failure to launch...

13 minutes into the first period, Duluth takes two penalties within :16, Yale has 4-4 and then 5-3 manpower advantage, and then after a broken stick, a virtual 5 on 2 advantage for half a minute. Dice came up snake-eyes. No stats available for inability to convert 5 on 2's but it cant be good for the impotent. "It's like Union (0 for 9 PP vs UMD Friday) all over again," said veteran journalist Adam Wodon. On a subsequent Yale PP, Duluth winger Mike Connelly converts a shorthanded 2 on 1 with surgical precision, and the first goal has been scored. Yale should decline their next penalty. Duluth PK in Bridgeport is 12 for 12 with a shorty so far. Respect for ECAC power plays can't be too high.
"The difference between Yale and a WCHA power like North Dakota is that UND would have buried it by now," said Wodon. Yale got their best chance of the period on their on shorthanded chance. Refs appear a little whistle happy with half a dozen minors called in period. 1-0 Duluth Bulldogs after first, with :55 PP seconds on fresh ice to start the second if they need it. Yale skated with more jazz and pizzazz in first than all of the Air Force game. Will their legs hold? stay tuned...WCHA in charge of this regional until someone scores on Duluth junior goalie Kenny Reiter. 4 shutout periods and counting...

Elis take the ice

In what could be an historic night, Bulldogs (Yale that is) take the ice for warmups of the NCAA Eastern Regional final in bridgeport. One step away..

Survive and Advance

YALE'S CHAD ZIEGLER SAVES THE ELI PUCK DREAMS...FOR THE MOMENT

Bridgeport, CT It was a game that Yale, currently in the 5th year of coach Keith Allain's success arc, simply could not lose as the top seed in the NCAA tournament against the lowest. Yale's program has been one of relentless progression under Allain, a Worcester, MA native. This strong-willled, no-nonsense coach has led his Elis to the NCAA 1st round in 2009, a regional final in 2010, and is currently boring in on the thin air of the Frozen Four. Yale enters the 2011 tournament as the #1 ranked team in the country, hosting a regional final 20 minutes from its New Haven campus.

The reality on the ice Friday night, however, did not fit the script. Under the supremely successful tactics of head coach Frank Serratore, the Air Force Falcons had survived Yale's early onslaught, tied the game, and were looking for the kill shot in the third period. Yale appeared spent, struggled to complete passes, and the ice was tilted toward their goal. Whatever energy Yale had left was spent driving pucks around their end boards in desperate attempts to clear the zone. For a team that averaged over 36 shots a game for the season, they managed a mere 5 in the third period against Air Force. Two years earlier Serratore's Falcons had scalped the Michigan Wolverines in an NCAA regional in this same building, and there was no doubt in his mind that he had the Yale Bulldogs just where he wanted them.

"We played rope-a-dope in the first two periods," said the vociferous Serratore in post-game press conference that became a torrent of sports cliches. "It was Katie bar the door, then the worm started to turn. Their legs were gone."

Regardless of his collection of mixed metaphors, Serratore was dead on. In three minutes of overtime, Air Force poured 5 shots Bulldog Goalie Ryan Rondeau, who repeatedly saved Yale's season. The ice around the Air Force goal was pristine, essentially untouched. It appeared that the Allain express, the Yale juggernaut that had shut out nationally ranked Cornell 6-0 in the ECAC Championship 6 days earlier, was about to be derailed.

But the Elis finally got the puck into the Air Force end, a defenseman mishandled it into a turnover, which led to a shot and a precious rebound. An unlikely hero in the form of Bulldogs junior winger Chad Ziegler extended all of his 6'2" frame, diving parallel to the ice to jab in the game-winning goal (see photo above). It was only his 8th goal of the year (three of them game-winners) for the Alberta native. It led to a delirious celebration that can only come from college kids who have stared down mortality.

"There ain't a more relieved guy in this building than Keith Allain," spouted Serratore in his closing comments. Then it was over: his press conference; his season; the career of his marvelous captain Jacques Lamoreaux. He marched out of the media zone, proud but eliminated.

Allain's turn in the presser came shortly thereafter, and he needed to re-frame the story. Prior to his spin it was a simple case of surviving thanks to a lucky bounce. His opening statement was certainly genuine. "We're pleased to be moving on and not have to play them again this year." No doubt. In their two games versus the Zoomies this season Yale suffered a loss and an overtime struggle against crew cut warriors that had worn his club down to sawdust in the slushy post-season ice. Allain's relief was palpable. He then went into damage control against the notion that his kids were drained and weren't in as good shape as their opponents from the armed service.

"I think we're pretty fit. We've got what I think is the best strength coach in the country in Joe Maher...we have a bunch of players who are willing to pay a price to do what they need to be fit; our guys have been literally been working towards this since last May, off the ice, on their own with a program, so I wasn't worried about our fitness level in any way, shape or form." End of story.

His players picked up on those proud words. "I think our energy was pretty good," said Jimmy Martin. "It took everything we had to come out and win, but speaking for myself I felt pretty good, the energy in the room was pretty good." Perceptions replaced reality, but survival was all that mattered.

Yale now has to park this last experience, using whatever spin they choose, and move on. Another diabolical defensive power, the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs of the WCHA, await. They are three hours fresher than Yale, having dismissed the Union College Dutchmen of the ECAC in the matinee. Duluth faced nowhere near the resistance that Air Force threw at Yale.

The WCHA, stocked with national powers like Minnesota, Wisconsin, Denver and North Dakota, often sneers at the ECAC and their claims of a legitimate national contender. Should Yale fall to the OTHER Bulldogs, their remarkable season that includes a 6-week stay atop of the national polls, will be dismissed. If the Allain legend is to continue its annual growth, and the Yale Bulldogs are to gain true national gravitas, they have no choice this evening but to survive and advance.

Paper Tiger in the home of the Sound Tigers?

An ECAC Team as the top seed in the NCAA Div I hockey tourney? Ivy League no less. the Yale University skating Bulldogs. As number one seed in the East regional they play Air Force, second place finishers from a conference no one has heard of (Atlantic hockey). Should be automatic, right? they played a scoreless 1st period, with Yale carrying most of the play, but Air Force with the greater number of "Grade A" chances (3-2). Air Force beat them head to head in November, and posted a win in this same Bridgeport building 2 years ago against a dominant Michigan team. So...this has become a pick 'em game. #1 vs #20. Go figure. Yale has some serious work to do if they are to get to their historic first Frozen Four.

pee-wee hockey story...sticking together

The Kinnelon Colts capped their first season of pee-wee A travel hockey with a Championship trophy at the Shamrock Shootout tournament at the Protec Ponds in Somerset New Jersey. It was the culmination of an experiment in which a Rec-League team decided to test their mettle against the best A-league teams in the State for a full season, and they ended up with some precious metal themselves.

