Can anyone remind us? Perhaps by sending said reminder to ZubbieCounter@gmail.com?!

Bienvenue au Montreal!!! (OK well it felt like it was Montreal… last time I saw that many frogs in one place I was at a zoo!! Did I offend ya? GOOD!! Go back to the Month in Review if you want happy Scott!!)… and the Devils went right back and took their house back by curb stomping some bad Montreal goaltending! I’m still amazed the damn game wasn’t announced in French… oh wait that’s a lame Mets tactic doing Spanish Night games totally crapping poor unknowing me when I went to my last game at Shea!

The Good:
– How can you not love how this team plays as a TEAM and when it’s going well it’s a JOY to watch… tonight was such an example!
– Penalty kill does it again, shutting down a dangerous Montreal supériorité numérique.
– Gionta… LE BUT!!! Madden… LE BUT!!! (about damn time too!!)… even though Halak shoulda had most of those 3 goals tonight, i’ll take em!!!
– Zach Parise still undressing both goalies like it was some bad French Porno!
– David Clarkson beat the bloody living piss out of that Frenchie stiff… seemed like most wars… I want to fight you… ok I fight you… I hit you… I SURRENDER!!!! (I am so all over this French thing tonight!)
You could see how that can of whoop ass got the Devils back into the game and stopped the Montreal chasing of players earlier in the game
– Scott Clemmensen scares you silly but damned if he don’t get it done… he even pushed for an assist almost on one play (save that to the Pro Scotty!)

the Bad:
– Jesus Christ there was a TON and I mean a TON of Montreal fans in the place and they were charged up on the way into the place (and I probably mean by that DRUNK)… the damn ole ole song was churping from minute one… to about minute ten… and I though Giants fans were bandwagoners :p
– Andy Greene did have that one oopsie… but when the final is 4-1, you’re kinda grasping (least it wasn’t like the goal I allowed in to make it 4-2 in my Fords Cup Tournament… think Montreal/Islanders with the empty net… except it jumped over my stick as I came out to shovel it!)… aside of that the defense was primed!
– Have an asthma attack in the arena and leaving your inhaler in the car just FUCKING SUCKS… no pun intended… kinda took the wind outta the game for me… and I hated missing out on all the fun chants when the hot coffee trick didn’t work
– If you are from a non-English speaking country and you want to come and insult the fans around you… be SURE to do it in their own language… nothing reeks of pussy more then hiding behind a language NO ONE cares about when tossing your little beer-induced insults!! (don’t get me long I kinda like French… but I ain’t in France… or in the part of Canada not even CANADA wants!)
– speaking of… it does seem of late that we are not getting the Lions’ share of the calls… nice of the officals to give us practice on the penalty kill… but still.. CMON REFS!!!

the Entertaining:
– the normal 209 banter of yelling at the goalie had a classic moment… *PA announces.. now in goal… Marc Denis*
“HEY HALAK… YOU SUCK!!!”
“Dude, they switched goalies”
“HALAK YOU STILL SUCK AND I HOPE YOU DIE TOO DENNIS!!!!”
(dude it’s Denis… Den-kneeeee… then again he can’t remember Alex Auld’s name either!)
– Finding a girl who had the hots for Aaron Asham… seriously… if that don’t deserve a “yeah… whatever”… what does??
– the mock “OLE” chant to shut them up in the 3rd… awesome… the typical WWE Fan reaction to chant USA… STUPID… you DO realize three of the greatest players EVER to wear a Devils logo are CANADIAN right? (and the 4th is Czech…. an American is making a case for #5… no NOT CLEMMENSIEVE!)

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL (ok that sounded as lame and phony as when everyone else says it… so instead I hope your hangovers were painful!!… yeah that’s more like it)

What a fun December it was (and I gotta admit I’ve gotten a bit of a rush in this non-Brodeur era of hockey because you don’t know what you are getting and… man… that’s kinda exciting still!!) 9 wins, 5 losses…. A ton of goals and a win over the Rangers we will NEVER forget in our lifetime (and a birthday game stinker), but when you look at this month as a whole, the quality of TEAM play, it’s hard to complain… even for me!!

