In that stretch of 20 games, the Devils have scored 42 goals. That’s just two goals per game. They’ve let up 60. In case you’re mathematically challenged, that’s 3 goals per game.

The offense has struggled, even after the addition of Ilya Kovalchuk. The defense has struggled. Martin Brodeur has looked shaky at times.

The team finally plays their first home game since February 12th, after their three game west coast swing following the Olympic break. Their opponent tomorrow night is the New York Rangers.

If the team’s recent play and the fact that some of the team’s Olympians haven’t been home for about three weeks isn’t enough to give this team a boost, then the fact that they are playing their closest rival should certainly bring their game up a notch. If it doesn’t, there could be a problem.

Every team goes through stretches like this during the season. Every team, every year. It happens. But there comes a point when you look at the team and say “It’s time to snap out of this slump.” Tomorrow night, against their cross town rivals, it the perfect time.

I personally think Kovalchuk is due for a big game. It will be his 10th game with the Devils. That is enough time now to make him a little more comfortable on the ice with his teammates, and vice-versa. This will be his second exposure to the cross-river rivalry, and that should only help.

The Rangers are fighting for a playoff spot, so there is no question they will also bring their A game for this matchup. However, there is also no question that the Devils are the better team. The Devils are at home. The Devils need to make a statement in this game.

If they don’t, there could be some drastic changes coming down the stretch.

UPDATED: The Pens and Caps definitely got better. They both added a few pieces that will help in the playoffs. Neither of those teams, however, added a player like Kovalchuk. The Pens, Caps and Devils are still the top three teams in the east.

If you’re a Devils fan, before you start going crazy about how the Devils didn’t do anything, remember, they got David Clarkson back yesterday. They will also have Paul Martin back for the playoffs. With the addition of Skoula, that makes for a solid defensive unit. And NO TEAM in the league added an offensive player that compares to Kovalchuk. Sometimes the best deals you make are the ones you don’t make.

(All the deals [as of 4:25] seem to have been reported. Any new deals will be added as I see them. This has to have been one of the most boring trading deadlines ever. Almost all the deals were for depth. Of course, all the big name deals were made before the Olympic roster freeze, so this was kind of expected.)

(newest trades on top)

- Ducks trade F Petteri Nokelainen to the Coyotes for a 6th round pick.
Impact on Devils: KOVALCHUK!!

- Coyotes trade D Anders Eriksson to the Rangers for G Miika Wiikman and a 7th round pick.
Impact on Devils: Eriksson is 35 years old and will report to Hartford. He had 3 assists in 12 games with Phoenix. So, no impact.

- Blue Jackets trade F Alexandre Picard to the Coyotes for F Chad Kolarik.
Impact on Devils: Snooooooze…

- Hurricanes trade F Stephane Yelle and F Harrison Reed to the Avalanche for F Cedric Lalonde-McNicoll and a 6th round pick.
Impact on Devils: ….

- Oilers trade D Steve Staios to the Flames for D Aaron Johnson and a 3rd round pick.
Impact on Devils: You guessed it, none. This is, however, the FIRST TIME that the Flames and Oilers have made a trade with each other. Fun, huh?

- Flames trade F Dustin Boyd to the Predators for a 4th round pick.
Impact on Devils: None. Noticing a pattern?

- Penguins trade D Chris Peluso to the Leafs for a 6th round pick.
Impact on Devils: Well, it makes Devils fans think of Mike Peluso…and happy tears start flowing. That’s about it.

- Oilers trade D Lubomir Visnovsky to the Ducks for D Ryan Whitney and a 6th round pick.
Impact on Devils: None…directly. Anaheim is obviously still trying for a playoff spot, and that’s the reason they decided to hold on to Scott Niedermayer, who the Devils inquired about. This is a good deal for Anaheim…Visnovsky is a solid D-man who has 4 years left on his contract.

- Blue Jackets trade D Mathieu Roy to the Panthers for F Matt Rust.
Impact on Devils: Next!

- Hurricanes trade D Andrew Alberts to the Canucks for a 3rd round pick.
Impact on Devils: None. The ‘Canes will be an interesting team to watch down the stretch. Lots of new faces.

