Fire & Ice

Hannah Montana Mania

Things were a little crazy around Prudential Center this morning with the second of two Hannah Montana concerts scheduled for this afternoon. When I arrived for practice, a Hannah Montana bus pulled up near the Lafayette Street entrance and suddenly there were young girls running up and screaming "Oh my God!"

I didn't see Hannah/Miley herself at that time, but after practice the media was not allowed to pass through the hallway that leads to the Devils' locker room. It was being blocked off by security because Hannah/Miley was arriving.

The Devils were not immune to the excitement. Captain Jamie Langenbrunner rushed out after practice because he was going to watch the concert from a luxury box with a group of 22 girls and six adults.

Those who might find it pricey to pay $20 to park at a Devils' game in Newark might like to know that those parking lots were jacked up to $30 for the Hannah Montana show. By the way, the same lot was only $20 for Bon Jovi.

Practicing the power play

Those of you who were curious whether the Devils actually practice the power play will be happy to know that this morning’s practice was dedicated entirely to it.

Players who skate on the two power-play units wore red jerseys and the rest of them wore black.

Zach Parise, John Madden, Brian Gionta, Jamie Langenbrunner (left point) and Paul Martin were on the first unit. Dainius Zubrus, Travis Zajac, David Clarkson, Mike Mottau and Johnny Oduya were on the second unit.

The Devils are scoreless in 20 opportunities over the last five games and gave up a big shorthanded goal in the first period of Saturday’s 5-2 loss to the Islanders.

Island of despair

Other than about 20 minutes at the end of the second period and start of the third, there was little to like about the Devils' performance in a 5-2 loss to the Islanders tonight at Nassau Coliseum. Islanders fans were chanting, "You can't beat us!" in the final minutes of their team's fourth win in as many tries against the Devils this season.

The Devils are 0-3-1 against the Islanders and 0-2-2 against the Rangers. Somehow, they still hold a three-point lead in the Atlantic Division.

Elias out tonight

Patrik Elias will miss tonight's game against the Islanders after tweaking his groin in Friday's 2-1 shootout win over Buffalo. Devils coach Brent Sutter said he found out earlier today that Elias would be unavailable against the Isles.

"He's sore. That's all I know," Sutter said. "Too sore to play, obviously."

Sutter planned to move Rod Pelley up to play in Elias' spot between Dainius Zubrus and Brian Gionta at least for the start of the game because he didn't want to shake up his other two lines. Left wing Mike Rupp will dress on the fourth line with right wing Arron Asham with the three centers rotating between them. The Devils will also go with seven defensemen again.

Islanders goalie Rick DiPietro will miss second game in a row with a left knee sprain. Wade Dubielewicz will start in his place.

 

Home-ice bounce

Sabres coach Lindy Ruff warned goaltender Ryan Miller Friday morning to beware of the lively end boards at Prudential Center because they could produce a scoring chance on the rebound of wide shots. That's exactly what happened on defenseman Mike Mottau's tying goal with 6:23 left in regulation of the Devils' 2-1 shootout victory tonight.

Miller came out a little to challenge Colin White's slap shot from the left point, which went wide left. The puck hit the end boards and caromed out to Mottau, who had jumped up from the point into the right circle. With Miller still out of position, Mottau quickly backhanded the puck toward the net and it went in off the stick of Buffalo's Adam Mair.

The only question was whether White fired wide on purpose.

Parise well enough to play

After still feeling weak Thursday following a bout with the flu that kept him out of Sunday's win in Calgary, left wing Zach Parise took part in today's morning skate to see if he felt any better.

"I felt terrible yesterday and I feel terrible again today," he said afterward.

Still, Parise said he felt well enough to play tonight against the Sabres. Mike Rupp will be a healthy scratch to make room for him in the lineup. The Devils will dress seven defensemen again.

Defenseman Karel Rachunek will miss his second game in a row with what he said is a sore right ankle, though it appeared he injured his right knee in Friday's win in Edmonton. He said will probably try to skate on Monday.

Right wing Cam Janssen (right shoulder) said he hopes to practice with the team for the first time next week.

Martin Brodeur will start in net for the Devils. Ryan Miller will get the call for the Sabres.

Pandolfo's wait continues

Left wing Jay Pandolfo remained off the ice again today as he tries to work his way back from an injury to a ligament attached to his pubic bone which has kept him out of the last 12 games. Pandolfo skated once on Monday, Dec. 17, but stayed on the ice for only 10 minutes and hasn't been back on since.

"I'm just not ready to skate full out," Pandolfo said today. "I just don't have the strength to push off real well. I'm getting better, but it's the type of injury that takes time."

Back to work

The Devils were back on the ice this morning at Prudential Center's practice rink after having three days off for the Christmas break. To try to shake off the holiday cobwebs and get the team ready for Friday night's home game against Buffalo, Devils coach Brent Sutter put the players through a hard-skating practice that lasted more than an hour. After that, they took a group ride on stationary bicycles.

"They hadn't skated in a few days, so they did have a tough skate," Sutter said.

The Devils dedicated part of the practice to working on their power play, which went 0-for-15 on the three-game trip to Western Canada.

Happy Holiday

Patrik Elias' goal 25 seconds into overtime gave the Devils a 1-0 victory in Calgary and a happy ending to their trip to Western Canada. They won the last two games on the trip after losing, 5-0, in Vancouver on Tuesday. Martin Brodeur posted his third shutout of the season and 95th of his career to move ahead of George Hainsworth and into sole possession of second place all-time. He now trails Terry Sawchuk by only eight for the all-time record.

Devils coach Brent Sutter returned to his home in Red Deer after the game and many of the players also headed to their offseason homes for the holiday. They won't practice again until Thursday.  I'll be back then, too.

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas.

Devils sign Snetsinger

The Devils signed undrafted free agent left wing Brad Snetsinger today. Snetsigner, 20, is leading the Windsor Spitfires and is eighth in the Ontario League in scoring with 51 points (22 goals, 29 assists).

Snetsinger, a 6-foot-2, 187-pound overaged junior, attended training camp with Colorado in September, but didn't catch on. There was no word from the Devils as to what their plans are for him, but if he doesn't stay with Windsor, he'd likely be sent to Lowell.