GDT: 10-14 Flyers @ Devils 7:3-pm

[Devilsdude530]

How good does John Madden look so far? He was all over the place tonight.

[Devilsdude530]

Since we don't have an OOT Thread tonight, I thought I'd post all the attendance figures at each rink tonight (That have finished):

Buffalo (vs. NYR): 18,690 (Sellout)

Toronto (vs. CGY): 19,338 (Sellout)

Montreal (vs. OTT): 21,273 (Sellout)

Islanders (vs. BOS): 14,273 (Disappointing)

Washington (vs. ATL): 11,995 (Disappointing times two)

DEVILS (vs. PHI): 14,177

Pittsburgh (vs. CAR): 14,351 (Disappointing)

Tampa Bay (vs. FLA): 19,926 (Sellout)

St. Louis (vs. CHI): 11,606 (Ugh, JD Come home)

Nashville (vs. PHX): 13,776 (This is getting really depressing)

Minnesota (vs. CLB): 18,568 (Soldout)

Colorado (vs. EDM): 18,007 (Soldout)

Los Angeles (vs. DAL): 17,052 (About 1,000 short of sellout)

6 Sellouts out of 13 games with 2 left to play (1 Likely Soldout, 1 TBD)

4 American Sellouts out of 11 American games, with almost everything else under 15,000

Buffalo, Minnesota and Tampa Bay is an odd threesome to sellout but they always do. Colorado, Toronto and Montreal all sellout regularly.

Edited October 15, 2006 by Devilsdude530

[LOULAM1]

Thank you Ralfy for the great hit tonight on Forsberg. Just came home from watching the game with two cryer fans and made my night (as I'm also a Met fan).

These early Division wins are so critical and glad to see Gomez after the game already up for the Rags on Monday!

Gio Amen.

How good does John Madden look so far? He was all over the place tonight.

Was the entire Flyer team out drinking last night because they spent their load after 30 minutes of hockey. Madden and Gio just plain out scary great.

[Elias26]

Elias looks like he is trying bit too hard.

Yea, I agree. The pressure is on him with the C i guess.

[Rock]

Some observations

A lot of stupid drunk fans of both teams tonight, but no fights in the stands.

The Devils have a tendency of playing "Charge" on a defensive face-off on a penalty kill. This game they not only did that but the Flyers power play was sponsored by PSEG.

Since it was a game honoring 1982-1983 team, it was pretty cool that Joe Cirella and Chico Resch delivered autographed 25th anniversary jerseys to two fans.

Loved Rafalski's hit.

Nittimaki (sp?) goes through some major head gyrations when the puck is at the other end, and sometimes when it's in his own zone!

Thought Jannsen was going to get a goal but the puck went under his stick.

There appears to be another electronic board going around the halo, but it wasn't active tonight.

Good thing Madden didn't shoot like he did tonight on his breakaway in the shootout the other night.

Edited October 15, 2006 by Rock

[ice dog]

awesome game, braf's slapper passes and great hit on forsberg really shows how amazing this guy is.

the devils played a great third period.

can't believe how sparse the crowd was, especially for a saturday night flyers game. wish i could have made it back, especially for the joe cirella throwback night.

could not believe my ears when i heard the old pointer sister music..."i'm soooo excited..." brings back the memories of going to my first games back in 84'

i guess daneyko's punishment for the 502 is the stripping of the name "Dano's Den"...noticed a much more no nonsence dano with the plain back drop in the studio.

really like the laughlin's replacement, makes for a great interview. he seems to spar well with stan.

[Devils-2003]

Well New Jersey can be top 2 in the east..

The team needed a lot a second center back in 2002-2003 we had: Elias-Gomez-Gionta,friesen-Nieuwendyk-Langs..

Today: Parise-Gomez-Gionta Elias-Zajac-Langs

2trios with speed and good scorers.. Add a 3rd line up, who can change the momemtum.. Madden,Brylin,Pandolfo.

The defense as well is not the best, But Nj Devils fowards can back up in defense easily.

Ralfaski,White,Martin,Hale,Fahey,Oduya,Lukowhich,Thats not bad at all..

Just to compare Montreal vs Nj defense..

Montreal defense: Bouillon,Souray,Rivet,Streit,Markov,Komisarek,Ninnima..

And we have the best goalie in the league ..

So i think the devils can go Deep in the playoffs.

Im not surprised about the start of the season of Canes..

Stillman,Kaberle Injured..

A.Ward,M.Cullen,Weitgh,Rechi All gone..

I see Carolina 4-7 positions at the end of the season... I dont see them winning the division title. They gonna have a slow season start.. Thats gonna kill them.