- Leafs trade G Joey MacDonald to the Ducks for a 7th round pick.
Impact on Devils: Wow…you’re really reading this part? Next!

- Blue Jackets trade F Fredrik Modin to the Kings for future considerations.
Impact on Devils: None. Just another solid “piece” by the Kings.

- Hurricanes trade D Joe Corvo to the Capitals for D Brian Pothier, F Oskar Osala and a 2nd round pick.
Impact on Devils: The Caps add another blueliner. Another solid but unspectacular addition. Not an improvement over Pothier, so I don’t think this changes much.

- Leafs trade F Lee Stempniak to the Coyotes for a 4th and 7th round pick.
Impact on Devils: None, for now. With all these moves, Phoenix is looking to make a serious run. The only way this deal would have an impact is if they met in the finals, which won’t happen. Phoenix is the definite winner of todays trade deadline.

- Blue Jackets D Milan Jurcina to the Capitals for a 6th round pick.
Impact on Devils: The Caps add a big defenseman (6′4″, 240). Doesn’t change the team too much, but it might be a better acquisition than, say, a Martin Skoula. Jurcina had 1 goal, 7 points and was a plus-2 in 44 games for Columbus.

- Sabres trade F Clarke MacArthur to the Thrashers for a 3rd and 4th round pick.
Impact on Devils: MacArthur had 13 goals, 26 points and was a minus-14 for the Sabres. Torres takes his spot, so there is really no change.

- Blue Jackets trade F Raffi Torres to the Sabres for D Nathan Paetsch and a 2nd round pick.
Impact on Devils: Another conference foe gets a little tougher. Torres is an underachiever, but he’s a good, physical, 3rd-line type of guy. He had 19 goals, 31 points and was a minus-8 in 60 games for Columbus.

- Flames trade G Curtis McElhinney to the Ducks for G Vesa Toskala.
Impact on Devils: Ummm…good for a chuckle, courtesy of TosaLOL, I guess. Next.

- Wild trade F Eric Belanger to the Capitals for a 2nd round pick.
Impact on Devils: Another very nice pickup for the Capitols. Belanger had 13 goals, 35 points and was a minus-1 in 60 games with Minnesota. The Caps and Pens both got much better in the last two days. The Devils got much better a few weeks ago.

- Lightning trade F Jeff Halpern to the Kings for F Ted Purcell and a 3rd round pick.
Impact on Devils: Guess… that’s right, none. Lots of depth moves today. Halpern goes from Tampa to one of the better teams this season in L.A.  I’m guessing he likes this deal.

- Canucks trade D Mathieu Schneider to the Coyotes for D Sean Zimmerman and 6th round pick.
Impact on Devils: Again, none. Good move for the Coyotes as they seem to be the biggest winners so far today. Could be an even more fun team to watch down the stretch.

- Coyotes trade F Peter Mueller and F Kevin Porter to the Avalanche for F Wojtek Wolski.
Impact on Devils: None. Another western conference deal. Colorado gets even younger and acquires a couple of players with some good upside. Wolski is a very nice 50+ point pickup for Phoenix, and he himself is still only 24 years old.

- Blues trade F Yan Stastny to the Canucks for F Pierre-Cedric Labrie.
Impact on Devils: Nothing to see here….move along.

- Hurricanes trade F Scott Walker to the Capitals for a 7th round pick.
Impact on Devils: Another conference foe gets a solid player. Walker brings a little bit of toughness but not much else. He’ll help in the playoffs. He had 3 goals, 2 assists and was a minus-4 in 33 games with Carolina.

- Hurricanes trade D Aaron Ward to the Ducks for G Justin Pogge and 4th round pick (2010 or ‘11).
Impact on Devils: None. Another solid defenseman moves out of the eastern conference, but this move doesn’t do much to change the ‘Canes.

- Panthers trade D Dennis Seidenberg and D Matthew Bartkowski to the Bruins for F Byron Bitz, F Craig Weller and a 2nd round pick.
Impact on Devils: Was hoping the Devils would acquire Seidenberg, but Skoula came cheaper. Boston basically trades Morris for Seidenberg, who might be a bit better at this point. They also save $1 million.

