"The streak ends tonight."
6:50 text message to John from In Lou We Trust
Three hours later the faceoff was set to come in the Penguins' zone with one minute and four seconds remaining in a 3-3 overtime.
"If the Devils score here," I said to my friend, "this place is going to erupt."
Faceoff. Pass. Shot. Score. Eight wins in a row.
I'm a freakin jinx.
"Ah f - - - "
9:48 text message to John
To be honest at least John provided a humbling, sensible, hockey-oriented phone call afterward. A little gloating of course, but it was minimal. I'll give him that. He had the right to say whatever he wanted (and he probably will in his recap).
In case you couldn't gather from the opening paragraph, I was there in the flesh for this one. Seven rows back on Fleury's glove side. I watched the overtime goal whiz past him mere feet from my seat.
If plastic knives from the concession stands could actually cut skin I wouldn't be here right now. Judging by what was witnessed tonight, maybe that would be for the better.
Ironically the turning point came down to two former Devils. More specifically, one former Devil and another former Devil-turned-Devil again.
Petr Sykora, Devil from 1995-2002, took a double minor for hooking and unsportsmanlike conduct in the third with nearly eight minutes remaining. Up 3-1, the Pens' PK unit hit the ice in hopes of killing it off.
Enter Brendan Shanahan, former Devil from 87-91 and once again as of less than a month ago. In a matter of four seconds the Devils won the faceoff and a Shanny shot flew past Fleury.
Yes, exactly four seconds.
That was the turning point right there, the catalyst to a Devils win and a Penguins loss. And the score was still 3-2 Pens. But you just knew. You knew something like this was going to happen.
What amazed me tonight is the lack of effort from the Penguins and tremendous effort by the Devils. You may recall from the preview that the Devils played last night against the Bruins. So how is it that as the game wore on, a team that played four long periods in Boston last night, hopped on a plane and/or bus back to NJ for a game less than 24 hours later outlasted a team that had a day off in between games?
That's what baffles me.
Of course there's Penguins' shot total. 7-6-2. Seriously? Two shots in the third? You can find more shots three blocks over from the Prudential Center. I've done three times as many shots at a bar and still walked out a winner. But no, not the Pens. Not tonight.
I hate being right:
Here's what we can take from the Devils game - they can drop a lead, they can bounce back and they can fight it out to the end. In other words, this is not a team the Penguins want to give any opportunity to early on and definitely not the team they can afford to let up on as the game progresses.
The good: Sid looked healthy
The bad: Stupid, stupid penalties
The ugly: The third period and overtime
Take the jump to see a recap of the 0-for-3 power play...
All pass and no shot makes Pittsburgh a dull team
All pass and no shot makes Pittsburgh a dull team
All pass and no shot makes Pittsburgh a dull team
All pass and no shot makes Pittsburgh a dull team
All pass and no shot makes Pittsburgh a dull team
All pass and no shot makes Pittsburgh a dull team
All pass and no shot makes Pittsburgh a dull team
All pass and no shot makes Pittsburgh a dull team
All pass and no shot makes Pittsburgh a dull team
All pass and no shot makes Pittsburgh a dull team
All pass and no shot makes Pittsburgh a dull team
All pass and no shot makes Pittsburgh a dull team
All pass and no shot makes Pittsburgh a dull team
All pass and no shot makes Pittsburgh a dull team
All pass and no shot makes Pittsburgh a dull team
All pass and no shot makes Pittsburgh a dull team
All pass and no shot makes Pittsburgh a dull team
All pass and no shot makes Pittsburgh a dull team
All pass and no shot makes Pittsburgh a dull team
All pass and no shot makes Pittsburgh a dull team
All pass and no shot makes Pittsburgh a dull team
All pass and no shot makes Pittsburgh a dull team
All pass and no shot makes Pittsburgh a dull team
All pass and no shot makes Pittsburgh a dull team
All pass and no shot makes Pittsburgh a dull team
All pass and no shot makes Pittsburgh a dull team
All pass and no shot makes Pittsburgh a dull team
All pass and no shot makes Pittsburgh a dull team
All pass and no shot makes Pittsburgh a dull team
All pass and no shot makes Pittsburgh a dull team
All pass and no shot makes Pittsburgh a dull team
All pass and no shot makes Pittsburgh a dull team
All pass and no shot makes Pittsburgh a dull team
All pass and no shot makes Pittsburgh a dull team
All pass and no shot makes Pittsburgh a dull team