Month: November 2012

After celebrating Thanksgiving, the Devils were right back to work over the weekend, with their first 3-in-3 of the season, in 3 different venues. The special teams and offensive struggles continued, as they were only able to take 1 out of 6 points and fell further behind the pack. Looking back on the weekend that was:

11/23 at Rochester: 5-2 L

Times Union
Rochester Democrat & Chronicle

The post Thanksgiving swing began west on the New York State Thruway in Rochester. And it was clear in the first period who got over the holiday hangover first. Rookie Brian Flynn scored twice (the second on a power play goal) in the period for a 2-0 Amerk lead, and Albany was outshot 13-6. Second period the Devils started to wake up a little, outshooting their hosts 17-8. But it was only Steve Zalewski who found the back of the net, finally getting in the goal column for the first time this season to cut the deficit in half. But T.J. Brennan snagged a shorthanded goal late in the period to put the Amerks lead back at 2. Brennan added a second shorthanded goal early in the third to put the game away. Raman Hrabarenka scored his first pro goal a short time later to get to 4-2, but that’s all the Devils could do. Flynn finished off the hat trick with an empty netter late to seal the victory for Rochester. Jeff Frazee stopped 26 of 30 in the loss, while four players each contributed an assist. And the power play struggles continued on…0 for 5 with the man advantage and two short handed goals allowed.

11/24 vs. Syracuse: 4-1 L

Times Union
Syracuse Post-Standard

Finally back home for the first time in 12 days, the Devils had a daunting task…defeat a Crunch team that had yet to register a regulation loss on the road. Cory Conacher gave the Crunch a 1-0 lead in the first, and despite 3 power play chances, the Devils could not get the equalizer. Not many scoring chances during the first, though…the Devils outshot Syracuse 6-4. Second period saw another Devil get the no goal monkey off his back, as Joe Whitney broke away and scored his first of the season to tie the game at 1. Sadly, that was all the offense the Devils could muster against the Crunch. Tyler Johnson broke the tie halfway through the second period, then Alex Killorn made it a two goal lead just under three minutes later. Richard Panik added to the lead 8 minutes into the third period, and the Devils just didn’t have an answer. Keith Kinkaid, getting his first start since a shootout loss in St. John’s, stopped 21 of 25 shots. Adam Henrique had the lone assist on the day, and special teams continued to slump, going 0 for 3 on the power play, but a perfect 5 for 5 penalty kill.

11/25 vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton: 5-4 L (SO)

Times Union
The Citizens Voice

To finish out the weekend, the Devils made their first trip of four to Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall for a “home” game against the Penguins. The game also marked the season debut of defenseman Eric Gelinas, his first action since getting injured preseason in Binghamton. Mattias Tedenby got the home team off on the right foot by scoring halfway through the first. Then the seesaw battle began. Tom Kuhnhackl and Brian Gibbons scored less than 3 minutes apart to put the Pens on top. Bobby Butler then retied it with–gasp!–a power play goal. But the Pens barely escaped the first with the lead as Trevor Smith scored on a delayed penalty with one second left on the clock for a 3-2 advantage. Adam Henrique retied the game with just under 7 minutes left in the second period, then Jacob Josefson broke the tie with a short handed tally halfway through the period. But the Penguins weren’t quite done yet. Less than two minutes after the Devils re-took the lead, Kuhnhackl scored his second of the game to tie the game up at 4. That’s how it would stay for the rest of regulation and overtime. In the shootout, the Devils one on one struggles continued, as Tedenby, Matt Anderson, Joe Whitney, Butler, and Josefson could not get it past Pens goalie Brad Thiessen. It took a 5th round goal from rookie Jayson Megna to give the Penguins the extra point. Keith Kinkaid stopped 31 of 35 shots in the loss. The positive spin from this game was the penalty kill, who went a perfect 8 for 8 on the afternoon.

Notes:

-The injury list is starting to get a little smaller. As mentioned earlier, Eric Gelinas finally got back in the lineup earlier today after being out since early October. Kelly Zajac is a little closer to returning, as he has finally arrived to start practicing with the team. J.S. Berube remains the only one out indefinitely, while Dan Kelly sat out the weekend with an unknown ailment.

The Week Ahead:

Much lighter schedule for the Devils this week, with only two games. Friday night St. John’s makes their first ever visit to the Times Union Center. Then it’s back to Glens Falls on Saturday for Game 4 of the Time Warner Cable Cup series with Adirondack.

On an off ice note, I’ll be doing a couple of Booster Club activities with the team next week. Sunday is the annual Bowlathon for charity, followed two days later by another annual event, the Holiday Party. I may have an extra photo gallery up along with my usual game photos, probably mid-week next week.

