Rolston misses on big shot

Brian Rolston apologized to his teammates in the locker room after tonight's game for missing the net on what might have been the Devils' best chance in the third period to score the tying goal in a 3-2 loss to the Rangers.

With Ryan Callahan already serving a goaltender interference penalty that carried over from the second period, Rangers defenseman Dan Girardi was sent off for boarding only 37 seconds into the third. After the Devils failed to convert on two 5-on-3s in Saturday's season-opening loss to the Flyers, Devils coach Jacques Lemaire wanted to make sure he set up a play, so he called his timeout.

The Devils set it up for Rolston to take a one-timer from the right circle. Rolston got the shot, but missed high and wide left.

"We moved the puck a lot better on the 5-on-3 and turned out to get a great shot and he missed the net," Lemaire said.

Rolston took full responsibility.

"Obviously, I can't miss the net there," he said. "That was a great, great opportunity there and we were only going to get one shot because there was only a few seconds left in it. I just missed that one high. I can't miss those that's for sure."

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"We wanted to get a shot," Devils captain Jamie Langenbrunner said. "Rollie's got kind of a good shot and he just shot it a little high. We set it up for Rollie on a one-timer. We had them outnumbered at the net and he missed the net. Those things are going to happen. We didn't have a ton of time on that 5-on-3, so it was basically only a one-play situation and unfortunately it didn't hit the net. But I think we kind of did what we wanted to do."

Rolston had struck the right post with a left point slap shot a few seconds before Girardi took his penalty.

"That was a tough one for sure," he said. "It would have been nice to get that one. We just have to stick with the program. We'll get better."

***

Right wing Ilkka Pikkarainen was disppointed that his first period hooking minor led to the Rangers' first goal in tonight's game. It spoiled Pikkarainen's first NHL game. He played only eight shifts for 6:41 in ice time.

"It wasn't good," Pikkarainen said of his first game. "I took a stupid penalty in the first period."

Pikkarainen wasn't sure what he did on the penalty. In fact, Lemaire said he didn't know if Pikkrainen did anything.

"I'm going to look at the tape," Lemaire said. "I didn't see anything."

Comments

[RG9]

better luck next time ... right?!

[MattP]

I guess he can't blame Sutter now. How many shots hit the glass last season, 100?

[Mike O.]

Rolston playing for Minnesota = 3 30 goal seasons. Rolston playing for the Devils = can't hit the net.

[crashlanding]

Zach deflected Rolston's first shot off the post.

[iamtheprodigy]

Classy for him to step up and take the blame, but we didn't lose because of Rolston. There were other opportunities, like the one that hit the post right at the beginning of the third and almost got jammed in. It just wouldn't go. Oh well. Like I've said, the team will get better. And even playing at this level, this game could have gone either way. I believe the Flyers game could have gone either way too had Marty been sharper. But, it doesn't matter. Time to keep moving forward and look to the next game as another opportunity to improve.

[iamtheprodigy]

"Rolston playing for Minnesota = 3 30 goal seasons. Rolston playing for the Devils = can't hit the net."

Rolston leads the team with 7 shots this season.

[iamtheprodigy]

Sorry, that's wrong. Zajac has 9. But, you get my point. Rolston is hitting the net fine, and he's got one goal already. More will come if he keeps playing like this.

[Jeff in Hoboken]

TG, you usually have some thoughts on the games--clearly we all have theories, what do you think is up with the team?

[Mike O.]

dude..it's a joke.

[iamtheprodigy]

Sorry, but it looks exactly like all the other pessimistic babble floating around here.

[Per]

Just came from the game and well, it's not great but it's not that bad either. The learning curve is going the right direction at least. Marty is not much better than this right now, get used to it. I'm not even upset about that anymore, at least he made some good saves.

The ref made some terrible calls, Oduya's double was just crazy. All those penalties ripped away all possibilities to get some rhythm in the play.

But I still feel some confidence in the team, it's a rusty machine but it starts coming together. Rangers were not that good, all the hype about Gilroy is silly, Gaborik didn't do much, Dubinsky has a precense though. But I don't think Rags will be a lot better than this. Devils on the other hand, will. So give them a little time boys.

