Six games left in the regular season, with virtually no room for error at this point.
The Devils would come through, getting back on track with a pair of wins on home ice. But could a road loss at the end of the week be a costly one as we head into the final week of the regular season?
First on the agenda this week: a Wednesday night matchup against the Crunch that carried several factors: a Syracuse win would clinch a playoff spot for the first place Marlies, whose magic number was 1; and it would knock the Devils into fifth, with Utica and St. John’s jumping ahead despite being idle that night. On top of that, the Crunch lost two forwards (Cory Conacher and Michal Bournival) to callup just a few hours before puck drop, with the Lightning fighting for the last playoff spot and a matchup with the Maple Leafs looming.
Well, about that…
The Crunch would be plagued by the penalty bug in the first period, giving the Devils four power plays. On their third power play chance, Nick Lappin would score his 10th for a 1-0 Albany lead. Early in the second, with the Crunch on their first power play opportunity, Lappin would come up big again, this time with a shorthanded tally to double the Devil lead. Midway through the period, on the Crunch’s second power play, it was Brian Gibbons’ turn for a shorthanded goal, his 14th, for a 3-0 advantage. And that was all Mackenzie Blackwood would need, as he shut down the Crunch offense, stopping all 33 shots in his second shutout of the season. Lappin and two other Devils would have one assist each. The win would put Albany back in third place in the North, one point ahead of 4th place Utica and two (thanks to percentage points) ahead of 5th place St. John’s.
Lines:
Jan Mandat-Kevin Rooney-Max Novak
John Quenneville-Carter Camper-Nick Lappin
Brian Gibbons-Austin Cangelosi-Blake Pietila
Greg Wolfe-Rod Pelley-Shane Harper
Defense:
Karl Stollery/Vojtech Mozik
Seth Helgeson/Jacob MacDonald
Andrew MacWilliam/Yohann Auvitu
Mackenzie Blackwood/Ken Appleby
Scratches: Josh Jacobs, Viktor Loov, Ben Sexton, Ryan Kujawinski, Scott Wedgewood, Sam Kurker, Petr Straka, Evan Cormier
Power Play: 1 for 7. Penalty Kill: 2 for 2. Penalty Minutes: 4. Shots on Goal: 32. Shots Allowed: 33.
3 Stars: 1. Nick Lappin; 2. Mackenzie Blackwood; 3. Brian Gibbons.
Highlight Reel:
The homestand finished up on Friday, as the Devils hosted the IceCaps for the final time. Midway through the opening period, Shane Harper would finally score his first goal as a Devil to put the hosts up 1-0. Early in the second, in a span of 15 seconds, Nick Lappin (12th) and Brian Gibbons (15th) would give the Devils a 3-0 cushion. But St. John’s was not about to go away quietly, thanks to some questionable penalty calls on Albany. Former River Rat Chris Terry, celebrating his 28th birthday, would cut the Devil lead to two with a power play goal, his 28th of the season. Later in the period, with John Quenneville sitting for a tripping (that to most of us looked like a dive) and Rod Pelley off for delay of game after his stick broke on a faceoff, Zach Redmond would capitalize on the 5 on 3 with his third goal to make it a 3-2 game. St. John’s would complete the comeback 5:26 into the third on Keegan Lowe’s 6th goal of the season. Just as it looked like this game was headed to overtime…Jacob de la Rose would be called for a hook with 1:07 to go. Albany took a timeout, drew up a play…and seven seconds later everything went to plan. Lappin’s second goal of the game with exactly 1:00 remaining would put the Devils ahead 4-3. The IceCaps thought they had tied the game up just as the clock hit 0.0, but was first waved off. A video review was requested, and after a few tense moments…confirmed no goal, the puck crossed the line after the horn sounded. Albany would escape with their second straight win, lowering their magic number to clinch to 5. Another strong performance in net by Mackenzie Blackwood, as he stopped 22 of 25 shots. Seven Devils, including Steven Santini, would have one assist each.
Lines:
Jan Mandat-Kevin Rooney-Max Novak
John Quenneville-Carter Camper-Nick Lappin
Blake Pietila-Austin Cangelosi-Brian Gibbons
Greg Wolfe-Rod Pelley-Shane Harper
Defense:
Seth Helgeson/Steven Santini
Karl Stollery/Vojtech Mozik
Josh Jacobs/Jacob MacDonald
Mackenzie Blackwood/Ken Appleby
Scratches: Andrew MacWilliam, Ben Sexton, Luke Gazdic, Ryan Kujawinski, Scott Wedgewood, Yohann Auvitu, Brandon Gignac, Petr Straka, Evan Cormier, Viktor Loov
Power Play: 1 for 4. Penalty Kill: 3 for 5. Penalty Minutes: 15. Shots on Goal: 33. Shots Allowed: 25.