At the beginning of this week, the offensive stats for the Devils were, in a word, dismal? 4 percent success on the power play, averaging less than 2 goals a game…the goaltending could have easily sued for non-support. But by the end of the week, the team showed signs that the long slump from the offense may finally be coming to an end, as they nearly doubled their season goal output and managed to take 4 out of 6 points over 3 games. Let’s recap the week that was:

11/12 vs. Norfolk: 5-4 L (SO)

Times Union
The Virginian Pilot

The week began with a Veterans Day matinee against the defending and new look Calder Cup champions, the Admirals. Both teams traded goals late in the first, with Chad Wiseman first to score for the home team. Tim Sestito gave the Devils a 2-1 advantage with 12 minutes to go in the second. Third period things got quite interesting on both sides. Peter Holland tied the game just 32 seconds into the period. Then both Jacob Josefson and Jay Leach were called for penalties two minutes into the period, giving the Admirals a full 2 minute 5 on 3 advantage. And they (and the referees too) made the Devils pay, as Kyle Palmieri scored twice in 59 seconds to break the tie, then give the Ads a 2 goal cushion. While killing off a Sestito penalty later in the period (where once again he opened his mouth and took an extra 10 minutes), Matt Anderson scored shorthanded to bring the Devils back to within a goal. Then 5 seconds after Adam Henrique and Garrett Klotz took roughing penalties, Adam Larsson came through and scored his first AHL goal to tie the game at 4. The game eventually went to overtime, where the Devils survived 1:03 of 4 on 3 time at the end of the extra session to force the shootout. Joe Whitney was the only Devil out of 5 to connect (Anderson, Bobby Butler, Josefson and Larsson were the other skaters), while Jeff Frazee surrendered goals to Holland in the 3rd round and Patrick Maroon in the final round to lose the extra standings point. Despite the loss, it was not a bad day for an offense who sorely needed to get back on track. Steve Zalewski and Alexander Urbom each contributed two assists, and Frazee took a hard luck loss stopping 31 of 35 shots in regulation and overtime.

11/16 at St. John’s: 4-3 L (SO)

Times Union
St. John’s Telegram

For the first time since the Devil River Rats days, an Albany team ventured up north to Newfoundland to take on St. John’s. Instead of Maple Leafs like back in the day, it’s now the IceCaps. After a rather uneventful first period which only saw one penalty called and the Devils outshoot the hosts 7-6, things picked up in the second. Raymond Sawada put the IceCaps on the board just 1:54 into the period. Carl Klingberg pushed the lead up to 2 7 minutes later. Jay Leach brought the Devils to within one on his first goal since the 2010-11 season. Third period a miracle happened…the Devils had actual power play success! Adam Henrique tied the game at 2 4 minutes into the 3rd on his 4th goal of the season. Halfway through the period, Zach Redmond broke the tie and gave St. John’s a 3-2 advantage. But once again the Devils rallied, and after a Mike Hoeffel goal was called off, it was Jacob Josefson scoring a power play goal (yes, you read that right…2 power play goals in ONE PERIOD.) with just over 2 minutes remaining in regulation to tie it at 3. After an uneventful overtime, it was on to the Devils second straight shootout. Mattias Tedenby was the only Devil to score (also up to shoot and eventually miss were Matt Anderson, Joe Whitney, Bobby Butler and Adam Henrique), while Keith Kinkaid gave up goals to Alex Burmistrov in the first round and Jason Jaffray in the final round to once again lose that extra point. Kinkaid played well in the loss, stopping 26 of 29 shots in 65 minutes. 5 players each contributed an assist.

11/17 at St. John’s: 5-3 W

Times Union
St. John’s Telegram

The Devils closed out the week with a rematch against the IceCaps. Only change from the night before was Jeff Frazee getting the nod in goal. And it was the visitors that started out strong, outshooting St. John’s 8-0 to start the first period. Jacob Josefson and Darcy Zajac scored within 43 seconds of each other for a quick 2-0 Albany lead. Ivan Telegin got the IceCaps on the board with just over 5 minutes to go in the period. Second period got off on the right foot for the Devils as Adam Larsson scored on a power play (yes another one, three in two games after only getting two in the first 11 games of the season) to go up 3-1. Maxime Macenauer scored 2 minutes later to cut the deficit to 3-2. Just over 3 minutes later Bobby Butler scored on a nice breakaway to regain the two goal advantage. Third period seemed to be all St. John’s, as they outshot the Devils by a 22-8 margin. But Zajac scored his second of the night to make it 5-2. Jason Gregoire made it a 5-3 game with 6 and a half minutes remaining, but it was all the IceCaps could muster. The Devils staved off a rare 6 on 3 advantage late to seal the much needed victory. Frazee had a busy evening in net but was up to the challenge, stopping 42 of 45 IceCap shots. The penalty kill finished a perfect 8 for 8 and the power play finished 1 for 4. 3 players each had 2 assists (Jay Leach, Adam Henrique, Brandon Burlon).

Notes:

-Only one roster move this week, as Harry Young was reassigned to Kalamazoo of the ECHL on Wednesday. He was the only one on the roster yet to suit up for a game…and that is likely to continue.

-Injury update: no changes, but Eric Gelinas has begun practicing with the team again. Still no word on when he’ll be back in the lineup.

The Week Ahead:

After celebrating Thanksgiving, it’s time for the first 3 in 3 weekend of the season. Friday night the Devils travel west on the Thruway to Rochester to take on the Amerks. Then it’s right back home Saturday afternoon for a home tilt their other Thruway rivals, the Crunch. Sunday it’s off to Atlantic City for the first of 4 “home” games at Boardwalk Hall as they take on the Penguins in an afternoon matchup. Here’s hoping this resurgence of scoring continues…and the goaltending continues to play well, then it shouldn’t be long before the Devils escape the all too familiar basement.