Yesterday the New Jersey Devils lost their third consecutive game in a hard fought battle against one of their division rivals, and perhaps the best team in the NHL, the New York Rangers. Here are some notes on last night's game, Marek Zidlicky's first two games as a Devil, David Clarkson and more.
- First off, that was a fantastic game last night. There was a lot of emotion shown from every player on each team, and it was played with playoff like intensity. There were a lot of hits, blocked shots, fights and some good goaltending at both ends of the ice. Though there were not a lot of shots taken by either team, there were some very good scoring chances. I certainly would like to see a Rangers/Devils playoff series at some point this season. It would be a blast to cover. The season series is tied at two, by the way.
- One thing the Devils really needed to do last night is shoot the puck more. Henrik Lundqvist is a world class goaltender. The best thing you can do is fire the puck on net from all angles and make him work. When a team, like the Devils last night, tries to make a fancy play each time they enter the zone it makes things too easy for Lundqvist and the Rangers defense core. The Devils must have attempted over 10 drop passes last night. They probably passed up 15+ shots, too. You can't score if you don't shoot. I'm sure Pete DeBoer and the Devils coaching staff will address that in the film room and tomorrow at practice.
- Before people panic about Marek Zidlicky being a minus player in both games as a Devil and not recording a point, you should know that the Devils had an empty net on one goal and another he hopped over the boards while Martin St. Louis and Steven Stamkos were on a 2-on-0 due to a turnover from Cam Janssen. It's also worth noting that he hasn't had a full practice yet and is not yet familiar with most of the Devils players.
I think considering the circumstances he's played well and he's doing a good job of moving the puck up the ice to the Devils forwards. Production will come with time, folks.
- According to Tom Gulitti and Rich Chere, David Clarkson will not be suspended or have a hearing for his hit on Brandon Dubinsky last night. That's not much of a surprise to me. Yes, he left his feet but he did not injure Dubinsky, make contact with his head and obviously didn't low-bridge him. Dubinsky knew he was coming, too. In my opinion a warning was all that is necessary.
- Last night Brandon Dubinsky told members of the media that David Clarkson seems to turn away from tough guys and guys bigger than him in fights. I understand he was in the heat of the moment but that comment couldn't be further from the truth as these statistics show.
Clarkson, 6'1 200lbs, has fought the following players this year: Brandon Dubinsky (6'1, 210) x2, Dion Phaneuf (6'3, 214), Ryan Malone (6'4, 224), Luke Schenn (6'2, 229), Wayne Simmonds (6'2, 183) & Ryan O'Byrne (6'5, 234).
As you can see, every player Clarkson has fought this season is as big or bigger than he is. Each player owns a reputation of being more than a willing combatant when it comes to fighting, too.
- The last thing I want to do is praise Lou Lamoriello for not moving Jacob Josefson, Mattias Tedenby, Jon Merrill or any other Devils top prospect at the deadline. The asking prices were ridiculously high and I don't think Lamoriello could have added anyone as good or better than Travis Zajac or Henrik Tallinder, both of whom should be ready for the playoffs, without giving up much more than fair value.
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