Snoozefest at the Garden

This was by far one of the least entertaining hockey games I've seen this season. The Rangers really bottled the Devils up defensively and the Devils took only 17 shots on Henrik Lundqvist in getting shut out for the sixth time this season.

That's the most times the Devils have been shut out in a season since they were blanked six times in 2001-02.

"We had turnovers in the neutral zone and we've just got to be strong down low," right wing Brian Gionta said. "We got penned in our own end a couple of times. We've just got to do a better job of creating chances."

The Rangers didn't do that much either, but at least they made Martin Brodeur work. Brodeur was probably the best player on the ice today, stopping all 28 shots he faced in regulation before being beaten by Brendan Shanahan on the first shot of overtime.

"They definitely had a few more chances than we did, but we've got to be happy we got a point on the road," Brodeur said. "We've been playing good hockey. Now, we've just got to keep our heads up and get back on the winning track right away."

The Devils are 0-2-2 against the Rangers this season and 0-4-3 in seven games against their two metro rivals (Rangers and Islanders.

"We've got a point out of it, which is good, but we've got to find a way to beat these guys," Gionta said.

***Neither Brodeur nor Kevin Weekes claimed to know which goaltender would start in Monday night's game in Washignton. Brodeur has started 12 in a row since Weekes posted a 3-2 win in Pittsburgh on Nov. 12.

***This is the second time in three seasons that the Devils had a nine-game winning streak snapped by the Rangers. They also won nine in a row from Jan. 3. to Jan. 21, 2006 before the Blueshirts beat them 3-1 on Jan. 22 at MSG.

***D Vitaly Vishnevski was a healthy scratch for the first time this season as the Devils dressed 12 forwards (Mike Rupp was added) for the first time in five games. They are 8-0 when dressing seven defensemen this season. No word on whether they would go back to seven D against the Caps.

***The Devils were the first team in NHL history to sweep a road trip of at least four games and follow that by sweeping a homestand of at least four games. They swept a four-game road trip and then won all five on their homestand that ended with Friday's 3-2 victory over Washington. The Devils are also the only team in league history to do the reverse, sweeping a four-game homestand from March 2 to March 8, 2001 and winning all five games on the road trip that followed from March 10 to March 19.

Comments

[jdr30]

Thats good, bench Vish after scoring his first goal with the team. He has played good all season and played especially good last game. I guess that deserved a seat on the bench?

He did the same thing to Karl last month too. The devils have won 9 out of 10 but I still say Sutter is an idiot.

[jss]

A real devils fan won't call a coach like sutter I word, devils fans should be happy that after losing so many players in the offseason this team never misses a beat. There is whole lota season left and I am sure by adding a piece or two devils are only going to get better.

[jules]

It was Sutter who had enough confidence in guys like Brookbank and Mottau when everyone else thought they shouldn’t even be sniffing the big club. He’s made a lot of good decisions regarding this team. People shouldn't deny him credit for what he's done, even as they're scrutinizing his mistakes. Sutter, LRob, Albelin, Johnny Mac…we have one of the best coaching staffs in the NHL. They’re not perfect, far from it, but it’s ridiculous that some Devils fans are mysteriously silent when the team is winning and then badmouth Sutter like everything is his fault as soon as they get the chance.

That said, the game sucked. I feel bad for Marty. Hope they win tomorrow.

[Arrrgh]

Well, I guess that confirms what happened actually was the gameplan, and the players weren't off or lazy or whatever.

Why you'd want to play their game after they had been such a mess, who knows?

[Yaron]

Snoozefest is right. That game was the worst I've watched in a loooong time. I can appreciate 0-0 games but this one just sucked the life out of me. The Rangers are by far the most boring team in the league this year.

[edweaver]

dont like what sutter is doing either...i have mentioned on here even through the winning streak that its to the players credit more than him for the turnaround.....benching greene was a mistake(could have cost 2pts.)....obviously not having oduya play anymore is a no-brainer(even sutter has figured that out even though it took much longer than it should)....benching vish was not smart and not good for the defenseman's confidence(he must feel real good after playing better and getting his first goal to be rewarded with riding the exercise bike during the next game)....and we replace him with rupp...who had no impact on the game and no impact on the last game he played, which was also vs. the rags(where i remember clear opptys. to throw his weight around and he passed)

i am sure though that we will be seeing weekes tomorrow....hope the team comes out with a maximum effort for him b/c he has been a great teammate thus far and its easy to see his support for the team

[JoeDevs]

The Rangers play boring hockey. I do not get fired up for games vs NYR anymore. Vish should have played instead fo Rupp.

[JoeDevs]

The Rangers play boring hockey. I do not get fired up for games vs NYR anymore. Vish should have played instead fo Rupp.

