Progress for Rolston; Happy homecoming for Leblond

Devils right wing Brian Rolston looked like a different player in tonight's 2-1 overtime win in Montreal than in his first game back from his high right ankle sprain in Philadelphia on Thursday.

He skated much better, made plays with the puck, got off a couple of good shots and was generally more involved in his 17 total shifts and 17:19 in ice time.

"Tonight I felt like a hockey player," Rolston said. "In the last game, I kind of skated around and didn't do a whole lot. Tonight I felt a lot better, obviously not as sharp as I want to be, but I think it's a great step for me tonight. It was fun to play, fun to be a part of it and a big win for us."

Rolston admits he still has some work to do, but thinks his game sharpness will come back the more he plays.

"It's just playing in games," he said. "I thought tonight I was a little sharper with the puck and making plays and I felt my legs felt a little better, too. So, it was just one of those things. It's going to take time and it was a nice stepping stone tonight and just continue to work hard and get better."

***

Devils center Bobby Holik sounded like he was satisfied with his play tonight in his first game back after missing 18 with a broken right pinky. He played only seven shifts for 4:51 in ice time, but missed some time in the first period after he was struck above the left eye with the puck 10 seconds into his first shift of the game and needed three stitches to close the resulting cut.

"I don't go down like the rest of them," Holik said. "I just take it and go on."

That seemed to be a reference to Andrei Markov's reaction to be struck in the nose with a puck that deflected off Zach Parise's stick in the third period. Markov reacted as if he had been shot. He threw off his helmet and rushed off the ice.

Holik evaluated his performance as, "fine. I had no expectations."

***

Devils rookie left wing Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond said he enjoyed the ending of his first game at Bell Centre the most.

"That was great to hear how quiet the rink was at the end of the game," said Leblond, who grew up two and a half hours from Montreal in Levis, Quebec.

Leblond admitted he was nervous in the first period, which he said, "went by too fast."

"I was trying to rush things a little bit," he said. "But I didn't make any mistakes, so that was good. I just got the puck out and one time we had a three on one and thought (David Clarkson) was going wide. But it's out of the way now. The next time is going to be better."

***

Goaltender Scott Clemmensen also playing in his first game at Bell Centre. Montreal is usually Martin Brodeur's domain. No other Devils goaltender had started against the Canadiens since Mike Dunham on Feb. 1, 1997 at Bell Centre.

"This is one of the special rinks in the league to play in," Clemmensen said. "MSG is up there as well. I tried to enjoy it a little bit during the TV timeouts, look around. It kind of gives you a break in concentration level as well. But it was unique experience for me that I wont forget because it's a special building with a special team and it was a lot of fun. Of course, it's more fun when you win."

Clemmensen had to shake off a bad first period goal by Matt D'Agostini. Clemmensen tried to catch Markov's left point shot, but dropped it in front and D'Agostini deposited it in the net behind him.

“It went off my finger tips,” Clemmsensen said. “Obviously it’s one I’d like to have back. There was a little bit of traffic in front, but by the time released the puck I saw it the whole way. I should have had it, no question.”

 

But Clemmensen did not let that mistake bother him and was solid over the remainder of the game.

 

"It depends on your mental health, I think," Clemmensen said. "As a goalie, you are your worst enemy. Some guys can control that inner demon a little better than others. For me, it's a situation where to be a good goalie you have to have a bad memory. I've always said that. You can't get it back. You just keep going forward."

 

***

Zach Parise has seven goals and three assists in the Devils' eight Saturday games this season. He has two overtime winners and also two shootout winners in those eight games. The only Saturday game he didn't register a point in was last week's 4-1 loss in Pittsburgh.  

 

Thanks to radio analyst Sherry Ross for those numbers.

 

 

Comments

[Al]

I'm still not big on Rolston from the point on the PP. Then again, I rather see him at the point than Jamie.

[Evans]

so i wonder what all the "Brent Haters" are going to hate about to night and the the 7-1 in the last 8 games.

[BH]

But that was one of the main reasons the Devils signed him. To play point on the power play. Give him another few games to get his timing back, and than we can start to properly judge the power play.

[BH]

At Evans, I think Sutter is a great coach, and I don't get all the Sutter hate. If the devuls finish anywhere from 6th to 4th, he should be a coach of the year candidate.

[Jason]

BH, guys like you make me sick. If the Devils finish 6th-8th you'll be happy? Give me a break. This team has had plenty of talent 2 years in a row. They win DESPITE Sutter, not because of him. You low expectation having appologist. Find another team.

[Puckster]

As BH, said, one of the biggest reasons Rolston was signed was that he's a PP point specialist. He's got a cannon of a shot that is also pretty accurate. He only played 4 games before his injury and now he's shaking off some rust. Still, he's improved over last game and will only get better.

I'm not a big fan of having Lags and Rolston on the same PP unit. I think it should be Rolston/Martin and Lags/Oduya as the pointmen, but what can you do.

[Pearl Jammed(RJ Arditti)]

i think if we can keep up this chemistry and level of play i wouldn't be suprised to be near the top of the conference. Imagine how good this team could be with a well rested Marty coming back in March.... it could be scary.

Have a safe trip home TG

[Evans]

@Jason
can you honestly say there is plenty of talent? we scored the fewest goals last season. to say we are winning despite sutter is completely not true. without broduer everyone thaught this would be the end. but this shows that Sutter has a hold of our D and more importantly our offense is producing UNLIKE last year.

