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Juan Pablo Angel scored his first goal of the season and Danleigh Borman bagged his first MLS goal as the Red Bulls beat the L.A. Galaxy, 2-1, Saturday night.
My broadcast partner Steve Cangialosi and I were impressed by the way the Red Bulls struck back after the equalizing goal and by the way they neutralized both David Beckham and Landon Donovan.
Watch what coach Juan Carlos Osorio, and the goal scorers, Angel and Borman, had to say about the big victory by CLICKING HERE.
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When the Red Bulls take on the Galaxy this weekend, they could be without two key players.
 Claudio Reyna is doubtful for Saturday night's battle with Los Angeles, sitting on the sidelines for practice a third straight day with a calf strain that limited him to just 45 minutes in last week's 1-1 draw versus Toronto.
A much bigger issue appears to be Jozy Altidore, who did not take part in Wednesday's practice due to an apparent allergic reaction.
While a simple case of hay fever is no cause for alarm, Osorio seemed to connect this latest setback to the broader issue of Altidore being a "tired" player, due to the amount of soccer played during the MLS offseason.
He stressed the need for Altidore to find the right balance of work throughout the calendar year involving the Red Bulls, the Olympics, the U.S. Men's Senior National Team, and the U-23's.
He also made one thing clear: That his primary commitment, as he moves forward, has to be to his club team.
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Shortly after 10:30 Saturday night, our MSG live cameras will be pointed at David Beckham for the first time. I'm glad it's now, as opposed to last season's 68,000-fan spectacle at Giants Stadium. It's about soccer now with Beckham.
 There's still talk of his Hollywood mansion, his marriage to Posh Spice, and the standing offer from a British newspaper to pay him $75,000; not for an interview, but simply to know what he eats for breakfast.
Beckham's two-goal performance in last week's win over Real Salt Lake was spectacular. He is still the international ornament on the hood of Major League Soccer. But unlike a year ago, he is delivering on the field.
Also unlike a year ago, when Beckham admitted that he was unfit to play in the five games he did play for the Galaxy, Beckham is healthy and happy. He should also be a handful for the Red Bulls Saturday night.
Make no mistake. The Red Bulls are game-planning around Beckham.
Hunter Freeman and Sinisa Ubiparipovic did their best to simulate Beckham's role at Wednesday's practice. It was a nice try by Juan Carlos Osorio, who after the workout called the Galaxy midfielder the best player in the world today at crossing balls from the flank to the penalty area.
This should be fun.
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The Red Bulls really needed a win over San Jose Saturday night, and they got it.
Steve Cangialosi and I can't say enough about Jozy Altidore's individual performance and the defense's strong group effort in the 2-0 victory.
Watch the Red Bulls postgame reactions to the win by CLICKING HERE.
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Martin Brodeur said it would take him about a month to get over the disappointment of a first-round exit in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Just before the Devils packed their bags Monday at Prudential Center and said goodbye for the off-season, Brodeur predicted that sometime in May his competitive juices will begin flowing, and he can begin to look forward to next season -- one in which he is expected to pass Patrick Roy on the NHL all-time victory list for goaltenders.
With respect to Henrik Lundqvist, whose 10 shutouts led all NHL netminders this season, it's a two-horse race for the Vezina Trophy between Brodeur and San Jose's Evgeni Nabokov. The league invites three finalists, and Lundqvist's 10 shutouts certainly warrant that invitation. But even Rangers fans have to admit that this was the weakest of his three seasons in New York, seasons in which he's emerged as a Vezina finalist each time. Lundqvist was solid in the first round against New Jersey, but NHL general managers vote for the Vezina Trophy winner prior to the postseason.
 Brodeur was the clear-cut favorite for the award until a five-game Devils' losing streak down the stretch saw Nabokov pass him in victories (46 for Nabokov, 44 for Brodeur). Each started 77 games to Lundqvist's 72.
My guess is that Brodeur will win the award for a fourth time on the basis that he was far more important to his club than Nabokov, the last line of defense on a San Jose team that was built to win the Cup this season.