[Scott]

How come every time a player gets a night off people want to come out like he is being punished? Players just get games off sometimes, if the best players played all 82 games the team would be running on fumes by the playoffs.

[Nik]

The Devils just can't seem to break that Rangers trap. Never thought I would say that.

[Uli_Heimer]

I'm a student, so whenever there's a game on I usually throw it on in the background and hope for big things to happen so I can procrastinate a bit to watch a nice goal, hit or play. This game was awful for that kind of peripheral viewing. I didn't get a single study break out of it until the Rags put it in the books. Shame. Hopefully tonight's tilt will offer more. Pretty excited to watch Clarkson chase Ovechkin around again. That was fun.

[VivaSt.Martin]

Tonight was a good game if you're a real hockey fan. it would've been better if the Devils created more chacnes. However, the ice was tilted to Marty. This is becoming Elias vs. Gomez and we made the wrong decision.

[Danofan355]

We didn't really have much of a choice with Gomez. He wanted to go to the Rangers, that's where he wants to play. On top of all that, even if he wanted to stay in NJ we couldn't pay him what he is making. He is highly overpaid and I would rather have Elias.

[Yaron]

Sorry, but I'm a "real hockey fan" and this game was awful. I can think of a lot of 0-0 games that I enjoyed thoroughly and had lots of ups and downs. This game had nothing -- the devils played like it was a 5pm Sunday game and the Rangers played their brand of boring hockey they seem to be playing this year.

[Danofan355]

Indeed that was a snoozer. I was actually glad the game was over, even though I didn't like the outcome. Oh well, on to Washington. Let's see if we can get some more wins and play a better game. Hopefully we won't be as sluggish this time around.

[Kevin]

Tom, is the Sunday 5pm game a new NHL initiative, or is a 5pm Sunday start common? Thanks.

[MoonDragn]

Actually I thought benching Vishnevski was a good thing. He had some problems defensively and this was a defensive game that the two teams played. What went wrong? We did not get the puck out of the neutral zone into their zone. For a trapping system like the rangers use, you have to rely on quick passes and carry the puck into their zone. You can't dump the puck in because they are not playing that deep, their defensemen got to the puck first.

Their forwards had no problems breaking our trap because they did exactly that, good passes and carry ins. We were solid defensively except for a few minor mistakes here and there but that shot that Shannahan eventually took was because of a turnover in our own zone.

I think it may have made a difference if a line like Zach's was out on the ice more but you could tell even Parise was tired in the 3rd period. If we want to beat them next time, we need to pass better and break into their zone better and not use dump ins.

[Devilswede]

I just think Sutter is nuts for going with a guy that hadn't played in 10 games. I agree that he had to get him back in at some point, but in an important game like last night, after things had been going so well was a mistake. It just completely screwed the momentum this team had built up and what they got used to. I'm definitely sure that is one of the reasons we got shutout once again, because the team just lacks that 2:nd effort when they play with Rupp. Sutter screwed up and he knows it, I'm pretty sure. We shouldn't jump on Sutter because he has indeed made some great decisions the past 10 games, but last night was a huge mistake before the game even started. Rupp just has no place on this team right now. He was useless!

[Mike]

I LOVE hockey and I LOVE the NJ Devils. That being said, I fell asleep in the second period and had the deepest most restful sleep I have had in a while. I felt like I was in a coma!
I have to say, this game had "ugly goal" written all over it from the very start.

[Michael]

You know, I've pretty much felt the same way about every Devils-Rangers game this season. If it wasn't for the fact that I have an extreme dislike for the Rangers and hate to see them do well at the expense of the Devils, I would have switched off all four of these games and check the score later. As it was, I TiVo all Devils games and found myself fast forwarding 15 minutes at a time.

The Rangers will probably give the Devils fits all season - I hope they don't meet in the playoffs. The Devils just can't break the Rangers' trapping.

[Brodie30]

For a decade Mike Brophy and Adam Proteau have made careers writing about how the Devils' style of play is 'ruining hockey'. But now the the Rangers have implemented the trap for the last two and half years (and rather effectively)... silence. Sucks being a scapegoat. Chickenhawks.

[frankied]

I don't like some of the players' attitudes: "at least we got a point". They should be very upset that they played like passionless pansies yesterday and should be working their butts off to improve.

[Devilswede]

frankied, I agree. It was like they went in with the mentality that they expected to lose and that the Rangers were better than them. It was like they felt 9 straight was enough. IMO that is unacceptable in a game like that against our biggest rival. The Devils should've been better prepared for that one...no doubt.

[alzheimers]

It was especially apparent that for the entire 3rd period, both teams were playing for OT. As much as I'm glad we got out of there with something, I'm still convinced it would be more exciting if the losing team didn't get the point for playing to a stalemate.

[EversonIsAPussy]

I hope Scott Gomez is enjoying that wide open Rangers offense.
Hah.