After years of dominating the Morris County house league at Mennen rink in Morristown, the Kinnelon Colts pee-wee program decided to take a bold step forward and join the prestigious NJYHL travel circuit, in the A-League no less. It was a show of faith that their venerable coach Nick Gakos would have them prepared so as not to embarrass the club, the parents or the kids.

Not everyone believed, 4 hockey go-getters abandoned the Colts program for greener pastures, playing for coach Meg Hishmeh's Skyland Kings travel program in the NJYHL. But there was a core group, including a special goalie (Jack McConeghy), a pair of twins that are the 21st century's answer to Tom and Huck (Patrick and Sean Grant), a kid who looks like a catelogue model and skates like young Larry Robinson (Michael Harrison), the coach's son (Steven Gakos), who has a none of the old man's bluster, but possesses that intangible hockey magic in his hands and feet, and a roly-poly defenseman (Evan Prestera) that might be the best athlete of them all.

From the opening face-off in September, the Colts earned more than respect: consecutive 3-goal third period comebacks sparked a lengthy undefeated streak, leaving bruised bodies and egos in their wake. The Colts were flirting with first place in the NJYHL southern division in November. They had quickly become the curiosity of travel-team hockey, and the club no one wanted to play. Too much to lose.

They entered a couple of tournaments, posed threats in both, but the hockey Gods did not smile on these renegades, and there was no hardware to show for their efforts. Coach Gakos lived up to his end of the bargain: the Colts played hard and clean and were always prepared. But they hit a wall, blowing a two-goal third period lead to the first place Penguins and a heartbreaker to the Junior Flyers in Voorhees. It cost them a shot at the playoffs, but the Colts simply would not quit. Twice they beat the Bridgewater Bears, the team with the most wins in their Division. Steven Gakos, having missed the entire previous season due to medical complications, literally carried his club in the last game against Bridgewater, scoring 3 magnificent goals against the Bears in a 4-2 shocker. The Bears fans left Twin Oaks Arena in disbelief, shut down by Gakos and Company, but it would be Bridgewater team entering the NJYHL playoffs, not Kinnelon. The Colts finished an impressive 9-5-2 in the southern division, 3 points out of a coveted playoff spot. They would have to find consolation in the Rec League.

The Colts did the expected, winning both the regular season and playoff Mennen Cup trophies without sustaining a scratch, but they wanted more. Although most of the parents thought the advent of March signaled the end of hockey, it was important for the Colts to have something tangible for their trophy case, something to symbolize their breakthrough year in the NJYHL. So they entered the Shamrock Shootout in Somerset, one of four NJYHL A teams. One trophy at stake, one set of medals.

With a twist of irony, the hockey gods pitted the Colts against the undefeated Skylands Kings for not one but two consecutive games on Sunday. The winner of the second game would leave with a trophy, the loser, nada. It was a matchup oozing with intrigue and past relationships. 4 of the Kings players grew up with and attended school with the Kinnelon core before "jumping ship" 2 seasons ago. Experts figured Coach Hishmeh's Kings as favorites for the hardware, the club with all that experience in travel team wars. But they were facing a foe that was extremely familiar to them, a Kinnelon team playing with a bit of a chip on its shoulder forged by being abandoned two seasons ago.

Game 1 saw the Colts jump out to a 3-0 lead, and then withstand a furious Kings comeback when they scored twice in a minute to close to 3-2 with 6 minutes remaining. Gakos signalled for a timeout, the Colts regained their composure, and All-Tournament center Steven Gakos slalomed through the offensive zone and buried a wrist shot, relegating the Kings goalie a mere bystander. Kinnelon's 4-2 win gave them top seeding and the status as home team for the Sunday evening Championship game.

The finale was tense affair that saw three different lead changes, including a rush and finish by Mountain Lakes resident John Rosseland that had scouts drooling over his combination of size, force and finesse. But nothing was settled in regulation that ended 3-3, and no goals were scored in a dramatic 5-minute overtime, a session in which the Colts were tantalizingly close. This game would be settled by a shootout, a format that had not been kind to the Colts a day before. Skylands went first and scored impressively. Fear, crept in--was it possible that this last attempt at legitimate hardware was slipping away? Coach Gakos turned the team's fortunes over to Danny Kramer, a newcomer who looked like a choirboy, but had deadly aim in shootouts. He blistered a wrist shot off the iron and in, and the Colts dream burned on.

Given a second chance, Kinnelon goalie Jack McConeghy's will took over, stoning the next two Skylands shooters. Steven Gakos misfired in a situation where he admitted to immense pressure, so it came down to another Mountain Lakes product, Kinnelon rookie Thomas Rappleye. He would be the third and potentially final shooter in this contest. He swerved 25 feet to his left before bearing in on the Kings goal, head up, the game on his stick. He squeezed off a quick wrester heading toward the glove side, but it connected with leather. Much of the crowd thought the game was still on, but there was little number 74 on a mad dash towards McConeghy, sprinting into a championship hug. "I was scared because it bounced off his glove," said Rappleye in the post game delirium. "But I saw it in the net and I was pumped." This was no rec-league award, this was hard-earned NJYHL hardware. The two-foot trophy was accidentally handed to the Skylands Kings, so a former Kinnelon player wearing a Kings uniform had to hand it over top the rightful victors, with a good deal of humility. The first-year travel club Kinnelon Colts had beaten the Kings, an 11-win team from NJYHL's all-powerful northern division, not once, but twice in a single day. No explanations were necessary, this club had arrived.

The team had their trophy, the kids all had medals hanging around their necks, and the Colts didn't need to justify to anybody who they were. Next year this group, led by Huck and Tom and the coach's kid and all the other "locals" who decided to stick together, will move up to bantams and seek more medals and more metal, paying tribute to time-tested values like loyalty and sticking together. In a culture where players in a team sport have become mercenaries constantly looking to better their individual needs, a neighborhood band of Colts stuck together and claimed a trophy. Maybe there will be more like Rappleye and Rosseland and Kramer who will gravitate toward this band of brothers.

St. Patrick a day late in Newark

One team is a league super power: steeled by adversity, the Washington Capitals are now riding the NHL's best talent to within 2 points of the top of the Eastern conference. They have the best player who appears to be on a mission, they just fell of an 8 game win streak, narrowly losing to Detroit on the second of back-to-back games. They arrived in the New York area yesterday and are rested and ready to embark on their mission to the capture the top seed in the east. Wise money says they will accomplish that with ease.