Where do the Devils' go from here?
It's decision time on veterans such as Jay Pandolfo and Sergei Brylin. Pandolfo could be looking at unrestricted free agency July 1, while Brylin awaits word on whether the Devils will exercise the option on his contract for 2008-09.
Pandolfo was not the same player after an injury suffered Nov. 28, but New Jersey figures to reward him for his 11 years of service to the club at a bargain basement salary. How do you cut loose a man who for three consecutive seasons won the Player's Player award as voted on by his teammates?
Brylin is a more complicated debate. He is the only remaining three-time Cup winner other than Brodeur, and his versatility on a team with offensive shortcomings cannot be dismissed. Brylin does a number of things capably, but none of them brilliantly at this stage of his career. My guess is that the organization will look for a player with more physical bite to his game, if not more skill, if a price tag of $1.52 million (Brylin's 2007-08 salary) is the cost.
The Devils will have cash to spend, and their best chance to land the prize of the free agent market, Pittsburgh's Marian Hossa, is if the Penguins are ousted from the playoffs in the second round. That will re-affirm the notion that it makes no sense for Pens' General Manager Ray Shero to have three players occupy so much cap room in Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Hossa. Malkin must be signed to a long-term contract. Crosby is the franchise. Hossa would be the odd man out.
Hossa will have numerous suitors July 1. The Devils' pitch will be:
- A chance to play with Patrik Elias and Zach Parise.
- To join a team that never misses the postseason (11 years and counting).
- To call the best goaltender of all-time "teammate."
- To play home games in an arena that is state of the art, if not filled to capacity each night.
The calendar might say April, but a long, hot summer begins now.
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The Red Bulls had the lead going into the second half, played almost the final 45 minutes with a man-up, but failed to pull out a win. Instead, New York settled for a 1-1 draw with the New England Revolution Saturday night.
Steve Cangialosi and I explain what happened.
Watch head coach Juan Carlos Osorio and Jozy Altidore react to the draw by CLICKING HERE.
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Devils' Head Coach Brent Sutter will go with the same lineup for Game 5, and when I asked why his message to the team was so positive on the day after a heartbreaking 4-3 loss to the Rangers in Game 4, Sutter responded: "I believe in this group."
No tossing of a trash can as Larry Robinson did with his team trailing three games-to-one in 2000 versus Philadelphia; just a calm, yet assuring voice that this series is not over.
Sutter has communicated this numerous times since this Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series began: "There is a reason this was a 99-point team this season."
That reason is No. 30, and Martin Brodeur needs to be the best player on the ice for the Devils to have a shot at surviving this best-of-seven.
 It's a series that's been bad for New Jersey on so many levels. Rangers fans not only infiltrating their building, but rising with a voice in an attempt to rattle Brodeur while he works his craft.
Too much contact with Brodeur by Rangers forwards, too much focus on how on-ice officials -- from a blown icing call in Game 2 to the Avery dance -- are impacting the series. Yet, it can all change if Brodeur gives his team what he's done 22 times in his postseason career: Deliver a perfect performance tonight.
We wrote on this blog two weeks ago that Brodeur has not produced a shutout since Jan. 4 against the Flyers. That streak remains intact. And for the Devils to actually come from behind and win this series, they need the Rangers' most gifted offensive players, Jaromir Jagr and Scott Gomez, to start squeezing their sticks harder.
The Devils say their focus, rightly so, is only on the 60 minutes of hockey that awaits them tonight. In the process of winning Game 5, however, they need to have the best goaltender in the world be at his best. Also, they need to remind the Rangers that for all they've accomplished in the past week, they -- like the Devils -- ranked among the lowest scoring teams in the Eastern Conference this season.
The signature play of the Devils' Stanley Cup run in 2000 was Scott Stevens' hit on Eric Lindros. Forgotten is that the comeback from a three games-to-one deficit versus the Flyers also saw Brodeur surrender just one goal in each of the final three games of that series.
