Snowman On Fire

It’s over. Just like that, on a Sunday evening that feels more like October than May, the Devils are done for the season. No heads hanging down here, though, because it was a great season.

Who knew Marty would win 43 games and lead the NHL in wins?

Who knew Patrik Elias would recover from a case of Hepatitis A so bad that it would have literally killed someone like me? And he recovered enough to lead all scorers through two rounds of the playoffs.

Who knew that Cam Janssen would be so much fun to watch and single-handedly make many of us forget Bobby Holik (apologies to the 8 year old kids at the Little League fields yesterday; the guy I told you was Bobby Holik really isn’t, but I like having kids ask him for an autograph).

Who knew that Brian Gionta, one of the few (non-jockey) professional athletes shorter than me, would set a new season record for goals by a Devil?

And so this one is in the books. Now I can watch the playoffs a little more quietly, without packing my new Elias Metallurg jersey for this week’s business trip, and cheer for either the Ducks (with pseudo-cuz Vishnevski and former Devil Nieds) or San Jose (the work-related home team). I’ll follow the draft with one eye on the Yankees box score and one eye on the nhl.com website. Starting June 28th, I’ll begin worrying again about what trades, signings and contract flurries will fall around Lou’s office, and eagerly await the new NHL year on July 1 when we hope we have some new long-term franchise players.

On August 15th, Devils Youth Hockey camps start up, and the 06-07 season will officially be under way in our house again. I have merely three months off (from hockey, at least).

Thanks, Devils, for a great season. I’m already speculating about next year, because who knows?

I learned many things today: Continental Airlines Arena can be quite loud when the fans are hungry for a win. Scott Gomez’ rear end is the cause of good deflections (it wasn’t his leg, it was his butt, the play was in front of us). Tommy Albelin is an exemplary over-40 hockey player (and he’s one of the humblest, nicest guys you’ll ever meet). But perhaps the most important thing I learned today is to never, ever wear open-toed shoes into the men’s room at the arena when the Devils score a goal. Most wives and girlfriends will profess that our aim isn’t great when we’re focused on the game. And when the game permeates the bathroom via the foghorn, well, a warm feeling is shared by all.

I didn’t build a huge prelude to the game. We weren’t there for the opening face-off because we were finishing a Little League game. I wore my brand new Elias Metallurg jersey, which got some great comments and stares from the Section 232 crew. I ate my pretzel before the chicken since the pretzel was a sort-of lunch leftover from Little League, and the chicken was an early late afternoon pre-dinner snack.

Oh yeah, the Devils put three goals in during the first period, two more going the long way away from our seats, and our house was broomless. Lou did an amazing job juggling the lines, keeping everyone’s legs fresh. Paul Martin led all skaters with 24 minutes on the ice, and nobody looked tired (except for Kozlov, who looked like he just left the Metallurg cement factory with free samples in his skates).

I didn’t foreshadow this one, but the Devils players did: their cars were parked in the South Mountain lot today, just as they are for any other home-and-home series. What I’ll do, however, is remember a bit of the 2000 playoffs, when the Devils were down 3-1 to Philly, and I was forced to listen to Game 5 via out of market radio broadcast from a hotel room in Boston. The hotel manager still has no idea why I was screaming “Freakin’ Brylin” loud enough to wake the people in the next room.

I’ll be in a hotel the night that Game 6 is scheduled. Coincidence?

Ouch. I’m not normally too much of a wuss when it comes to seeing people get mangled on television, but watching Hideki Matsui fracture his wrist last night almost made me revisit my dinner. This is horrible for Matsui - here’s a guy who doesn’t complain, shows up to work hard and play great baseball every day, hasn’t missed a day of work in about 10 years (how many people do you know who can say that?) and he breaks his arm while making an extra effort to take away a hit. Surely, it’s bad for the Yankees too, and the rumors about Torii Hunter are at gale force now, but this calls for some major sympathy for Godzilla.