Their opponent tonight? The New Jersey Devils, a team that just cam off a disheartening loss to last place Ottawa last night, and traveled home in the dead hours, clearing customs after midnight. A look at the standings reveals a team that has fallen to 12th place with a dozen to play. Losing saps more energy than the back-to-back games. Logic says this should be a cakewalk for the Ovechkin and the Capitals. Logic be damned.

Even though the calendar says March 18, the Devils and their "Army" will be in full celebration of St. Patrick's Day. The skaters, and many of their fans, will be clad in their throwback uniforms prior to 1982, which possess plenty of green. The last two years the Devils have won emotional victories at home on St. Patrick's Day, brimming with energy they blew out a great Penguins team last year, first star PAtrik Elias ignited the crowd sporting a kelly green bowler when he acknowledged first star honors. The Prudential will be a howling mad house tonight.

The Devils embark on a brutal 4 game road trip, and who knows what kind of shape they will be in when they return. But tonight, on surrogate St. Patrick's Friday, the joint will be jumpin at the sold out Rock. This will be the Devils Stanley Cup final. Look for the Devils to keep the dream alive with a dramatic energetic win.

Bring your passport; treated like foreigners in Ottawa

Sign on Devils Whiteboard after Tuesday's game: "On Ice 2 PM. Bring your Passport." A lot of hockey people think if you take of all the details in the room, your create an atmosphere conducive for success. The Devils would be crossing an international border shortly after the Wednesday practice, and they needed those passports if they were to enter Ottawa. A packed back would be nice, a passport would be necessary. Critical details, nothing extraneous.

Devils trailing late in the second period, but throwing a lot of rubber at Curtis McIlhenney. MSG TV provides closeups of Elias grimacing and cursing on the bench. The Devils frustration grows in equal proportion to the confidence of McIlhenney. Rival Toronto is down 3 goals to Florida, creating a perfect scenario for the Devils to leapfrog them in the standings to 10th, alive and well. If they lose it appears likely the will fall to 12th, in dire straits. McIlhenney must be solved. The second period is now over, an excellent one for Jersey with 10 shots on goal, but none in the net. Someone must make a play, a heroic clutch play in third period, or the Devils will return to .500 and a rested Capitals team laying in wait in Newark.

The last thing they need is more pressure, but everyone associated with the club must feel it. In 20 minutes of hockey there are bound to be a half-dozen grade A chances, where a player gets a swipe at a puck in scoring range with only the goalie to beat. Someone must be calm enough to deliver, or the Devils will be in danger of nosediving at the absolute worst time of the year. With so many other teams in the mix, a step backward could be fatal. I'm thinking defenseman Anssi Salmela.

20 seconds into the third period the Senators defense collapses, the Devils get two grade A chances and 4 shots. Senators convert on a strange bounce seconds late. My guy Salmela inadvertantly knocks the puck into his own net. Video review does not help the Devils, and McIlhenney has a 2 goal cushion. The Devils score but it is waived off because of Adam Mair interfered with Curtis Mac. Replays show the officials made impeccable calls in both cases. All this action taking place in the first 2 minutes of the period.

I don't see a lot of energy out of Kovalchuk. It is unlikely that individual efforts will be successful on this night. Tedenby fires away with 2 shots in close, penalty is called. Devils get power play and convert with a super slapshot from Brian Roslton. David Clarkson creates a superb jumping screen. The game has transformed into a scrambly affair chock full scoring chances and coach's agida. TV commentator Chico Resch calls it "bubbling."

Devils called for goalie interference, critical PK for the Devils game, season. A crappy call. They are on the road. Devils SH rush lkeads to a fallen player, no makeup call. Colin White blocks a shot with a gaping net behind him. Took it bravely in the hand. Penalty is killed, 6:40 to play. 2-1 Sens. Kovalchuk breakaway...stoned. It is not his night. Is there a hero? Icing takes it back to Devils end with 5 and change left.

Lines have been changed up with high-energy Tedenby getting more than his share of ice. Ottawa trapping look like Devils at their trapping best, quicksand in neutral ice. Brodeur makes 4-bell save on Svatos. Tedenby hauled down on subsequent chance, no call. He has been reunited with Josefson. Another Broduer tricky stop. Faceoff in Jersey end 1:50 left. .. attackers at the 1:20 mark. Salmela takes a slapper into a shin pad, Sens collect and Chris Neil scores the empty netter. Devils in 12th place after 3-1 loss to pesky Sens. My guy Salmela is wearing the horns, doing exactly what coach Lemaire described in a post-game complaint 3 games ago even though scored the OT winner that night. Lemaire knows of what he speaks.

The Great 8 and his Capitals rest and watch in Newark, then a road trip that might end the dream: Columbus, Boston, Pittsburgh and then Boston again. .500 will be difficult, and .550 won't be enough. This was their game to win. Are the Devils good enough? Doubts arise...

Third line asset from Tre Kronor

Happy times for Mattias Tedenby, A.K.A. Ted

They are not the "Chicken Swedes" of Don Cherry's yesteryear.

Yes, Mattias Tedenby (5'10, 175 lbs) and Jacob Josefson (6'1" 190) are small, fast and offensively gifted, but they don't shy away from contact. They are trustworthy in their own end, and they are tough. And they might be the most important ingredient in the Devils improbable (impossible?) push to the Stanley Cup playoffs.

When asked, Jacques Lemaire is cool on the Swedes, putting no pressure on them. "The kids will do their share, they have come up with goals on different nights, chip in, but everyone has to."

With playoff hope on the line the last two games, the kids, Tedenby and Josefson, have combined for 6 points (2 goals and 4 assists) on a team that barely manages two goals per game. They are providing vital 3rd line scoring on a team that begs for second line production. And the kids are safe. In a season in which the Devils have been outscored by 26 goals, these two Swedes are both +2. "They are responsible in their own end," says Marty Brodeur, and that says a lot. 3rd line defenders, and clutch scorers. Couldn't come a better time with the Devils in 11th place in the Eastern conference playoff traffic jam.

Tedenby at 21 is the veteran of the two. He's got all of 45 games under his belt entering Thursday's clash with Ottawa, Josefson 15. Tedenby is missing front teeth and has the facial scars of an NHL veteran, Josefson still sports a baby-face, for now. But despite their contrasting looks, they are beginning to think and act as one. With the game tied Tuesday night against the Thrashers in the third period, the two went to work cycling down low. Tedenby jumped on a loose puck.
"My mind was, when I went down to the corner quick, do a quick turn to look. And I saw Jacob, he was open there."

