New Jersey Devils goaltender, Martin Brodeur, is going to be honored in a very special way – the New Jersey State Senate will be celebrating “Martin Brodeur Day” tomorrow (June 18, 2009) in a special ceremony at the State House. 

"On behalf of the entire Senate, we’re proud to honor Marty Brodeur as our ‘adopted son,’ said Senator Richard Codey. "He has kept Devils fans entertained for nearly 20 years and given our state something to be proud of. He’s a first-rate athlete who can now claim the distinction of being in a league of his own."

I can understand why he’s being recognized, of course.  The netminder now holds the record for most NHL wins after surpassing the legendary Patrick Roy.  He’s had an amazing career and I’m glad to see him getting the praise he deserves.

image: TSN

TSN is reporting that Brent Sutter is no longer the coach of the New Jersey Devils and has cited personal and family reasons as the motivation for stepping down.  I don’t know if anyone is shocked but I’m a little surprised since he did still have a year left in his contract.

Of course, everyone is wondering if he’s going to be making a move to the recently vacant head coach position with the Calgary Flames since the general manager is his brother, Darryl Sutter.  Since he’s breaking his contract, the Flames would have to talk to New Jersey Devils’ GM, Lou Lamoriello, in order to get permission to speak with Brent Sutter.

I don’t know if that is the plan but it could work.  I would prefer to see Darryl lead the team but Brent does have playoff experience and since he coached the Devils for just two years and lead them to the post-season both times.  They have a decent 97-56-11 record as well.  Still, it’s not like he brought his team to the Stanley Cup Finals (like Darryl did) so it might not even be much of an improvement.

I’d still like to see Darryl reclaim his spot behind the bench.  I feel that we would see a marked improvement in the performance of goaltender, Miikka Kiprusoff, who seemed to just fall apart with the last two coaches.  I will be very interested to see what develops in the next few days.

image: TSN

Last night, Game 7 between the Carolina Hurricanes and the New Jersey Devils almost caused me to have a serious accident.  I was keeping an eye on both this series and the one between the New York Rangers and Washington Capitals and each of them were pretty close.  When the third period began, I decided to finish watching it on the treadmill. 

With the score at 3-2 for the Devils with just a few minutes left, I was pretty sure this was a done deal.  I started to think about how the team would do in the next round and I even muted it and started listening to my iPod.  I was surprised, however, to look up with just about 90 seconds left in the game to see things heating up.  I quickly unmuted it just in time to see a crazy good place that ended with Jussi Jokinen beating the Devils’ star goaltender, Martin Brodeur.  I couldn’t believe what I had just seen!  The Hurricanes had tied the game with just over a minute left in Game 7!

I took a swig from my water bottle and got composed.  I figured I would call my son down to watch overtime with me in the basement.  I seriously almost wiped out on the treadmill when the Canes scored AGAIN with about half a minute left in the game.  You could see the shocked Devils fans filing out of the arena and I can’t even imagine how the team felt. 

I don’t know what happened but that was one of the craziest things I’ve ever seen in all my time as a hockey fan.  I had wanted the Devils to win but after seeing the determination of the Carolina Hurricanes (particularly Tim Gleason), it’s hard not to deny that they deserved to win. 

The Carolina Hurricanes will face the Boston Bruins for Game 1 of the semi-finals this Friday.

image: TSN

After yesterday’s action, the last two undecided series in the Western Conference are both tied up and I honestly couldn’t tell you which way this is going to go.  So far, I’ve been surprised so I’m not going to make any guesses.

The New York Rangers had an opportunity to eliminate the Washington Capitals but, with Sean Avery back in the lineup and coach John Tortorella suspended for one game, it looked like they were a bit lost.  The Caps took full advantage of the situation, winning the game 5-3.

It’s not that the Rangers didn’t try hard (32 shots on goal) but they just got outplayed.  The Caps really showed that they want to stay in the playoffs and they came out strong, scoring three goals in just the first period.

