The New Jersey Devils came out with much more chutzpah tonight in their second meeting with the Caps, after their loss to Ovie and friends last night. The Caps were minus sizzling Semin, who is still feeling the effects of the injury he suffered last night.
The Devils started the scoring with a goal from tough guy David Clarkson. But the Caps, who were out-hitting their opponents, made it even at 3 - 3 going into the third with tallies from Ovie, Fleischmann and Kozlov. Jose Theodore made some outstanding saves and there was a bit of scare late in the second as he was very slow getting up after one of those terrific saves.
The Devils' goal suffered a wardrobe malfunction in the second period when the red goal light would not stop going off. That must have been totally annoying to Theo. Too bad fellow New Jersey resident Tony Soprano wasn't in the house to fix that thing with a baseball bat...
Third period brought another goal from Devils' Patrick Elias - who was wide open, despite Mike Green's efforts to stave him off. Ovie had a bear hug for Nick Backstrom, who netted the Caps' fourth goal minutes later. Theo faced a shooting gallery with about 8 minutes left, resulting in another Devils' goal by Brian Gionta.
In a heart-stopping, last-second effort, Alex the Great was left solo on the left side of the net and blasted one in to tie it and force overtime. Excuse me, HM just fell off the couch on that play - no worries, I'm okay. Back on the couch for another sudden death overtime. And then, back to the edge of the couch for a nerve-wracking shootout. The Devils won the game with the shootout goal from Zach Parise.
Hockey Mom hopes that Nicklas Backstrom gets the red hard hat tonight for a fabulous 5-point evening.
So by now, everyone has heard about the firing of former Tampa Bay Lightning coach and mullet extraordinaire Barry Melrose, after only sixteen games with the club. Although I'm not exactly the biggest Melrose fan, the new owners of the Lightning seem to make too many impulsive decisions. Drop a ton of cash, pick up some of the best talent in the league and you're next in line to win the Stanley Cup, right? Unfortunately, lots of money, talent and a gritty coach do not equate to team chemistry. So, we'll see how Vinny and friends respond to interim Bolts coach and Gretzky pal Rick Tocchet and if he can get the team moving in the right direction.
Another exciting hockey weekend and not over yet - one more Pee Wee game tomorrow so up and at 'em early. More Caps hockey next week as the men in red hit the road to meet the Western Conference Anaheim Ducks and San Jose Sharks.
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