Jacob was between the face-off dot and the top of the circle, about 18' out. Tedenby had more than one option, but Josefson was ready to shoot when the pass arrived. "I saw that he saw me. Tedy made a great pass." Josefson released it instantly and Thrashers goalie Ondrej Pavelec never moved. Add a GWG to Josefson's resume. "It's
fun to score goals, it's a great feeling."

It's no accident that the two Swedes are on the same wavelength, even though they grew up over 4 hours away from each other, Jacobson in Stockholm and Tedenby in Vetlanda . They both played in the prestigious Sweden national program, playing on national Under 18 teams and the World Juniors. They won World Junior silver and bronze together in 2009 and 2010, and according to Joesfson, got to know each other's tendencies. "Sometimes we played on the same line together." Josefson was with Team Sweden's World Junior team in Lake Placid this past July, a team that gained notoriety for it's feisty aggressive play. "They were chippy and obnoxious," said one journalist after watching them play team USA in an exhibition. "Hitting late, taunting. It was kind of a role reversal with the North Americans, who were kind of gentlemanly." This is no accident. The Swedish national program is gearing up their young players for the rigors of North American hockey. They are building new "hybrid" rinks (about 192' wide) that are narrower than Europe but wider than North America. This progressive Swedish program has served these two well in preparation for the NHL. And yes, they're young, but not all that small--Tedenby plays bigger than his 5'10", and Josefson is 6'1".

When Josefson returned from a broken hand that cost him 30 games, he and "Ted" were originally matched with young Russian Vladimir Zharkov. It was only after David Clarkson replaced Zharkov in the March 12 Islander game that their offense exploded. "They're both really good skaters," said Josefson of Clarkson and Tedenby. "Quick feet, we keep the puck."

Clarkson, a new father, is delighted to be playing with a couple of babies. Did he consider missing a shift after getting his face gouged by Al Montoya's butt end last Saturday? "No way!" His primary contribution? "Speed is what I'm bringing to this line."

Getting Josefson back from his knee injury in early March is the equivalent of a major deadline deal for the Devils, except there is no time penalty as the acquired player tries to mesh with new teammates. Josefson complements Tedenby perfectly having learned each others tendencies years ago while their hockey brains were still developing. They are premier NHL talent, both blue chip first round draft choices and products of Sweden's elite national team. Think of them as the Devils answer to the Sedin twins, maybe a notch below their offensive wizardry, but honest two-way players with little defensive risk and a huge upside.

"The young players are quick, fast and grind in the corners," says Brodeur. Swedish smurfs who grind in corners. Welcome to the new NHL. They are honest players who spend large chunks of their shift wearing down the defense with relentless cycling and puck chasing in the offensive zone, coupled with the fact that they have European skills and skating, AND an innate sense of what the other one is thinking. For a third line, what's not to like?

"I like this little line," said Lemaire soberly. "If they take care of their defensive responsibilities, I'll keep them together." For a veteran coach in the playoff chase of his life, those words are euphoric.

A Devilish Spirit

Baby Faced Assassin Jacob Josefson turned 20 this month

Two competing beat reporters looking out for each other during a deadline crunch; a 9-figure superstar sharing his time and autographs with get-a-lifers on a cold street corner; An aging franchise goalie refusing to complain after his teammates hung him out to dry repeatedly in a must win game. There is a vibe, a selfless spirit of sorts, permeating in, around and through this hockey club. A spirit that manifests itself in good will, and more importantly to the cold bottom line-driven western world we live in, clicks in the win column and spaces jumped in the standings.

Although tied with two other clubs, due to tiebreaks the Devils are alone in 10th place after Tuesday night's stirring, dramatic and at times heart-stopping 4-2 victory over the Atlanta Thrashers. These two teams have played twice in 5 nights, a home and home crossroads series of sorts, and the Devils have leapfrogged the Thrashers in the standings. Pretenders and contenders. The former last place Devils are contenders, the former first place Thrashers are pretenders. In the words of Buffalo Springfield, "There's something happening here, what it is aint exactly clear..." More evidence of spirits at work: 16,000 fans came to a dangerous urban slum and paid top dollar to watch a .500 hockey team on a Tuesday night. That miraculous fact is just business as usual for a franchise that has been resurrected.

And it's not hard to find the precise moment in time when the switch was turned and they went from worst to best--Friday, January 7, 2011. They jettisoned their captain. "A classic case of addition by subtraction," said Devils radio commentator Sherry Ross on the trading of the often pouty Jamie Langenbrunner. "He had been approached for a trade earlier in the year but said no. (Langenbrunner had a "no-trade" clause in his contract.) But when Jacques got hired, that clinched it." Trading a two-time Olympian, the captain not only of the Devils but of Team USA's proud 2010 silver medalists from Vancouver changed everything. They have been 18 games over .500 since, moving from bottom of the heap to playoff contender. Getting rid of a top-six forward in return for no player. Addition by subtraction, a world turned upside down.

Two sets of stories emerge from Newark on this night...on-ice magic and off ice magic. From the ice...20 and 21 year old Swedish linemates, guys who had combined for two medals at the prestigious World Junior Championship in recent years, are pumping life into the Devils offense. Jacob Josefson and Mattias Tedenby combined for the winning goal after the Devils trailed by 2. An apparent tying goal beat Marty Brodeur in the final minute, a complete and utter buzz kill for the whole building, until it was waived off because of a high stick. Solid citizen Travis Zajac becomes the franchise leader in consecutive games played, and he scores a killer goal at the end of the first period, without which most experts think they lose the game. With an open net staring at him in the closing seconds, he handed off the puck to Ilya Kovalchuk who had been pressing for a goal all night. Kovy connected and got his wish. Soft-spoken and selfless after the game, Zajac embodies the Devils E Pluribus Unum--"out of many, one." The younger of the two Swedes, Jacob Josefson, who still has a baby face, scored his second goal in as many nights on a perfect feed from his 21 year old countryman. "I knew that he knew I was open," said Josefson. Those 8 words perfectly define offensive hockey magic. Knowledge and trust of your linemate translates to success in the incredibly tight checking NHL. The sum greater than the individual parts. "These guys know each other a lot," said Brodeur. "The chemistry has been good." A brilliant give and go between former Devils Cup champions Patrik Elias and Brian Rolston, where the shooter and the playmaker reversed roles, tied the game in the second period and ignited the crowd. Hockey magic, an NHL goal made to look easy when it's one of the hardest things in all of pro sports.

