Top 5 Devils You Should Know & Sad Things to Start & End A Post About Hockey

From the NYRangers Blog in the beginning of the season:

Scotty Hockey adds…

“How do you bury the obit for Boogaard, the lives lost in the Lokomotiv crash and other summer casualties in a bad montage during a tv timeout? People are talking, getting up, walking around … And then, on the big screen, to wipe away from the cheesy ‘we will never forget’ frame to a bunch of people waiting to cheer for their Chase-sponsored free tee shirt? Disgusts me. The team smartly skipped the pregame talent – no Blue Man Group, no Ace Frehley – and wonderfully had FDNY and NYPD hockey players as an honour guard during the player introductions but all of the goodwill earned from that was wasted away by the obit. They could have included #94 when individually naming the players and have a moment of silence then. But instead it was shoehorned in while MSG ran some commercials for crap you won’t buy. Original Six teams are supposed to be classy.”

…couldn’t agree more.

And from today (really, now yesterday) the only ESPN reporter who matters, Katie Strang (@KatieStrangESPN): One Year After His Death, Boogards Memory Lives On.

*

So, there was an article on ESPN (if you want to give them hits, give them hits and go search yourself) where they looked at the matchup of NJ Devils v NY Rangers annnnd. Well, most of it was incorrect and/or you can tell that someone doesn’t watch (either) team that often. I might do one for the Rangers, but probably not only because a) it would be a zillion pictures of Henrik Lundquivst (as it should) and b) I have my own superstitions.

Top 5 Devils You Should Know:

1) Marty Brodeur (or Broduer if you talk to me on the internet because I will forever spell it the French-sounding way). I don’t know if you’ve heard of him or anything. He’s only some 40 year old goalie who is the NHL’s all-time leader in regular season wins, losses (shhhh!), shutouts, and games played, and holds a zillion and a half other league and franchise records. Every time he surpasses Patrick Roy in an award, a French whore gets her wings.

While I wait for you to get over the grossed out feeling you get figuring out that joke…. He’s also the reason the the NHL changed up the rules for goalies being allowed to handle the puck outside the goalie crease thanks to the fun he has in attempting to be his own d-man and points leader.

He and Cam Janssen had a bet going on this season that Marty would get more points then Cam (our right handed “4-minute” man (still better then being a 1-minute man)). And then there’s the whole “David Clarkson and Marty Brodeur bro-mance” thing.

Needless to say, he’s not the old grumpy bastard he was when he was younger….

2) Patrik Elias. I’m pretty sure if you follow this blog semi-regulary with posts such as “THE PATRIK ELIAS SHOW” or any of my Elias tags, you know how I feeeeeel about my Czech. He had his 1,000th game this season (that I practically had to sell a kidney to afford to go to the 1,000th & the “Game That They Hand Out The Award” game), he was reunited with his Czech twin Petr Sykora. He’s been quiet so far in the post-season but we’ll see what happens against one of his favorite teams to play against.

3 & 4) Captain Zach Parise and Co-Captain Travis Zajac. Am I the only one who calls him that? Probably. But, I know the team is at it’s best when they are both healthy and for awhile (originally it was Parise’s arm and then it was Zajac’s ACL) the Devils weren’t as good as they should’ve been with both of them hurting. While I’m still not entirely on board with Parise being the captain (if we want to be techinical, Elias is still my cap’n but seriously Scott Stevens is the only captain). But, yes. Both have gotten game winning goals in the post season and both during the year were muy caliente (I approve of any and all “THE DEVILS = FIRE-LIKE” references) during the year once Zajac came back from his terrible injury

5) some dude named Ilya. So, as we all know I go through love/hate/hate moods with Kovalchuk and have seen I saw his first Devils “hat trick” (people threw hats in Newark the first time he scored as a New Jersey Devil) and his actual hat trick in person. Somedays he’s just so frustrating on the ice and other days he’s fucking flawless. It’s maddening. Lately though (possibly because of French Grandpa’s work with him last season during our “lost” season, possibly because he’s maturing out of the Thrashers system and is more “Devils-like” (whatever that even means nowdays when the Rangers are the one more likely to scream ITS A TRAP now) or just because he wants to be better then the rest of the Russians in these playoffs) he’s been Good Kovie. Let’s hope it keeps up (note for all you fans who are not from the area – he gets super fiesty playing the Rangers so we might get KOVIE ANGRY, KOVIE FIGHT or two! hoorah!)