He takes the ice tonight without Stevens, Scott Niedermayer, or Ken Daneyko. His top four defenseman are Paul Martin, Johnny Oduya, Mike Mottau, and a struggling Colin White.
Brodeur needs to play tonight at a level only a handful of goaltenders can reach. The only comfort the Devils can take in this precarious situation is that he's done it before.
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During halftime of the Red Bulls' 2-0 loss to FC Dallas, Steve Cangialosi and I took a look at the on-going construction of RBNY's new stadium in Harrison, NJ, which will feature a natural grass field -- a key component in attracting top-level players.
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Lost in the excitement of John Madden's overtime goal, Henrik Lundqvist's worst game against the Devils since the 2006 playoffs, and Sean Avery's dance with Martin Brodeur, is the fact that New Jersey's most skilled scorers have awoken in time to make this a series again.
I know. The phrase "New Jersey's most skilled scorers" probably brings a sarcastic "harrumph" from those familiar with the second-least potent attack in the Eastern Conference this season. Yet power play goals by Patrik Elias and Zach Parise in the second period of Sunday's win were important for the confidence of each player.
 Lundqvist's pad save on Elias in Game One left the Devils' leading scorer in six of the past eight seasons bewildered. For all of his struggles this season, Elias remains one of the most technically gifted players in the game, but he couldn't lift the puck at a critical moment in the third period of the opener.
Elias has not had a strong series. Parise has been terrific. Yet each player emerging from Game Three with his first goal of the series is significant as New Jersey finds itself in position to even things at two games apiece Wednesday night.
For the Devils, the lasting image of this series could have been Parise grimacing in pain after having two teeth knocked out by a Christian Backman cross-check. Yet at 5'11", 190 pounds soaking wet, the Devils have one of the toughest small-size players in the game in Parise. He has consistently positioned himself in places where he risks getting hit. Every other penalty incurred by the Rangers in this series is an infraction drawn by Parise.
With the exception of the goaltenders and Avery, Parise has been the most impactful player in the series thus far. Incredibly, in a matchup that boasts two sure-fire Hall of Famers in Jaromir Jagr and Brendan Shanahan, as well as Scott Gomez, Chris Drury, Brian Gionta and Elias, it is Parise who is the only player in the series to crack the 30-goal barrier this season (32).
Elias needs to raise the level of his game if the Devils are going to successfully come back from an 0-2 deficit to win the series. His goal Wednesday was not the product of crisp playmaking, but the ability to take a puck out of mid-air and fire before Lundqvist knew what hit him. He's collected more playoff points in his career than any other player in team history with 107. My guess is that he'll need to get that number to 112 or beyond if New Jersey is to survive beyond this round.
Game Three was a reminder of how important any icing call is in overtime of a Stanley Cup Playoff game. There are no TV timeouts in OT, meaning that most faceoffs happen within 20 seconds of the previous whistle, with the team icing the puck unable to change personnel on the ice.
While Lundqvist faked an equipment issue to give his exhausted players more time to recover, Madden told me yesterday that he was glad Lundqvist did because he, too, was winded from the previous play. Seconds later, he scored the goal that may change the direction of this series.
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Five Keys to the Devils surviving a first round playoff series versus the rival New York Rangers:
 1) HIT SCOTT GOMEZ.
Gomer is still, by far, the best pure skater on either team. The rink seems to back up each time he starts a rush from his own end. Yet while his skating and ability to gain the offensive zone is top notch, he didn't seem to absorb a strong hit well in Sunday's season finale.
This is still a player feeling the effects of a rib injury, and New Jersey needs to take advantage of this. It's one reason why Brent Sutter's decision to scratch Vitaly Vishnevski for Game One instead of Andy Greene leaves me somewhat mystified. Vishnevski's had a sub-par season, but can still change the course of a shift/period with one of his devastating body checks.
 2) LET AVERY BE AVERY.
Some of the on-ice chatter between the Rangers' villain and Devils players such as David Clarkson and John Madden is downright hysterical. We can't repeat the dialogue here, but we should boom-mic this stuff for re-air on HBO.