3 Stars: 1. Nick Lappin; 2. Brian Gibbons; 3. Keegan Lowe.
Highlight Reel:
A rematch with the Crunch, but this time in Syracuse, would finish off the week. After a scoreless first period, the Devils would be first on the scoreboard in the middle period, taking a 1-0 lead on a Yohann Auvitu power play goal, his 5th of the season. Syracuse would tie things up midway through off a shorthanded goal by Tanner Richard. A late turnover in front of the Devil net would cost them, as Dominik Masin would score his third to put the Crunch ahead 2-1. But less than two minutes later, a shorthanded goal off the stick of Kevin Rooney (his 12th goal of the season) would re-tie the game. A late holding call on Blake Pietila in the third would end up being the game changer, as a Brett Howden goal with 3:22 remaining in regulation would give the Crunch the victory, stalling a brief two game win streak and keeping the Devils magic number to clinch at 5. Mackenzie Blackwood would draw another start and play well despite the loss, stopping 29 of 32 shots. Four different Devils would each have one assist.
Lines:
Jan Mandat-Kevin Rooney-Max Novak
John Quenneville-Carter Camper-Nick Lappin
Brian Gibbons-Austin Cangelosi-Blake Pietila
Luke Gazdic-Rod Pelley-Shane Harper
Defense:
Karl Stollery/Vojtech Mozik
Seth Helgeson/Steven Santini
Josh Jacobs/Yohann Auvitu
Mackenzie Blackwood/Ken Appleby
Scratches: Greg Wolfe, Viktor Loov, Scott Wedgewood, Jacob MacDonald, Ben Sexton, Ryan Kujawinski, Andrew MacWilliam, Petr Straka, Brandon Gignac, Evan Cormier
Power Play: 1 for 4. Penalty Kill: 5 for 6. Penalty Minutes: 12. Shots on Goal: 26. Shots Allowed: 32.
3 Stars: 1. Brett Howden; 2. Dominik Masin; 3. Tanner Richard.
Highlight Reel:
My Player of the Week:
One candidate stood out among everyone this week…Nick Lappin was a factor in both home wins this week with four goals, including both game winners.
Team Leaders:
Goals: Ben Sexton (19)
Assists: John Quenneville (32)
Points: John Quenneville (45)
+/-: Vojtech Mozik (+15)
Penalty Minutes: Andrew MacWilliam (100)
Wins: Ken Appleby (17)
GAA: Scott Wedgewood (2.18)
Save Percentage: Scott Wedgewood (.912)
Division Playoff Update:
After Saturday night’s action, here’s where we stand:
1. Toronto: 85 points, .582 (clinched)
2. Syracuse: 84 points, .575
3. Albany, 79 points, .541
4. Utica, 77 points, .535
5. St. John’s, 78 points, .534
All of this is subject to change, with St. John’s and Utica facing each other this afternoon. Albany’s magic number to clinch a spot remains at 5 with 3 games remaining. The Devils cannot clinch the division title after Saturday’s loss, and has a very small shot at finishing in second (one more point by the Crunch will make that impossible).
Up North with the Thunder:
Congrats to the other boys in red, as they finished off the regular season with a division title and a 6 game winning streak.
The Thunder finished off their home portion of the schedule on Tuesday with a 4-1 win over Manchester. They then swept the Jackals in the last ever games in Elmira, 7-1 on Friday (that win officially clinched the North Division title) and 5-0 on Saturday.
Adirondack will take on the Monarchs in round 1 of the Kelly Cup playoffs, beginning on Friday night in Manchester (a building conflict in Glens Falls the reason) with Game 1. Game 2 will follow on Saturday. Full schedule can be found here.
This Week’s Schedule:
It all comes down to this. Three games left on the regular season schedule.
Wednesday, the Devils will host Hartford. Friday, the last road game in Rochester. Saturday’s finale at home against the Amerks. Where the Devils will finish, whether there’s life beyond Saturday, will depend on these three games, and also on what Utica and St. John’s do in their final week.
Thoughts Inside The Box 