He had known and played with almost every player on the plane and was particularly close with former Devils teammate Alexander Vasyunov, a 23-year-old who had just returned to his hometown to skate for the Lokomotiv after three years in North America.

Yaroslavl head coach Brad McCrimmon had also been an assistant coach in Atlanta during Kovalchuk’s time with the Thrashers.

“He knew virtually every guy on that team,” Grossman said. “He was still there and went to the memorial that they had in the arena before coming over for training camp. It was a tough way to start the season for sure.

“He expressed to me early on he wanted to try to do something.”

The crash came so close to when NHL training camps opened that it affected many players deeply early in the year, something Grossman saw in several of his Russian clients.

Two young players, in particular, were affected. Vasyunov’s former roommate Vladimir Zharkov, who plays in the Devils system, and Florida Panthers prospect Evgeny Dadonov, who was his best friend (and also lost close friend Alexei Cherepanov to a heart ailment in 2008), both had difficult seasons on and off the ice.

Grossman even advised the NHLPA that they should keep an eye on those dealing with the tragedy.

“My point to the union was just you don’t know how it affects people,” Grossman said. “I made that statement to them because I could see [evidence of posttraumatic stress disorder] in some of them. As I spoke to players, there was hardly a guy that in some way didn’t know somebody on that team.”

[…..]

Even now as the playoffs are ongoing, Kovalchuk’s fundraising continues. Autographed photos are available for a $17 donation and T-shirts for $71 by contacting info@puckagency.com. — Globe&Mail.com: The Yaroslavl Tragedy: Ilya Kovalchuk and the road to healing

………….

I may be insane. Let’s Go Devils.

Spot the Clarkson?

Over at The Devils Army – there is a “Spot the Clarkson!” contest going on involving sillyness and photoshopping. Pretty much everything I love (plus, of course, our own #ClarksonDown)

Yes, I have a shit ton of tabs opened in that, but that is mostly for you~ the valuable Daneyko Missing Tooth reader! How else do you think the rare times when I do end up posting that I’ve usually got a hundred different links and ideas? Answer: A lot of spare time and a lot of reading material, yo.

Like this article on Susanna Goruveyn (mother of Nabokov’s “Anna”) about how her life as a “translator/Personal Assistant (hey! I know that job!)/Fixer/everything else” to the Russians of the NHL is kind of awesome but also insane, especially as a woman. (But, PS: if she wants to score me a date with Sergei Kostitsyn, I’m not that hard to find!)

And in non-hockey news, congrats go out to Jered Weaver and his no-hitter.

Mother Russia Will Always Crush You.

As most of you know, I am very pro-Russia everything (politics, history, and of course, hockey history). This isn’t that thing I’ve been threatening where I say half stupid that I should write a book about the hockey history of Russia (for one thing, I would need a zillion books about the years I don’t know) but yeah. I love Russians, lazy, enigmatic, beautiful, toothless, wonderful amazing Russian hockey players.

Sergei Fedorov was my original crush (fangirl crush because omg that hair~) but Sergei Brylin was the hockey crush that started it all (“it’s always a Sergei” is like “it’s always a Stosh!” that we Polish-Americans say. Or should say more often). I mean, he was always there, he was dependable, he was magical (Datsyuk levels for a teenage girl) and of course he was a D. Kinda. Mostly, when it counted.

2008 was a terrible year just because, okay, towards the end of his tenure as a Devil, he was getting old and not as good as he once was – but he was not exactly at the levels of 2010-2011 when all we had on D was “half a Colin White & some magic beans Lou is gonna sell” (aka: our Draft Pick of Adam Larsson). The worse part of all of that was that he was just …. ignored. Like, completely ignored and just went to the KHL because what else is there to do? If there is any justice in this world where Lou has brought back Bobby Holik, Brendan Shanahan and will one day (hopefully when he gets a little bit better) bring back Scott Gomez in the last season of his career — Hopefully one day Uncle Lou will invite back Cousin Sergei and everything will be rainbows and sunshine and a little bit of Счастье (happiness).