- Leafs trade D Martin Skoula to the Devils for a 5th round pick.
Impact on Devils: Skoula’s time in Toronto lasted only a few hours as they flip him to the Devils very quickly. This adds a little bit of depth to the Devils blueline. Not a huge upgrade, but would still rather see Skoula on the ice over Mottau. He is also very familiar with the Pens.  BIO: 30 years old. 6′3″, 225 lb. 33 gms: 3g-5a-8pts, minus-4, 6 PIM.

- Bruins trade D Derek Morris to the Coyotes for a 4th round pick (2011).
Impact on Devils: Not much, unless you consider the Bruins trading away what was their 2nd or 3rd best defenseman having an impact. This clears space for Boston, which could mean they go after Hamhuis a little harder.

- Leafs trade F Alexei Ponikarovsky to the Penguins for D Martin Skoula and F Luca Caputi.
Impact on Devils: Seems like the rich get richer. After getting Leopold, the Pens add Ponikarovsky who had 19 goals and 41 points in 61 games for the Leafs. He will add some more offense to a team that is already pretty loaded. With the Pens breathing down their neck, look for the Devils to step up their effort to acquire a defenseman.

- Darren Dreger of TSN posted the following on Twitter: The Devils called asking about Scott Niedermayer, along with a bunch of other teams. Ducks aren’t sellers.
Impact on Devils: This just means the Devils are looking to add a defenseman, and at least asked about the guy that most Devils fans have been wanting to see back in NJ. Doesn’t look like it will happen.

- Islanders trade D Andy Sutton to the Senators for a 2nd round pick.
Impact on Devils: The Sens are only 1 point behind the Devils in the overall Eastern Conference standing, and getting a physical defenseman in Sutton definitely helps them down the stretch.  He had four goals and eight assists to go along with 73 penalty minutes in 54 games for the Isles. This may make the Devils pursuit of Hamhuis pick up some speed.

- Ducks trade F Evgeny Artyukhin to the Thrashers for F Nathan Oystrick and a conditional pick (2011).
Impact on Devils: None.

- Oilers trade D Denis Grebeshkov to the Predators for a 2nd round pick.
Impact on Devils: This deal sets up the Preds to trade away D Dan Hamhuis. One of the teams he has been rumored to be going to is the Devils (along with Washington, Philly and possibly Boston). If the Devils can acquire Hamhuis, it would likely be the only deal they make by the deadline. Hamhuis has 4 goals, 16 points and is a plus-1 in 57 games for Nashville.

- Panthers trade D Jordan Leopold to the Penguins for a 2nd round pick.
Impact on Devils: Not much. Pens get a decent defenseman who’s contract is up at seasons end. He had 16 points in 61 games for Florida. This should be the start of the firesale in Florida.

With the addition of Ilya Kovalchuk before the Olympic roster freeze, the Devils have made their big move before the deadline. However, the team still needs a few pieces if they hope to go far into the playoffs. Or do they? That’s what I want to to know. Do YOU think the Devils need to make any moves in these next few days? If so, what? A top-4 defenseman? A center? A player who brings a little more toughness to the team?

In all honesty, the Devils could probably use all of the above, but that just won’t happen.

Some of the better players that are rumored to be available right now?
Slava Kozlov (ATL),  Michael Ryder (BOS),  Aaron Ward (CAR),  Ray Whitney (CAR),  Marek Svatos (COL),  Raffi Torres (CBJ),  Ethan Moreau (EDM),  Fernando Pisani (EDM),  Sheldon Souray (EDM),  Dennis Seidenberg (FLA),  Cory Stillman (FLA),  Dan Hamhuis (NSH),  Andy Sutton (NYI),  Paul Kariya (STL),  Garnet Exelby (TOR),  Lee Stempniak (TOR).

So, what do you think they need most, and what you would offer in return? Or do you think the best possible team the Devils could put together is already assembled.

(Follow along with all the trade deadline deals here)

Anyway, I recently received an email that brought a new poll to my attention. Here is a part of the email I received (expletives crossed out by me):

“We want to know who the fans think the best local hockey players are in each position. It’s been debated on fan sites, message boards and in person at games. Now, take it to the polls! Represent your favorite players in MSG’s “Best On Ice” polls at http://www.msg.com/best and get your picks in the following categories:

Fans can also leave a comment and sound off with other hockey fans and discuss NHL greats featuring Marian Gaborik, Patrick Elias, Matt Moulson, and more!”