Similarly, the Carolina Hurricanes were eager to hold off the New Jersey Devils and they did it in a big way.  Yesterday’s 4-0 win was the biggest victory the Hurricanes have had this series and I’m stunned that they not only continued to beat goaltender, Martin Brodeur, but I’m also disappointed that the Devils didn’t try harder (28 shots on net).  It was a game filled with penalties for both teams but the Devils really outdid themselves, spending more than 30 minutes in the box.  I hope their coach has a long talk with them because it was pretty ridiculous.

Tuesday, April 28 is going to be a big night in hockey with these four teams battling to advance to the second round.  I hope they bring the intensity because there will be no more chances.  Leave it all out on the ice, boys!

images: TSN

Martin Brodeur continued his journey into the NHL history books by tying the NHL playoff shutout record (23) set by the legendary Patrick Roy.  He displayed some goal tending that was brilliant and even manic, at times.  At one point, he didn’t have a stick and the puck was going wide but he still launched his body to make sure the Carolina Hurricanes had zero chance of scoring.  Amazing.

The Hurricanes definitely tried everything they could to score on Brodeur, who had to make 44 saves.  His counterpart, Cam Ward, also came up big (41 saves) but it just wasn’t enough to stop the Devils from skating away with a 1-0 victory.

The most amazing part?  Brodeur was way too far out of the crease (20 feet) when he collided with Chad LaRose whose skate caught him in the back of the ankle, leaving a 4 inch cut.  “It cut right through my sock,” Brodeur said. “It was more of a bruise. It’s not like it sliced. It just hit me. At first I wasn’t sure because I could see the blood. When you get cut by a skate, you don’t know what’s going on. I’m not that tough. I probably wouldn’t have continued if I had to take stitches.”

The Devils and Hurricanes face off again on Sunday, April 26, 2009.

image: TSN

The New Jersey Devils lost to the Carolina Hurricanes with 0.2 seconds left in Game 4 and it was not without controversy.  Of course, it is heartbreaking to lose a game with so little left in regulation but it was how the game was won that caused all the trouble.

With less than 10 seconds left in the tied game, Jussi Jokinen tried to take a shot on goal but the puck ended up circling around to Joni Pitkanen who passed it to Dennis Seidenberg, who then launched a hard blast from the point.  Jokinen was there to deflect it into the goal with two-tenths of a second remaining in the game.  The play immediately went to review which, I think, everyone expected.

As soon as it was ruled a goal, Devils goaltender, Martin Brodeur, freaked out.  Okay, to be fair, he started losing it the second the puck trickled past him but he managed to keep his composure.  The problem was that Brodeur had been bumped outside the crease by Jokinen right before the goal.  "’I had time to reset myself.’ That’s always the same answer. It doesn’t matter which referee," Brodeur said. "It’s the easy way out for them to say that. It’s hard. You want to play your game. You want to do what’s right and be in the best position you can. With these guys (Carolina), they go to the net. They play hard," he added. "I am not complaining about how Carolina is playing. They don’t take liberty. They’re pretty fair about it. They got to the net. The referee has to do their job. Today was pretty awful."

What does a Brodeur-style freak out look like?  Watch this video to see his reaction to the ruling on that final goal.

image: TSN

The Game 3 battle between the New Jersey Devils and Carolina Hurricanes went to overtime yesterday and the Devils relied on a little home-ice advantage to buoy their efforts.

It was a great night for Zach Parise (NJD) who scored for his third straight game but it was a a rebound shot by Travis Zajac in OT (assisted by Parise) that led the Devils to a 3-2 victory over the Canes.

image: TSN

“We know how we need to play and how we want to play. When we play that way, it’s a lot more fun for the players,” Devils coach Brent Sutter said.  “They won a game in our building — obviously, we were going to have to come here and get that one back. It’s nice to get it back with your first game. Now, we can get focused for Game 4 and see what happens.”

I think that if the Devils get on a roll, it’s going to be hard to stop them.  I really am not too optimistic about Carolina’s chances in this series but you never know.  I didn’t predict they’d win the Cup a few seasons ago and they surprised me.

