill
No goals please, no goals, thanks....

8:00 Huge kill...

Goal by Brylin- I love you!!!!!!!!!!!

7:49 Brylin got credit for the goal, as one of the Thrashers mistakenly pushed the puck in the Devils direction in a scramble in front of the net.

7:10 Brylin, Elias, Zajac, and Madden each have a goal and an assist tonight... about freaken time.

3:31 Ilya Kovalchuk ties the game at 5-5 on a nice one-timer from Todd White. Cmon Devils.

0:24 Patrik Elias' power play goal regains the Devils lead at 6-5. This game is insane as the Thrashers dominated the second period, but the Devils ruled the last nineteen plus minutes.

Thrashers call timeout, six men on the ice for them as their goalie is pulled.

Devils pull this one out. Damn, it was the craziest game I have seen since last season's road overtime victory over Philadelphia when the Devils had to force overtime with a huge goal under a minute remaining in that contest.

Big win, let me repeat, big win for the Devils. Maybe a big early confidence booster. Pittsburgh is next on the nine game road trip. At least they are now 2-3 and have several days off before their next contest at Pittsburgh.

For more on the New Jersey Devils' third loss of the season, Yahoo Sports has the recap as always.

Dude Joel has the wrap up tonight. Terrible loss.