Forwards:
#9 (LW) Zach Parise:
8 goals, 11 assists… hot damn this kid is getting 100 points this year (and in the NHL Top 10 in scoring, reminds ya lots of the 1999-2001 Devils which scored, played defense and did it all at a level you thought you might never see again… never is NOW folks!), you need to work hard and long to find problems with Zach this year…even now being the focal point of the opponent’s defensive plans… you can’t stop him! Keep an eye on #9… this could be the finest season ever played by a man in a Devil sweater!!

Grade: A

#14 (RW) Brian Gionta:

Another solid month and still on the 70-point pace… people will whine that he’s shooting into the logo and not scoring enough (only 2 goals), but like I say a lot on assist guys (and he had ten this month)… SOMEONE is scoring on those plays… and while it may not be the pretty pass, it’s good work and effort that is getting those plays across… and it’s hard to downplay his success over his years with Elias… but don’t worry… on NJDevs they will find a way!!! With the decline of Madden as drastic as it is… there’s a chance he might be playing his way back here again next year, and he’s a guy you can use on power plays, penalty kills and he gets his tiny lil nose dirty! But I guess 12 points in 14 games is a reason to send him to the AHL :p

Grade: B+

#19 (Center) Travis Zajac:

It’s a joy seeing this kid who all the world but a few with a clue wanted traded last year… and look at him now… he’s becoming a mini-Holik WITH a scoring touch! 6 goals, 5 assists (and getting better each month)… damn I wish I could find faceoff stats, but I think he’s been okay on those too… maturing more and more right in front of us!

Grade: B+

#26 (LW) Patrik Elias-A

9 goals, 10 points… what is he Zach Parise?? And take it one step further… only ONE minus game all month! (+8)… skating hard… playing hard… damn someone needs to suck around here so I have something to rip on…this is almost going to get boring soon with all the rave reviews!!! Not to mention he’s on the pace to be the scoringest Devil ever!

Grade: A+

#11 (Center) John Madden-A

OK, here’s some of the bad… earned his way out of being a key guy on this team with his defensive play declining as his skating is losing a step (bad time to be an UFA right?), ZERO goals….. 2 assists… a -5, but the one thing you can credit him for… the penalty kill is again respectable and he’s a part of that and he’s still a faceoff guy on this team too, so while it’s bad… he does add value as a 4^th line center, but good Lord he’s not dropped off… he fell off the damn cliff!!

Grade: C- (the pk effort is saving him from EPIC FAIL!)

#8 (LW) Danius Zubrus:

How do you only have 2 goals and 4 assists when Elias and Gionta are playing SO WELL around him? Odd, might be playing his way off that 1-A scoring line as Brian Rolston gets better and better, he is still playing physical and making space for his line mates… but 6 points ain’t enough when it’s all hands on deck hockey like it is now!

Grade: C

#15 (RW) Jamie Langenbrunner-C

Much like Zajac the stats get better each month and it looks like he’s 100% healthy at last (and not playing… maybe not scoring as much as he should and DEFINITELY not in the right place as the point man on the power play… but he is producing which is a plus, 2 goals and 10 assists is plenty good enough to be there buzzing with Zajac and Parise, just be a DAMN FORWARD IN FRONT ON THE POWER PLAY… please!!!! Playing good enough… but not flat out amazing….

Grade: B+

#23 (RW) David Clarkson:

Looks like he’s GETTING IT playing with Holik (Dear God now that Tallackson is exiled can he wear #21, please??)… two goals and 4 assists still ain’t enough offense, and needs more time in front of the net on power plays, but it’s getting there and should easy set highs in goals and assists… I just want a little bit more offense (like imagine a 20 goal pace instead of a 15, that would be scary on this team)… also didn’t seem to fight or bang as much as I’d like…CMON GOONAGE!!!