The Marty-chant is annoying, sure, but the place was definitely owned by Devilsfans, WAY louder overall.

This could have gone the other way with some luck and another ref. But you'll get those things back in the long run.

I think it might be time for Bergfors/Zajac/Parise, no?

Rolston...exactly why do we pay all this money for him, and then let Gionta go because ohhhh, he would ask like 4 million...?

[Mike O.]

ok i'll be optimistic. Rolston playing for Minnesota = 3 30 goal seasons. Rolston playing for the Devils = a positively awesome job of hitting the glass with his wicked hard slapshot.

[Pearl Jammed]

I posted this in the last topic, but TG just put this one up... stop feeding trolls

A couple of my thoughts from tonights game....

I thought ZZPops looked pretty good, but i think our best players tonight were Zubrus/Bergfors,and Mottau. I thought they did a great job tonight and Zubrus really played hard and skated really hard and just seemed everywhere tonight. If he can maintain this intensity i think we may finally get something that really good out of him. Bergfors was strong on the puck all night and showed that the extra year of development really did him some good as he just seemed like he had it together all night. Mottau was just Mr. Steady Eddie, just like he always is and played a good strong game, just like he always does. And kudos to Paul Martin too he played a good game as well.

As for the negatives.... the third goal was all Marty, he was out of position, but he did make some really big saves after the bad goal to keep us in the game, and overall did not play a bad game. The second goal he had no chance to stop it so i can't really fault him for it.

Brian Rolston....I am a huge Rollie fan, but for christ sakes we PAID you big money to come in here and use that BIG slapshot of yours and we NEVER see it! He used it once tonight and he missed the net by 10 feet at least, he HAS to get better with it, and HAS to start using it more if were going to be better on the PP. The PP as a whole.... you can't tell me that having Shanny around to be on the 2nd PP unit wouldn't help us... i am sorry but that is really where we are going to miss him the most.

Finally, and guys you know i never do this, because i hate to bash our own players, but this time its warranted. Corey Murphy MUST go... he is terrible in his own zone and isn't any great shakes on the offensive zone and makes too many panicked moves on the PP when pressured and coughs up the puck at the blueline. It did not burn us tonight but its going to burn us sooner than later. I know everyone here is down on Andy Greene, but in all honesty i thought before the Havelid trade that he was playing some great steady hockey. Is he a powerplay dynamo? no not by any stretch, but he was consistent and made the smart play at the right time, and he had 2 stretches where he was really playing i thought very good for us, the first was in the 2 weeks before he broke his hand, and the second was the 2 weeks before we traded for Havelid. I think its time to hand the reigns over to Greene and send Murphy back down to Lowell because he just can't cut it here.

And please lets not all run for the Razors here with this team, its the first 2 games of the season, and yeah they were against our 2 biggest rivals and they are really tough losses to stomach... i get that and believe me i am just as angry as the rest of you, but lets keep it in perspective that there are still 7 months of season left so nothing is really lost yet. Sherry Ross made a great point on the post game show on the way home. This team lost a lot of players and is going to need some time to gel and get to know each other, because alot of the roster moves weren't made until late so no one knew what the roster would look like really until the day before opening night. Let them go on the road, its funny how teams can come together on the road when the hang out and get to know each other. lets give it a chance here before we all talk about jumping ship or how the season is shot. A little rationality and common sense is in order i think.

Oh and it won't hurt when we get our 30 goal threat of Patrik Elias back either

[iamtheprodigy]

Heh, I'll say it again, PJ, good post with some good points in there. Good post from Per too, I agree that while the Rangers ended up on top tonight, it could have gone either way and in the long run, I think the Devils will be a much better team once we get going. I can't help but be excited by what we've seen from Bergfors and Zubrus so far, both look like they could have very good seasons. Clarkson as well shined tonight. Rolston has been better than last year, getting more shots and controlling the puck better, though at the end of the game he was a little bit weak along the boards and of course it would have been nice if he'd gotten the big shot on net. The ZZPops line will get going I'm sure, but if they keep struggling, I wouldn't hate seeing Bergfors get a shot with them. If he can keep up skill-wise, that would be a really fast, potentially really dangerous line. But I'm not ready to demote Langs yet, because I don't think he's really done anything to deserve that.

