Pens/Devils preview

The Pens are hot.

The Devils are not.

I (along with a lot of other people) DID NOT want to face this team in the first round of the playoffs - now, I'm not so sure.
The Devils are doing exactly what they did last year - lose 5 games in a row late in the year after securing a playoff birth.
They also lost in the first round of the playoffs.

Coincidence?

Lets only hope.

Martin Brodeur who has been cold as of late, has been in net for all five losses, giving up 16 goals, after going 9-1-0 with a 1.75 goals-against average in 10 starts following his return from an elbow injury that caused him to miss 50 games.

The thing with Brodeur is that he can get hot, and steal a series almost on his own - he's done it before, and I'm sure he'll do it again before he retires.

Here's a graphical breakdown of Brodeur courtesy of the Onion:

click to open

The Pens are on a 12-1-2 run since Feb. 25. They’ve moved into sixth place in the East, one point back of Carolina and two behind fourth-place Philadelphia for home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
Tonight is game 8 of a very successful 8 game home stand in which they are 5-1-1.

Have you noticed how the teams on the playoff bubble have been kicking some serious arse for the last month or so, (Pittsburgh, Carolina, Rangers) while the top teams have been playing average at best (New Jersey, Boston, Washington - even Philly)

Thats fine by me - just means there are some upsets on the way in the first round.

There are a few players that really need to pick up their game before the playoffs start - Sykora, Fedotenko, Dupuis - we're looking at you.
A nice little "luxury" we have is Satan, who is playing very well in the minors, and could theoretically replace any one of the guys mentioned.

Crosby has four goals and two assists versus the Devils this season—all in two games.

Should be a good game.