Under the best of circumstances, he’s back in mid-August, possibly for the playoffs (if they’re in the Yankees’ future this year), but let’s just hope he’s back. For all of us weaker Little Leaguers who were stuck in left field game after game, Hideki Matsui is something of a patron saint (how’s that for mixing your metaphors). I’ll appeal to any other saints anyone feels are appropriate to get him back in one piece.

I will admit to a bit of a work detour today to check out the Devils boards hosted by the Newark Star-Ledger. The fans have not given up yet.

Every streak begins with one thing going the opposite way. Deflections. Soft goals. Power plays. Passes up the middle (ask the Joffrey Lupul of the Ducks). The Devils have had streaks of 9 in a row (anyone remember that from early in the season), then 15 in a row, so four in a row isn’t out of the question.

Who wants it more? When it came down to overcoming a 3-goal deficit in Montreal, it happened, clinching the division. When it came down to annihilating the Rangers at the Garden, it happened. Last night, when it came down to a game-tying goal, it happened (thanks Patrik, and Lou, please remember that around June 30th at 11:50 pm).

The series now alternates between arenas. In a way, good for the Devils, as they’re pretty tough when it comes to playing consecutive games with funky travel schedules. Notch a win on Saturday, and then a new streak can begin.

If not, then we’ll end the season with dignity and our heads up, after having seen great hockey and the emergence of true grit from Elias, Gomez and Gionta, as well as the maturation of Paul Martin and David Hale on the blue line. Who thought Elias would be a consistent leader in hits per game? There’s a whole off-season to ponder these things and I’m hoping it doesn’t start until mid-June for our Devils.

It only takes one thing to reverse a streak. Even the Red Sox figured that out.

I won’t give up until the fat lady sings, or in our case, Arlette stops singing at the Meadowlands.

But it’s really close. The Devils could be done in time for Mother’s Day.

Heads up to Matvichuk, Lukowich, Klee and Albelin: hope you enjoyed New Jersey. Fast, young, aggressive skaters who get to the puck and clear the zone are the new rule in the new rules of the NHL. Dumpy veterans who dump the puck into the high slot so it turns into a goal against are on the way out, literally. When I start picking out the defensive mistakes, it’s bad.

I hope Langenbrunner didn’t upset Lou too much tonight. Jamie’s a good guy and a good skater. Sergei Brylin might need to be worried, and the Devils might become the one of the only NHL teams without a Russian skater.

Attention all spouses of Devils fans: Expect this behavior for at least two more days, possibly until September.

Two and a half hours to puck drop. An hour until we leave for the great swamp. I’m pulling out all of the stops, all of the swag, everything I can think of, do, or conjure up to send luck to the boys in red and black tonight. We’ll be there in person, look for us to the right of Brodeur, about one section over and 6 rows back of the net. We’re the ones asking the goal judge to only hit the magic red button during the second period (when the Devils are shooting toward us).

Pre-game lucky checklist:

T-Shirt: Czech. Pun intended. The proper undergarment is the foundation upon which all luck builds. Although I’m going to riffle through the Minnesota, North Dakota, and Team USA hockey shirts, just to send a little reiki energy to Mssrs Langenbrunner, Parise, Martin, Gomez and Gionta.

Sneakers: NikeID Frees, in red and black. I don’t care if it drizzles and my feet swim home, as long as we’re singing happily in the rain.

Cheer gear: Czech (flag). A small remainder from the 2003 playoffs. It has been waved, moved, furled, unfurled, lost, found, and stored in a mojo-protected energy-sealed area for three years. As Rafiki would say, “It is time.”

Chair of power: Power creates slapshots. Slapshots break sticks. Broken sticks make a nice Adirondack chair. I sit, and contemplate my navel, then discover it’s gotten harder to get up. Must lay off of the Little League snack bar treats.

