The postseason abyss had been numbing.

For years, the team's losses mounted faster than
Brodeur on his sister-in-law, and April meant
nothing more than hoping for favorable draft status.

It meant predicting stardom on an unsuspecting
18-year old in a way that would make Louis Pearlman
blush. (Christian Dube, anyone?)

So permit me to momentarily revel in a season of
orgasmic contentment, and in doing so, let me also
cast shame on any fan who shies away from meeting
the New Jersey Devils in the first round.

Shame! To advocate the path of least resistance is
to embrace the "frontrunner" mentality completely
contradictory the junkyard dog persona responsible
for the team's success.

A Rangers-Devils first round matchup would be great.
Not for the lame "great for the game" reasons espoused
by the beat writers, of course.

It would be exciting because the Devils players and
management are hypocritical whiners who would wilt
under the media pressure of New York. What better
team to reignite playoff emotions?

Scientology: The Lamoriello Chapter

Supposedly, Scientology believes that childbirth
is supposed to be accomplished with as little noise
as possible. An amazing feat by the mother!

Well, that's how I feel trying to keep quiet when
everyone genuflects for Lamoriello.

Remember when Sather banished John MacLean to
Manitoba, and the press bashed the GM?

Well, Lamoriello has treated Mogilny and Malakhov
with similar disdain this season, but there are no
outcries from the media.

And, ironically, there's MacLean standing next to
Lamoriello on the Devils' bench.

And perhaps there's a story that his clout behind
the scenes of the NHL as member of the NHL
Board of Governors' Executive Committee might give
him significant influence with officials now that
he is also behind the bench.

Try such a maneuver in New York or Toronto, and
it'd be under a withering daily critique.

From The Ice

Grant Marshall lambasts Darius Kasparaitis for
the shoulder to his head earlier this season.

So to showcase the integrity of his approach, he
throws a leaping elbow at Fedor Tyutin's head in
this weekend's game.

Marshall's hit essentially mirrored the one Hollweg
threw on Rafalski. Both skated into the player
with their arms up. Hollweg gets 5, Marshall 0.

And speaking of zero, I noticed that two Devils
players were able to crosscheck Hollweg after his hit
on Rafalski without a penalty. I'm sure the ref, standing
right there, simply couldn't see the play.

Over to the side, you could watch Martin Brodeur
complaining about Blair Betts going after a loose puck
in his crease.

Of course, perhaps Marty was blocked from the view of
Brian Gionta literally whacking Kevin Weekes in the chest
multiple times in the first period. Or perhaps he also
missed Gionta skating on Weekes' hand in the third period.

False Kudos

Hey, how about all those kudos thrown the Devils' way
when they drafted Parise? The kid has amassed a whopping
29 points and a minus 5 at 22 years old.

Compare that our rookies Petr Prucha, who has 29 goals in
64 games, and Henrik Lundqvist, a Vezina candidate.

Remember all the commotion that Malik andor Kaspar ($3.3)
are overpaid? You didn't hear a word about Devils like
Madden ($3.9), Rafalski ($4.2), or even the easy target
like Malakhov ($3.6).

The Devils get the media love, but they rarely get the
criticism on the back end. Partly because it seems like
no one cares. Geez, even their Cup parades are held
in a friggin' parking lot.

Yoo-Hoo, Come out of the Shadows!

A Rangers-Devils series changes all that. So let's
get to it.

Let's analyze the officiating over the course of a series,
rather than isolated to one game.

Let's see how Lamoriello, Brodeur, and the rest of the
Devils deal with a back-page spotlight.

Let's see what happens if prized rookie Parise needs to
step up because of injury.

Let's see what happens if Gionta actually gets penalties
for his dirty play by the goalie crease.

Let's see what happens if Jagr kicks his game up a notch
and Pandolfo isn't permitted to clutch and grab.

It's the Playoffs. Embrace it. And bring on the Devils.

-Gabe

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