Grade: B-

#20 (LW) Jay Pandolfo:

It’s almost a damnation when you need Mike Rupp to make a sick play to put you on the scoreboard, two goals… no assists (selfish asshole :p).. though the beauty short on PuffyPads was a plus and a key goal in that disaster game! The ice time is dropping too… he’s becoming close to a “why did we sign him again?”… penalty kill specialist who isn’t adding much besides that….

Grade: C- (again the goal on the Rangers keeps him from failing for the month!)

#17 (LW/C) Mike Rupp:

It’s scary that I almost feel BAD for him being stuck with Madden and Pandolfo… if anything it’s not a good mix of the three guys…but there’s no one else to put there. Tolerable offensive stats considering his crap line mates and lack of personal offensive skill….and still that pass to Pando was a beauty….as much a victim of circumstance as much as limited NHL Skills….

Grade: C

#25 (LW) The man simply known as PL^3 (cause I hate typing his name!)
I have to mention him because he played three games this month… ok I feel I did my duty here…no fights… no minus games… okay… terrific, my job is done here….

Grade: D+ (he’s barely relevant enough on this team to mention)

#12 (LW/C) Brian Rolston:

Took some time to get it going and he seems to have that now with Clarkson up there to raise hell and Holik making some space, took most of the month to get going (all 4 goals were in the last 8 games, took some time to get comfortable on the ankle and find some chemistry like he has on the Holik/Clarkson line)… the power play laser is coming too, could be dangerous if the $8 million line gets it going too….

Grade: C+ (but improving)

#16 (Center) Bobby Holik:
Big mean nasty bastard and he is BACK this year…. Goes out there for ten minutes a night and bulldozes people!! Gotta like that!! Knows his role and FINALLY in his career is ok with it! And even added a few points in this month in limited games and playing time… doing his job and seems to be rubbing off in good ways on Clarkson and Zajac… takes a few too many old school nogoaliking penalties… but I think you gotta live with that right?? Besides… the penalties got the pk back on track and dammit that’s TEAM spirit!!

Grade: A

Defense:
#7 Paul Martin:

Only 4 assists but his value to his team goes beyond that. Playing about 25 minutes a night and +6 for the month tells ya lots in what he means to this team. Doesn’t and won’t excite you offensively, but still mans the point on the power play (and NEEDS TO on this team). This team needs Martin and Salvador playing well to excel for the key parts of the season!

Grade: A

#27 Mike Mottau:
Sweet goal in the Blues game, gotta mention that….not getting put into situations that exceed his limited talent level, but playing better now that his minutes are in the 16 a night range. Could and probably should be the odd man out if/when the defense is healthy but he’s a solid go-to guy as the fill-in defender.

Grade: B-

#5 Colin White:

Wow, who fixed his OTHER eye? He was pretty damn good this month… well until the random upper body injury (I swear we’re gonna have a guy die of AIDS and it will be just a lower body injury!).. not taking too many penalties, adding a touch of offense and looking like (huh huh…. One eye joke!) a solid second pairing guy that he’s so badly needed to be!

Grade: A-

#29 Johnny Oduya:

A mere two goals and no helpers… that’s not going to cut it, as the whole blue line seems to be slumping on the offense… guess the duck and cover theory to protect Clemmensen is affecting the offense from the back end (not to mention since NONE of these guys sniff power play time with this idiot 5 forward pp unit… it’s not the Wildcat for damn sure!), the plus 4 comes from the fact that he can play and help either one of the 2 best Devil defenders now (White and Martin)… still need to see some more offense, but I guess his average offensive numbers will make him a cheaper re-sign next year, but is a spot that could use an upgrade on this roster

Grade: B-

#24 Bryce Salvador:

Victim of the dreaded upper-upper body infected ear which slowed him down this month for sure…lead the defense in points (ok it’s only one goal and 4 assists but CMON OFFENSE!) and a +6 …. Wasn’t missed that much when he was hurt though, but that is credit to the rest of the team and not a knock on him. If you had a defense corps full of these guys, you’d be a good team!!