After recovering from an embarrassing 4-1 loss during the series opener, the Carolina Hurricanes rebounded to tie the series by winning last night’s game against the New Jersey Devils in overtime.

image: TSN

During last night’s 2-1 victory, Canes goaltender, Cam Ward, stopped 33 shots and helped buoy the team to their first playoff win since they took home the Stanley Cup in 2006.  Devils netminder, Martin Brodeur, made 30 saves.

It was all tied up when, at 2:40 overtime, Carolina d-man, Tim Gleason, chose the perfect time to score his first goal of the season.  “It was a good pass by Joe Corvo,” Gleason said. “He laid it right out there for me. Eric Staal had a great screen in front of the net. I closed my eyes and shot that thing as hard as I could.”

The series just got a lot more interesting.  I was beginning to think that it was going to be a sweep for the Devils.

The New Jersey Devils won the first game in the series against the Carolina Hurricanes.  Jamie Langenbrunner and Zach Parise led the 4-1 victory for the Devils, posting a goal and an assist each with Mike Mottau and Patrick Elias rounding out the scoring.  Ray Whitney scored the lone goal for the Canes.

image: TSN

I am not surprised.  This is one of those series that I think will continue to be unbalanced until it is over.  The Hurricanes have made the playoffs but I’m not sure they have their game at a level that will allow them to advance to the next round.

The 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs will begin next week and, with the remaining spots taken last night by the Anaheim Ducks and the St. Louis Blues, the NHL has announced the final matchups for the first round.

image: Newscom

In the Western Conference the following teams will square off:

• San Jose Sharks vs. St. Louis Blues
• Detroit Red Wings vs. Anaheim Ducks
• Vancouver Canucks vs. Columbus Blue Jackets
• Chicago Blackhawks vs. Calgary Flames

Those are some interesting matchups. I predict that the Sharks will take out the Blues and the Wings will pick off the Ducks but I am not sure what will happen with the others. Vancouver is red hot right now but Columbus is also doing well. The thing that is going to make this pairing sizzle, though, is the battle between goaltenders, Roberto Luongo (Canucks) and rookie Steve Mason (Blue Jackets). I can’t stand Vancouver (although, I have to admit that they’ve been amazing) so I want them to lose the series but I will be watching these games whenever I can just to see whether Luongo or Mason will come out on top. The Chicago vs. Calgary games could go either way since both teams have been patchy throughout the season and Calgary has been really struggling since acquiring Olli Jokinen at the trade deadline. They had been doing so well so it’s anyone’s guess whether they will be able to shake off whatever is bothering them in order to get more effective on the ice…

image: Newscom

In the Eastern Conference, you will find the following matchups:

• Boston Bruins vs. Montreal Canadiens
• Washington Capitals vs. NY Rangers
• New Jersey Devils vs. Carolina Hurricanes
• Philadelphia Flyers vs. Pittsburgh Penguins/li>

I can’t even believe that Boston is going to battle Montreal in the first round.  Both were part of the original six teams that made up the NHL and they are long-time rivals.  The fans are going to go crazy and I wish I could head back east and watch a Montreal game with my family.  I don’t know who will win the Caps vs. Rangers series but, if it comes down to it, I think that Alexander Ovechkin is going to do all that he can to stay in the game.  After the season that goaltender, Martin Brodeur, has had, I’m hoping the New Jersey Devils will beat out the Carolina Hurricanes but I don’t think it’s obvious enough to make a prediction.  Also, although it may not be as rooted in history as the Montreal/Boston series, it’s going to be intense when the Flyers take on the Penguins.  It’s going to be one long “Battle of Pennsylvania” for the fans and I am hoping the Pens skate away with a strong victory. I know that Sidney Crosby and Evgeny Malkin are going to want that second chance after narrowly losing the Stanley Cup finals last year.

I’d love to hear what you think!  Which matchups are you most looking forward to and who do you think will move on?