While Avery's impact on the Rangers cannot be ignored (50-20-16 with him in the lineup since the trade from LA), the bottom line is that there is more pressure on Avery in this series than most players. If the Rangers don't escape the first round, he likely doesn't get offered a lucrative contract.
If you're the Devils, let him yap. Go about your business and imagine him playing in Columbus next season.
 3) CARBO-LOAD PAUL MARTIN.
If a few of these games go to overtime, you'll see stat sheets with 35-40 minutes played for the Devils' best all-around defenseman. You can't have No. 7 on the ice enough. Colin White draws the main assignment of stopping Jaromir Jagr, but since No. 68 is double-shifted so much, Martin will get his crack at Jagr as well.
In the third period and overtime of this series, expect each head coach to shorten his defensive rotation from six to four. Between Martin's poise in his own end and his ability to rush the puck, he is one of the five most important players in the series.
 4) THE RUPP, ZUBRUS, CLARKSON LINE.
By Game Three the Devils need to see the impact that this line is having. If Jagr comes out flying with a couple of points tonight, make sure he pays the price.
Jagr says it's irrelevant which forwards match up against him, but we know that wasn't the case when Jay Pandolfo was on his tail in the past. Rupp needs to win faceoffs when matched up with Brandon Dubinsky, and comes into this series playing his best hockey of the season.
 5) MARTIN BRODEUR.
Didn't think we'd compile a list and leave him out, did you? For all of Henrik Lundqvist's dominance in the head-to-head series, let's not forget that Brodeur has been the winning goaltender in the four most important games they've ever played against each other -- three head-to-head meetings in the 2006 Playoffs, and Sunday's season finale with home ice advantage on the line.
Brodeur needs to be better this week. Period.
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Marty Brodeur is on the record as stating he'd love to face the Rangers in the Stanley Cup playoffs' opening round, despite seven losses in seven games versus his arch-rival this season. Be careful what you wish for.
While neither team has officially clinched a postseason berth heading into Tuesday night's slate of games, they begin the night as the four and five seeds in the Eastern Conference, tied in points with 93, although the Devils have a game at hand and currently own the first tiebreaker, victories.
With respect to Brodeur, it's difficult to imagine a tougher first round opponent for New Jersey than New York. They match up better against Ottawa (who'd have dreamed anyone would write this sentence five months ago?).
 Despite the fact that the Canadiens won the season series versus the Devils, they match up better with Montreal as well, considering that Saku Koivu's broken bone in his left foot may keep him sidelined for the playoffs' opening round, and the x-factor that is 20-year-old Carey Price on the big stage. New Jersey, however, is not likely to slide to 7th place in the conference and brace for the Habs in a 2-7 seed pairing.
This is not to say the Devils can't win a best-of-seven series against the Rangers, one that would be emotionally charged and one in which home ice advantage in a potential Game 7 would be huge. However, it would require a level of play the team has not displayed since its nine-game winning streak bridging November and December.
The lower body injury that's kept defenseman Bryce Salvador out of the lineup for the last five games continues to mystify me. Salvador will likely miss the rest of the regular season (for conditioning purposes, if not the injury itself), yet when I spoke with him the morning of March 19 for what was supposed to be his first game against the Rangers, he basically laughed off the injury as nothing serious.
Turns out it's serious enough that he will have had just eight games in a Devils' uniform under his belt when the postseason begins. Richard Matvichuk had just one last season, then was a force in the playoffs' opening round victory over Tampa Bay.
Brodeur starts his 38th consecutive game tonight versus the Islanders, who've won six of the seven meetings between the teams this season. With three full days of rest between games, he figures to be energized after one of his weakest performances of the season Friday. Brodeur allowed four regulation goals versus Philadelphia, two more in the shootout with another hitting the post.
It will be interesting to see if Brodeur plays all of the remaining games, including Sunday's regular season finale versus the Rangers, regardless of whether that game can impact the standings.
If the Devils are slated for a Thursday night series opener in the playoffs next week, he would likely be uncomfortable with six days of inactivity leading to the post season.
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Hey Devils fans!
