The Greatest Blog Ever Written…

by Carlos Figueiredo
…on the Fanball Sports Network…about the Devils….today. Yeah, pretty special. You can thank me later for all the awesome. Anyway, you might be asking yourself where I’ve been. Well, I’m here to answer that question.

First, you might have noticed on one of your many daily visits to this blog that there were some server issues for a while. There were also few other hiccups after that, but everything seems to be running smoothly now. Everything has been resolved by the awesome tech crew at Fanball. It did, however, leave me with a few posts I couldn’t get on and now they’re outdated, like most of my wardrobe.

Anyway, what has happened since the last time you read this blog? Well, Dainius Zubrus has been added to the long list of injuries the Devils have suffered already this season. He’ll be out 4-6 weeks after blocking a shot, which went off his knee-pad. The knee-pad cracked, which in turn then cracked Zubrus’ knee cap. Ouch.

This leaves the Devils extremely thin at the center position. It shouldn’t be too much of an issue, considering the way Jacques Lemaire has mixed-and-matched all of the lines this season. He’ll likely use Brian Rolston and/or Patrick Elias at the center position, when needed.

We’ve also seen some new players on the Devils recently. Tim Sestito, Dean McAmmond, Tyler Eckford and Matt Correntehave all played games for the Devils in the last few days. Corrente, a defenseman, actually played on the wing in his first NHL game. Yeah, the injuries are piling up.

While it can’t be used as an excuse for their recent play, it had definitely contributed to the Devils losing their last three games, all on the road, where they had started the season 9-0. Every team has been hit hard by injuries this season, so using that as an excuse for the Devils recent play will just fall on deaf ears with most other fans.

I’m going to go with the law of averages as an excuse. No team is going to win all of their games on the road. The Devils were bound to lose road games, and it just so happens that they have lost three in a row. If you asked any Devils fan if they would take a 9-3 road record after 12 games, I think they would take it. Having all three losses come in three consecutive games just makes it seem a bit tougher to take. It still doesn’t mean fans should go around screaming that “the Devils need to do something, and fast.” Yeah, I’ve heard plenty of that the last few days. The Devils had won eight in a row and 14 of 16 before these last three losses. Call me crazy, but 14-5 in their last 19 is still pretty good. Let’s not panic….yet.

The Devils next game is on Wednesday night when they welcome the Ottawa Senators to The Rock. They then travel to Boston on Friday, and come back home for a game against the Islanders on Saturday. If the Devils don’t get at least 4 points in these 3 games, then it might be time to start worrying about injuries hurting this team.

Now, some other reason why I’ve been MIA for a few days. If you follow me on Twitter, Facebook, or if you’ve spoken to me in person any time in the last month, I’m sure you know about the Hockey Fights Cancer fundraiser that I’ve been a part of. I’m not going to go through all the details again, as I’m sure some of you have heard them enough. What I will say is that the NHLTweetup that is associated with this fundraiser is taking place tomorrow night in Plainview, NY. We have also had quite a few new items that were donated in the last few days, to be raffled off. They include: 2 passes to the Hockey Hall of Fame; a Martin Brodeur signed photo; a Jamie Langenbrunner signed Center Ice game day program; 2 free Islanders tickets; and much more.

Even if you can’t join us on Long Island to enjoy the festivities (we even have a Senators fan from London, England, who will be going to the Devils v Sens game with me on Wednesday night, joining us!), just a $5 donation to Hockey Fights Cancer gets you 1 entry to win an item of your choice! Not only do you get a chance at something for the price of a fancy coffee from an unnamed place (let’s say it rhymes with Shmarbucks), but you will be helping a great cause at the same time!

Speaking of the Devils (Haha..see what I did there?) and NHLTweetup’s, this past Thursday I attended the first Official Devils Viewing Party and NHLTweetup of the season. By the time the night was over, not only did I score myself a signed Travis Zajac puck, but other members of our party (including NHLTweetup’s own Dani M.) scored some signed pucks by Bryce Salvador and Zach Parise! If that isn’t enough of a reason for you to come join me and dozens of other Devils fans at the next Viewing Party/NHLTweetup, well, maybe these two words will convince you: Stan Fischler!

LET’S GO DEVILS!

Tags: Brian Rolston, Deam McAmmond, Hockey Fights Cancer, Matt Corrente, New Jersey Devils, NHL, NHLTweetup, Patrick Elias, Tim Sestito, Tyler Eckford