Anyway, I bring all this up because a) I’m tired, so I’m talkative b) I’m still trying to show From Russia With Glove that I should totally be apart of his blog~ c) IT’S MAY DAY~!!! d) recently there has been some brahahahas about how the media is kind of crappy when it comes to “labeling” the Russian players. Which is things I’ve been saying for years ever since I was a tiny Eastern European child and couldn’t understand why anyone could hate the old Soviet teams.

Recently it was Radulov (who deserved the criticisms, just not how they went about it) but before that it was Semin (he scored a goal and Pierre was still questioning his tiny little Sasha Cares heart) and before that, a zillion years ago, it was Sergei Fedorov and his “fast cars, fast women, crazy lifestyle” (where did we ever hear THAT before, Ovie?)

If you want to see more about Radulov, go read Karen’s post at Not Another Hockey Blog entitled “Lazy KHL Bums’: Xenophobia in Hockey.”

That being said, if you make a “I WILL SCORE” Geno Malkin joke at me, I will probably end up laughing so hard I won’t be able to breath. Because certain things are funny as hell, and then there is questioning players heart and determination and skill just because they aren’t from North America: Land of Hockey Greatness which is not funny. It’s just really sad.

And love lies bleeding in my hand…. Oh, it kills me to think of you with another man…

So, I’m one of those people that don’t like to talk about their team come playoffs (I mean, ignoring of course on twitter and AIM because if we are to be serious that’s mostly just me smashing my keyboard and being sexually creepy over David Clarkson’s SURPRISE~ playoff Ginger Beard).

But, the Devils won over the Panthers (who as a supporter of Southern Hockey/Hockey in the South I should cheer for, but I hate so much about the team that I can’t even try. I guess they’ll be like my (completely rational)/irrational hatred of the ‘Canes) and I feel amazing (also, I haven’t slept in almost 24 hours, so who knows what I’m actually feeling). And that means they’ll be playing the Flyers who I blog about enough that THE MAGICAL POWER OF MY JINXING POWER will hopefully outdo itself and everyone will lose.

Highlights from Game 6 included well. Travis Zajac, who was injured for most of this season and then injured in the game, come back and score the OT winner for the Devils.

(picture taken by Jesse Spector (Sporting News))

Game 7 saw us go into DOUBLE OVERTIME because why the hell not? All the other series (except for Nashville/Detroit) went into OT why couldn’t we be the first to go into DOUBLE OT~!??

Well, do you remember in 2003 how John Madden looked like a monster (I think that that was also the year Colin White was bruised up like crazy as well)????

Picture proof because of course I have it saved in my folder of a million hockey pictures;

Well, that had nothing on last night’s game….

And that’s pretty glossy and neat compared to how it looked originally. Being a Devils fan, I am prone to mass cynical hysteria about my team — so I was more then prepared to cry last night (and one of the reasons why I did not join the Devils Army in Newark for a viewing party) — I just didn’t realize it would happen because an Ex-Devil would bleed all over the ice surface. Good job, world.

Puck Daddy has the video if you are so inclined.

Marty to Theodore: “I like you the most, I shall kill you last.”

Amazing still it seems, I’ll be 23*

Today would’ve been Alexander Vasyunov’s 24th birthday had he not died in a plane crash outside of Yaroslavl, Russia in September. Please, if you can, donate to Love For Lokomotiv for the families (I’m hoping one day soon they will have more since everything is rightfully sold out).

Also, one of the plaintiffs who were suing the NFL for a concussion lawsuit (meaning, the NFL knew and did nothing when so many ex-players were killing themselves or having their body and brains shut down on them] killed himself yesterday.

So, remember. Sports is a wonderful thing, but sometimes it’s designed like all things in life, to break your goddamned heart.

* subject line is brought to you by Jimmy Eat World [Amazing still it seems, I’ll be 23. I won’t always love what I’ll never have, I won’t always live in my regrets.] and banner is brought to you by Foo Fighters DOA and the fact that that they played the first 6 tracks from In Your Honor since 2007 during pre-skates, including those few times Vasyunov was called up.

Kevin Klein: Does Awesome Things for #TeamD

We here at Daneyko’s Missing Tooth (why am I even saying “we” when it’s just me and the Tooth?) would like to nominate Kevin Klein of the Nashville Predators and not Kevin Kline of the “Hey do you remember that actor? He was in that movie….” fame for the inaugural “Does Awesome Things for #TeamD” Award.