Have a question for the Devils announce team?
Post your inquiries for Steve Cangialosi, Chico Resch, Ken Daneyko or myself below and tune in to Devils broadcasts on MSG Plus to see if yours was answered.
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It wasn’t until about 10:00 p.m. last night, almost half an hour after the Devils’ 3-2 loss to the Rangers at The Garden, that I actually considered the possibility that New Jersey could miss the playoffs.
When word arrived that Washington’s Tomas Fleischmann scored an overtime goal to beat Tampa Bay, leaving the distance between the fifth and ninth place teams in the Eastern Conference just five points, did the standings carry red alert status.
Then I remembered what the NHL has become: A bevy of three-point games, making a Mets-like collapse in the season’s final week a near impossibility.
 The Devils will make the playoffs. Right now they’re giving little reason to believe it’ll be a lengthy run once they get there. There is time, however, to change this perception.
Forget about scoring goals. The more they think about it, dwell on it, analyze it, the more difficult it is for them. Forget line changes. Just play.
I love what head coach Brent Sutter said prior to last night’s loss at MSG, that the one thing he doesn’t want to see his team do is start cheating to create offensive opportunities, lose its discipline, and in his words, “start losing games, 7-3.”
This is still a team that’s built from the goal out. Some would love to see a breakout performance by the forwards tonight. What I think they can use even more is a Martin Brodeur shutout. He has not delivered one since January 4 against the team he faces tonight at Prudential Center, the Flyers. He is 5-1 versus Philadelphia this season, including his milestone 500th career win back on November 17.
Brodeur’s third period save on Ryan Callahan last night may rank as one of his 15 greatest of all-time. Marty doesn’t need to be reminded of his importance to the club. A strong finish in the season’s final five games still gives him a shot at the fourth Vezina Trophy of his career.
For one night, he may need to take the heat entirely off the 18 skaters in front of him. The team is fragile right now, as if waiting for bad things to happen, like goals by Chris Drury, Kyle Okposo and Nigel Dawes during this five-game losing streak, each coming with less than five minutes remaining in regulation time.
The magic number is still four points. Any combination of four points gained by the Devils or lost by Washington puts New Jersey in the playoffs.
Brodeur, himself, needs to make sure that number is reached before the April 6 finale versus a team they haven’t defeated in seven tries this season.
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There are no easy games left, and that’s the way it should be. If the Devils break out of their most recent losing streak/scoring drought before the playoffs begin, they’ll have to earn it.
Call me crazy, but it’s why I think that having the Rangers on the schedule tonight is not necessarily a bad thing for this team that now has a much slimmer chance at winning the Atlantic Division title than it did a week ago.
Eight days ago at Prudential Center, the Devils felt they did enough to win the last meeting between the Hudson River rivals. A Sheldon Brookbank mistake, however, led to the game-tying goal by Chris Drury with under five minutes to play, which led to Henrik Lundqvist’s shootout heroics and a 2-1 Rangers’ victory.
 The Devils were sick after that loss because they felt, in their hearts, they brought the proper intensity to the arena to win the game. They did. They just didn’t score goals and that’s a frightening, familiar refrain.
There is so much talk of switching up lines to produce scoring for Round 7 against the Blueshirts tonight, but really, what’s the point? Brent Sutter mixed and matched lines in the third period of Tuesday’s loss to the Penguins, yet the team was shutout for a club record tenth time this season. At practice yesterday, his four lines remained intact.
He has juggled lines with regularity for much of this season due to injuries to players such as Jamie Langenbrunner and Jay Pandolfo, illness by Patrik Elias, and ineffectiveness of Travis Zajac and Dainius Zubrus. Still, the Devils enter tonight’s game as the second lowest scoring team in the Eastern Conference.
As a team, I have to believe the Devils have one mission tonight: Do all they can to make Henrik Lundqvist uncomfortable.
This is about creating screens, getting re-directions in front of the goal, and about players such as Zubrus not being pushed out of the slot by the likes of Fedor Tyutin and Dan Girardi. If Lundqvist has a clear line of sight, New Jersey won’t score more than a goal again.