Now the off the ice stuff. Devils P.R. professionals kindly notified the post-game media horde that Brodeur was going to be late for his sound bites, and then asked if they wanted to hear from Jacques Lemaire in the press room. Bergen Record beat reporter Tom Gulitti noticed that New York Post writer Mark Everson, his competition, was still interviewing Travis Zajac, and asked the P.R. staff to hold off on Lemaire because Everson was still working the locker room. To my knowledge, that's NEVER been done before. But it's business as usual in Newark. Eventually the Lemaire show went on without Everson, and another accredited journalist offered his recording of the Lemaire press conference to Everson. Kindness begets kindness, even among hard-boiled journalists.

Lemaire was informed by MSG news hound Anthony Fucilli that 5 of their next 6 games are on the road. Thanks Fooch. Brodeur asked Gulitti about out of town scores, thanks Tom. And after all the media had been satisfied, the players drove their expensive cars out of their restricted lot into the cold night. Fans on the street eager for autographs are herded into a pen where they hope to catch a glimpse and maybe an autograph. A large man in a white SUV the size of a small tank with Florida plates pulled over and opened his window. The man with the $100 million dollar contract stopped the car, and signed and signed and signed. The last fan, wearing a Devils windbreaker, hand Kovalchuk a puck, it was all he had. The big Russian had the perfect silver sharpie and gave him a signature for the ages. He politely pulled off into Newark traffic, followed by his agent Jay Grossman in his black Mercedes. Neither was the slightest bit impatient.

The Prudential Center Elevator operators have a lot of potential income riding on whether or not the Devils make the playoffs. "Oh, I'm ready for a miracle!" said Tuesday's operator. He smiled and pushed the button to open the doors. "I'm ready."

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"Faux .500," a full analysis

With two days between Devils games, there is now time to digest their true winning perecentage, and why the term "Faux .500." What is .500 in the post lockout NHL? Fans and scribes are accustomed to looking at the numbers: 32 wins, 32 losses, and a number that follows, in the Devils case, 2. It sure looks like .500. 66 points accumulated out of a possible 132. Sure feels like .500 But the number 2 represents either an Overtime or shootout loss. Some might have a hard time granting a point to a team that loses, but acquiring a point after a tie in regulation does not offend the purists familiar with the game prior to the 1983 and the advent of Overtime. Hard to argue with a century of precedence, a point for a tie in regulation passes the smell test.

But something isn't right, awarding the same amount of points to a team for a hard fought win in regulation, as opposed to the team who coasts in the final minutes and then steals a "win" in a shootout. It is not equitable, by anyone's definition, especially when the losing team gets a point. Hence the imbalance of the "three-point games," which is under considerable scrutiny, or at least should be, with two high-stakes pennant races screaming down to the wire as you read this. I'll provide a solution to the current 2 and 3 point game disparity, but first let's debunk after the Devils record and their flirtation with .500.

Old School:
Yes, a point for a tie in regulation is legitimate. So let's maintain that old-school formula and examine those wins scored AFTER being tied in regulation. All those points acquired after the tie are in question. The Devils have acquired 10 points after tying in regulation, 7 OT winners, 3 by shootout. In the ancient but equitable old school formula we would discount all the points acquired after regulation, and the Devils record then becomes 22-32-14, still 10 games under .500, a winning percentage of .426. Wow, those stop-the-presses headlines and player quotes about making history aren't so relevant. However, this is not the old NHL, and on 7 occasions the Devils lit the lamp on real hockey plays (albeit 4 on 4) to gain seemingly legitimate victories. The insane celebrations in Atlanta on Friday and Newark on Saturday bore no resemblance to a tie; this reality is duly noted and logged.

No shootouts, OT's winner take all.
For sake of argument, let's call OT wins real victories, but award no point for an OT loss, and give a point to each team a point that reached the shootout. If we call those games ties, which is a legitimate argument, the Devils are 29-35-4, a semblance of legitimacy with a .456 winning percentage, but not a cause for delirium. Under this scenario, there are no 3 point games, but no shootouts to entertain the fans.

Now, the equitable 3-point solution (NHL, take note)
3 points for a regulation win, 2 points for a win in the extra session (keep the Shootout to keep the fans happy), 1 point for a loss in the extra session, 0 points for a loss in regulation. Even Steven. Every game is a 3 point game. Winning in regulation is a greater accomplishment than winning in a modified post-game. Two contenders will actually take chances in the closing minutes of a tie game, a reward for their risk. The only downside is the historical aspect, the inability to compare point totals from dynastic teams from different eras, but the current point totals are inflated anyway. Standings without secrets. 4 categories, a designated point total for each.

The Devils winning percentage under this equitable 4-category system: 22 regulation wins (66 pts); 10 extra-session wins (20 pts) 4 extra-sesson losses (4 pts) and 32 regulation losses. 90 points out of a possible 204. The calculator says: .441

So we now have 4 ways to assess the 2010-2011 Devils season statistically:

Current inflated system: .500

Old School (no points after regulation) .426

Shootouts as ties, no points for OT losses: .456

Equitable 3-points per game system: .441

This blog has no qualms with the .441 or .456. Adjusting the entire league standings will be a chore for the Elias Sports Bureau if they want the exercise, but the bottom line is that Devils are not a .500 team. More like .450. They have 10 extra-session wins, and 4 extra session losses, so they are a little higher in the standings than they deserve to be, yet, they are competing in the same circumstances as everyone else. Over the past month 6 of their games have gone into extra sessions, they have prevailed in all 6. Statistics be damned, this club performs in the clutch, and if they continue to do so, they will get their showdown with the NY Rangers on April 9. And that will be historic, no matter how you add the numbers.

charming Uncle Jacques

The press horde had just sucked the bones dry in the dressing room and were trampling into the press room for the last course, a session with the "old perfessor," Jacques Lemaire, to borrow a nickname from the late great Casey Stengel. As men, women and students did their deadline shuffle, an elder man was off to the side near the entrance, working his cel phone like a number of working stiffs (term of endearment, if you are in the media and working, you are succeeding right now.) Only this working stiff was the man everyone had come to hear, hockey's story du jour. After the press was assembled he coyly finished his call and stepped to the podium. He was all smiles and had every right to be

Lemaire, the man who brought a team that was past the brink, 19 games under .500 at 10-29-2, back to the break-even mark at 32-32-4. In the last 27 hours his Devils had collected 4 points to close within 6 of the final playoff spot, he had made an extremely tough call in goal-Broduer on less than a day's rest, and won. He had moved one seemingly insignificant pawn on the chess board, replacing Zharkov with David Clarkson on the "Kid Line," and was rewarded with a line that is becoming a force, collecting 6 points collectively in a 3-2 OT thriller, complete with 3 lead changes.