Grade: B+

#28 (version 2) Jay Leach:

He’s been good… real good… and it looks like he’s gonna be here to stay and Salmela is the odd guy out in Lowell (damn… almost said Albany, bet they wish we were back there… least some people nearby would care… that Carolina move’s been SUCH a helper right?) …. Played EVERY game this month and earned the right to! Doesn’t score, but doesn’t make too many mistakes and at 29 years old may be finding his groove in the NHL… looks like he could be an official Lou “find”.. excellent, quality 3^rd pair defender!

Grade: B+

#2 (D-RW) Sheldon Brookbank:

Two games in December… I think both were at forward… but either way… was two too many at this point… he’s got less use on this team then PL^3 right now, and we have better depth players all over the place… can’t be sent down, not worth trading… kid’s kinda stuck being a glorified practice squad player….

Grade: Incomplete, to be generous)

#6 Andy Greene:

Hasn’t added a point in his 7 games back (gonna need some points out of him)…but he’s been pretty good and steady… stronger on the puck then in the past, but getting promo minutes on this team ain’t gonna be easy… so right now playing “only” okay on the 3^rd pair is gonna be good enough to keep him in the lineup each and every night… I think he’ll get better as the season moves along…

Grade: C (the definition of being only okay)

Goaltending:
#35 Scott Clemmensen:

9-4, 2.05 gaa, 92.8%?? Wow… it is Brodeur-like… but he does it more with smoke, mirrors and some sheer shit-eating LUCK (I’ve said it before if Brodeur had his luck NO ONE WOULD EVER SCORE ON HIM)… He’s getting it done which is key… but something to look at… the Islanders Jodi McDonald was just as awesome in the first 6 weeks of the year and now looks burnt out and beaten… all the more reason to save a guy who’s never played 14 NHL games in a SEASON… forget a MONTH!!!!! Sutter better be more careful with this one or it’s gonna bite him hard in the ass….

Grade: A (where’s the assists like some other “famous” Scott goalie :p)

#1 Kevin Weekes:
This whole thing with Weekes being tossed under the bus (and some Mindy egging on) drove me to get this poor bastard’s jersey!!! This guy deserves SO MUCH better then he’s gotten this year and he’s handled it ALL with class, silence and dignity. I’ll wear his jersey proudly at my own hockey games (not to mention the Devils went 3-1 in the Weekes games I’ve worn him for!)… and each time they throw him out there.. it’s a no win situation… ok Marty’s out for most of the season, let’s throw Weekes out there to get killed while the team deals with it…just beat the Rangers in an 8-5 heart attack game that the FANS were exhausted from.. and NO WAY are they going to play up to that level the next game… go get em Kevin!!! And then to not play him in Dallas after flying from St.Louis…. it really pisses me off!! FREE THE WEEKES!!!!!!

Grade: A (for not attacking someone on sheer principle!)

Coaching:
Well they’re winning…the forwards are clicking… the defense has meshed and they play for each other (in this way the Brodeur injury is a blessing… this is now a TEAM instead of “playing for #30”)… the coaching job has been good but hardly perfect… the 5 forward pp and even worse the 6 forward “pull the goalie” look is even worse! And also to Sutter’s credit was him actually PRAISING the team once or twice this month.. looks like Mister Cranky-Pants is getting it! Sutter is starting to look like a keeper with some more polishing (but that too will be determined in April and beyond….)
Grade: B+ (they’re winning for him which is the key)

10:27 PM: That’s going to do it for me tonight.  Don’t forget Devils @ Stars tomorrow night, 8:30 PM eastern.  If I don’t get here to say it before then, Happy New Year Devils fans!  Goodnight!

10:26 PM: Wow, that’s a funny stat.  Since November 15th, Scott Clemmensen has 13 wins.  That gives him the most wins in the NHL in that time span.  Hot diggity!

10:25 PM: Jeeeeeebus that was close.  Clemmer and the Devs weather another late flurry but come away with the 4-3 win.  Phew.

