GDT: NJ Devils Vs. Nashville Predators @ 8:30 pm EST - 1/3

GAME DAY PREVIEW

Time: 8:30 PM ET
Venue: Gaylord Entertainment Center
Away TV: MSG
Home TV: FSN



New Jersey
http://sportsmed.starwave.com/i/teamlogos/nhl/sml/trans/njd.gif
(19-7-9-1)

Vs.

Nashville
http://sportsmed.starwave.com/i/teamlogos/nhl/sml/trans/nas.gif
(17-14-4-2)



NASHVILLE, Tennessee (Ticker) -- Goaltender Martin Brodeur is expected to play in his 700th regular-season game Saturday night as the New Jersey Devils face the Nashville Predators in the finale of a four-game road trip.

Brodeur made his NHL debut against Boston on March 26, 1992 and emerged as the Devils' No. 1 goalie during the 1993-94 season.

Last season, which was his 10th, Brodeur led the league in victories for the fifth time, finishing 41-23-9 with a 2.02 GAA in 73 games, which earned him his first Vezina Trophy.

This season, Brodeur is 18-8-8. He made 25 saves in Thursday's 2-2 tie at Washington and has allowed two goals or fewer in 24 of his 34 starts. The Devils got power-play goals from Grant Marshall and Sergei Brylin.

Nashville is 3-4-3-2 in its last 12 games and is comes off Thursday's 3-2 home win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Predators improved to 2-0-2-1 in their last five home games as defenseman Kimmo Timonen scored a pair of power-play goals and set up Martin Erat's power-play tally.
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2003-2004 SEASON SERIES
DATE LOC TIME AWAY TV HOME TV NAT TV
Jan. 3 at Nas 8:30 PM ET MSG FSN


TEAM STATISTICAL COMPARISON
Key: New Jersey
Nashville

Avg. Goals For
2.4 (16)
2.5 (15)

Avg. Goals Against
1.7 (1)
2.6 (19)

Avg. Shots For
29.3 (10)
26.4 (25)

Avg. Shots Against
23.9 (2)
28.4 (19)

Power Play Pct.
16.8 (10)
14.8 (18)

Penalty Kill Pct.
87.9 (1)
83.6 (19)


TEAM W L T OTL PTS HOME ROAD EAST WEST DIV
New Jersey 19 7 9 1 48 9-4-3-1 10-3-6-0 16-5-6-1 3-2-3-0 8-2-1-1
Nashville 17 14 4 2 40 10-5-3-1 7-9-3-1 5-1-1-1 12-13-3-1 7-4-0-0

NEW JERSEY
5 Game Log
Date Opp. Score
Jan. 3 at Nashville 8:30
Jan. 5 vs. Edmonton 8:30
Jan. 7 vs. Pittsburgh 8:30
Jan. 9 vs. Tampa Bay 8:30
Jan. 10 at Toronto 8:30


NASHVILLE
5 Game Log
Date Opp. Score
Jan. 3 vs. New Jersey 8:30
Jan. 5 at Detroit 8:30
Jan. 6 at Toronto 8:30
Jan. 8 vs. Colorado 8:30
Jan. 10 vs. St. Louis 8:30


NEW JERSEY STATISTICS
Forwards G A Pts +/- PIM
P. Elias 10 18 28 8 12
S. Gomez 4 17 21 2 34
Defensemen G A Pts +/- PIM
Rafalski 4 16 20 9 10
Niedermayer 7 12 19 10 16
Goaltending W L T GAA SV%
M. Brodeur 18 8 8 1.73 .926


NASHVILLE STATISTICS
Forwards G A Pts +/- PIM
S. Walker 12 12 24 -7 47
M. Erat 7 15 22 6 20
Defensemen G A Pts +/- PIM
Zidlicky 8 15 23 -10 36
K. Timonen 5 17 22 -3 30
Goaltending W L T GAA SV%
T. Vokoun 17 14 4 2.38 .915

Esche was just pulled in the Flyers vs. Lightning game with the score 3-1.

Esche was just pulled in the Flyers vs. Lightning game with the score 3-1.

Whaaa?! I just got back from the bar and the score was 1-0 before I left. Oh well. I'm not going to complain about Philly getting a bit of a surprise. Good for them.

I think the Devils take tonight's game. By two.

Hale and Tootoo getting into it a bit. This could be the night we see Pihlman show some physical stuff.

Neider just got stoned, unbelievable save.

Unreal save by Vokoun on Scott Niedermayer. That was as good a goal as the Devils could have dreamed of.

