Although it appears that New Jersey Devils Ilya Kovalchuk inadvertently passed the puck into his own net, Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Cam Ward was the last player to touch the puck for the ‘Canes before it crossed the goal line.
So no, it’s not as cool as shooting the puck 200 feet down the ice a la Ron Hextall, but since Ward technically became the first netminder since 2006 to be credited with a goal, it’s still a feat worth mentioning.
It had been over seven years since Scott Niedermayer wore a New Jersey Devils jersey, but judging by the reaction he received from a jam-packed Prudential Center Friday night, you would have thought he just played his final game as a Devil the day before.
But then again, when you help a team win three Stanley Cups, chances are people are going to appreciate what you did for the team.
In order to show their appreciation for Niedermayer, the Devils retired the No. 27 he wore for 13 seasons as a Devil, becoming just the third player in team history (the other two being Scott Stevens and Ken Daneyko) to have their number retired.
In the post-lockout NHL, having a solid netminder is a must. However, especially in recent years, backup goaltenders are becoming just as valuable of a commodity. Wins are hard to come by in this league, and if a team’s No. 1 guy in the crease goes down with an injury or just needs a break, it’s important that teams have a dependable backup to fill the void.
Here is a list of five backup goalies who have not only proved their worth thus far, but in some instances, have actually taken over the starting role.
Jacob Markstrom, Florida Panthers
The 2010-11 season was one the New Jersey Devils would like to forget.
First-time head coach John MacLean (who was fired before Christmas) didn’t work out, star forward Zach Parise went down after just 12 games and was lost for the season and $100 million man Ilya Kovalchuck looked like a fourth-line center for much of the season. All of this culminated in a disastrous 9-22-2 start to the season, ultimately resulting in the Devils missing out on qualifying for the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time in 14 seasons.
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A year later, the Rangers find themselves facing the same scenario, only this time their ticket to the postseason can’t be punched by them alone.
After laying an egg in an uninspiring 3-0 loss the Atlanta Thrashers two days ago at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers new that their playoff hopes would require more than just winning their final game of the regular season. The Broadway Blue-shirts already took care of the easy part, defeating the New Jersey Devils 5-2 in their 82nd game of the year. Chris Drury scored his first goal of the season in his first game in more than two months to help inspire the Rangers, who now need the Carolina Hurricanes to lose in their final matchup of the season against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The bottom of the Eastern Conference standings are finally starting to get interesting. But the New York Rangers are doing their best to make sure they don’t have to go through the same drama as last season when they were eliminated from playoff contention on the final day of the regular season.
The Rangers entered play today with 72 points, just one point ahead of the eighth-place Carolina Hurricanes. With four other teams vying for the final seat at the table, the Rangers are doing their best to distance themselves from the pack. Today’s matinee affair against the Philadelphia Flyers—the same team that eliminated the Rangers from playoff contention last season—provided the Broadway Blue-shirts were the perfect opportunity to create some separation in the standings.
About a month and a half ago, when the Devils realized they actually had a talented hockey team and have since decided to go on their 19-2-2 tear, everybody in the league new that it was a case of too little, too late.
Now in the first week of March, despite the Devils unfathomable 23-game surge in which they have allowed just 36 goals in that span, they still sit 9 points out of a playoff spot. Everyone agrees that the Devils are still the hottest team in the league, but almost nobody believes that they have enough in the tank to make a playoff push.
I guess it turns out that Dean Lombardi knew exactly what he was doing when he placed Marco Sturm on waivers last week.
That’s because the move allowed the Los Angeles Kings GM to acquire Dustin Penner from the Edmonton Oilers prior to today’s trade deadline.
Penner was by far the biggest name to be moved today, but that’s because of all the major trades that had taken place in the previous two weeks. The Kings are hoping that the 6’ 4” power forward will be a key piece in making them potential Cup contenders. However, the deal came at a price. Lombardi had to give up defensive prospect Colten Teubert, a 2011 first-round pick and a conditional second-round pick.
It’s hard to believe that the New Jersey Devils have endured a 9-23-2 start, a coaching change and several injuries to their Hall of Fame netminder. I say “endure” because not too many people in the hockey world were sure if the Devils were going to make it through Christmas.
But now, here in the middle of February, as teams make their playoff push, the Devils are the hottest team in the NHL. With their latest victory––a 4-1 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes––the Devils have won seven straight games and are 15-1-2 over their last 18 games. Dainius Zubrus had a pair of goals and Ilya Kovalchuk added an assist to stretch his point streak to 10 games (7 goals, 5 assists).
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