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Devils and their fans own MSG, Rangers go down in flames 4-2

December 29, 2008, 10:06 AM ET [ Comments]
Sam Woo
New Jersey Devils Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
After the 8-5 victory over the New York Rangers at the Prudential Center on December 12th, both Devils and Rangers fans were circling December 27th to be a pivotal game as both teams were battling for Atlantic division supremacy and the Devils came away with a 4-2 victory.

Here are my observations:

1. The Rangers are temporarily in first place on “borrowed time” and the Devils are currently four points behind with four games at hand. Ranger fans should enjoy their short lived illusion that the team is in first place. The Rangers penalty killing has been exposed as of late and if they keep on giving up shorthanded goals, they will drop in the standings.

2. Scott Clemmensen has been outstanding with a 12-5-1 record and a 2.15 GAA. Too bad the NHL All Star game is a popularity contest because he really deserves some consideration of being voted in. He is 2-0 against the Rangers and there may be a goalie controversy when Martin Brodeur comes back from injury. Who would you choose? Weekes or Clemmensen? For now, Sutter will ride the hot goalie.

3. After being shutout back to back games by the Penguins and Bruins, one would say the Devils offense may have some problems scoring again and they need to adjust their lineup. I say nonsense. I think this team needs to continue their aggressive play and they had plenty of “empty net” chances and were snake bitten by some great goaltending from their opposition. If the Devils continue their heavy forecheck and keep the puck deep in their opposition zone for puck possession, they will be fine.

4. Brian Rolston is starting to look comfortable after coming back from his ankle injury. Remember what I said a few months ago about Rolston. He is a streaky scorer and those shots from the point are going to open up the lanes as it will spread out the opponent’s PK defense. Look for him to shoot more pucks and the Devils’ power play to flourish.

5. Kudos to the MSG crew that work the Rangers broadcast. They actually said the Devils are an aggressive forechecking team and are not primarily a “trapping” team anymore. Wow. I could not believe it. The Devils are not getting blamed for being boring and a detriment to the league. It only took a year and half to figure out that Brent Sutter brought a different system. Well, better late than never.

Here is an e-mail I received yesterday morning:

I can't believe how easy it was for me to get tickets at last night’s game. I just went to the box office and bought an extra ticket off of people from will call.

There were about 30% to 40% devils fans at last night's game.

Carlos


Carlos:

Thank you for your e-mail. Much was said in the media last season that the Rangers fans took over the Rock during the playoffs and MSG is the most famous arena with the greatest fans.

During the Devils 4-2 victory, you could hear the Devils fans chant “Let’s Go Devils” loud and clear. These Devils fans were loud and proud when the Devils scored. If anyone was listening to the game on the radio, you could have sworn the game was being played at the Prudential Center. Come on, after seeing those MSG commercials about how great the Garden is, I would expect better from New York fans.

Then again, if anyone watched the New York Jets debacle last night, it sounded like they were playing in Miami. This is how I describe the typical “New York” fan. When their team is winning, everyone loves a winner. But when they are losing like the Rangers did Saturday night, you could hear a pin drop. Bandwagon comes to mind when it comes to New York sports. I describe the best fans are the ones that cheer and support no matter what their team record is. And for those Devils fans that never stopped believing after Brodeur was injured and cheered wildly at MSG, I salute you.

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