10:23 PM: Ugh.  Clemmensen with one of his usual ginormous rebounds, and Alex Steen pops it home.  27 seconds left and it’s 4-3 Devils.

10:22 PM: Err, with Gionta unable to put it into the yawning net, I’ll just take any Devils goal now…

10:21 PM: Empty net for St. Louis.  Anyone else looking for a Zachtrick?

10:20 PM: I…I don’t know how to explain what I just saw.  A beautiful play…by Mike Rupp…to Jay Pandolfo…for a goal!  I’m highly confused, but I’ll take it!  4-2 Devils!

10:18 PM: I’m sorry, but the St. Louis crowd sounds so funky chanting “Let’s go bluuuuues”.  It just doesn’t roll off the tongue right.

10:13 PM: Bryce Salvador picks up the secondary assist against his old team.  Parise’s goals are his 21st and 22nd of the year.

10:12 PM: GOAL!  I have no idea how it wound up in, but Zach fights for a loose puck in the crease off a Langenbrunner re-direction of a Salvador shot.  3-2 Devils!

10:08 PM: Need I say the PP ended with nary a decent chance?  I need not.

10:07 PM: Halfway through the PP we find out that it’s a too many men on the ice call against St. Loo.  And our PP, again…not so stellar.

10:06 PM: Devils are on the power play, but we have to hear John Davidson talk instead of find out what happened…I’m not liking Versus tonight.

10:03 PM: NOW we’re waking up…good pressure by the Devils in the offensive zone, then a few up-and-down rushes each way.  Nothing doing in way of goals, but more entertaining at least!

9:59 PM: Oduya with a wide open shot that flies high and wide.  We’re pressuring now at least…

9:57 PM: Five minutes into the third and not a whole lot by way of action.  It’s like the Devils are sitting on the lead, but…well…there’s no lead to sit on.

9:55 PM: Wow, Clemmensen just had WAY more trouble that he should have with a Hinote/Janssen scoring “chance”.  Meep.

9:51 PM: Third period is on.  Let’s pick up some goals, yes?  The Blues are 13-2-1 when allowing less than three goals according to Versus’ little graphic deal.  And currently we’ve scored less than three.

9:33 PM: Second period = over.  Score = tied.  I = back in a few.

9:32 PM: The last few minutes of the second period are always Clemmensen’s time to shine, apparently.  Another good stop tonight, as Clemmer again remembers that scene from Willy Wonka.

9:30 PM: This game’s getting kind of boring now.  Not good, seeing as it started an hour later than I’m used to, and work tomorrow does NOT start an hour later.  Sigh.

9:37 PM: Parise swipes at the puck as he’s going down face-first.  Nothing comes of it as Legace makes the stop, but still.  If that went in, it would have been a pretty sight.

9:22 PM: …and by I feel sick, I mean HOLY GOD TWO ON ZERO SHORTHANDED CHANCE.  It’s a good thing BJ Crombeen doesn’t believe in, y’know, passing or anything.  That could/should have been very bad.

9:21 PM: This power play, thus far, is not particularly impressive.  And by not particularly impressive, I mean I feel sick.

9:20 PM: David Perron goes to the box for interference, and the Devils hit the power play again.

9:16 PM: Again, a penalty coming, but Versus again feels the Whopper Virgins are more important than letting us know even what team the penalty is against.

9:16 PM: Holik tries to take out Janssen but Janssen wound up taking out Holik.  It amused me some at least.

9:15 PM: God Zach Parise is awesome.  Just sayin’.

9:12 PM: The Pandolfo/Madden/Elias thing apparently is over, as Rupp is back out with Pando and Maddog now.  Weird.

9:08 PM: Rolston springs Clarkson on a sorta-breakaway, but Clarkson fires high and wide.  If he was behind the net, he would have known what to do.  But coming straight-on like that, I think David was confused…

9:04 PM: Long-reaching Clarkaround actually provides some offense!  Clarkaround itself doesn’t work, but Rolston shovels home the rebound and we’re tied at 2!

