Rock

What's a 'brotha'

Report: Flames reach out to Robinson http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story.asp?id=17303 tsn.ca Staff 12/12/2002 The Calgary Flames have reportedly asked the New Jersey Devils for permission to speak with Larry Robinson regarding their head coaching position. The Calgary Sun reports Robinson and former Buffalo Sabres coach Ted Nolan are now the leading candidates to replace Greg Gilbert, who was fired last week and replaced by interim coach Al MacNeil. Robinson, who led the New Jersey Devils to a Stanley Cup championship three years ago, is currently a special assignment coach with the team. He has indicated in the past that he does not have a desire to return to coaching at this time. Nolan, who was the fans choice in a poll conducted on the team's website, reportedly spoked with the Flames for the first time on Wednesday about the coaching vacancy. He has been out of hockey since winning coach of the year honours in 1997 after he and the Buffalo Sabres could not come to terms on a new contract. While general manager Craig Button would not comment on the report, he did say that the team is exhausting all possibilities and exploring all avenues in their search for a new head coach. Other candidates believed to be on the short-list are former Sharks coach Darryl Sutter, Saint John Flames coach Jim Playfair and former Devils coach Kevin Constantine.

Hope your recovery goes quickly and is as painless as possible. Your 50+ staples puts my 31 to shame! B)

DEVILS ZAP ELIAS DEAL AS 'RUMOR' By MIKE FORDE -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- December 12, 2002 -- Both Devils coach Pat Burns and forward Patrik Elias dismissed rumors of a trade that would send Elias to Colorado for winger Alex Tanguay and defenseman Martin Skoula as just that. But both seemed stunned by the news. "That's what they are, rumors," Burns said after practice yesterday. "I just heard it when I got here this morning [for the first time]. I don't want to talk about rumors." "It's always part of the game, isn't it?" Elias said. "I heard it today. Why should I worry about it? It's out of my hands. If it's going to happen, it's going to happen." Although Elias has failed to hit the back of the net in the last nine games, it would still be shocking to see the Devils' leading scorer in each of the past three years go. The Devils hold only a two-point advantage over the Flyers in the Atlantic Division and only 10 points separate the Devs and the last-place Islanders. "It's really important that you win your division, because everyone's so tight that if you don't, you could be [a] really low [seed]," said Martin Brodeur, who shut out a depleted Blues team Tuesday night, 2-0. Tonight, the Devils play at Columbus for the second time this season in the first game of a two-game road swing. The Devs won there earlier in the season 3-2 and are favorites to outclass a Blue Jacket team that is stuck in a 2-6-1-0 funk. "When we go on the road for a couple of games like this, the first game's always really important," Brodeur said. "You want to win that first one so the second one's a little easier to play. If you lose that first one, there's a little more pressure." Isn't it funny that the guy who made up the rumor, didn't write the Devils rebuttal on his asinine speculation?