Jacques was having fun on the podium, beat writers were begging him to talk about the playoffs, reminding him that he promised to talk about the playoffs if the Devils got within 5 points. "But we're 6 behind," he said with a smile. "Ask me at 5." His cell phone rang from the corner of the room where he began the press conference. "That's my wife...calling to tell me not to talk about it." Has a coach ever worked a room so comfortably? But now he could talk seriously about the abyss they had climbed out of to reach .500. Did he ever imagine them returning to .500 when they were 19 games under in January? "Never. Because the league is so strong, the hill was too high." Did he think his players believed they could do it? The suntanned fox shook his silver head, "It must have been miserable for them."

The magic or momentum or lightning in a bottle or whatever term needs to be invented for this bunch was clearly in play this night in Newark. Two players scored their first career NHL goals in a 3-2 overtime win that removed the "losing record" label for this proud franchise. Those bare facts are startling by themselves, but they just reflect business as usual for the Devils over the past two months. Jacob Josefson, just turned 20 and looks like it will be at least a decade before he stops having to show his ID to get a beer, banked a puck off Al Montoya from behind the goal line to open the scoring in the first period. His first career marker, and the baby-faced was typically humble, yet honest at his locker stall. "It doesn't matter who scores as long as we win," he said, his cheeks still carrying a cherubic glow. "But it's fun to be part of it."

New linemate David Clarkson was sporting a gash on his nose, which did nothing to dampen his spirits. He lost a chunk of flesh courtesy of Montoya's shaft while prone in a goal mouth scramble, but this grizzled veteran wouldn't dare miss a shift with his rookie linemates. "Speed is what I'm bringing to the line." It's an odd grouping, a journeyman grinder and two Swedish smurfs, but it's working. "I'm happy with the little line," said Jacques. And if they take care of their defensive responsibilities, "They will probably stay together." That's as close to commitment as a coach can make in this league.

The other first-time scorer was a skilled Finn Anssi Salmela, who despite a brimming tool box, is more of a journeyman than Clarkson, bouncing around Europe and the AHL for the last 7 years while accumulating 98 games in The Show. He nearly imploded after burying the slick feed from Mattias Teddenby past Montoya's glove hand, along with the Saturday night sellout crowd. Lemaire, however, was clearly not gushing over Salmela, "He needs to make the easy play...He's always trying to do too much." A project for his Hall-Of-Fame assistant Larry Robinson.

This outcome of this game came down to a single play five minutes into the third period, with Jersey trailing by a goal and on the power play. Michael Grabner sped in all alone on a breakaway, one of many shorthanded chances for the Islanders, this one clearly the best. Brodeur waited out Grabner and got a blocker on a shot labeled for the far side.

"That was a huge save," said Lemaire. "I think that gave a little bit of a boost to our team," said Brodeur. 16 seconds later, Clarkson ties the game on a filthy goal mouth scramble, and the Devils were alive. Had Grabner finished, the Devils story would be in Sunday's obituary section.

The post game news-gatherers were trying to drum up validation for a story on "pressure," but none of the newsmakers were biting. Lemaire and all his players seemed happy to be playing game to game, one period and one shift at a time. But minutes after the locker room opened to reporters, a grim faced Adam Oates was tapping certain players on the shoulder, reminding them that there was a power play practice for noon. Despite connecting on three season-saving man advantage markers on Friday, this night's power play gave up more offense than it created and needs to be fixed, pronto.

"All game long on our power play we weren't really successful offensively, and were pretty bad defensively," said Brodeur, who coughed up a shorthanded goal to Blake Comeu in the second period after Comeau torched Brian Rolston one-on-one. The Devils use of two forwards--Rolston and Kovalchuk--on the point for most of their power-plays is an accident waiting to happen. They allowed several chances and were burned badly once. Adjustments will be made at noon today.

In the meantime, there are several teams all sharing the Devils improbable playoff dream--Carolina, Buffalo, Toronto, and, thanks to Saturday's stunning come-from-behind season saver, the Atlanta Thrashers. They will be in Newark on Tuesday. A good time to separate pretender from contender.

1st period nyi-devs 3/12

* nhl record 16th straight game with 0-goals allowed;

* Devils tons of jump, 8-3 shot adavantage, 1-0 in goals; several grade A chances

* Clarkson replaces Zharkov on "Kid Line" (is it still a "kid line"?)

* 12 minutes into frame Josefson HAMMERED in def zone. Came off early but returned for next shift.

Riding ol' Reliable

The Devils have chosen to start Martin Brodeur on back to back nights, a night after working overtime and then traveling back from Atlanta. Brodeur is 6 weeks shy of his 39th birthday and tonight will be settle once and for all whether he is fatigued as the season winds down. The Islanders are a swashbuckling offensive team playing with house money and would love nothing more than to steal the New York hockey limelight away from the Devils. Brodeur is a proud player who couldn't have enjoyed sitting on the bench for 4 games when Hedberg was on his streak, and said as much. There is no way he's giving up the starting spot without a fight, and Lemaire won his only Cup as a coach with Marty, albeit 16 years ago, and will defer to the wishes of the veteran. Whether or not that is prudent will be determined over the next couple of hours...There is no room for error as the Devils try to reach faux .500 for the second time this season since game 2 in October.

still breathing

It was a game they had every reason to lose. Failed defensive assignments resulting in two different deficits. For a team that needs overtime to score two goals, that alone was enough to sink the Devils, and put them 3 games under "Faux .500 with 15 left to play. Another loss, and season over. The goal that put them behind in the third period saw Marty Brodeur underneath the 6'10 Nik Andropov and mighty Dustin Byfuglien blasting a puck through the tangled sweaty mess for his 20th goal. The Devils got screwed, the join was jumpin, no one would blame this club if they pouted and went home. But they didn't.

It started with a valiant play by Mattias Tedenby, a guy liberally listed at 5'10" 175 pounds sprinting down the left wing like some Scandinavian Keith Tkachuk, engaging Tobias Enstrom and cutting in on net, forcing the Thrashers alternate captain to hook him down 6:24 into the third. That paved the way for Atlanta's prodigal son Ilya Kovalchuk to torment his former faithful and redeem his recent sins of lethargy with his 25th goal of the year. Three trips back to Atlanta for their former superstar, three goals against. He's the logical guy to boo against, and probably sells a lot of tickets for a franchise that appears to be dying. It's good theater, good for the league, and on this night, his goal was vital for the Devils playoff life. His celebrating consisted of keeping his back to his delirious teammates as he embraced the glass with both arms raised, inches from his tormented former fans. Great theater, real emotions, huge stakes.

