He held most of the Devils scoring records until a guy name Elias came along, and if Zach Parise stays with this team for the foreseeable future, it’s hard to imagine any MacLean/Elias numbers standing for very long.

I remember watching him blow out his knee right before the ’91-92 season in a pre-season game against the Islanders. He could have sniffed 50 goals in that lost season, and I think his subsequent NHL total would have eclipsed 500. He never matched his pre-injury numbers, but seemed to get back to a similar level when then-coach Jacques Lemaire put him in a defensive role that left Mac wanting.

Scott Stevens and John MacLean with the Stanley Cup in 1995.

I remember watching a game on TV and MacLean actually stated, matter-of-factly, that he wanted out of town. About a week later, he was playing for the San Jose Sharks. Some Devils fans begrudge him for signing with the Rangers, but what do you expect from the guy? He spent the entirety of his adult life in this area, and if I were in his shoes, I’d probably do the same thing. Why uproot your family over a rivalry? It was nice to see him come back into the fold, so to speak, as an assistant.

#15 MACLEAN was the first name and number on the back of my old Christmas tree jersey. It was the also the name and number on my first red and black sweater. And now the guy who came off the bench and brought the Devils their first taste of real success is the captain of the ship, steering this hockey club from behind the bench.

As a fan, unless Scotty Bowman or Mike Babcock is named coach, guys who have found success like its under the couch with loose change and lint, there is no sure thing. So who knows how Johnny Mac will do? Although, its better to see a fresh face behind the bench than say, I don’t know, Michel Therrien. MacLean has paid his dues, and now is his chance to shine.

Maybe his nose for the net during his playing days will rub off on his new charges.

Maybe in another 25 years, I can have a conversation with someone and talk, not about that 1988 April night when Johnny on the Spot was born, but the night Coach Mac brought the Devils back to the Stanley Cup.

Long distance Devils fans...

Love this brick!

Ouch. I hope they get a free replacement for this faux pas.

No idea what this could mean, which is what makes it so great.

When I found the Hardhats' brick, I knew I had to include it here. Its fun to have notable fans.

Jersey's Team brings people together.

Timon is a Rangers fan...

Great way to immortalize yourself in team history.

Someone cue the music from The Jeffersons

If only the team read this magic formula six weeks ago...

To the person who purchased this brick, please explain yourself.

I see no better note to end on than that. If I ever got one of these bricks, it would definitely say “I BLEED RED.”

WTF

LOL

Those are the first two things, in that order, that come to mind after yet another first round exit for the Devils.  What the f***? This playoff series was like ripping duct tape off your eyelids: quick and painful.  And I can’t help but laugh out loud, out of disbelief more than anything.  Ilya Kovalchuk. Zach Parise. Patrik Elias. Jamie Langenbrunner. Travis Zajac. Martin Brodeur.  I’m going back to WTF now.

Three years ago, the Devils were disgraced by the Rangers in five games, arguably the only team they didn’t want to face in the first round, since Jersey was 1-7 against New York that year, the lone win coming in the shootout, which doesn’t help anyone in the playoffs.

Last year, in a strange twist of fate, the Devils could have played Pittsburgh, Philadelphia or Carolina, but they beat the Hurricanes on the last day of the season – barely – when Carolina played their back-up, and supposedly lost in order to face the Devils, who they had dominated all year, going 3-1.  It feels like yesterday the Devils choked that Game 7 away.

And now this.  Losing to a team that was one shootout goal away from NOT EVEN MAKING THE PLAYOFFS.  The one team that dominated the Devils all season.  The one team that New Jersey didn’t want to play in the first round.

Three years in a row the Devils have been the higher seed.  Three years in a row they drew the one opponent in that year’s playoffs that owned them in the regular season.  Three years in a row they packed their bags for the summer on home ice.  The Rangers was embarrassing because it was the Rangers.  Carolina was embarrassing because of how epic the collapse was.  This is embarrassing because its a rival with a third string goalie who played like Patrick Roy and Dominic Hasek if they were conjoined twins.

For each of the last three years, the Devils couldn’t have drawn a worse team to play in the first round if the 1984 Soviet National team showed up at 165 Mulberry Street.  I think The Rock is cursed.

Photo Credit: HF Boards

This game was all about defense, but surprisingly it wasn’t Devils goalie Martin Brodeur who stole the show. Instead, it was the Flyers veteran Brian Boucher, who silenced the Devils’ offense.

Neither team was able to get on the board in the first period. That would change in the second period when Philadelphia’s Mike Richards and Chris Pronger fired two shots past Brodeur to give the Flyers a 2-0 lead.

The Devils did not respond until there was nearly two minutes left in the game when Travis Zajac scored with assistance from Zach Parise and Andy Greene.

