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Just when you thought the Devils had proven enough in Thursday night’s victory over the Boston Bruins, the Devils came out and showed yet again why they are a great team.
The Devils were 30 seconds away from seeing their season high 7 game win streak come to an end until a certain player stepped up once again.
This player is the Devils captain Jaime Langenbrunner.
Coming into Friday nights game, Langenbrunner had 4 goals in his previous 2 games. Now there was no way he would score two goals again right? Wrong.
With 30 seconds left in regulation, Langenbrunner wrapped around the right post and fired a backhander into the back of the net to tie the game at 3 a piece.
Langenbrunner then struck again overtime, as he took a sweet pass from Travis Zajac and blasted it past the out of position Marc-Andre Fleury. It was the second night in a row Jaime Langenbrunner scored the game winner in overtime.
Now what has happened to Jaime Langenbrunner? What did he do over the all star break that made him a scoring machine? The answer is simple.
Jaime Langenbrunner loosened his grip on his stick, which has allowed him to make the most of his opportunities. Additionally, Langenbrunner is playing very relaxed hockey and he has a lot of confidence in himself. When you play relaxed and with confidence good things will happen.
If you look at the stat sheet from Friday night’s game, you begin to wonder how it was possible that the Devils trailed the Penguins for the entire game.The Devils out shot the Penguins 43 to 16 and had twice as many power plays as the Penguins did. It was one of those nights where the stats don’t tell the story.
The Penguins opened up the scoring in the first period by scoring two goals in 20 seconds.
Maxime Talbot deflected a Ray Whitney shot passed Clemmensen to make it 1-0 Penguins.
Shortly after that, Evgeni Malkin set up Sydney Crosby on 1 on , which Crosby took advantage of it and put a backhander into the top of the net to make the score 2-0.
Finally, the Devils got on the board when Bobby Holik took a pass from Brendan Shannahan and backhanded it right in the 5 hole of Marc-Andre Fleury.
The score would remain 2-1 until the third period, when Evgeni Malkin skated in alone and scored from the right circle to make it 3-1 Penguins. After this it seemed the Penguins were going to go on and end the 7 game win streak of the New Jersey Devils.
That was until Brendan Shannahan revitalized the Devils and the crowd, with a power play goal to make the score 3-2. It was all Devils from here as they went on to defeat the Penguins 4-3 in overtime. Their eighth win in a row.
The past two nights the Devils have shown they can fight through adversity and as long as they believe and play well, they can battle back when they are behind on the scoreboard. This is something all great teams can do. I believe it is fair to say that after these past two games…the New Jersey Devils are a great hockey team.
Next up for the Devils is yet another huge test, as Alexander Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals come to town to face the Devils. The Capitals are 3rd in the conference and the Devils are now 2nd. This is going to be one hell of a game, as two of the best teams in the Eastern conference clash.
Notes:
With last night’s overtime win, the Devils now improve to 7-1 in overtime.
Jaime Langenbrunner has 6 goals in his last 3 games.
Jay Pandolfo was a healthy scratch for his fifth game in a row last night.(Poor Pando)
Some Other Articles That You May Enjoy:
Devils Defeat First Place Bruins in OT
Devils Overcome Their Past, Defeat Carolina 3-2 in OT
Jamie Langenbrunner: The Definition of a Captain
The Devils keep on Rolling in Ottawa
Devils Lose Their Captain in a Hurricane
Devils Stumble Against Capitals; Win Streak Snapped at 8
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