After 76 games, it’s clear that the Devils will not score enough using John Madden’s skating ability, Zach Parise’s hustle, or Elias’ creativity. They have to be willing to pay a price in front of the net.
Tonight and for as long as this season shall last.
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Thanks for the questions, Devils fans.
Ken Daneyko and I got the ball rolling on answering your questions.
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In the aftermath of Saturday’s embarrassment in Pittsburgh, the Devils need to return the favor and beat the Penguins at Prudential Center tonight.
They don’t need to do it by a 7-1 margin, as the Pens did three nights ago. New Jersey, right now, is incapable of an offensive outburst such as that. They simply need to win a game in regulation because such a result flips all the pressure on Pittsburgh for the final six games of the regular season.
Here’s why: A Devils’ regulation time victory tonight gives each team 93 points. Yet, New Jersey would have a game at hand, and most importantly, would clinch the season series against the Pens. Should the teams finish with an equal number of points and victories at season’s end (which looks very possible), the Devils would therefore win the tiebreaker.
 The Pens’ 4-1 loss to the Islanders last night exposed their weaknesses, and revealed that for all of their firepower, it’s still a team that at times is extremely undisciplined.
Sidney Crosby, not expected to play, is likely days away from a return to the lineup as he continues to recover from a high ankle sprain.
While the Pens understandably can’t wait to get him back, it may take a few games for him to develop chemistry with right wing Marian Hossa. Tomorrow marks the one month anniversary of the NHL trade deadline and the two have yet to play a game together as teammates.
There is a debate in Pittsburgh, incredibly, as to whether MVP candidate Evgeni Malkin is a better player when Crosby is not on the ice at the same time.
Make no mistake: When the Penguins left the Igloo Saturday night, they had every reason to believe they are the better team.
Martin Brodeur, who always chooses his words carefully, summed up the rematch tonight this way: As a bounce-back opportunity that just happens to come against a team that dominated the Devils for one period.
Key part of that last sentence? One period. No one’s waving a white flag in the division race yet.
Patrik Elias returns from a four-game absence, while the mysterious lower body injury to defenseman Bryce Salvador will likely keep him sidelined again.
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Even with Patrik Elias sidelined for a third straight game tonight, the Devils had better put pucks past Wade Dubliewicz ... Many of them.
New Jersey has everything to play for. The Islanders do not.
The Devils have their franchise goaltender healthy. The Islanders do not.
And one other thing Brent Sutter’s team has going into tonight’s showdown versus the Isles at Prudential Center: The memory of Dec. 29, when Dubliewicz beat them at the Nassau Coliseum.
Flashback to their last game of the calendar year 2007, and you’ll recall the Devils being frustrated by Dubliewicz in a 5-2 loss to the Isles. They’ve since exorcised the losing streak in their “other” New York rivalry, courtesy of a 4-2 win over the Isles Feb. 23 at the Rock, but tonight would be a good time for a breakout performance.
 I never judge the Devils on how many goals they score in a particular game, because that’s like judging a meal at Peter Luger’s by the quality of breath mint that follows.
If I were a fan tonight, however, I’d expect them to at least match their month-high total of four goals in a game (accomplished three times), considering the abundance of injuries to the Isles’ defense, and of course, the season-ending surgery that has Rick DiPietro reduced to spectator status.
Expect the Devils to come out with a nasty edge to their game, in the aftermath of Wednesday’s 2-1 shootout loss to the Rangers. This is their game at hand on the Penguins in the race for the Atlantic Division title. With the Pens on the schedule tomorrow and Tuesday, they can’t blow this one tonight. Elias or no Elias, it’s time to light the lamp.
And furthermore, the Devils can’t be happy about the lower body injury that will force Bryce Salvador from the lineup again tonight, but his absence will likely allow Sheldon Brookbank the opportunity to make amends for his third period mistake that led to Chris Drury’s game-tying goal Wednesday.