Pretty easy. Voting goes on through February 28th, so go ahead and visit the site and vote for your favorite Devil!! We all know the others are just there for show. DO IT!

LET’S GO DEVILS!

It begins now, at 5:00pm eastern, and will continue through the end of the game (barring any issues with my BlackBerry). Sit back, relax, and most importantly, keep refreshing to get the latest updates! I’ll also be checking all your comments (feel free to follow along and leave your thoughts) to get an idea of how much you are all enjoying yourselves!

2:44am – The blogging portion of the night ends. 9 hours, 35 minutes. Good stuff. Tomorrow (or later today), I do it all again. This time it’s a road game which means the only difference will be that I don’t have to pay $12.50 for a beer.

2:04am – After some celebratory drinks, this blogger arrives home and goes over some game stats. (Kovalchuk had 20 shifts at an average of 1:05 per shift. TOI: 21:51 – less than Andy Greene and *gasp* Mike Mottau!)

9:40pm – Leave The Rock. Feeling good that I saw Kovalchuk’s first goal as a Devil.

Three Stars – 3rd – Parise; 2nd – Elias; 1st – Kovalchuk

Final! – Devils 4 – Preds 2. SOG: Devils 28 – Preds 21.

19:18 (3rd) – GOAL!! Langenbrunner (15) unassisted.

1 minute remaining – Empty net for the Preds

18:36 (3rd) – The half-assed fans begin to leave.

15:27 (3rd) – Mottau – 2 mins for slashing. And everyone says in unison “Effing Mike Mottau”

13:08 (3rd) – And there it is!! Parise (27), a PP goal…from Zubrus and Kovalchuk!

11:53 (3rd) – Devils PP. Preds #2 – 2 mins for tripping. This is where good teams put the game away…

8:24 (3rd) – IT’S A GOALVACHUK!!! His 1st as a Devil! His 32nd of the season from Elias and Langenbrunner.

7:00 (3rd) – 47 minutes into the game and I think Kovalchuk has 42 minutes of ice time. He needs to learn how to shorten his shifts. He’s not in Atlanta anymore.

5:27 (3rd) – Kovalchuk with a good chance on the power-play, but he’s denied.

3:50 (3rd) – Devils back on the PP. Preds #11 – 2 mins for high sticking.

Start of the 3rd – Devils come out looking a little better, but nothing to show for it 3 minutes in.

2nd Intermission (post beer) – The Devils need to shoot the puck a little more. They seem to be looking for the extra pass, which isn’t working for them tonight. Time to put some more shots on goal and bury the game winner!

2nd Intermission – This is the time when a blogger reflects on the first 2 periods and tries to figure out what the team needs to do in the 3rd. ..or they buy more beer.

End of the 2nd – Devils 2 – Preds 2. SOG: Devils 20 – Preds 16.

15:00 (2nd) – Solid kill by the Devils. Have to finish this period strong.

12:52 (2nd) – Colin White gets called for holding. Soft call. Devils PK unit comes out.

11:20 (2nd) – Devils still outshooting the Preds, 18-11, but the score is tied at 2.

10:00 (2nd) – Another $12:50 beer, or Blogger Juice, as I like to call it. I wonder if I can write these off…

7:45 (2nd) – Langenbrunner and Elias on a 2-on-1 break. Langs tried to get the pretty pass across instead of just shooting…and the Devils get nothing.

6:25 (2nd) – Devils don’t look like the same team in the 2nd. Need to kill this penalty.

5:41 (2nd) – Zubrus goes back to the box.

3:53 (2nd) – Devils back on the PP. Preds #11 – 2 mins for interference.

Start of the second – Back in time to see that Tootoo had scored for the Preds, but Elias rips one up high to tie it! Mottau gets the assist.

End of the 1st – Devils 1 – Preds 1. SOG: Devils 13 – Preds 7.

19:40 – Elias gets stopped on a breakaway. Those are the ones you have to bury!