GO Devils GO !!! Great win tonight

Edited October 15, 2006 by Zajac

[NJDevs4978]

awesome game, braf's slapper passes and great hit on forsberg really shows how amazing this guy is.

the devils played a great third period.

can't believe how sparse the crowd was, especially for a saturday night flyers game. wish i could have made it back, especially for the joe cirella throwback night.

could not believe my ears when i heard the old pointer sister music..."i'm soooo excited..." brings back the memories of going to my first games back in 84'

i guess daneyko's punishment for the 502 is the stripping of the name "Dano's Den"...noticed a much more no nonsence dano with the plain back drop in the studio.

really like the laughlin's replacement, makes for a great interview. he seems to spar well with stan.

Rafalski was angry and hungry tonight after having one of the three or four worst games I've ever seen from him Thursday.

I'd say the crowd was dissapointing except for the Met playoff game that was being played at the same time, that probably kept a couple thousand people away. I'm glad I accepted my good friend's invite to the game instead of watching the disgrace that is Steve Trachsel

I saw 'Dano's Den' earlier in the season, I don't know why they'd do it then and not do it tonight.

[Triumph]

Devils and Islanders aren't going to do well up against the Mets in the NLCS for the first time in 6 years and second time in.. 20? Same with the Blues up against the Cardinals. Both of these are baseball cities - there's just no chance they sell out.

[ice dog]

you know i totally forgot that there were baseball games...

i guess that explains it.

this was the first devils feed this season on center ice, the others being canadian or away team broadcasts. it will be interesting to see what the dano's den status is this season.

i'm just glad the jovial daneyko was back, i was thinking what a shame it would be if he was relapsed in some clinic.

Edited October 15, 2006 by Shred

[NJDevs4978]

Buffalo, Minnesota and Tampa Bay is an odd threesome to sellout but they always do.

How the hell did Buffalo sell out with two feet of snow nearly canceling the game? I know tickets were probably all sold beforehand but it sounds like a lot of people DID show up. And good for them.

[HellOnICE]

I'm worried about the attendance a little.

But I am assuming the Mets game, the water main break kept people away, and what about the construction going on? It is a lot worse now to access and get out of the arena than last season, as far as I know. But 14K for a PHI game is a tad worrisome. I guess it's still October.

['7']

I thought the Isles 14,000+ was pretty good considering Wangs insanity and the Mets game, I'd figure more Isles fans are Mets fans then Devils fans. I'm sure a decent amount of Devil/Mets fans stayed away as well, factor in Philly fans and you should at least have 16,000, but it didn't seem like many Philly fans made the trip either.

The Devils never draw very well in the seats behind the net, especially after they put up the big netting. Today was absurd, it looked like the 2nd tier behind the net was just about full, but the first tier had only 50-60 people in it. It seems so weird and out of balance

[Brad]

It was a pretty fun game tonight, although the early penalties were a bit of a buzz kill. I made the trip down from Albany (go rats!) tonight with a bunch of friends and was in 212. I love how the entire top half of the upper bowl was sold out, but that's CAA for you.

What was up with fans singing the 'hey' song after goals? We heard it from the corners and tried to get some people in our section singing too, but alas. It would be great if it ended up becomming an arena wide sing-along

[Derek21]

I went to this game. It was nice to watch "real hockey." Still too many penalties.

I spoke with Flyer defenseman Lars Johnsson. He didn't seem to mind all the hooking calls and said it was good. He said it is an adjustment from playing overseas back home in Sweden. He's close to returning for Philly. I wonder if he'll get some PT.

Some observations from way up top:

-Parise is just much more confident with the puck. I ran into his cousin in the elevator and he said he is much stronger and worked really hard in the summer.

-Rafalski's hit on Forsberg was pretty cool. He's not the most physical but that was a big play.

-Martin and White played very well. Especially in the third.

-Gionta just is clutch. But it seems like those tips are something they really try to do. Langenbrunner said they don't practice them but you wouldn't know btw they score on them.

-Some kudos to the Devils for their video intro. It looked pretty good. The 25th year anniversary touch is nice. And the clips of the '82-83 team were done well.

-Also got their media guide. Usually, the cover is not much to write home about. But if you get it, you'll be very pleased.

-Sidenote: For some reason, they served their version of cheesesteak in the press room. It was okay but of course not a Philly one. I commented to the lady that it must have been a special considering the Devils never seem to lose to the Flyers at home.

-I saw Stan and Matt Loughlin. Always nice to chat with them.

-Brodeur's kids were having a blast playing hockey. Very cute.

-Madden's wife is a knockout. Ah. To be a hockey player. Sorry but it had to be said.

-I think LaCouture was also upstairs charting something during play. But he sure gave those binoculars a workout. I wonder what he was using them for.

