Who's Here?

After last night's exciting game the Flyers travel up the turnpike to take on the Newark New Jersey Devils. The tough first week of the season continues tonight in a barn that is not friendly to the Orange & Black. Marty Broduer will be playing in his 1,000th game as a Devil on their opening night so expect the place to be pretty wild...you know, wild in terms of a New Jersey Devils game wild. Their fans aren't exactly 'rabid' now, are they? The Devils brought back Jacques Lemaire, because, I guess they thought their offense was too explosive under Brent Sutter. Under Lemaire, expect to see the type of mind-numbingly repetitive hockey that the Devils were known for in the mid-late 90's. This Devils team may look a bit different to you tonight, althought Fatty McGoalieman is still between the pipes, this team lost Jon Madden, Jay Pandolfo, Brian Gionta, Brenden Shanahan, Scott Clemmenson, and Mike Rupp. That's a lot of character, history, and goals to lose all in one season.

The Devils are like that character in high school movies, you know, the jock that every girl bangs and was the big cheese 10 years ago, but when you run into him now at a Wawa you can tell that he's broke, has 3 bastard kids and works minimum wage. Sure, he's still got his stories and his 'legacy', but his current self is a shell of a being...so maybe he's more like an M&M that has all the chocolate sucked out of it by Lou Lamoriello. Anyway, this team is strikingly different than what we're used to seeing come out of Jersey. Be on the lookout for Zach Parise, Travis Zajac, and ex-Flyer Danius Zubrus. Those guys put the biscuit in the basket and will be the main targets for Mr. Pronger and company. I'll be suprised to see "Lucky" Pierre Luc Letourneau-Leblond out there without Rockin' Riles dressing as well. Make no mistake, the Devils have some grit, and there are a number of good fighting matchups we could see tonight. If Cote plays, he'll dance with PLLL, if Asham plays, he'll dance with Peters, but I'm really hoping for Carcillo to tear David Clarkson a new one. Man alive do I hate a fighter who thinks he can score goals.

Emery will be in goal again, and it will be nice to see how this team reacts to another mature, playoff-caliber team on no rest. I'd love to see the Giroux line get a bit more playing time, or get Claude up on the 1st or 2nd more often. The kid needs more ice than what he got last night, and I'm hoping tonight he's getting in on the offensive action. Tonight I'll be watching to see if the boys can keep up their impressive transistion game. The D was very sharp last night and against a rival that will be extremely important. Also on my radar will be Lappy and Betts, and their excellent PK. Obviously, the Flyboys take alot of penalties, sometimes good, sometimes bad, but when these guys are killing them off the team will really feed off of their work ethic and energy level.

So strap in everybody, it's our first taste of the Devils this year. They may not have the starpower like the Pens, Rags, or Caps, but make no mistake, this is a top rival for the Flyers. Starting the season off well, especially against the Atlantic, is imperitive. What a great opening weekend to the season. Enjoy it, puckheads. Let's Go Flyers.