Devils & Penguins: Liveblog Tonight

If you were tuning in here a couple of weeks ago, I would have been talking about how the New Jersey Devils were destined to take over the top seed in the East and possibly represent the conference in the Stanley Cup Finals.

It has been a bit of a rough go since then however.

The Devils have now lost five games in a row and over this period, they've only scored one powerplay goal while giving up seven. The worst part of it all has been that the majority of the recent losses have been against potential first round opponents.

Tonight, they will be facing another one of these teams in the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Pens have continued to roll, winning 5 of their last 6 games, and have let the rest of the conference know that they are to be taken seriously.

Yours truly will be play-by-play liveblogging this one for your viewing enjoyment at theScore.com. Feel free to come and join me and to chip in your two cents.

Click here for a direct link.

Ryan D. MacIntyre
thejackass@hockeyjackass.com

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Best Team in the East?

Just in case you were wondering, the Bruins are still the best team in the Eastern Conference.

Wasn’t sure if you remembered.

There are a lot of people around who have been talking about how the New Jersey Devils are actually the team to beat in the East. Even the Devils themselves must have been thinking that they were destined to take over the number one spot.

That was until they faced the Bruins last Sunday.



Boston handed Marty Brodeur only his 2nd loss since his return to action on February 26, outscoring the Devils 4 to 1 and exposing holes in the Jersey defense.

For Boston it was a big morale boosting victory. For New Jersey, it was a segue to another key loss the following day to Philadelphia.

Boston has now stretched its lead over New Jersey to 5 points with only 9 games remaining. More importantly, the team finally has something to feel confident about. If you had taken a quick glance at the standings prior to last Sunday’s tilt, you would have noticed that over the prior ten game period, Boston was tied for having the worst record in the Conference.

Not exactly a confidence booster for the number one seed going into the playoffs.

Now the Bruins have close to a week to enjoy their big victory. They don’t play until the weekend when they’ll be taking on the Leafs on Saturday, and then the suddenly surging Flyers on Sunday. Yours truly will be play-by-play liveblogging that one at theScore.com; feel free to join me.

The break for Boston may be a blessing in disguise. Many of the team’s young guns, including Krejci, Wheeler and Lucic, have been slowed as of late as they continue to adjust to the hectic 82 game NHL schedule. The break also doesn’t hurt the team’s starting goaltender Tim Thomas, who has been known for showing signs of mental fatigue during the team's previous stretch runs.

Either way, Boston sent a message on Sunday and let everyone know that they won’t be just giving away the Conference lead.

If you want that number one seed, you’re going to have to come and get it.

Ryan D. MacIntyre
thejackass@hockeyjackass.com

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