I’ve gotten some heat about talking about the Devils as if they are out of the playoffs. That really does surprise me because the Devils can at best end up with 87 points, a total NY and Buffalo already have. Oh well, one more point by both those teams and the Devils are mathematically eliminated and those emails can stop flooding my inbox.
I just want NJ to play hard, finish strong and leave something to build on for next season. I think I got just that in the game against the Islanders.
* Kovalchuk, missed a chance at the 4:00 minute mark of the game but buried one later. How do you allow a guy like Kovalchuk to stand in front of the net like that? It took Palmieri and few seconds to get set in order to make the pass but there was Kovalchuk, just cocked back and waiting.
* That was Kovalchuk’s 28th of the season. That’s not horrible but combined with his 26 assists, I really thought he’d put up bigger numbers than that. My problem with Ilya is that he’s more often been a – in his career than he’s been a +. This will be the 8th time he’s finished with a – in the +/- category. It’s a must for me that he breaks the 30 goal mark this season. For that kind of money, a MUST.
* Palmieri has been one of the bright spots for me this year. The kid plays hard and makes things happen. I am certainly excited about the future when it comes to this kid.
* Oh Tedenby, that was an awful mistake that led to the Islanders shorthanded goal. Its those little mistakes that you make that make me worry about you. At times, you can be brilliant and other times, you can be such a liability. Its not bad enough you didn’t see Nielsen streaking up the ice but you didn’t really make an effort to catch him, that’s what really bothered me.
* Typical Devils to give up a late goal. Its something they’ve done for years, it’s a problem they never seem to fix.
* Andy greene, where has THAT been all season? Nice way to put home the GWG. Over the pad, just below the blocker, how many ties has DiPietro seen that get by him??
* Two fights early, I thought this game was going to get a little out of hand. It’s not like the Islanders don’t have those kind of games!!
* Devils fininsh off the Islanders to win the season series 4 games to 2.
* And finally, I have to disagree with Doc, the Devils aren’t putting any pressure on anyone. We hockey stops being played for NJ this season when the final whistles rings at the end of the Devils/Bruins game on April 10th.
Devils get ready for the Flyers tomorrow night.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
