New Jersey Devils Blogs

It looks like the Devils were more worried about a defensive game than an Ilya Kovalchuk game.

 New Jersey got one of the best shot-blockers in the league.  But don't think that the team is the only winner here; Volchenkov has to be happy that he won't have to block those Brian Rolston bombs anymore.  The Russian defenseman was yet another piece that the Devils knew they needed.  He really brings more of a competitive edge to New Jersey as the league's best shot-blocker.

Continue reading "New Jersey Devils Sign Anton Volchenkov ..."

Has it been 30 years now since the US beat the Soviet Union at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid?(It seems like only yesterday...)

The Americans went on to win the gold medal in hockey that year - something that hasn't happened since, but don't expect any miracles next month at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. No, the United States still isn't favored to win a gold medal in hockey. In that respect the Americans remain underdogs. But with a roster stacked with young talent, they certainly are a medal candidate - one that the powerhouses from Canada, Russia and Sweden can't afford to overlook. "A little bit different situation [than 1980] in my opinion," said United States team captain Jamie Langenbrunner, a forward with the NHL's New Jersey Devils. "As much as Canada deserves all the credit that they're getting for the players they have, the 23 players named to the [United States] team play in the same league as those guys and we feel quite comfortable playing against them on a nightly basis. We feel we belong on the same ice."

Continue reading "USA! USA! USA!"

 Well, we’ve made it to the halfway point of the season, so it is time to hand out a few awards to the deserving, the hopeless and the sensational.

Team of the season: I’m going to take the New Jersey Devils here since they are the one team to impress me more than I had expected. I thought Chicago and San Jose might be the quality of the West and so it has proved. The Devils; well I saw them as a decent playoff team but not the halfway top seed.

Continue reading "And the winner is…"

St. Louis Blues President John Davidson announced Friday that forward Keith Tkachuk has agreed to return to the club for one more year.  The Blues and Tkachuk have been having talks about a return since being ousted from the playoffs in April.  The deal is reportedly worth $2.15 million.

Continue reading "Tkachuk Signs One-Year Contract and ..."

Welcome everyone to my first post here on the hockey blogs! I know I am a Floridian, but hockey certainly runs through my veins. Today, I will first be talking about the Eastern Conference. And...how about them Bruins! They look like the team they were when the season started. I was a bit concerned about them in the middle of the season, I mean after all they lost to the Panthers and the Lightning in one road trip. I did not think they were contenders when the playoffs started, but I am starting to rethink that now. Their power play gives me nightmares. Bruins in sweep, I say.

Continue reading "NHL Playoffs Rock On! First the East"

The date is March 23rd, 1994.  A packed Great Western Forum hears loud cheers and screams for “The Great One” Wayne Gretzky, to score his 802nd goal, passing his childhood idol Gordie Howe for the all-time NHL goal record.  Geoff Courtnall of the Vancouver Canucks loses the puck on a short-handed opportunity, which results in the Kings skating it back down the rink and Marty McSorley finding an open Wayne Gretzky in the slot.  It was given; the man would score the goal.  Even before the puck was in the net, people rose from their seats and announcer Gary Thorne already had the play call in his head:  “To Gretzky… He scores!  He did it!  He did it!  The greatest goal scorer in National Hockey League history is Wayne Gretzky!”  This game was televised all across the United States and Canada, since the NHL knew that no one would want to miss the special moment.  This was one of the most important days in NHL history.

Continue reading "Brodeur Deserves More Exposure"