Unreal save by Vokoun on Scott Niedermayer. That was as good a goal as the Devils could have dreamed of.
Your boy is going to get one tonight, this is his type of game, physical and rough.

Did you see Vokoun race to the blue line a few minutes ago and lose the stick? All I could think of was the Czech Ninja moniker that one of the Nashville posters has on here. He looked like Cechmanek on that play.

Predators score on the PP with Elias in the box following a too many men on the ice call. Legwand with his 8th of the season.

Uncharacteristic rebound by Marty leads to a Predators goal.

Got a PP, lets go now.

Uncharacteristic rebound by Marty leads to a Predators goal.

Got a PP, lets go now.

Yeah I can't believe he kicked it right into the slot. It was gift wrapped for Legwand. Berglund took exception to the goaltender interference by Nashville - good to see him sticking up for Marty.

PP = Pretty Pathetic.

Our resident moderator "SmokeyClause" has that avatar. As one of our color analysts call him "Evil Koun-evil" because of that type of play. His technique is a bit better than Cechmanek's, but hes definitely not the puck-handler Brodeur is.

Bad call on Giointa, it was obvious he was following through.

Gionta in the box for a high stick. Predators back on the PP. This period hasn't been a good one for NJ.

Our resident moderator "SmokeyClause" has that avatar. As one of our color analysts call him "Evil Koun-evil" because of that type of play. His technique is a bit better than Cechmanek's, but hes definitely not the puck-handler Brodeur is.

Definately more controlled then Cechmanek's compared with the slip n' slide stunt Roman recently pulled in the playoffs where he was scored on in an embarassing display of bad judgement.

Gionta in the box for a high stick. Predators back on the PP. This period hasn't been a good one for NJ.
Yep. :shakehead

Scoring Summary
1st Period
Nashville 13:02, David Legwand 7 (power play) (Jason York, Martin Erat)

Shots on goal
NJ 7
NSH 13

Power Play
NJ 0 for 1
NSH 1 for 2

Faceoffs
NJ Won 14
NSH Won 5

Rafalski with 2 shots on net so far. Predators beating us in discipline and offense.

I think it's official, were in a rut.

2-0 Preds.

Old friend Jim McKenzie gets an assist on that last one. One more goal and its lights out going on what the Devils have rolling to this point.

Elias gives us hope on the rebound.

Elias.....thank God!

2 - 1 Preds.

6-1 Lightning over the Flyers and its not over yet. This is a primo opportunity to make up 2 points over our rivals with games in hand.

6-1 Lightning over the Flyers and its not over yet. This is a primo opportunity to make up 2 points over our rivals with games in hand.
Yeah I know, and three games in hand too.

Berglund robbed of an empty net goal by Jason York!

Predators commentary:

"And Legwand hammered down by Gionta!"


On a more somber note, ~4 shots in 20 minutes isn't going to do it. Course Yahoo! shows the Devils with 16 shots in that period. ???

Is Brodeur hiding some sort of injury because we aren't see 'Brodeur' these days. I don't think he's tired because of the Christmas break and he was rested once since then. :dunno:

Is Brodeur hiding some sort of injury because we aren't see 'Brodeur' these days. I don't think he's tired because of the Christmas break and he was rested once since then. :dunno:

He looks ok to me moving around in the nets. He did have one great save last period. Devils got their butts kicked pretty good in the faceoff circled after dominating in the 1st. Time to get a new game plan.

maybe they should start ahonen soon so the team will step up their game and not try to rely on marty so much?

(oh yeah, and please send Schwab to Albany for conditioning soon..:) )

Predators commentary:

"And Legwand hammered down by Gionta!"


On a more somber note, ~4 shots in 20 minutes isn't going to do it. Course Yahoo! shows the Devils with 16 shots in that period. ???
NHL.com has them down for 16 too.

Tomas Vokoun never fails to impress me. I can't believe this guy was acquired through the expansion draft. He has to be one of the best expansion draft picks in recent memory...

Also, wasn't he picked by the Habs (something like 220th overall) the same year they drafted Jose Theodore? That's a nice job of scouting (not to mention luck).

Scott Walker scores crashing the net. Thought it was Legwand's 2nd of the night, but it wasn't.

Edit: goal changed to Legwand. Went in off of his skate.

3rd Period
Nashville 5:20, David Legwand 8 (Scott Walker)

this is awful. if this isn't a slump, i don't know what is :eek:

this is awful. if this isn't a slump, i don't know what is :eek:

As long as this slump is quarantined to midseason, it'll be OK. But pissing away points like this isn't going to help our quest to over take Philly. This is really frustrating...