All the big name Devils made their critical contributions in Atlanta: Kovalchuk, Patrik Elias and Travis Zajak resurrecting a dormant power play, without which their season would be over; Marty Brodeur, an aging star still playing the position in his unique athletic style that would be challenging physically for goalies 10 year younger, a symbol of the franchise and their Stanley Cups from 16 years ago, a man fighting off a challenge from a goalie who was carrying the club on its improbable comeback, yet here was Marty battling every step of the way, the best penalty killer in overtime with the season on the line. Despite never lighting the lamp himself, Elias was brilliant and his playmaking was probably the number one reason the Devils season lives on for at least another night.

Yet for all the contributions by aging stars, there is hope that younger legs will be able to carry this team if and when the 30-somethings sputter and stall down the stretch. 21 year old Tedenby, 20 year old Jacob Josefson and 23 year old Vladimir Zharkov comprise of a kid line that doubles as an energy line. Lemaire has been giving them plenty of ice time in the past two games, even double shifting them against Ottawa, and they have shown to be relentless forecheckers and explosive skaters in neutral ice. There is a sign in the Montreal Canadiens locker room that was a mantra during their two dynasties: "From failing hands we pass this torch..." Lemaire lived under those words for two years; Brodeur absorbed them on his father's knee in Montreal. If the Devils are to remain significant for the next three weeks of the NHL season, it is this youth that will get them through the horse latitudes that are bound to plague the veterans.

No time for these Devils to reflect. The Islanders, fresh off a stunning come-from-behind victory over league power Boston, lay in wait, playing with house money tonight in Neward. The next chapter awaits..

the day after...

Kovy comes clean, concedes he "didn't get the jump...was unacceptable" in Tom Gulitti of The Record). If the Devils are going to achieve the miraculous, Kovy must come to the front of the line and lead. Two of the next three games are vs the Thrashers, and the Devils need two wins, preferably in regulation to get Atlanta in the rear view mirror for good. In case you missed it, Atlanta took out rival Carolina, in Raleigh in OT, to boost their hopes. They swarmed onto the ice in a huge emotional outburst after Tim Stapleton converted a brilliant pass from Ron Hainsey.

A week ago the Thrashers were the perfect opponent to play: dropping like a rock in the standings; star goalie Pavelec on the shelf; emotionally dead. Now they have come back to life, they just beat the team ahead of them in the standings in dramatic fashion, and are playing a Friday night home game against the team who signed their franchise player. The Devils cannot expect to win with a superficial effort. Succeed and they get to face another test, fail and the dream dies. Period.

Another Game 7, in a final month with nothing but Game 7's. The Devils remain significant for at least another day. Every shift by Kovalchuk on Friday is worth paying attention to...

hangin by a thread...

Tuesday was for exhaling. Every Devils story in print was about them having gotten to .500 (even the cheapened NHL version of .500). The Devils had clawed, scratched and fought (feel free to substitute any other cliche verb) to within a game of .500, and had the worst club in the NHL coming to the Rock with their best player and captain (Daniel Alfredsson) out indefinitely. There it was, your basic foregone conclusion. Although it was a minority position, especially amongst the regularly published journalists, the word "trap game" was being whispered in the press room.

In terms of media management, the Devils were all guilty of commenting on having reached .500, prior to getting there, including wily coach Jacques Lemaire "You have to get to .500 before you think about making the playoffs...we thought it wasn't possible." So, just a mere formality to step over the NHL doormats and then smell the clean air of .500. A mere step. Last I checked, the Ottawa Senators is a club comprised of National Hockey League players. On Tuesday, an undersized preppy kid from New Canaan, Connecticut skated circles around these legendary Czechs, Russians and Swedes. Yes, a trap game in every sense of the word.

Brian Rolston, the embodiment of a "stand up guy," greeted the entire post-game media throng in nothing but a towel and actually waived everyone into his circle of speak. "Everyone's doing (what we do)..." said the broad shouldered winger. "Trappin the middle, collapsin down low. It's tough." And that's really it, trappin and collapsin. Struggling teams that want to win, and make no mistake about it, Shannon and company want to win, play like the Devils. And when the Devils don't get top effort, teams acting like them can beat them. Rolston was at his best last night, leading the team in shots, throwing his body at every white jersey he could find and delivering a brilliant assist for Patrick Elias. He was Bunyon-esque in the post game media scrum, defeated but undaunted.

More on the lack of top effort of others in a moment. First an assessment of the damage. By failing to get to Faux .500, it will now take the Devils 2 more games to get there, two more successful games. 2 games with 16 remaining, that's over 12% of their season just to get to where the press and team spokespeople including Lemaire had them already. Almost a hope-killer. the good news...Buffalo and Toronto lost, so no ground given up, for now. But a vital click, 6.5 percent of their season, ticked away.

Several major story lines emerged from the Tuesday let-down, the most prominent was the Devils inability to score on their two 5 on 3 advantages, "Two?" aksed Jacques rhetorically, "that's frustrating." The other was a debated high stick call on Jacob Josefson that negated a goal by Elias. And a rare NJ defensive lapse was pointed out on the Versus cable nightly NHL recap show. Ottawa's first goal was enabled by 3 Devils chasing Shannon into the corner, allowing Erik Condra to slip into the scoring zone untouched. Midwestern analyst Bill Jaffe pointed out the Condra is a Notre Dame grad, a rookie who doubled his career NHL goal total to 4 in his 10th game in The Show, but I digress. The one story that did not emerge was the $100M disappearing act.

Ilya Kovalchuk did not show up on the stat sheet, did not show up on the ice, and did not answer the post-game media bell. Someone forgot the mention the super-heroes code: "With great salary comes great responsiblity."

"There was a lack of energy in our best players tonight," conceded Lemaire. "I can't explain it. It's frustrating." That's the closest Jacques could come to calling out his mercurial sniper. I lied, Kovalchuk did show up on the score sheet--one shot on net 51 minutes into the game, and -1 on plus minus. One reporter used Lemaire's quote about lack of energy, Rich Chere of the Newark Star Ledger, but he did not finger Kovalchuk.

There are no justifications or explanations from the 230 pound Russian bear; his locker stall was empty. He was last quoted in Tuesday's New York Post by Mark Everson saying all the right things. "We believe." "We control our own destiny." "Would it be a big deal if we make it? Yes? Than we'd better." Lemaire spent more time at his press conference about his stars' lack of energy. "We haven't been playing consecutive games...our last practice was only 30 minutes..." He can't for the life of him understand why his stud showed up with no fuel in the tank. At such a vital stage of the season. Jeremy Roenick on Versus said having three Devils chase a puck into the corner was going to cause Lemaire "To lose more hair tonight!" But it wasn't the technical breakdown that's disturbing Jacques, it was an inexplicable lack of effort. His high-priced bear was in hibernation last night at the worst possible time.

