By Bud L. Ellis
Maybe the distraction of playing in the Olympics has gotten to the New Jersey Devils.
The Devils closed the pre-Olympic portion of their schedule with another loss on Saturday night, a 5-2 defeat at Carolina that wasn’t as close as the score indicated. New Jersey trailed 4-0 before getting on the board in the third period, dropping its fourth game in its past five and falling 13 points behind Washington in the Eastern Conference.
Goaltender Martin Brodeur was pulled after giving up his fourth goal on just 22 shots. Brodeur will play goal for Team Canada in the Olympics in Vancouver. Several other Devils will play in the Olympics, including U.S. team captain Jamie Langenbrunner and newly acquired winger Ilya Kovalchuk, who will play for Team Russia.
Zach Parise put the Devils on the board at the 7:26 mark of the third period, pulling New Jersey within 4-1. Brian Rolston scored a power-play goal later in the third for the Devils.
New Jersey opens the post-Olympics part of its schedule March 2 at San Jose.
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Sunday, February 14, 2010 at 11:59 am by bud
Tags: Brian Rolston, Carolina Hurricanes, Ilya Kovalchuk, Jamie Langenbrunner, Martin Brodeur, National Hockey League, New Jersey Devils, San Jose Sharks, Zach Parise
By Bud L. Ellis
Trying to chase down the red-hot Washington Capitals for the top spot in the Eastern Conference won’t be easy for the New Jersey Devils.
Especially if the Devils keep coughing up leads.
New Jersey started strong Monday night at Philadelphia, opening up a 2-0 lead. But the Flyers rallied against Martin Brodeur, scoring three unanswered goals to take a 3-2 victory.
The Devils get their chance at revenge on Wednesday night in Philadelphia. With the loss, New Jersey remains 14 points behind Washington in the Eastern Conference standings. The Devils lead Pittsburgh by two points in the Atlantic Division race.
Zach Parise gave the Devils a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal seven minutes into the first period. Anssi Salmela made it 2-0 with a short-handed tally 61 seconds into the second. But that was it for the New Jersey offense. Newly acquired Ilya Kovalchuk, who came to New Jersey last week with Salmela from Atlanta, took nine shots but did not score.
Kovalchuk still seeks his first goal as a Devil.
James van Riemsdyk and Jeff Carter scored the first two Philly goals. Mike Richards netted the game winner, a power-play goal at 12:02 of the third period.
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Tuesday, February 9, 2010 at 5:31 pm by bud
Tags: Anssi Salmela, Ilya Kovalchuk, James van Riemsdyk, Jeff Carter, Martin Brodeur, Mike Richards, National Hockey League, New Jersey Devils, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Zach Parise