White's maturity paying big dividends for Devils http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?level_...32&page=5950869 Thursday, December 12, 2002 By TOM GULITTI Staff Writer WEST ORANGE - Colin White was big and strong long before he made it to the NHL. Devils' coach Pat Burns remembers watching the 6-foot-5, 215-pound defenseman play for his old junior team, the Hull Olympiques. "He was the big, strong guy on the team," Burns recalled Wednesday. "He'd get away with stuff because he was so big and strong." When White, the last of four Devils' second-round picks in the 1996 entry draft, reached the NHL, however, he learned he still had some growing to do. And it had nothing to do with gaining weight or building muscle. There were times when he needed to use his head instead of his body. He sometimes received his education the hard way, earning a seat on the bench during pivotal moments of playoff games when Larry Robinson was the Devils' head coach. This season the lessons seem to be paying off. He leads all Devils defensemen in goals with four and he's first on the team with a plus-11 rating heading into tonight's game in Columbus. He's matured into a player who is sound in his own end, calmly makes intelligent decisions with the puck, and is in control of his emotions. "I think each and every year you get more and more confident," White said. White, who celebrates his 25th birthday today, joined the Devils in time for their run to the Stanley Cup in 2000, but this is only his third full NHL season. He has made tremendous strides in the last two seasons while being paired with veteran defenseman Scott Niedermayer. Niedermayer's strong skating and ability to carry the puck out of trouble have been the perfect complement to White's physical play and puck-moving skill. "I've noticed that just playing with him has been, I don't know what the right word is, but maybe easier," Niedermayer said. "He's got some confidence with the puck. Whether it's a shot or a pass or whatever, he seems to be doing the right thing." Burns has enough confidence in White to use him in all situations - five-on-five, penalty-kill, protecting a lead late in the game, and even on the power play in the last two contests. "He's got a hell of a shot," Burns said. "He gets it away quick. Some of the guys just aren't getting it off. He's getting it off quick." When Burns took over the Devils during the summer, however, he was expecting the worst from White. "He was a guy I heard all kinds of horror stories about because of his discipline and about sometimes taking chances, and he has been the most improved defenseman, our most steady defenseman from the start of the year," Burns said. "When we look at the way he's been playing, he's kept his cool and when he takes a penalty it's for the team. That's all maturity. That's all getting a little bit older." It took White some time to grasp the importance of maintaining his discipline, though. White is second on the Devils with 44 penalty minutes, but he's been more selective about getting involved. He took a high-sticking penalty on Tyson Nash after the St. Louis agitator ran into goalie Martin Brodeur late in Tuesday's 2-0 win over the Blues, but Burns said White's actions were justified because he was defending a teammate. Plus, there have been other occasions where White has restrained himself from getting involved because he didn't want to leave his team short-handed. DEVILS BRIEFS: Defenseman Brian Rafalski, who missed Tuesday's game with a rib injury, worked out off the ice for the second day in a row and plans to take part in this morning's skate. But it's doubtful he'll play tonight. "There's a small chance," he said. "I'll try to get some intensity in the [morning] skate and go from there."... Backup goalie Corey Schwab skated briefly Wednesday and made the trip to Columbus, but was still weak from a viral infection. Scott Clemmensen will probably back up Brodeur again tonight.

