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Game Recap - New Jersey Devils 4 Detroit Red Wings 3

A well fought battle(?) ends in a heartbreaking loss.

By KyleWiiM
Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports

Hey gang! We're knee deep in trades here and boy have things gotten weird. There were a number of Detroit players who didn't take the ice for warm-ups, but thankfully for us, not because they have been traded. Can you guess why? Well we are yet again without our top three centers in Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, and Stephen Weiss. To supplement our lack of first line center, Swedish scoring sensation Joakim Andersson takes the helm of manning our first line center duties.

Tonight we come into the Prudential Center to face the feisty New Jersey Devils, buzzing off a 6-1 shellacking against Ottawa, I think we are all in good spirits. Right? I feel the this is the perfect time to be playing the Devils, as this team could really use three wishes in exchange for someone's soul *COUGH* Samuelsson *COUGH*
What would you wish for? A new bike? A slinky? A billion dollars? Unlimited Hot-N-Readys?! Well, unfortunately none of those things are what this team needs you greedy little bastard. We need to be healthy. Badly. After losing our captain for the rest of the season and having Pavel's knee made out of crackers isn't helping us make a run for the 23rd consecutive playoff appearance that we hope for. Stephen Weiss? More like Stephen Nice-to-know-ya! (just kidding)

There have been a handful of trade posts lately, so I'm gonna spare all the trade talks. The deadline is tomorrow at 3pm, and with the rising costs of players.. I wouldn't expect anything big happening. For now, let's focus in on the game. Coming into the game Detroit sits 4 points back from Toronto for the number one wild card spot in the playoff picture.. Keep in mind, we have THREE games in hand! The Red Wings are very much in control of their own destiny right now.

Quick run-down of the Devils before we start...

  1. Jaromir Jagr is one of the greatest players in NHL history. Don't let the age fool you, he's lethal.
  2. Martin Brodeur is fat.

Okay! It's game time. LET'S GO! *Thumbs up!*

  • Hey, great defense by our top pair. Devils' hotshot Adam Henrique scores a goal just 27 seconds in. The careless play by Ericsson & Kronwall there honestly angers me in the worst way. Lazy, lethargic, and irresponsible. Not something you want out of the gate.
  • Johan Franzen does it again. At 11:26 of the first Mule buries an unassisted PP goal (against the 1st ranked PK team in the NHL mind you) off an absolute rocket of a shot. Did you see how he kicked the puck to keep possession? Wow.
  • After the first period we sit tied at 1. Goals from Henrique and Franzen. New Jersey has the slight edge in shots 8-7. Both sides served a penalty. The Red Wings started this game extremely sluggish, and the Devils were able to capitalize. As the game went on Detroit started taking control of the game.. Why can't this team every start games unless puck drop is at 7:30? Whatever. Defense needs to be better.. Kronwall had a brutal turnover that Jimmy Howard was able to bail him out of.
  • The second period started off a little quiet until at 7:03 when Brendan Smith scores one BEAUTY of a goal on a feed from Justin Abdelkader. Nothing is more satisfying than a goal by Smith. Somewhere, Jeff Hancock smiles and cheers a little harder than everyone else.
  • Alfredsson lost some teeth.. Stopped to pick them up. Yowch.
  • After 40 minutes Detroit holds the lead, 2-1. A goal from Brendan Smith gives the boys in white the advantage. Shots are listed as 19-15 in favor of Detroit. Brian Lashoff took a *soft* penalty, so New Jersey will be starting the 3rd with a one man advantage.
  • At the beginning of the third, Darren Helm was declared out with an upper body injury, and Patrick Elias ties the game due to Ericsson hitting the puck out of Howard's glove? *smh*
  • Red Wings get a chance on the PP and the Red Wings capitalize on a goal tipped in by Todd Bertuzzi. Franzen and Nyquist with the assists. The Fryquist magic continues!
  • New Jersey scores with 37 seconds left. Gionta tips it in past Jimmy and that's the game. Such is life, folks! Somewhere, David

The Red Wings were very hot and cold in this game. They couldn't keep momentum and when they needed it, they fell short. Ugly loss. This team needs help. Who knows if Datsyuk will be back, Weiss is a question mark, Z is done, and who knows what this whole Helm thing is going to turn into. I think this is a major crossroad for Ken Holland and Detroit. What do you do? It's your move. Times-a-ticking and you are one point out of the playoff race. Win, or take the golf clothes to the dry cleaners a couple weeks early.

Oh yeah! Nick Lidstrom's jersey retirement is on Thursday, against a team who he made a career out of beating.. Don't lose that game, please. Win it... Win it for number 5.

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