18:30 – Preds score on the power-play. O’Reilly. (Note: I picked him up this afternoon for my fantasy team…so, all is not bad)

16:40 – Devils doing a good job along the boards and in the corners, so far.

16:35 – Zubrus – 2 mins for tripping. Preds on the PP.

13:25 – Preds kill off both penalties. Devils PP…not so good.

10:57 – Devils 5 on 3. Preds #7 – 2 mins for hooking.

10:23 – Devils PP. Preds #51 – 2 mins for hooking.

9:49 – GOAL! Zajac (19) from Langenbrunner and Parise.

8:32 – First stoppage. Devils outshooting the Preds 7-1. Still scoreless.

6:00 – Just heard the guy next to me ask his friend if “the players fight for real, or do they do it for the fans”. Good thing I’m a pro or I’d fight him…for the fans.

4:00 – Devils dominating so far. Good chances. Outshooting the Preds 4-0.

1:03 (game time) Devils just miss a goal; hit the post. Off to a good start.

7:05pm – Puck drops!

7:04pm – National Anthem. Which reminds me… Let’s Go USA!

7:00pm – The lights have dimmed and the intro has started. Adrenaline pumping! Almost game time.

6:55pm – First beer at the game. $12.50 for a 24oz. Blog Life!

6:32pm – Arrival at “The Rock”

6:14pm – Leaving the house.

6:01pm – Second beer opened. This is game prep! Do not question the life of a blogger.

5:43pm – Shower: Complete. Superstitious Devils attire: On. First beer: Opened.

5:19pm – Gameday preparation begins.

5:09pm – Begin blog.

Devils gave up:
Johnny Oduya- 40 gp: 2-2-4 +2 18PIM 0 pp goals – Will be missed, but is not irreplaceable.
Niclas Bergfors- 54 gp: 13-14-27 -7 10PIM 8 pp goals – Started out great, bu has slowed down drastically. As with Oduya, not irreplaceable.  
Patrice Cormier- We all saw that hit…except for Thrashers GM Don Waddell, apparently. Cormier may be a good player one day, but those elbows might keep him from ever playing long enough for anyone to find out. Still, not a bad risk/reward move.
1st Round pick in 2010

Devils acquired:
Ilya Kovalchuk! - 49 gp: 31-27-58 +1 45PIM 10 pp goals – He’s ILYA KOVALCHUK!
Anssi Salmela - 29 gp: 1-4-5 +4 22PIM 0 pp goals – Lou brings back the player he traded away for that other defenseman who’s name he won’t mention.

The teams also swap 2nd round picks in 2010. 

You can watch Don Waddell speak about the trade here: http://thrashers.nhl.tv/team/console.jsp?catid=656&id=59369

The announcment from the Devils can be found here: http://devils.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=516303&navid=DL|NJD|home

Now, how is this a bad deal? Because, there are LOTS of people, lots of Devils fans, who are annoyed, no…PISSED OFF…that the Devils made this trade. These people, I’m assuming, have never seen Kovalchuk play (kinda like anyone who lives in Atlanta).

Kovalchuk immediately becomes the top scorer on the Devils with 58 points. Parise has 57. Another fun fact about the newest Devil… since the Thrashers drafted him #1 overall in ‘01, he leads the NHL with 328 goals. Pretty nice, huh?

Yes, he may be (likely) just a rental. But if someone told you that you had to give up a few nice things…nothing of too much value…to get something you’ve really been working hard for, wouldn’t you do it? I would, and Lou Lamoriello just did.

Sit back and enjoy Kovalchuk, even if it’s just for a few months. We may send him off to free agency with a nice little parade.