[Pearl Jammed(RJ Arditti)]

well i like that in theory puckster but it only works if their shooting hand works that way, which is what part of our problem was last year. It seems crazy that people are questioning Rolston's abilities to man the point when he has been a perenial allstar for the last 7-10 years and scores around 30 a year with about half coming on the PP from the point. Its only his second game back and i think his sixth game overall this season give the guy a break.

Sutter has this team playing really well right now. You can't say he has NOTHING to do with this current streak, because if he is to blame when we lose, he certainly should share some of the glory when we win

[NJSwampdragon]

People like Jason, mikeford, and others who only bash the team and whine are the ones who make me sick personally. Find another sport to watch, not just another team.

[jules]

@Ditti: re: Sutter: That may be true, but let's not forget that Sutter is a Euro-hating, uber-racist Canadian cowboy who came from juniors but doesn't know how to handle young players, uses a bingo machine to pick his line combinations, listens to country music, wouldn't go with Whitey to a concert, has an obsessive love for fourth-line grinder types, mumbles through his press conferences, laughs funny, makes no sense, and just sucks in general.

[BH]

@Jason, I'm pretty sure I said 6th to 4th, so I dont know what your reading. And the reason for my expectations is because of all the injuries they have had. I love the devils, but you need to be realistic. They could have folded with all the injuries they have had, but they haven't. Their are a lot of talented teams in the east so a 6th to 4th finish would certainitly be an accomplishment.

[Pearl Jammed(RJ Arditti)]

If its sarcasm... i love it! Personally i think you can't have it both ways... If you hate Sutter thats fine. But if you want to say he is completely to blame when the team loses, but that he plays no part in a win, just does not make sense.... AT ALL. Either he COACHES the team or he does not and last i saw if he was coaching this team through the roughest stretch of injuries i can remember and still brought them out with a .500 record against some pretty tough competition.. Yeah this guy sucks all right. He also last season took a team with a Pee-Wee team calibre offense and got us to 99 points. Sorry folks but he happens to be a heck of a coach, the teams numbers say alot about it. Does he mumble when he talks... yeah he sure does, but honestly what EXACTLY does his speech patterns have to do with his ability to coach the team

[mikeK]

TG needs to clear the muckrakers out of here. Some comments about Sutter are starting to cross the line here.

And the team's been hot. It doesn't make sense. People are just coming here trying to start trouble. It's got to stop.

[BH]

Pearl Jammmed, well put. Thank you.

[TG]

When the word came down on Nov. 4 that Martin Brodeur was going to miss three to four months, anyone in the organization and every fan would have signed up for a fourth-to-sixth place finish in the Eastern Conference at that monent. If you say you wouldn't have, you are either a liar or you're insane.

That said, it's only Dec. 6. So, try not to get carried away in either direction.

[jules]

@ditti: LOL, next time I'll add "/sarcasm" at the end!

[BH]

Absolutely TG. I'm not talking about now, at the end of the season if they finish fourth to sixth it would be a great year. It is still early, but with every win, they are gaining confidence in themselves. I hope they keep it up.

[Puckster]

All things considered, the Devils are having a strong season, especially given the injury to Marty. The team has won 7 of its last 8. Now's not the time for pessimism.

Don't forget the Devils have played the least amount of games of any team in the NHL. The Rangers have played 29 games. We've played only 24. That's 10 extra points the Rangers have already played for. They are currently only 8 pts ahead of us. We're in 7th right now, but only 5 pts out of fourth place. All the teams ahead of us in the standings have played at least two more games than us.

[DJ Dan]

I like the way we've been playing lately, but in the end, it all comes down to whether or not we can beat the Rangers next week. Remember, last season we had a 9-game win streak snapped by them...

[george]

I really think we need Salmela back, the PP has looked dreadful without him. Philly and tonight's game were awful 5 on 4. Anyone else notice that, i think rolston and salmela would be better than rolston and Langenbrunner. The right handed shot isn't that important

[Speedz]

The devils have the ability to win. We saw that today, and we've been seeing it happen. They just need to avoid playing cocky and need to avoid being lazy. If they work every game, play smart two way hockey, and just repeat what they do that finds them successs, we should have no problems.

But only in a perfect world it would be so simple.

[Alzheimers]

My opinion on Sutter:

He coaches the best when he coaches the least. The Devils are at their best when they play their game consistently, and Sutter doesn't shuffle the lines or throw in a new wrinkle into their plans. As soon as he gets nervous and starts throwing pasta at the wall, that's when the chemistry goes downhill.

Now all we need is someone to teach these guys how to play on the PP.

[Vishal]

TG, is Claude Lemieux being considered by Lou?

[Brodeur30]

All you have to do is read Jason's comments to realize how big of an ignorant fool he is.

Things we do know:

-Sutter coached the Devs to a 99pt season last year
-Sutter gets more involved with the team than claude "I wouldn't smile at my own wedding" Julien
-Julien would still be line matching at this point when it's clear that Maddolfo are slowing down. He'd try to win 2-1 games every night despite our injuries.
-Despite injuries to Greene, Brodeur, Rolston, Holik, Martin, etc this team is still 14-8-2, 7th in the east, and has games in hand on every team. Sutter is doing a great job with the line combos now and keeping this team afloat despite us losing several key players to the IR thus far...Anyone that hates on sutter should be classified as a fool. Really no other way to put it.