Stephen Gionta.

The New Jersey Devils will be taking the ice at Bell Centre this evening, hopeful to expand their winning streak to four straight games. The odds are pretty good – the Devils have won their last eight bouts against the Habs, with the last Montreal victory in 2008.

Pre-game notes:

* No morning skate for either team today.

* Cool fact: Ever sturdy Patrik Elias is 3 points away from hitting 900 career points.

* An excellent read about Martin Brodeur’s father, Denis Brodeur, who has fought through two recent and difficult surgeries. He will be watching the game from home.

* Something to watch for: Stefan Matteau. In the last practice, Matteau was moved up to the top line with Travis Zajac and Ilya Kovachuk, with Mattias Tedenby dropping to the fourth. Peter DeBoer has been impressed with Matteau over the past three games, but a decision soon needs to be made about the rookie’s development. Matteau is closer to the top of the roster in SOG; a place on the first line may very well help him earn his first NHL goal.

* Sibling rivalry: Brothers Stephen and Brian Gionta face off today. Stephen Gionta netted the Devils’ first goal in their victory over the Capitals on Friday.

“I hear they’ve got a pretty good kid in there as their third line centre, no. 11,” Brian said about his younger brother. “I think he’s pretty much been carrying the load for [Zach] Parise.”

* Brodeur will start in net. Carey Price will be in the cage for the Canadiens.

The puck drops at 6PM! Tune in on MSG Plus/RDS.

Adam Henrique. (Source: leehaes/Tumblr.)

The Capitals have had a rough start to their season. With a new head coach in Adam Oates (straight off the Devils coaching bench), a brand new system to get used to, and almost getting blanked last night at home by the Montreal Canadiens, the Caps are struggling. Facing up against a solid looking Devils team tonight, they’re going to have a difficult time.

Notes for the Devils roster:

* The two top lines have been adjusted. New lines are: Tedenby-Zajac-Kovalchuk and Zubrus-Elias-Clarkson. Barch is in for Janssen on the fourth line. D lines are the same.

* A reminder that a decision has to be made for Stefan Matteau soon enough. Tonight will be his third game on the big stage out of the allowed five before the first year of his entry-year contract is burned up, and Lamoriello and DeBoer need to decide if he’s worth keeping on the roster. So far, Matteau has impressed as a kid thrown rather suddenly on to NHL ice. After getting cut from the National Juniors team, Matteau has something to prove.

* Adam Henrique skated with the team this morning and is nearing a return from his thumb injury. He could be back by the Jan 31st homestead against the Islanders.

* Sorry for the lack of recap for the last game against the Flyers, but let me mention again that Martin Brodeur decidedly earned his 120th career shutout win.

* Brodeur will be in goal for the Devils tonight. Michal Neuvirth is in for the Caps.

Devils Captain Bryce Salvador.

We’re about 30 minutes away from the Devils season opening game against the Islanders. (I know, I know, boo hiss.) This post will serve to combine a few quick updates before we’re ready to start the 2013 season.

* Defenseman Bryce Salvador has been announced as the new Captain of the New Jersey Devils! Congratulations, Captain Sal! Elias and Kovalchuk retain the As.

* In case you haven’t noticed, we’ve locked up a very important roster piece for a long time. Travis Zajac has re-signed with the Devils on a $46 million, 8-year deal.

* Stefan ‘Squirrel-cheeks’ Matteau, the Devils’ 1st round pick in the 2012 Entry Draft, is getting his chance to shine. He’s made the opening roster after a training camp that pleased Pete DeBoer and will play in front of his family (that’s including his father, former Ranger Stephane Matteau) tonight. A goal in his immediate future, perhaps? If he impresses, we’ll see him for more than five games.

* Oh, yeah. Kovalchuk is back too.

* Keep an eye out for Scott Stevens on the bench.

* Martin Brodeur will be starting in his 18th season opener for the Devils. That’s insane. Nabokov is in goal for the Islanders.

The lines for today:

F:

Zubrus-Zajac-Kovalchuk
Tedenby-Elias-Clarkson
Carter-Gionta-Bernier
Matteau-Josefson-Janssen

D:

Salvador-Zidlicky
Greene-Fayne
Tallinder-Volchenkov

Tune in at 7PM EST on MSGPlus/MSGPlus 2!

Ilya Kovalchuk in SKA St. Petersburg vs Lokomotiv Yaroslavl.

KHL Calamity: While playing in the KHL keeps locked out players game-shape ready, injuries can also be inevitable. Devils defenseman Anton Volchenkov has sustained a broken bone in the ankle and is expected to be out 3-4 weeks. A start to the NHL season on November 2nd now seems extremely unlikely. However, were the season to start expediently, the Devils would have enough healthy defensemen on the bench while Volchenkov heals.

Russia seems to bring something out in people. Following in the footsteps of fellow star and Capitals’ captain Alexander Ovechkin, Devils’ forward Ilya Kovalchuk has also stated that he wouldn’t mind remaining in Russia in the case of his NHL contract not being paid out in full, per a possible new CBA. Guys, this is posturing.

The NHL has an agreement with the KHL that any NHL players currently playing in Russia are contractually obligated to return to the NHL once the 2012-2013 season begins, or their professional hockey careers would become very difficult indeed. It’s hard to imagine Ovechkin and Kovalchuk willingly putting their participation in such international events as the Olympics into jeopardy. But who knows? Are these threats real? In my opinion, they don’t make much of a PR move.

***

» Continue reading “Lockout Update: KHL Madness; Clarkson’s Signing, Barch’s Ranting, and Matteau’s… Sitting?”

And we shall call him Chipmunteau.

The NHL has announced that the New Jersey Devils will host the 2013 NHL Draft.

What does this mean? It means that Devils fans will be able to attend the draft if they so wish, at their home base, no matter how mind-numbingly lengthy the first round may be. It also holds the implication that the league has faith in the Devils as a stable franchise, notwithstanding their current financial issues. (Hosting the Draft should also bring some cash in for Prudential Center, Newark, and the Devils.)

The Devils, under condition of punishment for the Ilya Kovalchuk signing (wild rule breakers!), have to give up their first round draft pick in either of the next two years. Hosting the Draft next year would make it rather awkward on the host city to give up the first pick, wouldn’t it?

Next year’s draft, along with the following year which will be hosted by Philadelphia, has been said to be deeper in terms of attainable prospects. Did Lamoriello make a mistake by not giving up their No. 29 pick this year? I don’t believe so. The Devils scouting staff allegedly had their eye on Stefan Matteau — yes, that Matteau — and have doubtlessly planned ahead. I don’t see them shedding their first round pick next year as a host city, but I’m not worried about the team drafting necessary pieces in either of the next two drafts.

Inside: Matteau! Matteau! Matteau!; a whole lotta baby forwards and one defenseman too; Elias wins an award; I meet a Devil in enemy territory.

» Continue reading “Offseason News: (The Mostly) Draft Edition”