Th following is an actual list of things I read (on twitter, facebook and a few other select sites) after the Devils loss to the Kings (and some after the OT win to the Leafs). These all come from “huge Devils fans.” The names have been withheld to protect those who have no idea what they are talking about. (As always, if you recognize any of these quotes as one of your own and feel I have mistakenly branded you a “fair weather fan”, feel free to point out my mistake)…

“I hate watching the Devils. They suck so bad.” – Facebook
  – My suggestion? Don’t watch.
“This team is embarasing. Ugh.” – Twitter
  - Also embarrassing? Trying to make a point and misspelling the key word.
“Wth? Losing to the Kings? We suck.” – Twitter
  - The Kings happen to be a very good team this year. Perhaps a quick check of L.A.’s record (33-19-3) would provide that info.
“We needed OT to beat the Leafs. Why do I even bother watching.” – Facebook
  - This is called “Any reason to complain”. The Devils won, enjoy it.
“I’m done with this tm til the playoffs. Can’t take them sucking like that.” - Other
  - So let me get this straight…the team sucks, but you’re certain they will be in the playoffs. Fascinating!

There are about five or six other comments that I saved, but I think we get the general idea. The comments from these “fans” are absurd! Here are a few facts that perhaps they should look at:

The Devils are 35-17-2, good for 72 points. That’s good for FOURTH overall in the NHL.
The Devils are SECOND in the Eastern Conference.
The Devils are FIRST in the Atlantic division.
The Devils 35 wins are FOURTH best in the league.
The Devils 2.22 GA/G is FIRST in the league.
The Devils power play, which fans like to criticize so much, is NINTH in the league at 19.2%.

I can go on, but I won’t. I think I’ve made my point.

Before you remind me of how the Devils have played recently, I know. They are 3-6-1 in their last 10. However, show me a team that doesn’tgo through stretches like this. Every team does. Every year. It happens all the time. Seriously! As a matter of fact, I would prefer this sort of rough stretch at this point in the season instead of…say…playoff time. Times like these help the team work on what is going wrong. Fix it before the games count a little more.

My point? If you can say things like “this team sucks” and “they are embarrassing to watch” even considering the way the team has played overall this year, then perhaps it’s time to pick another team. A team that never loses. Because losses come. Losses to bad teams happen. Struggling against a lesser team, like the Leafs, happens.

But guess what? The Devils will make the playoffs this year. Again. For the 13th straight year. If that’s “embarrassing” and if that “sucks”, then It’s time to consider following a different sport.

Having said all that, I’m sure most of you reading this know better. In the heat of the moment right after a bad loss, like the last one to the Kings, you overreact. Everyone does.  I highly doubt anyone that said any of those things I quoted is reading this. Those “fans” usually never comment on the game during the game. They are rarely at the game. They are usually posting things about where they’re shopping, or what movie they’re watching while the Devils are playing. They will then comment on how bad the team “sucks” about 45 minutes after the game ends.

If some of you that DO say things like that after a game are reading this, consider this a lesson. The only thing more frustrating than watching your team play bad and lose a game like they did yesterday is listening to fans complain about how bad a 1st place team sucks.

Now….if we lose in the first round of the playoffs again…

Instead of explaining everything myself, I’ll just copy the email I received because, well, it explains it perfectly:

“We will be holding a Cover It Live chat with Ken Daneyko, tomorrow Tuesday Jan. 26 at 2:00 pm EST. Join us live to ask Ken about his playing days with the Devils and winning three Stanley Cups with the team.

All you need to do to participate is to come back to this page on Tuesday at 2:00 pm EST and ask away. You can also log in using your Facebook or Twitter ID. And if you want to ask questions via Twitter, just use the hashtag #DaneykoChat – but note, you will have to be following along with the chat here to see if it gets answered.

Here’s the link to the landing page on devils.nhl.com: http://devils.nhl.com/club/page.htm?id=60205”

So there you go. Join the chat tomorrow and ask Kenny your questions!

- Another day, another awesome Twitter contest being held by the Devils. This time, they are trying to reach 10,000 followers. If you ask me, they should have been over 10,000 followers a long time ago…but I haven’t heard anyone ask me. As it stands now, the Devils have 7,770 followers. The best part of this contest is that there will be ONE HUNDRED winners, each winning a PAIR of tickets to a future game. Oh, and they’re not nosebleeds…they are a pair of the $115 seats! If you’re one of the few people who have still not joined twitter, this is a pretty cool reason to go ahead and do it already!  
Official rules can be found here. 

- Dainius Zubrus will return tomorrow for the Devils. From devils.nhl.com: “Head coach Jacques Lemaire has confirmed that the 6-5, 225-lb. centerman will be in the lineup when the Devils visit Ottawa on Tuesday” Full story here.