[Pearl Jammed]

well Pops did get the second goal basically on the PP prodigy, Zajac got a nice goal from some pretty puck movement from Langs and Parise.... Pops is playing just fine, and they will gain momentum soon. Also i think this is a situation like the yankees had with Mark Texiera when A-Rod was out. Tex couldn't get a break because the other team could Key in on him. Same thing here without Patty in the line up Pops is not going to get any breathing room because there is no proven big scoring threat behind them. When Elias gets back they will start rolling again at a nice clip.

[A Local Fan]

Rolston was a bad signing by Lou but I just don't think anyone will take him off the Devils hands. Lou might have to add a 1st rounder to get a team to take him. This is a poor draft coming up so losing a 1st rounder this year might not be brutal.

[Puckster]

I agree. The Devils will get better. It's only game two. It's going to take some time to get some chemistry with all the changeovers. We have the personnel to be a playoff team. We'll get there. Have some patience.

I think there are some good positives. Neidermayer is playing better than I thought. Rolston and Zubrus have been playing better than last year (Rolston's missed shot tonight notwithstanding). Bergfors looks like he belongs in the NHL. ZZPop has had a bad start, but it's only a matter of time before Zach gets hot. It won't hurt to have Elias back to take some of the offensive pressure off of the top line.

My only real concern for the season is Marty. He's 38. I hope he's just having a bad start, but at that age you never know if it's the reflexes starting to go. I hope those fears are unwarranted. We'll have to wait and see.

[iamtheprodigy]

A first rounder to get rid of him? Rolston is overpaid, I'll agree with you on that, but he's not a complete failure of a signing. Of course, his performance this year has a lot to do with it, so I won't say much more on that. He's looked pretty good so far this year and hopefully he keeps it up. We really need his shot on the blue line so he needs to get all of them on net. We've got some excellent rebound scorers in Parise and Clarkson, so just get the pucks on net and let them dig it out.

[A Local Fan]

3 years left and he makes 5 mill per. Ouch. The cap is going down, Paul Martin's salary is going up and the team is at a stand still. Lou has to get creative.

[iamtheprodigy]

He's 37, not 38, and he played some good games in the preseason. He was okay tonight. I'm quite certain he's just off to a bit of a rocky start and he'll be playing solid again soon. I'm sure part of it has to do with the new system, that does affect him too, remember. He mentioned that he was looking too often for the extra play because he was a bit unsure of the team around him, and that's reasonable considering they've been a bit shaky getting used to the new system. Anyway, it's not like two season ago he was 30 and now all of a sudden he's 50. Your abilities don't drop off the face of the earth that quickly. He's just having a rough start like most of the team is. Let's not jump to conclusions with Marty.

[iamtheprodigy]

Lou has been in MUCH tighter spots before and gotten us out smoothly. And I'm surprised that you would remark "Ouch" to 5 million for 3 seasons when the Rags have a contract like Redden's on the team. Now that's ouch-worthy right there.

[Puckster]

I'm not jumping to any conclusions on Marty. I'm just concerned that's all. He's 37. That's still not exactly young. In the shutout he got in the preseason, he really didn't face any tough shots.

He's had two bad games to start the season and hasn't looked good since he got his 552nd win.

[Henrik L]

PJ didnt Clarkson have the 1st assist on Zajacs goal?

[bobo]

I tend to agree with a lot of your thoughts PJ, however, we weren't watching the same game if you thought Mottau looked good. He was out of position quite frequently and couldn't control the puck at the blue line. As for Murphy, send him back to Belmont Park to ride the ponies. Awful is a compliment for his game tonight. He is SHiiiTTTTTTT. I see Lowell calling his name real soon. His plus 1 on the night is not indicative of how he played. On another note...it burns me when fans of visiting teams come into the Rock and mock our players so loud with zero comeback from our fans.

[Pearl Jammed]

RIght you are Henrik.... But jamie was involved in the play too as i believe he cycled the puck down low to Clarkson