9:03 PM: You’re killin’ me, Smalls.  And by Smalls, I mean Langenbrunner.  Another tap pass easily picked off by the Blues.

9:01 PM: Aaaaaand we’re back.

8:44 PM: 2-1 Blues heading into the first intermission.  See y’all in seventeen.

8:43 PM: Cam tries to cream Mottau as time runs out on the period, and who should be first to Mikey’s defense?  Why, Brian Gionta of course!  It’s a good thing it was just a run of the mill scrum and not a fight…

8:42 PM: Elias is out there with Madden and Pandolfo.  Hmm…

8:39 PM: Gio gets a nice jump on a loose puck but is stoned by Legace.  Parise can’t get a handle on the rebound.  I kind of wish Legace was mic’d up for this game like he was for the All-Star Game last year.  He’s a funny dude.

8:36 PM: Zach Parise in the sin bin, St. Loo on the PP.

8:34 PM: Shot by Cam Janssen.  Awww.  Devils penalty, but Versus feels it unnecessary to tell what it is until after Jose Cuervo advertisements.

8:33 PM: Ohhhh what a move by Parise, only to catch the post.  Langs and Martin both got pretty heavily creamed by hits just before and just after Zach’s post shot, respectively.

8:29 PM: Power play over, and we’re still down 2-1.  Lame I say, lame.

8:28 PM: For not yet scoring a goal, it’s not a bad power play so far.  This may not be the awesomeness of our power play so much as the lameness of the St. Louis penalty kill.

8:25 PM: Our…uhm…thrilling(?) power play gets to go to work, as a hooking call goes against Bergland.  The Blues apparently play an organ version of Love Potion Number Nine when they get penalized.  Odd.

8:22 PM: Ugh.  Two-on-one for the Blues results in a goal for David Backes, and it’s 2-1 Blues.  A bad defensive breakdown in the offensive zone as Salvador tried to shoot a loose puck and missed.  We got schooled.

8:19 PM: Zubbie with a little razzle-dazzle.  At least as razzley-dazzley as Zubbie gets anyway.  A nice rush up the middle of the ice, gives to Gionta for a shot handled by Legace.

8:15 PM: The lead?  Short lived.  Someone finally capitalized on Clemmensen’s ginormous rebounds, and Brad Boyes jams it home.  In fairness to Clemmer, the initial shot from the point was a rocket that was probably very hard to control.  Score’s tied at 1.

8:13 PM: I know I always complain about the other team’s jersey, especially when it’s a third, so I’m going to shock everyone tonight:  I actually REALLY like the Blues’ third jersey!  It’s very nice, and involves no vertical piping or shorthand spelling on the team’s nickname.  I approve.

8:11 PM: That was quick!  Zach Parise darts in along the boards, fires it from the left face-off dot, and squirts one through Manny Legace.  1-0 Devils 1:02 into the game, and our Versus goal drought is over!

8:10 PM: Puck’s on the ice in the Gateway city.

8:06 PM: Not playing tonight: Colin White.  In his place, Bryce Salvador.  This is Sal’s first game back in Saint Loo since the Salvador/Janssen <s>swindle</s> trade.  While I love that we got a top-four defenseman for a fourth-line-at-best goon, I still miss Cam.

8:04 PM: So tonight’s game is on Versus.  This does not bode well for us.  In two games on Versus thus far this season, the Devils have lost both and scored a grand total of…ZERO goals!  God I’d very much like it if we broke the Versus Curses tonight.

8:01 PM: Yes, I feel tonight is a very good night for a LiveCap!  Here goes nothing…

An approximation of what Scott Clemmensen was thinking about, with relation to the Rangers during the 5-on-3 late in the second period:

The Devils hit up the Garden tonight, coming off consecutive losses.

And by consecutive losses, I mean consecutive can’t-pot-a-puck-to-save-our-collective-lives shutouts.  Vintage Devils sty-lee, allowing only one goal in each (empty netters don’t count) and still losing.  Ouch.