For those of you who don’t speak 14-year-old twitter-speak; #TeamD would be Team Defenseman (men?) but I’m sure there is already something TERRIBLE on UrbanDictionary that that means (probably involving men named Richard).

Anyway, Klein’s Nashville Predators as casual viewers to this blog knows, is my #1 team in the West (even if I STILL don’t understand how Nashville and Detroit are in the West, but whatever. I attempted to fix that once and …. well, it didn’t work out very well). Nashville and the D have a pretty good rivalry going on even if it’s mostly (just like all rivalries the Red Wings have; see: Chicago, Avs) an attempt by the other team to be as ~awesome~ as the Red Wings are. If I can get past my completely rational hatred of the Original 6 teams and my general disdain of 99% of the Red Wings fans (WHO IS THE 1%?!) I can completely understand this because the Red Wings besides being around for years (like, say, Toronto) have also been winning awards and Stanley Cups for a large amount of those years (unlike, say, Toronto).

So, the stage is set for Sunday morning’s hockey game. That’s right. I said, morning. Because noon should NEVER be an acceptable time for ANY sport except baseball (and that’s mostly because then I can turn on the Mets on a Sunday afternoon and really just spend most of the night before dinner listening to Gary & Keith talk to me in a half dazed sleep before I have to get up for my big Italian Sunday late lunch/early dinner. It’s one of the nice things of being in my 20s, I can do that because I want to and not because I’m so old that it just happens). So, the game started at noon for Detroit (where the game was) and 11 AM for the people of TN and everyone else in Central Time. I’m sorry but this isn’t the West Coast. There’s no reason for such weird timing on the NHL’s part to start this game, but whatever. They’ll probably be doing it again because early numbers said that Sunday’s 2 doubleheaders of hockey was the best viewership they’ve had in a long time (though I’m sure it had NOTHING to do with Wrestlemania in Philly between the Flyers & Penguins).

DETROIT – The only similarity between Nashville Predators defenseman Kevin Klein and No. 4 Bobby Orr is that their jersey numbers are both divisible by four.

But Sunday afternoon, No. 8 Klein made an Orr-like move to score a memorable second-period goal and then added a goal-saving block and an important assist to key the Nashville Predators to a 3-2 win. Nashville leads 2-1 in the best-of-seven Western Conference quarterfinal. Game 4 is Tuesday in Detroit.

Klein, who has 13 goals in 310 NHL games, made a shake-and-bake move to zoom around Detroit defenseman Brad Stuart inside the blue line and then skated in and beat goalie Jimmy Howard for a goal that gave Nashville a 2-0 lead.

“I don’t know what I was really doing there,” Klein said, laughing. “It was just one of those players when you read and react. Marty (Erat) gave me a nice pass back. It was nice to make a move and go in score and get the boys fired up.”

Klein said he had speed, and that’s why he decided to try a bit of flashiness. “I like to step up and show my offensive talent once a year — that’s about it,” said Klein, who had a career-high 21 points this season.
Coming in at full speed, Klein said he saw the top of the net open and put the shot where he was aiming. “He looked like a 40-goal scorer there,” Nashville coach Barry Trotz said.

At 5:50 of the third period, Klein made an equally important play when he managed to get his stick on a shot from Cory Emmerton that seemed destined for the net. Goalie Pekka Rinne had made the first save, but his momentum had left the net open for Emmerton’s rebound attempt.

“That was awesome,” Rinne said of Klein’s block. “He’s done that a lot this year. I guess he has a little bit of goalie instinct, but he made a huge block … really saved a for-sure goal. That’s obviously one of the key plays.”

Klein became a trend-setter in the Nashville dressing room when he decided to sport a Mohawk haircut. Fellow veteran defenseman Francis Bouillon and rookie Roman Josi have followed suit.

“I had the same shaved head for eight years,” Klein said. “We always do beards, and I thought, ‘Let’s go with a Mohawk and see what the guys think.'”

He said he receives “a chuckle every morning” from teammates when he comes into the dressing room and “spikes up” his new hairstyle.

Klein is further amused because Bouillon has reported that his wife likes the new look. “He has twin boys and they both did it, too,” Klein said. “The family is in on it.”