-Those Devil chicks are darn hot. LOL

Edited October 15, 2006 by Derek21

[devilsfan26]

I felt like I was at an away game, I was the only Devils fan in my row. I met Cam and Patty after the game by the players' exit. Elias seemed to be in kind of a rush but still signed stuff for everyone. Cam was awesome. He signed stuff for everybody, too. One of the guys I was at the game with called someone on the phone to tell him he was right in front of Cam Janssen and Cam took the phone from him and had a little conversation with the guy. "What's up bro?" "Alright peace out homie." He was really nice and seems to have a good time with the fans rather than just trying to avoid them. Not to mention he is funny as hell.

[Triumph]

One thing I noticed - when Cam Janssen almost got that big chance in front of the net, the crowd "aw'd" louder than they did all night. He's a fan favorite for sure - just loves being a hockey player, and why not?

[Masked Fan]

...- just loves being a hockey player, and why not?

[devils26]

I thought the Isles 14,000+ was pretty good considering Wangs insanity and the Mets game, I'd figure more Isles fans are Mets fans then Devils fans. I'm sure a decent amount of Devil/Mets fans stayed away as well, factor in Philly fans and you should at least have 16,000, but it didn't seem like many Philly fans made the trip either.

The Devils never draw very well in the seats behind the net, especially after they put up the big netting. Today was absurd, it looked like the 2nd tier behind the net was just about full, but the first tier had only 50-60 people in it. It seems so weird and out of balance

I think a lot of this has to do with the fact that all seats on the lower level are $90, whether they are at center ice or behind the net. However, on the upper level, the prices for behind the net are cheaper than the prices for center ice.

[pattyelias]

I thought the Isles 14,000+ was pretty good considering Wangs insanity and the Mets game, I'd figure more Isles fans are Mets fans then Devils fans. I'm sure a decent amount of Devil/Mets fans stayed away as well, factor in Philly fans and you should at least have 16,000, but it didn't seem like many Philly fans made the trip either.

The Devils never draw very well in the seats behind the net, especially after they put up the big netting. Today was absurd, it looked like the 2nd tier behind the net was just about full, but the first tier had only 50-60 people in it. It seems so weird and out of balance

The last few seasons, even before the lockout, it seems like fewer and fewer Flyer fans come to the Meadowlands. Last night there were a couple hundred at the arena tops. It makes no sense to me because they used to really pack the place. Has the Jersey turnpike become a scarier ride or something?

[LizDevil30]

Nah they're just tired of seeing their team lose in our house.

[MadDog2020]

The last few seasons, even before the lockout, it seems like fewer and fewer Flyer fans come to the Meadowlands. Last night there were a couple hundred at the arena tops. It makes no sense to me because they used to really pack the place. Has the Jersey turnpike become a scarier ride or something?

Maybe they're just sick of watching us kick their asses every year.

[pattyelias]

Maybe they're just sick of watching us kick their asses every year.

From 95-01 or so we thoroughly dominated the Flyers and their fans would pack our house. Since then the rivalry has evened up a bit and they have actually beaten us in the playoffs but you see fewer and fewer Flyers fans. Seems rather counterintuitive to me.

[FlyerCub]

From 95-01 or so we thoroughly dominated the Flyers and their fans would pack our house. Since then the rivalry has evened up a bit and they have actually beaten us in the playoffs but you see fewer and fewer Flyers fans. Seems rather counterintuitive to me.

I certainly can't speak for other fans and their reasons for traveling, but last season was the first time I caught any Flyers road games, and there was a very healthy Flyers contingent when I went down to D.C. for a game. Standing outside the then-MCI Center before the game, you would have thought it was a Flyers home game. Even though it's a longer trip to D.C., they do have $10 Eagle's Nest seats (I don't see it this year, but last year if you bought 4 of them, they dropped to $5 each) and something like that could be a factor. The rest of the pricing structure isn't vastly different among the three arenas, though. Washington offers more than one price range in the lower level, Philly and Washington don't charge as much of a premium for upper level seats between the bluelines as NJ, but the rest of it shakes out more or less.

Personally, I don't mind the trip to NJ since I have relatives in West Orange and the drive up the Turnpike is second nature to me.

[Derek21]

One thing I noticed - when Cam Janssen almost got that big chance in front of the net, the crowd "aw'd" louder than they did all night. He's a fan favorite for sure - just loves being a hockey player, and why not?

He also slapped five to a few fans after warmups and they ate it up.

Also forgot to mention that last year, Martin had a different locker. This year, he sits next to White his D partner. I think that's pretty smart. And the North Dakota clan (Parise and Zajac) are right next to each other.