So tonight it’s the Rangers.  First cross-river rivalry game since the 8-5 awesomefest at The Rock two weeks ago.  First Rangers game overall since they blew a 4-0 lead at home and fell to the Capitals, 5-4, in overtime (for Ranger fans stopping by - sorry, but I just love recanting that story.  Almost as much as a love the story about the 5-0 lead in Montreal last year…)

Will a game against Lundqvist and the Rangers cure the Devils’ recent scoring woes?  I wouldn’t count on it - eight goal game or not, Lundy’s well…good, as much as it pains me to say it.  Especially against the Red n’ Black.  I’d be majorly shocked (though entertained as well) if we’re treated to another 80s-style game tonight.  I’d expect much closer to our last two game though.  Gulp.

It’s hard to talk about any forwards when no vulcanized rubber has met cotton netting in recent games, but damn, at least Scott Clemmensen’s been pretty good in goal, hasn’t he?  One goal allowed in each of the last two games - should have been enough to win each, but the bounces weren’t there.  The Devils know Clemmer’s good for one bad goal a game at least, but haven’t been able to bail him out the last few games.  He’s done a good job keeping it close, however - I still can’t believe Clemmensen’s our number one goalie, and doing such a good job of it.

In Devils notes, Bryce Salvador resumed skating this morning and expects to be back for the game in St. Louis next week.  And thus, I expect a Salvador/Janssen fight at some point that evening.

Oh, and for those keeping track at home, Sal’s “upper body injury” = inner ear infection.  Hey, the inner ear is still in the upper body area.

2MA would like to wish a very warm and happy holiday to all our of readers.  Here’s to hoping you got everything you wanted and more, and that you’re spending the season with family and friends.

And let’s also hope that Santa was extra nice to the Devils this year, perhaps bringing them some new holiday sweaters. Good gracious those are ugly.

Since I am about as religous as I am an NBA fan (which means not at all) I’ll wish you the best for the holidays in the way it really matters… GOOD PRESENTS… Get Drunk for New year’s and don’t let your family piss ya off too much (and for God’s sake don’t be like me and take an 8am job on Christmas Eve)

It’s nice to be back after our little incident with the phishers (hell even I thought I got fired too… go figure :p)  over the weekend… who knew my little rants attracted the on-line porn crowd right??? It’s a damn shame with the team doing so well of late I don’t get to say stuff till we throw a stinker…. go figure right?? Anyway… time to resume my form of PUCK ENTERTAINMENT!!!!

– About a month ago a friend of mine, she knows who she is, called me out on something “if you’re such a damn Kevin Weekes defender, where the hell is your Weekes jersey??”… now I know she was just busting my chops and being the pain in the ass to me I am to everyone else, but I had some time before the game and I was waiting around the train station area (even though I drive in) to give Dave and his family their tickets… and I wander into the jersey store… I’m thinking… hey I need to get Brian a gift and pay off the money I owe him at the same time… I see the Reebok jerseys and they want $200 for them (for $200 for a REPLICA jersey it better come with a puckbunny for my sexual enjoyment after my own damn hockey games… in other words…Reebok can either blow me or hire someone willing to fill in for them!)… and I keep looking… and there it is… in the back… $125… Kevin Weekes CCM replica jersey… I’m like… oh yeah I got my birthday money… I’m buying this OUT OF SPITE AND SPITE ALONE :-)…. one of the side perks of working one’s brains out at times is the money to drop down on such an idiot level of obnoxiousness!

So anyway… on to the game shall we??

the good:

– Devils played well and kept getting chances despite the Bruins trap of death that was going on all game long, I thought we played well enough to win and the difference was Thomas made one absurd HOLY SHIT LEVEL FIVE type save… and Clemmensen didn’t (if Weekes played this game he’d be exiled for a MONTH for it)

– Bobby Holik was hitting anything and everything in sight again (sadly he didn’t take a run at DONUTMAN… it would have been worth it)

– On the Holik Front… holy hell we’re paying $8 million smackers for a 4th line of Holik/Rolston and Clarkson.. but hot shit it works!!!