Captain Shea Weber said there is no way he is going with a Mohawk. “He’s a pretty guy and he gets a lot of face-time,” Klein joked. “He can’t have a Mohawk. Him and (Ryan Suter) I don’t pressure them too much.”

http://nhl.cdn.neulion.net/u/videocenter/flex/images/evp.swf

(from earlier this month but still pretty amazing)

Finally, Ken Daneyko is doing a Beard-A-Thon Click here to help him raise money!!!

Game 2: Capitals v. Bruins

As related to my friend over AIM:

but! in “funny goalie news!” also from today. Tim Thomas (who I hate because he’s a dick, not just because of his politics) got angry at one of the Capitals players who just came back from a concussion. PUNCHED him straight in the face with his fist all angry and douchey and the like. Well. Guess who won the game against Thomas in OT? That, same, Capitals player (Backstrom <3)

[thanks to SBNation for that link]

GAME 1 DEVILS / PANTHERS (is this 2000?) [3-2 win]

Tom Gulitti ‏ @TGfireandice
9h

David Clarkson was pacing hallway outside the Devils’ locker room around 5 p.m. He said he couldn’t sit still. He was amped for this game.

Patrik Elias, on his birthday (36th for #26) scored his 41st career playoff goal, 118th point.

@Sean_Leahy

Brodeur won his 100th playoff game tonight. His 38th postseason win was Florida’s last playoff game before tonight.

That is a crazy fucking stat. I mean. Like. Seriously. Sometimes I, we, us Devils fans take what Brodeur ~means~ for granted. Because, yeah, he’ll be in the HOF one day but that day is not today and he’s still breaking all these weird and random and wonderful records.

Two weeks ago, Stephen Gionta was playing in the AHL for the Albany Devils not even dreaming of getting a chance to play in the NHL postseason. Then, he was called up to play in the team’s final regular season game last Saturday and scored the winning goal – his first NHL goal – in a 4-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators.

Tonight, Gionta, 28, will play in his first NHL playoff game.

“I can’t even explain it,” Gionta said. “I don’t even how to express it in words. It will be exciting.”
Posted by Tom Gulitti on 04/13 at 04:25 PM

Game 2 is on Sunday in “Miami” (Sunrise). We’re ready.

7 days late (aka: shoulda been the last post for March)

So, the past month of March has been awesome for me going to live hockey games (this typically happens where either the Devils play teams I want to see — or my aunt “suddenly” becomes a hockey fan again and wants to go to see the Penguins play) – I went to Philly (!!!) and saw the Devils/Flyers game where the Devil were crap and Danny Briere got his first goal in 2 months (longest drought in his 14 year seasons – but as my friend & I were driving out of South Philly, the radio assclowns were talking about how he’s the worse Flyer player ever (?!!), hahahahha, the night after his goal). Also we saw the terrible Penguins game where I was waiting for Malkin to have a hat trick on us (the final score was just as bad). But, there were some bright spots other times when I wasn’t polluting the Devils with my wonderful Jersey smell…

TORONTO — The hulking body looked familiar, in a way, with his oversized shoulders and a few unpretentious wraps of tape around his stick.

At first glance in the bright Air Canada Centre, it appeared as if the Flyers added a giant to their lineup for the morning skate.

The only thing that stood out for Eric Lindros on Thursday was his black helmet, the one contrast between himself and the rest of the Flyers’ white domes. Everything else looked the same as it ever did, in an orange jersey with the Flyers crest.

Lindros, 39, was a surprise on-ice guest at the Flyers’ morning skate with the team, in preparation for Thursday night’s contest against the dreadful Maple Leafs.

Lindros received an invitation from Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren to join the team in his hometown. Once estranged from the organization not so long ago, those fences were mended and polished during the Winter Classic celebrations in January.

He dressed in the Flyers’ main locker room with everyone else. Big E’s presence was a welcomed and exciting. And his size, even to the Flyers’ current players, is still astonishing.

“I’m a midget compared to him,” Scott Hartnell said. “He’s just so thick.”

“We could use his size,” said Danny Briere, who really is a midget compared to Lindros, with a smile. “He’d be a nice addition, that’s for sure.”

“who really is a midget” Ahhhhh, forever wonderful reporting from the Flyers blogs, you guys.