DECEMBER 11, 2002. FLAMES GM DENY IGINLA TRADE RUMOUR. CALGARY SUN: Randy Sportak reports Flames GM Craig Button has spoken out about recent speculation he was planning to ship forward Jarome Iginla to the Philadephia Flyers as part of a blockbuster five-player deal. After ignoring the rumour for several days, Button spoke out, claiming he has "zero intention" of trade Iginla. Button also stuck up for his struggling franchise player, noting "Iggy" has been hampered by a hip flexor injury for weeks. Spector's Note: That would certainly account for Iginla's woeful offence this season. Kudos to Button for publicly shooting down what some of the wilder rumor mongers have been publishing of late! ELIAS TO THE AVALANCHE? NEW YORK POST: Mark (N)Єverson reports his paper was told the New Jersey Devils may be planning to ship struggling winger Patrik Elias to the Colorado Avalanche for Alex Tanguay and Martin Skoula. Such a move would "dump $2.5 million of salary" by the Devils, who are struggling at the gate and with payroll this season. Spector's Take: My thanks to "SimPro", "David" and "blueline1925" for sending this in. OK, so this would help the Devils cut salary, but does it address their need for more offence? They've got more than enough blueline depth, so adding Skoula makes no sense, unless they're moving another defenceman. And Tanguay has really struggled this season, worse than Elias. Sorry, folks, but this trade by the Devils simply doesn't work! THE LATEST SENATORS RUMOURS. OTTAWA SUN: Bruce Garrioch reports Senators GM John Muckler will either have to make a trade or send rookie blueliner Anton Volchenkov to the minors in order to pare his defence corps from eight to seven. Garrioch claims the Tampa Bay Lightning, New York Rangers and New York Islanders may have contacted Muckler regarding a trade of one of his extra defencemen. Garrioch also reports Muckler is pleased with the performance of Karel Rachunek since he returned from a contract holdout, which justified Muckler's decision not to shop him. This could mean Shane Hnidy or Joel Kwiatkowski could be dealt. OTTAWA CITIZEN: Allen Panzeri reports Muckler acknowledged at some point he may have to trade one of his extra defencemen. Due to injuries to Chris Phillips, plus injuries to Daniel Alfredsson and Petr Schastlivy necessitating another spare blueliner play on the fourth line, Muckler says he can afford to be patient. Panzeri notes Muckler could make a minor trade involving his lesser lights on the blueline, or a major one involving someone like Chris Phillips. Spector's Note: So Muckler is happy with Rachunek and doesn't intend to move him. Sure goes against what Garrioch has been claiming for several weeks now! But wait! It gets better! Read on.... OTTAWA SUN: Garrioch also reported of talks of the Senators trading Radek Bonk and Magnus Arvedson to the Isles for Brad Isbister and Dave Scatchard, and claimed Muckler "didn't dismiss the notion". Garrioch also claimed Muckler "all but admitted" left winger Arvedson would be dealt this season, due to Martin Havlat getting more comfortable playing left wing. OTTAWA SUN: Allen Panzeri reports Muckler said he could afford to wait for the right trade, adding that it would be stupid to make a hasty decision as he's dealing from a position of strength. Muckler cited recent newspaper articles of his apparent "talks" with the Islanders where he noted the Isles are playing much better of late and praised their management for not acting in haste and dealing away their young players. Wayne Scanlan of the Citizen dismissed the Radek Bonk trade rumours, noting the number of years and money the club invested in Bonk, the fact several notable former Sens (including Pavol Demitra and Vaclav Prospal) went on to stardom elsewhere, and the fact Marion Hossa plays better with linemate Bonk in the lineup. Scanlan noted Hossa's recent scoring tear began the day Bonk returned from injury on November 9th. Scanlan compares Bonk's style of play to Hall-of-Famer Frank Mahovlich, whose style was blasted as lazy in his day by Leafs fans, much as Bonk's is today. Scanlan sums up his article by observing the Sens cannot afford to move Bonk if they have no one to replace him as first line center. Spector's Note: The back-to-back comparison of the Sun and Citizen articles are striking. Garrioch of the Sun claimed Muckler wasn't dismissing a potential trade with the Islanders, but if you read Muckler's full comments in the Citizen, he says no such thing. And you've got a clear-eyed assessment as to why the Senators shouldn't be moving Bonk from Scanlan of the Citizen! Tell you what, faithful readers, go to the links I've provided above, and then draw your own conclusions as to which paper has the straight dope on what's happening with the Senators! RANGERS INTERESTED IN HACKETT OR BRATHWAITE? NEW YORK DAILY NEWS: John Dellapina reports Rangers GM Glen Sather has spoken to the Montreal Canadiens and St. Louis Blues regarding goaltenders Jeff Hackett and Fred Brathwaite. With Mike Richter sidelined indefinitely, the Rangers are desperately seeking an experienced netminder to split goalie duties with young Dan Blackburn. The Habs apparently want a "great deal" in return, which would include prospect Jamie Lundmark, for Hackett, while it's believed the Blues would want a lesser return for Brathewaite. Spector's Note: With Hackett outplaying a struggling Jose Theodore this season, the Habs won't trade him, and certainly not to a Conference rival who might be battling them for a playoff berth. I'd say Brathwaite stands the better chance of going to Broadway, as the Blues are carrying too many goalies and must trade one. NOBODY WANTS COYOTES? FACEOFF.COM: reports Phoenix Coyotes part-owner Wayne Gretzky told an Phoenix newspaper the reason his club hasn't made any trades is because there "aren't many guys on our club that teams want". Gretzky acknowledged critics demands to shake up his roster, but said the players other teams want are those he doesn't want to move, while those he'd like to move, nobody wants. Spector's Note: Refreshing honesty by Gretzky, although he may also be attempting to light a fire under those who haven't stepped up their play this season.

Hopefully she'll have a quick and speedy recovery. My thoughts go out to her. Hopefully everything starts working normally. (PS I am now able to take stairs like a an adult and not a toddler!!) Dew if you see this, do as much of the exercises as the pain permits. There are days when I don't wanty to do the home exercises, but I force myself do them, and feel better afterward that I DID do them.