Consistency is a tough chore for brilliantly talented superstars. But for a team on a mission and also on a tightrope, the superstar must carry his club if they are to reach their goal. Think Danny Manning of the Kansas Jayhawks in 1988, Carl Yastrzemski of the Red Sox in 1967. Yes, it's a rare feat, but it's a rare opportunity. Kovalchuk must return to form, immediately, or the miracle hockey dream du jour of the region will be the Islanders. They have crept within two points of the Devils and are looking for a payback this Saturday. Devils without Kovalchuk roaring around at top speed are just another trappin, collapsin bunch of Senators.

Hangin by a thread.

Devils stats from NYTimes blog

The Devils’ Streak, By the Numbers (thank you NYTimes)

After a pair of victories — 2-1 over Pittsburgh in overtime on Friday and 3-2 over the Islanders in a shootout on Sunday — New Jersey is 20-2-2 in its last 24 games. The Devils are eight points behind eighth-place Buffalo with 17 games remaining for both teams. Jacques Lemaire’s team may run out of time in its hunt for a playoff berth, but consider these numbers during this 24-game streak — as compiled by MSG Network statistician Eric Hornick:

The Devils are 20-2-2 in their last 24 after opening the season 10-29-2. With their win Sunday, they are within one game of NHL .500 for the first time since they were 1-2-1 in the season’s first 4 games.

In the 24-game streak, they are 16-2 in games decided in regulation (losing 3-1 to Detroit on Jan. 26 and 2-1 in Tampa on Feb. 25) and 4-0-2 in overtime/shootout. The win over the Islanders featured the first shootout the Devils have participated in since Nov. 27.

New Jersey is 10-0-1 during the streak at home. An overtime loss to Florida is the only blemish, and the only time the Devils have allowed four goals or more during the streak.

They have not allowed a first period goal in 14 straight games, setting a modern N.H.L. record. The previous record was 13, which was done three times.

Ilya Kovalchuk has six game-winning goals in the last 13 games. Kovalchuk is 10-9-19 in his last 16 games and is plus-12 during the 24-game stretch. Prior to the winning streak, he was minus-29 on the season.

Martin Brodeur is 12-1-1 in his last 14 appearances. He hasn’t given up more than three goals in a game since Dec. 23. He is now 17-19-2, resurrecting the chance of finishing the season with a winning record — as he has every year in his N.H.L. career.

The Devils had 23 points in February (11-1-1) after only earning 22 points combined in October, November and December.

Devils are 17-7-4 in one-goal games this season, including 12-1-2 during the streak.

Devils, parachutes, and hockey dreams

There is an expression in sports journalism for those who arrive late to the party, it's called "parachuting." Usually it's big-time journalists who come to a scene after a team has made great strides to gain national attention, and then the Lupica's and Costas's and I don't know, Francesa's start camping out and reporting from a scene as if they know what's going on. Usually they have to tap into the knowledge base assimilated by the lesser known beat reporters to get up to speed. I certainly don't have a cape, and have never "parachuted" before, but this New Jersey devils story is so compelling that I can't help myself. I'm dropping in thanks to the help from the hockey Maven.

They are now on a 20-2-2 streak, that's 42 points out of a possible 48, that's an .875 winning percentage, even with the anomaly of those imbalanced 3 point games that inflate the numbers, it's downright outrageous, the third best streak in the NHL this year, soon to be best. What makes it more compelling, is that the Devils have to keep playing .800 ball for their final 17 games to get into the playoffs. So the high wire act must continue all the way through game 82 or the story dies.

The Devils were arguably the worst team in hockey at the midpoint of the season. I attended game 37, the Devils on 7-game home losing streak, stumbling along at a .278 winning percentage, again, those are inflated NHL stats. Tickets were going for a song, an astute ticket buyer could get into the Devils for the same price as a college game, $10. The sparse New Year's Eve afternoon crowd was largely disinterested, those that were brought home made signs that read "Koval-$uck." All they knew needed to know was that their $100 Million dollar sniper was on track to become an all-time professional sports flop.

With the Devils clinging to a 2-1 third period lead, most of the crowd was expecting the worst. An then Kovalchuk did what he does best: a power drive down the wing and a lightning wrist shot that beat the season's hottest goalie Ondrej Pavelec. And Devils fans did something extremely rare--they went home happy. My 12 year old pee wee is a fan of Kovalchuk, and enjoyed the fact that the loud mouths with the Koval$uck signs were silenced.

2010 was a miserable year for the Devils, but it was over. Jacques Lemaire was 1 week into his 3rd tour of duty with the Devils, yet they were already out of the playoff picture. He wasn't on speaking terms with his captain Jamie Langenbrunner, and his lineup was filled with minor league kids.

In mid January the Devils were heating up, and Versus cable show NHL Overtime was fielding Facebook questions. Hockey lifer and Devils production associate Chris Riley chimed in, wondering if the Devils could claw their way back into contention. Studio analyst Keith Jones refused to dignify the question with a response. "The only reason they're winning is because other clubs are looking for a night off. They're still an awful team."

2 months of .800 hockey and Jones still contends that the Devils won't make the Playoffs, but he's not calling them awful. It's a remarkable story from a franchise that had a magical playoff run in their history back in 1988. One of the key components of that team was John MacLean, for those who like a side dish of irony with their fairy tale sports stories.

Langenbrunner was traded for a song on January 7, and since then there has been but one voice. Jacques. One of the famed Montreal Canadiens "Young Lions" who led the Habs to 4 consecutive Cups and the unofficial title as greatest team ever. That club played .800 puck back then, just like this group. Only there's no collection of Hall-Of-Famers on this team, except the goalie, the coach, and maybe an overpriced Russian mercenary who has bought into his system of defense first. It's enough to raise hope and generate stories. Those low scoring three-point games are the best show in the NHL right now, and it has me parachuting into Newark. I hope it's a long ride.

It could have ended today, Brodeur was in a duel with young Al Montoya of the Islanders, a team that gives the Devils fits. They tied the game at 2 late, and controlled long stretches of Overtime and led in the shootout. But the big Russian Bear sniped in regulation, tied the shootout with another laser, and in the 6th round of the shootout, the beleaguered 38 year old Brian Rolston, the man who cleared waivers twice, wired in the winner to extend the playoff dream of this unlikely group. They got their two points in one of those inflated NHL 3-point games, and live to play another day 8 points and 4 teams between them and a playoff spot, 17 games to play. The second to last game of the season will be a nationally televised tilt against the dreaded Rangers at Madison Square. If you don't think that game will determine a berth, well you probably stopped reading this a while ago.

Dreamers, Tuesday, Ottawa, at the Rock. Wear your parachute.