Evil Eye Avoidance: Hockey News cover shot of Elias and Klee is turned over, avoiding all ken-klee-a-horas.

Sharpie Kingdom: Scribed goodies from Pandolfo, Gionta, Gomez, Langenbrunner, Parise and Madden, neatly arranged around the Adirondack chair of power. Or something like that. I touch them like hockey mezuzot and hope I don’t get hit by lightning for such thoughts.

Food: The official Meadowlands dinner of chicken fingers, french fries, and soda, washed down with ice cream and a pretzel. It’s 38 steps from our seats to the concourse, so we’re getting some minimal exercise to balance out the calories.

Jersey: 1999 vintage Koho Devils red jersey, washed so many times the embroidery is starting to warp and pucker. As long as it fits after the required lucky eating regimen, I’m wearing it.

As I go in search of socks, I check out the Madden signed page from ESPN: The Magazine and realize it’s a picture of Mad Dog chipping away at the Carolina goalie, in a game the Devils won. At home. Hugely coincidental. Hugely prognostic. I’m not turning away any reasonable semblance of luck or good feelings right now. The word “fan” is a diminutive of the more SAT-caliber “fanatic”. How appropriate.

Streaks begin and end with small things. One shot turns into a goal. One goal turns into a lead, and a lead wins a game. One win turns into a streak. On the other side, one defensive play prevents a goal. One good backcheck starts things the other way. One good play at the point continues possession in the zone. One thing builds on another. This is how streaks, teams, and fan bases are built.

Colin White skated today (that’s from the Newark Star Ledger, not because I spotted his truck in the South Mountain parking lot on a morning coffee run). Lukowich and Klee are better than they’ve played, and need to prove it before this season ends and their contracts look like cap room for Elias and Gomez. The scoring lines need to do just that, and the whole team will build on the little things.

Wednesday night in the Meadowlands. Time to turn this series around. Time to get back to even, one game at a time. Time to see what Big Lou is made of as a coach as well as a GM. I think we might wear our Euro-Elias jerseys, one from the Czech Olympic team and one from Metallurg (the Russian team on which Elias played last year). Have to have the lucky t-shirt underneath, so I’m leaning toward the basic grey Devils model. T-shirt, jersey, maybe even the little Czech flags we waved for Elias in the 2003 playoffs. One thing at a time, even for the fans.

It has been classic over-rotation in the hockey media: Coverage of the Devils sweep of the Rangers, of Elias’ comeback from his battle with Hep A, of the team winning 15 games in a row. Patty and Klee are on the cover of the current issue of The Hockey News in a game-winning embrace. How cool is it when you have your hero and a snowman in the mainstream media?

But it’s pure over-rotation. The Rangers were done before the playoffs began. The Devils had too long a hiatus coupled with a trip down south where they historically struggle. The winning streak had to end at some point, and I’m happier that it was when there was still momentum to be shed from the over-rotation rather than lost going into the middle of a series.

But tonight’s game was a heart breaker. 20 seconds to go, and we’re dancing. 17 seconds later, we’re watching the Zamboni again, clicking through movie channels waiting for overtime. And then they coughed it up, coming home down 2-0 in games and having been thoroughly out-played, out-hustled and out-positioned. Both the game-tying and game-winning goals were the result of bad defensive positioning: Pandolfo lost sight of Staahl on the knotting goal, and Ken Klee looked like he was out having a sandwich on the game winner. Sure, Paul Martin made a nice move, but where was the defense getting back into the house before that was necessary?

Whitey, we miss you.

If the Devils can even this up 2-2 at home between now and Mother’s Day, it’s a 2 out of 3 series, and they only have to win one in the state where tobacco is a vegetable. Then again, that’s what I said last weekend, when the Devils flywheel had momentum. Time to step it up, across the board: players, coaches, equipment managers, fans, broadcasters, kids, everyone who wants to see this go six games.

I still believe, but my Devils-loving heart can’t take much more rotation.