DEVILS MIGHT DEAL ELIAS TO COLORADO http://www.nypost.com/sports/devils/26873.htm By MARK (N)Єverson -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Devils 2 - Blues 0 December 11, 2002 -- This word in the wind would be just as shocking as the trades of Patrik Elias' former A Linemates. While Martin Brodeur was posting his 58th career shutout, blanking an 18-man Blues team decimated by 10 cases of food poisoning, The Post was told that Elias, the reigning three-time leading scorer, could be headed to Colorado for winger Alex Tanguay and defenseman Martin Skoula. After signing for $14.5 million over three years, Elias has struggled without former A Liners Jason Arnott and Petr Sykora, both traded since March. His goal drought reached nine games in last night's 2-0 victory over St. Louis and his seven goals and 14 points are third in each department for New Jersey. "Teams are going to be trying now," Elias said philosophically. Such a deal would represent a major salary dump of $2.5 million this season for the Devils, reported to have wallet trouble with a $53 million payroll and disappointing attendance. Tanguay earns 900G and Skoula $1.1 million. Both 23, Tanguay and Skoula were the first two of Colorado's four first-rounders in 1998. Neither, however, would seem to represent the scoring potential of Elias at a time when the Devils are desperate for goal-getters. The last remnant of the A Line that led the Devils to their 2000 Stanley Cup, Elias has scored 35, 40 and 29 goals the past three seasons and was appointed alternate captain by Pat Burns this year. Tanguay and Skoula have been mentioned as possibilities for Boston, for unsigned Kyle McLaren and Martin Lapointe, a package that would far exceed Elias' salary. Skoula scored 10 goals on defense for Colorado last season, while Tanguay's best was 27 goals and 77 points two seasons ago. While Elias continued unable to find net, the Devils took advantage of the malady the Blues think they acquired in Detroit. Dallas Drake, Scott Mellanby, Jeff Finley, Nathan Laflamme and Justin Papineau all sat out with the suspected food poisoning and four more skated sick as the Blues dressed only 18 players. New Jersey has scored only eight goals in five games and last night's precious offense came from two forwards known more for muscle than gunnery. Jim McKenzie put New Jersey in front at 13:14 of the first, steering in Brian Gionta's set-up for his first goal since March 13. Turner Stevenson gave the Devils a 2-0 lead at 11:52 of the second, swiping his third past Fred Brathwaite on a scramble off Joe Nieuwendyk's feed from the corner. "We got our goal-scorers going tonight. We're all set now," Scott Stevens said in fun. When does (N)Єverson realize his imaginary trades never come true? Why does he keep wasting his and our time spouting this drivel?

Role players ease burden http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?level_...33&page=5950479 Wednesday, December 11, 2002 By TOM GULITTI Staff Writer Oleg Tverdovsky of the Devils dropping the Blues\' Steve Dubinsky to the ice during the second period Tuesday night. Martin Brodeur posted his 58th career shutout for the first-place Devils. (AP) EAST RUTHERFORD - The building was half empty. The St. Louis Blues were nearly all sick. And, ho hum, the Devils won again. While the their big names continued to struggle to put the puck in the net, the Devils got goals from Jim McKenzie and Turner Stevenson, who are known more for using their hands to fight than to score, to beat the undermanned Blues, 2-0, Tuesday night in front of a sparse crowd of 11,520 at Continental Arena. Martin Brodeur made 28 saves to post his third shutout of the season and 58th of his career. The Devils prevailed despite the continued scoring droughts of Joe Nieuwendyk and Patrik Elias. Nieuwendyk assisted on Stevenson's second-period goal but went his 17th game in a row without scoring a goal. Elias has just one goal in his last 12 contests, but the Devils continue to win. With Tuesday's victory, they improved to 5-1-0-2 in their last eight games and remained two points ahead of Philadelphia for first place in the Atlantic Division. "I'm sure [Nieuwendyk and Elias] want to score, but that just gives [the media] something to write about," Stevenson said. "I know they are proud guys and they're paid to score, but we keep winning. That's always been the concept around here." A team-wide bout of food poisoning that hit the Blues on Monday night depleted their roster to 18 healthy enough to play Tuesday - two below the maximum allowed to dress. Scott Mellanby, Dallas Drake, Christian Laflamme, Justin Papineau, and Jeff Finley all sat out because of the ailment. Several other players, most notably Eric Boguniecki and Shjon Podein, were in uniform despite still being weak. Only 12 Blues could get out of bed to make it to what was supposed to be a mandatory morning skate. They kept a bucket on the bench in case of an emergency. The Blues, who dressed six defensemen and 10 forwards, were also missing leading scorer Pavol Demitra, who was sent home from Detroit on Sunday with the chickenpox. But any temptation to take it easy on the Blues with little intensity coming from the meager home crowd was quickly quelled by a reminder from the coaching staff that this team had played well without key players all season and is still biting at Detroit's heels for first place in the Central Division. "It's always a situation where if you don't take them seriously, you're going to lose the game," Devils coach Pat Burns said. "They're hard teams to play against." Nieuwendyk, who had Scott Gomez on his left wing Tuesday in place of Jeff Friesen, had two marvelous scoring chances. Blues goalie Fred Brathwaite made a pad save on his first - a backhander from outside the right post 7:04 into the second period - and a glove save on the second