As long as this slump is quarantined to midseason, it'll be OK. But pissing away points like this isn't going to help our quest to over take Philly. This is really frustrating...
Not to mention the Sens will be tied for points with us if this doesn't change.

Not to mention the Sens will be tied for points with us if this doesn't change.

And the best is yet to come with them, as far as their play goes...

that was a classic pihlman play to draw a penalty. good job :handclap: (hey, gotta find something positive here)

Maybe I underestimated what kind of effect the loss of Lagenbrunner would have, espicially on maddog who's in a incredible slump (six goals).

that was a classic pihlman play to draw a penalty. good job :handclap: (hey, gotta find something positive here)
I hear that!

that was a classic pihlman play to draw a penalty. good job :handclap: (hey, gotta find something positive here)

I liked the little kid in the Devils home jersey that was jumping up and down like crazy after the lone NJ goal. Someone please transport his (now fleeting) excitement into the legs of our defense. Give Nashville credit tonight. They are making the smart plays taking it to the net.

Argh! Down 3-1 to Nashville or a NJ PP.... :cry:

And there is hope! 3-2

Madden with his 7th of the year!

Madden jumps on the rebound after Rafalski passes to mid ice.

Madden jumps on the rebound after Rafalski passes to mid ice.

1 more boys..... :dunno:

Crucial face off loss there to Johnson...


And that's the game. First time the Preds have ever beat the Devils in Nashville...

Too little too late against a still underrated goaltender and a great game by the Preds. The warning flags were up as far as I'm concerned when Stevens said the team couldn't wait to get this game over with so they could return to NJ.

This is really starting to get sad...hopefully the upcoming games against the Leafs and Sens will wake them up...and hopefully Langenbrunner will come back soon and start SCORING.

Too little too late against a still underrated goaltender and a great game by the Preds. The warning flags were up as far as I'm concerned when Stevens said the team couldn't wait to get this game over with so they could return to NJ.
He said that??? Wow.

He said that??? Wow.

Yeah I read that in one of the local papers today. The subject was brought up over how many games this team has had to play on the road over the last few weeks. One home game then 3 or 4 on the road and then back again is how it seems to be playing out. Still though, they should be able to focus for 60 minutes against a team like this.

This is really starting to get sad...hopefully the upcoming games against the Leafs and Sens will wake them up...and hopefully Langenbrunner will come back soon and start SCORING.
This is some validation to that. The last time we played a big game was in Philly several weeks ago. Since then the best team we have played might have been the Isles and while they are a tough team they really don't compare to the Flyers, Leafs and Sens teams the Devils seem to rise to. Maybe their getting bored with the competion ( no offense intended Isle & Preds fans).

Jersey always scares me. I thought the game was more up and down than I had anticipated. You guys have some serious speed at your forward spots and I just loved trading rushes. Vokie made some key saves as did Marty. Both teams missed some one-timers that could have easily altered the game. Don't know if that was Nashville ice or what. I thought Pihlman showed some physical flashes and I loved the Tootoo/Stevens mini-battle.

What did you guys think of the Preds (honest evaluation)?

Also, wasn't he picked by the Habs (something like 220th overall) the same year they drafted Jose Theodore? That's a nice job of scouting (not to mention luck).

Yep. Also take a look at his NHL average of GAA and SV % and such compared to Theodores ;)

I am starting to not look forward to Devils games anymore.
:mad:
They're not getting bounces...they faced a hot goalie tonight...they have injuries...they're tired...they got some bad calls...I've heard it all before.
I just don't know what to say...
I thought I knew what to say, but if I'd said what I really wanted to say - most likely that would have endangered my status as a poster here.
Believe me - I had a plethora of words to choose from, most ending in king and beginning with moth. There are many words listed on sites intended for use by lonely adult males seeking gratification that I could have used.
But I chose not to use them.
I simply swallowed my breath, counted to ten, counted to ten again, and then once more after that...and this is what I'm going to say:

RATS!

I thought that the Devils might be hungry enough to win this game - especially given that Philapdelphia had fallen and the Senators are creeping up on us.
I thought that maybe they'd shaken Vokoun enough with the second goal to at least tie this game.
I thought that maybe the referees could bother to pull their heads out of their ***** for this game.
Looks like I was wrong - except that they did seem hungry enough...they just could not find enough Snickers to satisfy themselves (or me).

