New Jersey NHL Discussion

Forget the Rangers and Isles.

GO Blackhawks. lol

 

Blackhawks? Come on now. Can you say 1961?

 

Well once upon a time they were damn good. I grew up like the Hawks because my dad was a big fan and since there wasn't hockey in OH at the time I figured what the heck. It was either them or the Wings and I didn't like D-town. lol

 

Mike, when I get my computer, I'll send them to you.

I get the Rangers on OLN!!

 

I'm just busting your balls dude. I got nothing against the Hawks. I'd root for them over Detroit anyday.


I get the Rangers on OLN!!

I hate you!! But just let them keep winning.

 

6 in a row. They're hot right now.

 

I love the NHL. Sure wish Boston had a franchise though.

 

I love the NHL. Sure wish Boston had a franchise though.


HA!! Now you know what we've been going through since oh...1997! Mediocrity sucks doesn't it?

But seriously, I still think it's kinda funny that everyone in the media said that the Thronton deal was the best move Boston could make after they won a couple in a row. But then they came riiiight back down to earth against the Northwest Division. Going first to worst blows.


Oh and to quote Barry Melrose on SportsCenter last night:

The New York Rangers are for real.

 

Since 1997? At least you guys have won a Stanley cup within the past 10-11 years. This is the 33rd consecutive year of incompetance for the B's.

 

Damn. This sucks, you guys are all from New Jersey...yet no one here likes the New Jersey Devils? I mean come on, sure they are losing but they are still a great team. I LOVE the Devils and Martain Brodour (sp?), being one of the best goalies in the NHL hands down.

I still can't believe what I'm seeing here.

 

Welcome, Prince.

For me, I was a hockey fan before NJ had a team. Add the dynasty to it, and it was sold deal!

There are 2 Devils fans on in this group that I know of. And they keep quiet.

~DG~

 

[image=http://www.newjerseyorder.com/users/mike/11banner.jpg]


What a night.

 

Feburary 3rd will be an even better night.


Rangers suck.

 

Check the standings.

 

In fact, I think I will. Let's see now, the Rangers lost tonight 4-3 to the Blue Jackets. So where are we on the standings now? Let's take a look.

GP Pts
1. * Carolina 44 64
2. * Ottawa 43 63
3. * Flyers 45 63
4. Buffalo 44 59
5. NY Rangers 45 57
6. Toronto 44 51
7. Atlanta 46 50
8. New Jersey 45 49

*=Division Leader

Seems like the Devils aren't that far away. Now if the Rangers keep losing and the Devils continue on from their season record 6-game win streak, I could see them topping the Rangers and keeping in the top standings getting into the playoffs. So far the Devils are gaining back the confidence they need to win. I could see them getting as high as 5th place, and bringing the Rangers down.

 

Okay, so if that does happen, that's when you can rightfully say that the Rangers suck.

 

If you expand those standings a bit more you'll see a dangerous Bruins team sitting in 13th place, waiting for the right moment to strike...

 

We want Leetchy back

 

Rumor has it the Rangers approached the B's last month and offered Poti for Leetch straight up and the B's turned them down.

Leetch unfortunately has been a shell of his former self this year. He's missed quite a few games due to injury and right now is probably the B's #3 defenseman behind Boynton and Stuart.

As usual, the B's get a great player about 5 years too late.

 

The funny thing about that is at a game I went to, someone shouted, "Hey Poti! You're not Leetch!"

 

tuff loss for the blue shirts tonite, up 2-0 lose in OT, to a division rival you are chasing in the standings



at least you have a guaranteed 2 points coming in on Wednesday

 

Scott Stevens retired. Captain Cheap Shot.

And they had the nerve to play Simply the Best.

 

Don't even go there. Scott Stevens was a great Captain to the Devils as I've watched him over the years. He was the greatest defensemen to play the game, he holds records that will hold for possibly some years to come. I don't see any reason to think that he was "Captain Cheap Shot". That's the most ignorant thing I've ever heard.

The ceremony was incredible and gave the Devils the inspiration to beat THE BEST team in the NHL. I mean seriously, Carolina was a joke. They practically gave Marty his 80th shutout of the season.

I was there, at the game, for the ceremony and was in tears over it. This wasn't one of those over-hyped, over-rated Messier ceremonies. This was short and sweet. 37 minutes to be exact. Stevens is a man of few words, and nothing beats what Scott Stevens did for the Devils all these years. 22 NHL seasons, 13 with the Devils. 1,635 career games played with 956 games played with the Devils.

Scott Stevens will be remembered as one of the greatest Devil and defensemen to play the game. They had every right to play "Simply the Best".

 

I digress. Especially when the song was played for the 1994 Stanley Cup Champions, and also played for Messier. His retirement celebration wasn't drawn-out, he's a legend. I guarantee you they will do the same for Broduer, and even Pat LaFontaine (is he going to retire on Buffalo or Long Island?). He's not Captain Cheap Shot? Even this article pinpoints it. I thought I'd copy and paste. You ask any non-Devils fan and they'll tell you that Stevens is a goon. I give him credit for leading the Devils to three Stanley Cups (would have been four, but the Stars took the cake on that one). I doubt their next captain will be able to light a candle to him.


Scott Stevens certainly left his mark on the NHL.

Do not expect Slava Kozlov, Eric Lindros, and Paul Kariya to appear in person at the jersey retirement ceremony for Scott Stevens tonight.

Do expect to see Kozlov, Lindros, and Kariya on video highlights.


Each of the trio was the target of jarring playoff hits by Stevens, producing the fear that made East Rutherford famous.


"The opponent was always so petrified of him," said goaltender Martin Brodeur, who until this season had played his entire career with the captain, No.4, as a teammate.


Name the Cup year, and you can identify the Stevens open-ice hit that defined it.


The first one in 1995? That was when Kozlov was decked on home ice as the Devils swept the heavily favored Red Wings.


2000? Okay, that was when the Devils rallied from a 3-games-to-1 deficit in the best-of-seven semifinal series against Philadelphia, and Stevens laid out Lindros in Game 7 and went on to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.


And in 2003, it was Kariya, flattened so hard by Stevens in the Finals against Anaheim that Brodeur said at the time, "I didn't know if he was alive."


The irony, of course, is that Stevens was pushed into retirement by a concussion himself, although it wasn't from a body slam, but an inadvertent Pavel Kubina slap shot he took to the head in the 2003 playoffs against Tampa Bay. Typically, Stevens didn't miss a game, and went on to hoist the Cup for the third time, but the effects of the shot lingered into the next season and Stevens was able to play in only 38 games in 2003-04, his 22nd and final season.

 

About the article- they call them open ice hits. Those are legal. So if you are making a point of calling him a goon with that article, you failed.

A defenseman that leads, hits and intimidates? Yeah, I would HATE to have one of those on my team.

And if my recollection is correct, Messiers OWN TEAMMATE FROM THE STANLY CUP YEAR recounted a time when Messier SPEARED HIM. He made and they aired that statement on Messier night and everyone thought it so funny and ok. If you are going to call someone a goon and a cheapshot artist, look inwards first.

It's not about the team, its about respecting the player and his accomplishments. As an Islander fan, I can repsect both Messier and Stevens. I don't have to like them, but I am a hockey fan first.

~DG~