Harvie’s Inferno: Adam Henrique, The Ranger Slayer

Sure, David Clarkson might have had two goals in the Devils victory over the Rangers Tuesday night. But the sophomore Adam Henrique became the first Devil to score on the Rangers this year after being the last Devil to score on them last year.

Coincidence? Not really, just proof that this kid can play. In four games this season, Henrique has three points, and he has the drive and determination to become an elite player and hopefully a key member of the Devils organization in the future.

However, I do not want to dismiss what David Clarkson did against the Rangers – scoring two goals and garnering an assist. In nine games, Clarkson has 12 points (seven goals and five assists). He has been a constant threat this year, putting himself in the right places at the right times to get some significant goals. He may take a beating, but clarkia is a big boy and I expect him to keep knocking them home all season long. Of course, it helps that he is linemates with Patrik Elias, who had three assists on the night, bumping him up to ten points on the season.

The Devils were not perfect against the Rangers. Once again, they wound up in the box a little too much for my liking. Also, the top line Ilya Kovalchuk-Travis Zajac-Dainius Zubrus, were swarming but unable to finish. Kovy looked like a man on a mission, but failed to score (flubbing two perfect opportunities). Sometimes the puck bounces for you and sometimes it bounces against you – it was one of those “against you” nights for Kovy. There were also times the Devils just could not sustain any pressure and just looked flat. They were lucky the Rangers didn’t take full advantage of those let downs.

The Gummo line (Ryan Carter-Stephen Gionta-Steve Bernier) was once again a force to reckon with. The line didn’t score on the night (Gionta got an assist for his 5th point of the season but it was on a partial line change type situation) but ran the forecheck perfectly at times and were solid defensively, often times going up against the Rangers top line.

Furthermore, let’s give it up for Martin Brodeur, who was playing like a 26 year old. To say he was solid is an understatement. He may not be the most talked about goalie anymore, but man he deserves a lot of credit for the way he has been playing so far this year.

The Devils next opponent is the Tampa Bay Lightening. The team is coming off a loss to the Flyers Tuesday, and will have a little fire under them to not totally botch their road trip. The Devils better be ready, because Tampa Bay has been a hot team this season.

Let’s go Devils!