Speaking of Rats...I was happy to see Pihlman give it the ol' college try out there. I was happy to see him finish his checks against a physical Predators team. I was also happy to see Scotty not get knocked down by Tootoo and Gionta knock one of their guys down. Maybe bringing in Sluggo will give the Devils added life (as well as getting Stevenson back). But - and maybe this is a very simplistic view of things - Rob Skrlac seems to be our good luck charm. Don't know what it is...even if he only skates one shift...we seem to win when he plays. Have we lost when he's played? No! Ergo...we must call him up from Albany...I see no other solution to our dilemma.
Do you?

I am starting to not look forward to Devils games anymore.
:mad:
They're not getting bounces...they faced a hot goalie tonight...they have injuries...they're tired...they got some bad calls...I've heard it all before.
I just don't know what to say...
I thought I knew what to say, but if I'd said what I really wanted to say - most likely that would have endangered my status as a poster here.
Believe me - I had a plethora of words to choose from, most ending in king and beginning with moth. There are many words listed on sites intended for use by lonely adult males seeking gratification that I could have used.
But I chose not to use them.
I simply swallowed my breath, counted to ten, counted to ten again, and then once more after that...and this is what I'm going to say:

RATS!

I thought that the Devils might be hungry enough to win this game - especially given that Philapdelphia had fallen and the Senators are creeping up on us.
I thought that maybe they'd shaken Vokoun enough with the second goal to at least tie this game.
I thought that maybe the referees could bother to pull their heads out of their ***** for this game.
Looks like I was wrong - except that they did seem hungry enough...they just could not find enough Snickers to satisfy themselves (or me).

Speaking of Rats...I was happy to see Pihlman give it the ol' college try out there. I was happy to see him finish his checks against a physical Predators team. I was also happy to see Scotty not get knocked down by Tootoo and Gionta knock one of their guys down. Maybe bringing in Sluggo will give the Devils added life (as well as getting Stevenson back). But - and maybe this is a very simplistic view of things - Rob Skrlac seems to be our good luck charm. Don't know what it is...even if he only skates one shift...we seem to win when he plays. Have we lost when he's played? No! Ergo...we must call him up from Albany...I see no other solution to our dilemma.
Do you?

Moth King? You mean like mothra? ;)

Anyways, the Devils ALWAYS go thorugh a miny slump. Nothing to get too worried about, especially considering that our heart and soul foward is out.

What did you guys think of the Preds (honest evaluation)?
I honestly hate them. (Well, except for Big Jim, of course)
http://smiley.onegreatguy.net/devilfire.gif
But I guess that's a good thing to hear from an opponent...
The bottom line speaks for itself in this game...they hustled, worked hard and forechecked. They smash everything in sight, which I think woke up the Devils (just too bad we couldn't score at least one more).
Preds are a good team. The local color guys in NJ mentioned that your PK could use a little work (my great aunt's bridge club could shut down the Devils power play most of the time) but otherwise, I think they're pretty well on thier way.
With a little luck, they'll realize their potential and make it to the playoffs this year.
Good Luck!

Most of the Devils are great guys. I went down by the locker room and got autographs from Stevens, Brodeur, Gomez, Friesen, and Rupp (I know Rupp, so I had passes to go to the locker room.)
Pat Burns wouldn't sign, I would guess cuz they lost? I called Elias Sergi so he didn't sign, but they kinda look the same when ya only see em once a year. :joker: I'm glad we finally beat the Devils at home, thanks for being in a slump. :bow:

Well, Turner Stevenson may be back as early as next week if not next game. Hopefully his presence sparks the team like it did last time he returned. Nashville came to play tonight. They beat us to loose pucks, forced turnovers, and out-hustled us overall. They played us very tight positionally, and Vokoun set the tone with the save on Nieds early. I thought the Preds were offsides on their first goal when they entered the zone, but we should have cleared the zone, which seemed to be a problem for us all night long. We are coming up on the short end of the one-goal games that went our way last year. Stevens said the all the close games took a toll last year and Madden has echoed his sentiments.

Burns and Lou said they were willing to give up points in the standings early in the season to give the rookies experience in the hopes it would pay off by the end of the season. Now we are almost at the half-way point of the season. Does anyone feel comfortable entering the post-season with the current defense? I think Brodeur never saw the second goal because of Hale's positioning(We didn't either thanks to Chico harping on the highsticking call to Rupp. It was Pihlman, let it go already). Overall, how many points in the standings has the rookie D cost the team? I think we beat Washington if Hale doesn't give the puck away and fall down. To be fair Stevens, Nieds, Rafalski, and White have been suspect as well, but the pairings have been juggled to accommodate the rookies' development. It's easy to sit here and second-guess management's moves, but I would like to see Giroux and Brown get more NHL time and let Hale and Martin get some seasoning and confidence in Albany. It's not too late. But Ottawa's footsteps are getting louder.