– … and all of a sudden it was Rangers 4… Caps 1!!

– the penalty killing has been a hundred stars all month long… just wanted to say it and praise it and this no-name defense we have, it’s been getting the job done in damn fine fashion!

– Rangers 4… Caps 2… I think this is worth sticking with

– the second period banter of Ultimate Warrior, Dusty Rhodes, Randy Savage (then, now and the announcer version… and who doesn’t love to yell…”BONESAW’S READY!!!!!” ??), Hulk Hogan… Ric Flair… and still not miss a BEAT of the game… outstanding!!!!! It’s a 209er special but damn that was ood times guys thanks!!!

– Rangers 4… Caps 3 (was at this point the Bruins scored so I pulled the Weekes jersey out of the bag and waved it around to anyone near me going “THE POWER OF WEEKES COMPELS YOU…. THE POWER OF WEEKES COMPELS YOU!!” (If I was Catholic to the extent of anymore then I want presents tommorrow I’d consider that more offensive then my WHITE POWER pro-Colin White chants!)

– want to talk about another guy who’s come out of nowhere and been outstanding… I’m talking Jay Leach… another Lou diamond in the rough gem!

– CAPS TIE THE GAME… BELIEVE IN THE POWER OF WEEKES!!! I may start bringing the extra jersey as a damn prop now!!!

the Bad:

– can we hit ANY more posts? Seriously… Iwas having Robbie Ftorek flashbacks!

– 6 forwards with an empty net… umm… yeahhhhhNO, please never never again (when you have Martin, Oduya and even Andy Greene on your bench this is just foolish and will kill you EVERY time…..)

– While this team was due for an offensive stinker (and when you’re a team that is going to rely on the offense to win games like this team needs to… this is going to happen now and then and you just gotta live with it)

– the Capitals didn’t win the game till I was back in the car and had no one to laugh about it with!

Well that was interesting.

For quite a while there I found myself unable to log into the site.  Scott aparently had the same issue, hense the lack of ranting post-Friday (there would have been no ranting yesterday, no one gets between Scott and NFL Sundays, not even the Devils).

I’m not quite sure how much time I’m going to have to post before Christmas, so I’d like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a Happy Holidays, no matter what holiday you celebrate (Bonus good tidings if you celebrate Boxing Day.  Just ’cause.)

I want to thank everyone for sticking with us.  I also want to thank Dianius Zubrus for not scoring in the past two games when I was unable to log in - that would have been embarrassing.  You may now commence lamp-lighting, Mr. Zubrus.

Back-to-normal should commence for us 2MAers post-holidaze.  The best to you and yours, and stay tuned tomorrow night for what I assume will be another Scott Mackie trademark post-game analysis/rant.

Boys and girls, the ZubbieCounter is going through certain…changes.

You saw the first of it Friday night.  The first twenty were on us, but now, ladies and gentlemen - the ZubbieCounter is in YOUR hands.

I gave you a starting point the other night, but now it’s on you.  Every time Zubbie scores a goal, we’ll be taking reader submissions.  For each goal, we’ll pick one submission to be the official ZubbieCounter image for that goal. This can work many ways.  Here’s a couple of suggestions:

• Make a sign, hold it up for us, and snap a picture.  You, your children, your friends, the guy at the bar, your grandma - be creative and have fun with it.

• Take a picture of the number (say, 22) occurring on a traffic sign, in a store, in a book, on the side of a building, on the back of a jersey - again, the more creative the better - then edit in the rest of the Counter information (__th Goal As A Devil!) using Photoshop, or MS Paint, or whathaveyou.

So what’s in it for you?  Free stuff.  At the end of the season, we’ll re-post each ZubbieCounter image from the season and let everyone vote on their favorite.  Winner gets to-be-announced free swag.  And who doesn’t love undetermined free swag?

All ZubbieCounter submissions should be sent to zubbiecounter@gmail.com.

Here’s to hoping we can start taking some submissions tonight, yes?