Brodeur Stands Alone

Congratulations to Marty Brodeur on winning his 552nd NHL game on Tuesday night against the Blackhawks! The win moved him past Patrick Roy for 1st place all-time among NHL goaltenders in history. This truly cements his place as the best goaltender in the history of the game. Throughout his career, he has proven to be the straw that stirs the Devils' drink.

It's scary to think where the Devils would be this year if Brodeur wasn't injured. I didn't think they'd play very well without him, but they did and having him back has only certified their place as one of the elite teams in the East. In 9 games since coming back from injury, Brodeur has only lost once. He has been phenomenal since his surgery and has found a way to keep performing despite getting older. It's been impressive to watch.

Since his first full season in 1993-94, Brodeur has always had a goals against average below 3. His highest was 2.57 in 2005-06, but he still picked up 43 wins and swept the Rangers in the first round of the playoffs. Since then, his GAA has dropped each year. That's just a statement to how Marty keeps playing better and better while he gets older.

He's only four shutouts away from being first all-time on that list as well. That would 100% cement him as the best netminder of all-time. While he may not get that this year, I certainly doubt this will be his last considering the way he's playing. He will get those four, and he will be celebrated again.

The New York-area has had its share of solid goaltenders recently (Mike Richter, Henrik Lundqvist, a healthy Rick DiPietro), but Marty Brodeur has been the one consistent member of the bunch. He's been the face of the Devils for years and for good reason. Now, he stands alone above all the others, and he deserves all the accolades!

Another Fun Rangers-Islanders Match-Up

I always enjoy watching the Rangers and Islanders do battle. On Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden, fans got to witness another nail-biter between these two teams. This was a game the Rangers needed to win to keep fighting for a playoff spot and one the Islanders wanted to help put a knife deeper into the Rangers' wound. The Rangers ended up with a 3-1 win, but the game featured a lot of good fight between both sides.

On the Rangers side, Nigel Dawes got to return to the line-up with Lauri Korpikoski out with an injury and didn't miss a beat. He scored the first goal of the game, burying a great feed from Chris Drury to put the Rangers in front. Getting the first goal was key for the Rangers. They were able to get a power play goal in the second via Scott Gomez, who was in desperate need of a goal and some life. And you gotta love Petr Prucha's fight with the much bigger Sean Bergenheim. Prucha brings energy and grit each time he's out there. Defensively, they still had some holes, and the Islanders ended up with several great chances that Henrik Lundqvist thwarted with a great game in net. Against a better scoring team, the Rangers would probably have lost, but a win is a win and the Rangers won't complain.

As for the Isles, scoring was an issue again. They were given many chances by the Rangers sloppiness in the defensive zone but failed to capitalize. Their lone bright spot came when Mark Streit knocked home a one-timer off a nice pass from Blake Comeau for their only goal of the game. The Islanders have some skill without question, but they lack consistency and a true leader. Rick DiPietro is the face of that team, and without him, they are nothing. The Isles played alright defensively but were also benefits of the post. The Rangers rang the puck of the pipe twice in one shift during the first period. If those go in, this game's a clear blowout. However, give the Isles credit for playing tough, matching the Rangers for most of the game, and not rolling over against their hated rivals.

With the win, the Rangers won the season series from the Isles and they have one more game together on March 5th at the Nassau Coliseum. For the Islanders, the season is obviously lost. They should focus on finding some talent at the trade deadline as a building block toward next season. As for the Rangers, they have so much to play for with a playoff spot nearly slipping away. While they too need talent at the deadline, they must focus on building off this win and getting a streak going to get back higher in the standings. They also should focus on those two games left with the Sabres, one with the Panthers, and four with the Flyers!

Start Me Up!

After the All-Star Game this past weekend in Montreal, it's time to look forward to what the second half of the season has in store for New York area hockey teams. While the Islanders are clearly out of it (barring a miraculous comeback...which is highly unlikely), the Rangers, Devils, and Sabres are all clearly in the Eastern Conference playoff race. Here's an outlook on the second half for each of the teams and what their goals should be (records and standings include Tuesday night's games):

New York Rangers (29-16-4, 62 points, 2nd in Atlantic, 4th in East)
Analysis: The Rangers started the year sky high, from their opening games in Prague through the first few weeks. However, the Rangers have since returned to earth but are still proving they are a solid team. This team has a great mix of veteran leaders (Chris Drury, Scott Gomez, Markus Naslund) along with solid young talent (Nikolai Zherdev, Brandon Dubinsky, Ryan Callahan, Nigel Dawes), and good goaltending (Henrik Lundqvist, Steve Valiquette). The team's had stable defense and tremendous penalty killing, but the power play has been inconsistent and often times, the team struggles to score. Still, they've won 5 of their last 6 and find ways to win games.
Second Half Goals: Find consistency on the power play, shoot the puck more, maintain solid penalty kill, and earn home-ice advantage in the playoffs.

New Jersey Devils (30-15-3, 63 points, 1st in Atlantic, 3rd in East)
Analysis: The Devils haven't done anything except get better after Marty Brodeur went down early in the season with an injury. The Devils have found the net and played great defense, getting great goaltending from Scott Clemmensen in Brodeur's absence. The power play and penalty kill are both good but could be better. They also have a good mix of veterans and younger players. When Marty Brodeur comes back, if he can regain the Hall-Of-Fame form he's had, even at his age, the Devils will be very hard to beat.
Second Half Goals: Improve the PP and PK, continue scoring, do not burn out Scott Clemmensen, and finally, win the Atlantic Division.

Buffalo Sabres (25-18-5, 55 points, 3rd in Northeast, 7th in East)
Analysis: Right now, the Sabres are the closest to falling out of the playoff race. Like the Rangers, their penalty kill has been excellent, and like the Devils, their power play has been above average. They've struggled to score at points this year, and the defense has been inconsistent. Basically, inconsistency is the best word to describe the boys from Buffalo. Their big struggle has been holding leads. They only have a .600 win percentage when scoring first. That's been one of their biggest problems.
Second Half Goals: Find ways to maintain leads, improve the power play, stay healthy, and hold onto a playoff spot while praying not to finish 8th and being forced to face the Bruins (most likely) in the first round.

And because I shouldn't leave them out...

New York Islanders (13-29-5, 31 points, Last in Atlantic, Last in East, Last in NHL)
Analysis: It's another one of those years for the team on Long Island. Aside from problems scoring goals, they've allowed a ton, and just haven't been able to develop any momentum. Oh, and on top of that, their starting goalie is done for the year with persistent problems from surgery, and their back-up was injured against their arch-rivals and will also miss time. And, on top of that, they couldn't regain their former back-up because he was picked up off waivers by the Blue Jackets. Oh, and on top of that, there have been rumors they might move to Kansas City. Just complete disaster right now at the Nassau Coliseum...or Mausoleum.
Second Half Goals: Get some talent at the trade deadline, avoid serious injury, develop the talent of younger players, get started on the Lighthouse Project, and get on a winning streak that could start a miracle run to the playoffs.