We don’t talk much about Brookbank in this space, but he’s played exceptionally well for a man with three games of NHL experience prior to being picked up by the Devils on waivers from Columbus.
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Colin White gave a short, simple response when asked how he's feeling as he returns to the lineup for tonight's showdown versus the rival Rangers at Prudential Center.
"Everything's good," said the veteran, who returns to the lineup after a four-game absence due to upper body soreness.
The same can't be said for the Devils as a whole, despite the fact that they are coming off a road trip that saw them win three of four games.
 Patrik Elias is still under the weather nursing flu-like symptoms, as he recovers from a bruised left kneecap suffered last week. He was expected to miss his second straight game. The surprise dose of bad news from today's briefing by Head Coach Brent Sutter, however, concerns defenseman Bryce Salvador, who is expected to miss tonight's game because of injury.
The Devils rarely reveal specifics on the cause of injury, but it's believed Salvador took a puck off the leg in yesterday's practice. Salvador did not seem overly concerned when I spoke with him this morning, and even said he'd be a "game-time decision" for tonight. Sutter, however, expected him to sit, and said that Sheldon Brookbank would likely remain in the lineup. Brookbank would have been the odd man out with White's return to the New Jersey blue line.
One of the real positives emerging from the Devils' last two victories is the play of Dainius Zubrus.
While scoring in back-to-back games, Zubrus' production stems from playing on a line with Mike Rupp and David Clarkson.
"He's not a true playmaker," Sutter said of the first-year Devil Zubrus. "His goals are going to come within ten to 15 feet of the net. He's finishing checks, and playing bigger now."
While Martin Brodeur likely finds himself in a two-way battle with San Jose's Evgeni Nabokov for the Vezina Trophy this season, the Rangers' Henrik Lundqvist has the upper hand on the Devils' last line of defense this season, stopping an incredible 122 of 126 shots en route to a 5-0 record versus New Jersey this season.
In the three seasons Lundqvist has been in the NHL, the starting goaltenders tonight, incredibly, have identical .930 save percentages leading up to tonight's game. Brodeur has won a significantly higher number of games in that span, with 130 to Lundqvist's 100.
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Expect the Devils to get a huge boost tonight with the return of recently injured defenseman Paul Martin.
Their best playmaking blueliner has been sidelined for the past five games with a bruised foot, but since Martin was a no-show for a skate this morning at the Xcel Energy Center (only the Devils' projected scratches and backup goaltender are usually in attendance), look for him to return to the team that was shut out for a franchise record ninth time this season Tuesday in Montreal.
 Tonight's game is a big deal for the Martin family. New Jersey's leader in average ice time per game grew up in Minneapolis, has 14 uncles on his dad's side of the family alone, and 80 cousins. He has rented a luxury suite for the game, and the spillover from the Martin contingent is expected to watch tonight's game from either the stands, or a National Hockey League players' alumni lounge in the building.
Devils' leading scorer Zach Parise, like Martin, will play an NHL game for the first time in his home state as well. Parise's dad, J.P., a 14-year NHL veteran, will have the honor of addressing the sellout crowd here for the traditional "Let's play hockey" salute just prior to the opening face-off. It's a nightly ritual here usually reserved for an honoree with a strong connection to pro, college, or high school hockey in Minnesota. That person is almost always adorned in a Minnesota Wild jersey. J.P. joked that if he must wear one, then he'll have a Devils' jersey on underneath.
No sign here of Colin White, who is not expected to play before the conclusion of this road trip, suffering from what the Devils are labeling "upper body soreness."
Martin Brodeur starts his 30th consecutive game tonight. On Wednesday Wild Head Coach Jacques Lemaire, New Jersey's Head Coach for its first Stanley Cup Championship in 1995, called Brodeur the greatest goaltender of all-time. Consider the source: a man who won eight Stanley Cup titles as a player, six alongside Hall of Famer Ken Dryden.
Tonight's game marks our first Devils' broadcast on MSG Plus. Considering Deb Kaufman's decision to change her name to Deb Placey at this exciting time of transition for the network, from this day forward I will be known as Max Power.
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