It's been quit some time since the New York Rangers and the New Jersey Devils actually played a game that the Rangers didn't win in! Maybe just maybe it lit a spark in this heated rivalry, and I think it showed last night even while the Devils were kicking the Rangers butts all over the ice.  For the first time in a long time it was a rough and tough game that had plenty of fights in it, more than I've seen in recent bouts between the two teams. It  looked like a game out of the mid 90s where Mark Messier and Scott Stevens would be pushing and shoving after the whistle. All it took was for the Devils to stand up to the Rangers and finally play with them, and better than them for most of the game, to be honest.  As a Ranger fan, I had seen enough in last nights mess of a game, of course if your a Devils fan, there wasn't much of a reason for you to change the channel but it was Friday night and I had better things to do then watch the hated Devils beat up my Rangers so when I met up with some friends at a local pub, it was to my surprise to see a tie game 5-5, and I must've just missed the game tying goal cause seconds later just like the Rangers had done all game,  they let the Devils play and shoot in the middle of the ice, and it cost them. After the go ahead goal I figured maybe if I don't watch they'll come back again, but we all know that didn't happen, and I'm okay with the loss, I'll lose the battle to win the war so to speak, last nights game was one of the most passion I'd see out of them for awhile. It was defiantly one of the harder fought games I've seen in awhile, (Thank goodness for Rangers Replay at 2 am).  Hopefully for fans on both sides, this was just a preview of the kind of games we'll get to see down the road, the games where the players on the ice are playing for the name on the front of the jersey!

Continue reading "The Rangers and the Devils- The Re-Birth ..."

While the week of Thanksgiving may mean family dinners, visits with the in-laws, and early morning shopping, Duke fans will have something to look forward to as well: the semifinals and championship game for the 2K Sports Classic Benefitting Coaches vs. Cancer. While the teams may be playing for a good cause, that doesn't mean it's not a reason to give the other teams a taste of what to expect for this season.

Continue reading "Duke fans gearing up for 2008-2009 ..."

A big thanks to everyone who participated in the "Inbound Link Contest".  We have a winner!  A big congratulations go out to Marija.  Thank you for all your hard work on this.  While we had a lot of people participate, Marija was able to win with only 4 links!  So it wouldn't have taken a lot to win this contest!  We'll be having another contest soon so stay tuned.

Continue reading "Inbound link contest winner announced!"

To try and motivate our bloggers to get inbound links we're going to have a contest to see which blogger can get the most inbound links to their blog. The contest begins now and ends July 31st, 2008. To be entered in to the contest all you have to do is go out and get as many websites to link to your blog as you can and at the end of the month send us an email listing all those links. All links must be active from August 1st through August 7th when we'll be judging the entries - a winner will be announced on August 7th. All entry emails must be received by Midnight on July 31st, 2008. You can email them to sportsfan@nbabasketballonline.com

Continue reading "Inbound link contest - Win $100!"

What can you expect if you play the game at its fundamental peak, take the lion’s share of success in your domain and handle it with the gracious respect of a true champion?  If the sports world is any indicator, you can expect a vitriolic cocktail of umbrage, resentment and contempt.  

Continue reading "Last Stand of the Triumvirate - Tim ..."

Sean Avery and Martin Brodeur are two of the NHL’s most important and divergent personalities.  If “NHL Marketing” weren’t such an oxymoronic concept, the two would already be featured in an offseason sitcom, let alone commercials.  Brodeur is often lauded with praise and at the same time, is somewhat underrated.  As for Avery, you can now add “game-changer” to the colorful list of adjectives used to describe the New York Rangers’ most maligned winger. 

Continue reading "Avery Rules- NHL keeps pace with ..."

It was a different time in American history. The biggest threat to our national security was Russia as long-time cold war rivals.  President Jimmy Carter was considering a boycott of the Summer Olympics in Moscow and Captain & Tennille were had the #1 song in the country with “Do That To Me One More Time.”  Rich Eisen was 10 years old and John Madden was 54.

Continue reading "On this day in history: February ..."

http://lebasketbawl.blogspot.com/2008/02/dukes-new-practice-facility.htm

Continue reading "Duke's New $15.2 Million Practice Facility"

 As with any new relationship, I understand your reticence.  Questions abound about my qualifications as a hockey guru.  My name is not synonymous with Mark Messier, Wayne Gretzky, Bobby Orr, Sidney Crosby, Alexander Ovechkin or Jaromir Jagr.  You have not been a part of my phenomenal success in fantasy hockey; though admittedly I did not realized that San Jose's Jonathon Cheechoo would have only 4 goals in 28 games.  Luckily I traded him before he got injured for Maxim Afinogenov; another slumping forward who usually gets hot after the New Year.

Continue reading "Welcome to a new era in Hockey blogging"