From the Devils blog of awesomeness that I could never strive to be; In Lou We Trust:

The first group of players is those who make over $2 Million a season. That drops the number of skaters to five; I didn’t count Travis Zajac since he hasn’t played near a full season. Ilya Kovalchuk and Zach Parise each make the most on the New Jersey Devils this season with $6MM. Patrik Elias make one million less while Dainius Zubrus and David Clarkson each make around $3MM this season. Given the number of games they have played, Clarkson is the best deal by only costing about $40K per game. Clarkson is also the best deal if you pay per goal. Every goal Clarkson scores costs the Devils only $107K. Parise costs the most per goal, costing $214K per goal. Much of this discrepancy is that Clarkson is having his best season ever and he signed his contract when he wasn’t playing at a stellar level, thus the Devils are getting a steal.

When we look at how much each assist costs, Clarkson is easily the most expensive. This doesn’t surprise me for a second; Clarkson shoots a ton even when a pass might be the better idea. Since Clarkson shoots a bunch, he isn’t passing and getting assists, therefore lowering his cost per assist. Looking at total offense, the best bang for the buck is Elias at $71K per point. The most expensive is Parise… So why do all the Devils fans still want to sign him when he costs the team a ton? O, right, offense isn’t everything!

hahahha congrats Elias! These kinds of stats are usually boring to me, but obviously even something like that I can understand when it means teasing David Clarkson and being pleased over having Patrik Elias.

Devils’ Petr Sykora came through with important power play goal:

The day after he was dropped from the Devils’ second line to the fourth line, Petr Sykora scored a vital power play goal.

But Sykora, who scored at 15:42 of the first period for his 18th goal of the season, insisted it wasn’t more satisfying because of his demotion or the fact that it moved the Devils closer to a playoff spot.

“I love to score. It doesn’t matter if I score in the first game or right now,” he said. “It was good timing-wise because we had a lot of pressure at that time in the game.”

While Moose was voted the team’s Unsung Hero – a lot of people have been saying that Sykora is there Unsung Hero of the Year and I am obviously more then on board for that train. Also, there has been a quiet “Hey, you know who would be good for the Selke? Patrik Elias” thing going on too. I’m sure someone else will win [honestly since they started doing the awards show live on tv (or at least US TV) I can’t think of a single Devil who has won. Has there been a Devil or two (Parise) put in the running? Yeah, but, that’s like it. Prove me wrong with facts if you can!]

Fire & Ice:

There is growing support around the NHL for Patrik Elias in the voting for the Selke Trophy as the top defensive forward.

The Devils don’t have a checking line and Elias hasn’t been among the top names mentioned for the award in the past.

“I always could play against and I like playing against the top guys,” Elias said. “I think defensively I’ve been real solid and responsible. Especially when you play under Jacques (Lemaire), he teaches you a lot of defensive things. I always felt I could play the game all-around.”

Being in the running for the Selke would mean a lot.

“I was never talked about (in the past). It’s even better to be talked about now. Now that I’m done,” he said jokingly. “Even if I’m just considered, it’s a great honor. It means your game is complete, not just one-dimensional.”

And the other Czech on our team:

Brodeur gets 30th win, Sykora nets 20th goal, Devils reach 100 points, wait for playoff opponent:

Sykora, who made the team as a training camp tryout after playing in Russia and the Czech Republic last season, admitted getting to the 20-goal mark was something he set as an objective at the start of the season.

“It’s been a long way coming,” Sykora said. “I kind of had that number in the back of my mind, but I really felt in the beginning of the season that it’s really far because I hadn’t played in the league for a couple of years. It just feels good.”

Six of his 20 are game-winners. Only David Clarkson has more on the Devils with seven.

Oh, and the 3rd Czech on the team? What is he doing?

DETROIT — Devils defenseman Marek Zidlicky needed nine stitches in his upper lip– seven outside and two inside– after suffering a gash when hit in the face by a Dainius Zubrus pass during practice on Wednesday.

Zidlicky will be in the lineup tonight against the Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena.

“On a drill in practice I layed down on the ice and Zubie tried to pass to Sykie (Petr Sykora) and it hit my face,” Zidlicky said with a laugh.

He said no teeth were damaged.

“If it’s not broken that’s good. If it’s only stitches, that’s fine,” he said.

The Devils had an optional morning skate and Zidlicky was one of those who did not take part.