Friesen's demotion lasts only one period http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?level_...33&page=5950555 Wednesday, December 11, 2002 By TOM GULITTI Staff Writer EAST RUTHERFORD - Pat Burns said he was trying to get Patrik Elias going, but, at the same time, the line changes the Devils coach made for Tuesday night's 2-0 win over St. Louis appeared intended to send a message to left wing Jeff Friesen. Friesen was dropped to the fourth line along with right wing Brian Gionta. Jiri Bicek and Sergei Brylin moved up to play on the top line with Elias, who went without a goal for the 11th time in 12 games. Friesen's demotion was only temporary, though. He forced a turnover with a big hit that led to a goal by Jim McKenzie in the first period and, by the second, Friesen and Gionta were playing with Elias and Brylin and Bicek were back with McKenzie. "He stepped up," Burns said. If there was a message in Friesen's brief demotion, he claimed not to get it. "I'm sure if he was sending me a message, he'd tell me," Friesen said. "I don't know what you guys are reading into anything." Still, Burns has made no secret of his displeasure with Friesen's inconsistency. He kept him on the bench late in the third period of Saturday's 1-0 loss in Toronto. "He's got to find a way to get going," Burns said Tuesday morning. "We brought him in here for a reason, to get going and throw some speed at people, and we see it once out of every four or five games. He's got to do better than that. If he wants to play on a regular basis and get ice time, he's got to play better than that. But he knows that." A visibly disappointed Friesen was tight-lipped about the line changes. "I've got nothing to say," Friesen said. Friesen has one assist and no goals in his last five games after scoring the game-winner in OT on Nov. 30 in St. Louis. That goal was his sixth of the season and fourth in six games and it appeared he was gaining confidence. "It has nothing to do with confidence," Friesen said. It could have something to do with ice time, though. Friesen played only 11:07 Tuesday, which was less than every forward other than McKenzie (8:37). RAFALSKI OUT: Defenseman Brian Rafalski rode the stationary bike for 45 minutes Tuesday morning, but remained off skates because of a rib injury he suffered Saturday in Toronto. Although he is not sure when he will return, he plans to accompany the team to Columbus on Thursday and Ottawa on Saturday. "It's getting better," he said. "I got some exercise in, so that's good." DEVILS BRIEFS: Goaltender Corey Schwab was still suffering from a viral infection, so Scott Clemmensen was called up from Albany to back up Martin Brodeur ... Christian Berglund was a healthy scratch for the second game in a row ... Blues goaltender Brent Johnson, one of the few players on the team who did not get food poisoning, was activated for Tuesday's game after being out all season with a high ankle sprain, but did not play.

Have a happy day Derek!! Perhaps you'll get a present from the Giants, they won't play like sad sacks!

This didn't make the electronic edition. After Brodeur spoke glowingly about Mario Lemieux and the impression the Penguins' captain made on him at the Olympics last winter, it was Lemieux's turn Friday to praise the Devils' goaltender.

They are selling $52 upper deck tickets for half price of $26. You have to be registered on the official Devils site though. (Since a bunch of us registered here to get in on the "Summer" chats, that is not a problem for most of us. I am assuming if you are not registered just register to get this ticket offer.) See the official site for details. The Devils web site has made great strides since the Summer. A good way to get some fans into the dreaded weeknight games. Nice to see them trying some innovations to get fannies in the seats.

Derek I was thinking about the penalty shot. What better way to improve the highlights package on Sportscenter? After all it was an ESPN exclusive telecasted game. Sure enough the game was the number 1 story on Sportscenter. With the final exclamation point, the penalty shot!! I hope I'm wrong but I feel that penalty shot had all the makings of a "made for TV" event.

Stan Fischler Bluelines: Is it DiPietro time? http://www.msgnetwork.com/fans/personality...&subnav_key=nhl December 3, 2002 Rick DiPietro up? Chris Osgood out? The possibility is being bruited about by the New York Daily News' Peter Botte. The thinking is that DiPietro is ready and Osgood could fetch a needed defenseman such as Dan McGillis The NHLPA might want to deny this, but the owners of at least two

I'll bet money when and if Danton is traded, and starts to have problems with his new team, Frost will then blame it on Lou's influence around the league. Frost should realize that his client will be much better off, if Frost crawls back under the rock from which he came.