LET’S GO DEVILS!

Devils (32-12-1) at Avalanche (26-15-6)

Scoring Summary
1st (1:11) – NJD – T. Zajac – assists: C. White, Z. Parise
1st (12:32) – COL – B. Yip – assists: M. Duchene, M. Hejduk

2nd (6:36) - COL - J-M. Liles - assists: R. Wilson
2nd ( 10:09) – NJD – Z. Parise – assists: M. Mottau, J. Langenbrunner

3rd (2:14) (PP) - COL - P. Stastny - assists: C. Stewart, K. Cumiskey
3rd (3:59) – NJD – V. Zharkov – assists: B. Rolston
3rd (18:49) (PP) – COL – R. Wilson – K. Cumiskey, P. Stastny
3rd (19:48) – NJD – M. Fraser – B. Rolston

OT – NONE

Shootout:
NJD – Bergfors – Miss
COL – Stastny – Goal
NJD – Parise – Miss
COL – Hejduk – Miss
NJD – Zajac – Miss

Penalty Summary
1st – NONE

2nd (2:34) - COL - J-M. Liles - Cross Checking
2nd ( 16:10) – NJD – D. McAmmond – Slashing

3rd (0:35) - NJD - T. Zajac - Elbowing
3rd (18:17) – NJD – Z. Parise – Hooking

OT (3:57) – NJD – P. Elias – High Sticking

Shots On Goal
New Jersey Devils: 10, 10, 16,5: 41
Colorado Avalanche: 10, 9, 15,6: 40

Goalies
Martin Brodeur (L) – 40 shots, 36 saves.
Craig Anderson (W) – 41 shots, 37 saves.

Power Plays
NJD – 0/1
COL – 2/4

Devils – 4 at Avalanche – 5 (SO)

Three Stars
1st - Paul Stastny (1 goal, 1 assist)
2nd - Zach Parise (1 goal, 1 assist)
3rd – Ryan Wilon (1 goal, 1 assist) 

LET’S GO DEVILS!

Okay, that stat was made up. The stats that I found about Greene, however,  are not.  Take a look at the information I’ve gathered during hundreds of hours of research (okay, so maybe it was only a few hours on Behindthenet ) and see what you think.

Andy Greene Equals the Following Stats:

• He has played in 42 of the New Jersey Devils 45 games this season
• In those 42 games, the Devils are 32-10
• In the three games he hasn’t played in, the Devils are 0-3
• In the 19 games where he has registered a point, the team is 17-2
• In the four games where he has two points, the Devils are 4-0
• The team is 3-1 when Andy Greene scores a goal

Okay, that was fun…but let’s get to some real stats:

• When he is on the ice, the team scores 2.23 goals per 60 minutes. They let up 1.31 G/60. That’s almost a full goal more (0.92) that the team scores over what the team gives up when he is on the ice. Mark Fraser is a +0.94, but he plays almost a full 7 minutes/game less than Greene. Fraser has also played in only 37 games to Greene’s 42. The next best D-man (w/ 30 games or more played)  is Johnny Oduya at +0.69    
• The team has scored 29 goals with Greene on the ice and given up 17. That +12 margin is the best on the team among defenseman. Next best is Fraser with a +7 (16/9). Mike Mottau? -2 (30/32)
• The 2.12 goals per 60 that the team gives up when Greene is off  the ice is the most that the team gives up when any of the defenseman on the team with regular playing time is off the ice
• He is the only defenseman on the team, with regular playing time, that draws more penalties (0.5) than he takes (0.1) per 60 minutes. Bryce Salvador takes 1.2 penalties per 60 and draws 0.5
• His 0.77 points per 60 mark is the best among defenseman with regular playing time.
• The team is a +0.92 when he is on the ice, a +0.38 when he is off the ice. That +0.54 margin is 2nd on the team to Fraser’s +0.59

So there you go. Feel free to leave a comment and let me know whether you agree with not only me, but dozens of other Devils fans who feel that Andy Greene Equals Wins! 

LET’S GO DEVILS!
LET’S GO ANDY GREENE!