The Devils kept the momentum moving from their overtime win on Friday against Tampa with a 3-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres last night. The Devils basically ended the Sabres season, although they still could make the playoffs by winning out the season and the Rangers/Panthers both losing the rest of their games. Jamie Langenbrunner followed up from his terrific 2 goal effort on Friday night with the game winning goal in the second period last night. Jamie is inching closer to 30 goals for the first time in his career with 28 goals currently.
The Devils were looking to clinch the Atlantic Division title with help from the Senators beating the Flyers, however the Flyers were able to push the game into overtime where they eventually lost, giving them a point in the process. The Devils are guaranteed to have home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs with the win last night, and they need just 1 more point to clinch the Atlantic Division title.
As far as the game is concerned, I believe the Devils dominated the first two periods but began to fall back in the 3rd which led to two Sabres goals. Throughout the first 2 periods the Devils controlled the tempo of the game and were dominating physically. Colin White played a very good game, throwing his body at anyone around the net. Mike Mottau also had a few big hits in the game, but I was really impressed with the play of Andy Greene. For someone who hasn’t played much this year and was only playing because Havelid was given the night off to rest, Greene looked very comfortable and his ability to bring the puck in the offensive zone led to the Clarkson’s goal in the first.
I have also been impressed with the line of John Madden, Jay Pandolfo and Brendan Shanahan. These guys know their roles which is to play defensively first, but they do have the chemistry to make things happen in the offensive zone. Chico Resch actually said during the game that Shanahan loves playing with Pando and Mad-Dog and that they all are comfortable on the same line.
Marty played solid all night, stopping 35 shots in the game. He played exceptionally well when he had to in the 3rd, stopping 21 of the final 23 shots he faced. The win was career #555 and his 17th win on the season.
A scary moment for Sabres fans was when Parise went behind the net while goalie Ryan Miller was playing the puck and accidently took Miller down. Tim Connolly made sure Parise paid the price by laying him out on the ice from behind shortly after. This was a big issue for Sabres fans since a similar event occurred between Scott Gomez and Miller earlier in the year which led to Miller’s ankle injury. Parise reportedly apologized to Miller soon after and explained it was an accident.
The Devils are off until Tuesday, where they will host the Toronto Maple Leafs at The Rock. No word has been said yet as to whether Patrik Elias will miss his 4th consecutive game, as well as whether Niclas Havelid will be playing. I’ll keep you guys updated as soon as any info is available and I’ll have a preview of the game on Tuesday.
