Did Derian Hatcher Bite Travis Zajac?

I can't even believe that I'm going to write this next sentence. But according to New Jersey Devils Travis Zajac, Derian Hatcher of the Philadelphia Flyers bit Zajac's finger during a scrum in front of the net last night.

In the AP game recap Zajac gave his interpretation of the incident.

"I guess I got close to him and he bit me," said Zajac, who wore a splint on the middle finger of his left hand. "I felt pain, I saw blood and then got stitched up and went back out."

But, not surprisingly, Derian Hatcher has a different take on exactly what went down.

"If he's cut, good. But I didn't bite him," Hatcher said. "I didn't think anything of it until someone mentioned it to me. He went like that (face wash) right across my face.

"He got his glove on my tooth, almost pulled it out. It's all sore."

I can't say I really expect anything to actually come out of this situation. This sounds more like the job of a preschool teacher than that of the leagues disciplinary office.

But the greatest part about the whole thing, the pleasure that Hatcher takes out of the fact that Zajac got his finger cut. I've had a sore tooth before, and I know those things can be a monster.

[AP: Martin Broduer posts 96 career shutout as Devils beat Flyers 3-0]

Game 21: 11/21/07: Penguins 1 - Devils 2

The Penguins 2-1 loss late night against the New Jersey Devils wrapped up 8 straight Atlantic Division match-ups, in which the Penguins went a miserable 2-5-1 and fell to the bottom of the division.

The Devils Zach Parise had both New Jersey goals. One came on the power play in the 1st, the other in the 2nd, again on the power play.

The Penguins were shut out by the Devils until the Evgeni Malkin scored on a breakaway, extending his points streak to 14 games.

The poor ice surface of the Mellon Arena was once again an issue. The puck was unmanageable for Sidney Crosby on a potentially game changing breakaway, bouncing and going on end to the point that not much could be done. It's the oldest arena in the NHL, and while it's never been the greatest ice in the league, lately players have been calling it the worst surface they have ever played on.

Crosby's 19 game points streak came to an end with Martin Brodeur and the Devils keeping 87 off the scoring sheet.

The Penguins (8-12-1)will go right back to action Thanksgiving night in Ottawa against the Senators. It will be the first meeting between the two clubs since the Senators eliminated the Penguins in the first round of the postseason.

10/17/07: Game 5: Penguins 4 - Devils 5

I'm not one to put on blame officiating for a game outcome. Sure, calls go one way and then the other, and sometimes more one way, but I don't feel it has as significant an impact on the a game as an irate fan might believe. Well, either I'm an irate fan or last night's game against the Devils was an exception. I have never seen a game so influenced by the calls of the referee.

It was an exciting game, something you certainly couldn't say about a meeting with the Devils in the past. Under Brent Sutter the Devils have transformed the style of play from a shutdown defensive unit into a much more offensive squad.

The Devils were on the board early thanks to Pandolfo and Madden tallies. But the Penguins bounced back as the first period was ending, scoring two goals less than 2 minutes apart. The first belonged to Maxime Talbot and the other was a powerplay goal by Gary Roberts.

The 2nd period is where everything broke loose. Less than a minute in Sergei Gonchar beat Broduer on the Powerplay with a slapshot from the blueline. In the course of 5 minutes, the Penguins picked up 8 penalty minutes. Devils Travis Zajac picked up the tying powerplay goal, tipping a Paraise shot past

Later in the period a Brooks Orpik breakout pass from inside the Penguins defensive zone found Jordan Staal and Malkin alone on the Devils Martin Brodeur. Staal feed Malkin, who lifted it over a sprawling Brodeur. However, after the goal was scored the referees gathered, decided the Penguins had too many players on the ice, and amazingly took the goal off the board. I have never seen anything like it, and as far as my understanding of the rulebook goes, I do not believe the officials can retrospectively make a penalty call and cancel out a goal. After reviewing the video, it was obvious that because of a tussle down by the benches, both teams had too many players on the ice. Needless to say, at this point the Penguins Mellon Arena was in an uproar. But the worst was yet to come.

A few minutes later during a loose puck in the crease, the Devils Brian Gionta crashed into Marc-Andre Fleury and was still on top of him as Zajac threw the puck into the net, giving the Devils the 4-3 lead. An incensed Fleury threw the goal off the moorings as the entire Penguins team pleaded with the officials for a goaltender interference call. But the goal stood.

The Pens would tie it up thanks to a goal by Evgeni Malkin in last few minutes of the 2nd. But the Devils regained the lead with an Arron Asham goal in the 3rd. And that was the last of the game, as the Devils pulled out the 5-4 victory.

The most upsetting part of the officiating was not one particular call, because with some leniency I could see each call going one way or the other. But when it seems as if so many questionable calls are going against you, especially on scoring calls, you begin to feel the game getting out of reach.

The Penguins play again on Friday against the Carolina Hurricanes, who beat the Pens 4-1 earlier in the month.

New Jersey Devils (2) vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (7)

Once again the New Jersey Devils have picked up their play after the all star break, and find themselves heading into the playoffs as a top contender in the East. The Tampa Bay Lightning tumbled in the second half of the season, dropping the Southeast Division and falling to the 7th in the Conference.

The name of New Jersey's game is defense. They are 27th in goals, but have given up the 4th fewest goals. A large reason why they've allowed so few goals is the amazing play of Martin Brodeur. Brodeur had the highest save percentage of starting goaltenders, at .922, and had a league leading 12 shutouts. The Lightning are fueled by the play of Martin St. Louis and Vincent Lecavalier, but have trouble coming up with scoring outside their top line.

The Devils aren't huge goalscorers, but with Tampa Bay's goaltending woes, I think they'll get enough for Brodeur to win them the series. Devils in 5.

Cooking the Record Books

Let me first say, Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur is one of, if not the greatest goaltender in the NHL today. He is without a doubt a first round Hall of Fame ballot selection. He deserves serious consideration for the Hart Memorial Trophy as MVP of the season. Without Brodeur, it's very likely the Devils would be scheduling tee times right now instead of preparing for a first round playoff match up with the Tampa Bay Lightning*. He faced the most shots in the league, and has the highest save percentage of all starting goaltenders.

That being said, it is an absolute crime that the NHL Record Book will remember Brodeur as the goalie with the highest regular season victory total.

With a 3-2 victory over the league worst Flyers on Thursday night, Martin Brodeur picked up his 48 win, passing Flyer's great Bernie Parent for the highest regular season win total. However, Brodeur accomplished this with a considerable advantage Parent never had, the shoot-out victory.

During the 1973-74 season Parent lead the Flyers to their first Stanley Cup in franchise history with a 47-13-12 record. 47 wins, only 13 losses, and 12 of those old fashioned things called ties. Ties that in today's NHL would be settled in a shootout.

Martin Brodeur went 48-23. 38 wins this year came in regulation or overtime. The other 10 came from shootouts.

While the numbers may remember Brodeur as passing Parent's regular season record this year, the truth is this isn't even Brodeur's greatest season. In 1999-2000 he won 43 games, lost only 17, and has 11 ties.

Right now it's a feel good story, one of today's best has surpassed one of yesterday's greats. There will be video montages, probably a ceremony or two, and it'll play great for the crowd. But without a doubt, someone will break it in the next few years. Perhaps they'll break 50. And Parent will drop a spot lower in the books, despite putting together what was the greatest season an NHL goalie has ever played.