At the time, Kidd was rated the #1 goaltender available in the draft. There was a poll of 20 scouts in The Hockey News. 19 said that Kidd was the better of the two goaltenders. One unnamed scout said Brodeur was better. I'll bet that one scout was David Conte. If true, the Devils made out in the deal because they weren't going to draft Kidd anyway!!

I believe the Devils got an additional pick. I don't recall what round it was in though.

Stan Fischler Danton loses, the Devils win http://www.msgnetwork.com/fans/personality...nav_key=nhl_njd December 2, 2002 When is addition by subtraction a bittersweet proposition for the New Jersey Devils? Answer: when the chief protagonist is Mike Danton. The Devils' rookie will never don a Devils uniform again; and that's both bad news and good news. The bad news is that New Jersey has lost a potentially gifted offensive asset, one who can fight and score. The good news is that Lou Lamoriello has cleansed the team of one of its most troublesome personalities. Or in the deathless words of Neil Smith discussing Alex Kovalev as a Ranger, "He doesn't get it; he just doesn't get it!" Alas, young Danton didn't get it. He didn't get it when Lamoriello gave him an unexpected reprieve following Mike's act of insubordination last season. He didn't get it again early this season when the rookie went public, complaining about ice time. Anyone with half-a-brain would've understood it was time for Danton to keep his mouth shut if he was seeking more ice time. I bet on the kid. I thought he had learned his lesson. All he required was a bit of patience. I saw him progressing the same way that John Madden did during the 2000 campaign. Danton and Madden have a lot in common, with one exception: John is smart and Mike is spoiled; as in spoiled rotten. I guess I should've listened to some of my colleagues who kept warning me that Danton would screw things up for himself. By yapping again

Though I agree with Gionta not being among the 3 stars, Marty DID get the #1 star.

and those of us in NJ we get the Toronto game on Metro. Which means a good majority of Devils fans in NJ won't see the game.

Long wait ends for Schwab http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?level_...33&page=5826951 Saturday, November 30, 2002 By TOM GULITTI Staff Writer NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Corey Schwab needed 12 years to do it, but he finally posted his first victory as a Devil on Friday night. Schwab, who was drafted by the Devils in 1990 and is back for his second incarnation as their backup goaltender after signing with the team as an unrestricted free agent in July, shed the rust that hampered him in his first start of the season a week ago. He backstopped New Jersey to a 2-1 triumph over the Nashville Predators at Gaylord Entertainment Center. Schwab made 28 saves to help the Devils win despite registering a season-low 15 shots on goal. Jamie Langenbrunner retrieved the puck for him so he could have a memento of the victory. Schwab did not get a win in 10 appearances in his first stint with the Devils in 1995-96. "I've been waiting 12 years for this, since 1990 when I got drafted to get my first win here," Schwab said. "I don't know how many days that is. It's definitely nice and it's something that I wanted to do." His performance was a vast improvement from last Saturday's game against Tampa Bay, in which he allowed three goals on 23 shots in making his initial appearance of the season after sitting 17 games. "I felt really good out there, I don't know why," Schwab said. "Obviously it's because I played recently and that always helps. But I felt good coming into the game and I was sharp." Jay Pandolfo was credited with the winning goal, which snapped a 1-1 tie with 3:30 remaining in the second period, though it went in off John Madden's rear end. Scott Gomez also scored for the Devils, who ended a three-game winless streak (0-1-1-1). New Jersey is 1-0-0-1 on this challenging four-game road trip, which began with a 3-2 overtime loss in Detroit. Friday's game against the Predators, who have won only three games all season, was by far the easiest of the trek and, as it turned out, a good time to get Schwab another start. Martin Brodeur will be back in net when the Devils play the third game of the trip tonight in St. Louis and again Monday in Philadelphia. The Devils attempted to clamp down defensively in the third period, but Schwab still had to do some work to preserve the lead. His best stop of the night might have been a kick save with his left pad off an Andy Delmore slap shot from the left point off a faceoff with 10 seconds remaining. The only shot to avoid Schwab was an attempted centering pass from Vladimir Orszagh that deflected in off the stick of New Jersey defenseman Oleg Tverdovsky 11:10 into the game. Predators defenseman Cale Hulse repaid the favor with a gift-wrapped turnover that Patrik Elias and Gomez turned into the tying goal with 4:44 remaining in the period. Elias intercepted Hulse's pass at the top of the left circle and quickly passed to Gomez, who roofed a shot over helpless Nashville goaltender Tomas Vokoun from the bottom of the circle. Pandolfo gave the Devils the lead for good when he finished off a 3-on-2 rush by banking in a shot from the right circle off Madden's backside in front. Pandolfo attempted to get the referees to change the official scoring on the goal, but it remained credited to him.

Lou insists there's money in bank http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?level_...33&page=5827009 Saturday, November 30, 2002 By TOM GULITTI Staff Writer NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Devils CEO, president, and general manager Lou Lamoriello says that contrary to reports that state otherwise, the team is on sound financial ground and that nothing has happened to infringe upon short- or long-term operations. So, there is no reason for Martin Brodeur and defenseman Scott Stevens to worry about receiving the deferred money in their contracts or for unrestricted free agents Joe Nieuwendyk and Ken Daneyko to be concerned the team won't be able to re-sign them because of budget constraints. "It has no effect whatsoever," Lamoriello said. A report that the team could be $50 million in debt by the end of the season had raised questions about whether Lamoriello, who is also CEO of the Nets, might be restricted in personnel decisions. But he doesn't believe there is any need to address the players because he doesn't want to give credence to stories he says are untrue. Next year, Puckholdings, a subdivision of YankeeNets, will have to pay former owner John McMullen $35 million in deferred payment from its 2000 purchase of the team. But Lamoriello denies reports that the group is scrambling for cash. Lamoriello laughed off a report that the board of directors of YankeeNets voted at a meeting Tuesday not to buy a 20 percent stake in the Devils. JAMIE RETURNS: Jamie Langenbrunner was back in the lineup Friday after missing four games while recovering from pneumonia and picked up an assist on Jay Pandolfo's winning goal. Devils' coach Pat Burns tried to limit his ice time, but he played 15:28, roughly two minutes under his season average. "All things considered I felt pretty good," said Langenbrunner, who has regained most of the 10 pounds he lost. "There was a tough little bit at the start, but as the game went on I felt better."

Danton on way out http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?level_...33&page=5824314 Saturday, November 30, 2002 By TOM GULITTI Staff Writer NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Mike Danton's short and tumultuous career with the Devils is about to come to an end - again. Devils' general manager Lou Lamoriello sent the 22-year-old center back to New Jersey on Friday morning to await a trade after meeting with him in Nashville, where the Devils took on the Predators on Friday night. Although Lamoriello told the media that Danton had been temporarily assigned to the club's minor league affiliate in Albany until he could find another minor league team that would take him, he informed Danton and his agent, Dave Frost, that he plans to trade him. "He told Mike, 'I'm going to trade you,' " Frost said. "If a trade can't happen, he will then be assigned to another minor league club, but he won't go there. What's the point in going there?" Lamoriello said he would listen to offers for Danton, who has often clashed with the GM the past two seasons. When asked if Danton's Devils' career was over, he replied, "Probably." He didn't offer much of an explanation for the decision other than it had nothing to do with his off-ice behavior. Frost believes Lamoriello's decision was based on a personality conflict. "There is an obvious problem between Lou and Mike that neither can get by," Frost said. "I've tried to mediate it since the summer and they had somewhat got by it, but it's safe to say they didn't." Frost said Danton would consider reporting to another minor league club if it took Lamoriello more than a week to trade him, but he was confident it won't take that long. That's one of the problems, in your mind you think Danton is Wayne Gretzky.A league source indicated Florida and San Jose were interested, but the market might be limited because of his budding reputation as a problem player.

When I saw the 1st replay, I said: "There is no way that goal is going to stand in Detroit." Also I wasn't sure of the wording of the rule. While Madden didn't kick it in, he turned his skate. It was a tough call, but I knew the Devils weren't getting the benefit of any Detroit video judge. Only the Devil's video judges seem not to be homers. Remember Holik's goal that was waived off last year by video replay? Holik made the comment about the replay guy being at the tollbooth on the Turnpike instead of watching the monitor.