In the closing seconds of the game, Devils star Patrik Elias made a bid to tie the game, however Boucher blocked the shot and ultimately sealed the loss for New Jersey.

Hopefully, the Devils can add to their Stanley Cup collection. Not to rain on anyone’s parade, but I think this team has a lot to prove after last year in the Quarterfinals when the team essentially choked and gave the game away to the Hurricanes.

Honestly, I don’t think I could stand the thought of a Philadelphia team. Isn’t it bad enough that I’ve had to endure three years in a row of the Phillies dominating the National League East and my Mets?

To be fair, the Devils do have a very strong core group of players, however I don’t think the fans will tolerate yet another early exit from the playoffs.

The Devils will take the ice and try to even out the series on Friday evening in a crucial Game 2 at the Prudential Center.

A few weeks back, a small garage was torn out from Edison Place. What's next in the development of what is arguably the most lucrative area in Newark (across the street from Prudential Center)?

Brick City Bar & Grill has been a gold mine since its inception in early 2009.

On the other side of the gaping hole in Edison Place is this abandoned building. You don't even need an imagination or finance degree to surmise that restaurant/retail space directly across from the arena box office would be a cash cow.

We're fast approaching two years since two derelict buildings were razed where this empty space across from the Rock resides.

The immediate area around the Rock is teeming with possibilities, as more holes in the walls become holes in the ground.  The question is, when will they get filled?

Ilya Kovalchuck has brought a wealth of talent and goals to the Devils

Left wing Ilya Kovalchuk is the newest Devil. Here are a few tidbits about the Russian sharp-shooter…..

He’s the only player in the NHL to score at least 40 goals in the last five seasons…He’s represented Russia in 12 international tournaments, including two Winter Olympics…In 85 international games, he’s recorded 78 points (42 goals, 26 assists)…He lists winning the gold medal for Russia at the 2008 World Championship’s as his most memorable moment in hockey…He was the first pick by Atlanta in the 2001 Entry Draft and holds the majority of the teams records…Going into this season, he’s scored 17 goals against the Flyers and 13 against the Rangers…Has his own community group called “Kovy’s Krew.” He’s appeared in only four playoff games and scored just one goal..THAT WILL CHANGE IN A FEW MONTHS!

Feast your eyes on the photos below:

The jersey

Old school collar, old school fit

The sleeve

Piping

Not sure on a customized jersey, but blanks are going for $190.

Trucker cap ($30)

The back of the cap

Hat #2 ($30)

The rear view

I didn’t notice any tees or other red and green merchandise, but other than that awesome jersey, what else do you really need?

The Devils Den is located next to the box office of Prudential Center, on Edison Place.

Next stop, Hell’s Kitchen.  They had a more palatable $5 cover, but an Old Testament-worthy exodus fled the scene as we arrived at the door, and I heard a couple women say, “It’s not worth it.”  Sigh.  Moving on…

I suggested MmmBello’s, and my buddy vetoed “that soccer bar?”

We tried Stadium Sports Bar & Grill next.  Maybe a six block walk from the arena, this place was a ghost town.  A ghost town haunted by DJ blasting 300 decibels of broken glass and rusty razor blades into your ears.  Any drinking establishment that serves free popcorn, has a pool table and lines its walls with the last century’s most memorable sports photography should not EVER have a DJ. That’s what the juke box is for. (A note to everyone with a laptop and a set of speakers: louder ≠ better.) Even the amazing 22 ounce frozen mugs of Coors Light ($3) could not keep me in that god-forsaken place one second longer than it took to finish that first brew my friend prematurely bought.  I would have told the bartender her crappy DJ cost her two customers, but there’s no way she would have heard me.

So it was back to the first post-game bar in Newark Devils history: the Arena Bar Lounge.  Canadiens fans were filing out, and there were few remnants of a hockey crowd at all.  Strobe lights, screen savers on the TVs synced in to the beats of house music and a lot of extras from Jersey Shore paint the picture of what was going on there.  But the the music wasn’t unbearably loud, we had a clear access point to the bar itself, and lo and behold, the place was teeming was chicks.  Overall, there was a good energy in the room.  I spoke to some girl in the armed forces whose job it is to oversee/attend military funerals.  It sounds incredibly depressing, but she has seen some hilarious un-funereal events in her time.  And that’s kind of the summation of the night.  It looked to be a gray, overcast debacle, but then someone knocked over the casket and it turned out to be a good time, because the next thing I knew, it was 2 am.

Devils alumni teamed up with kids from a variety of clubs for a screening of "Tooth Fairy" at Newark Screens 6

Devils alumni Ken Daneyko, Bruce Driver, Grant Marshall,  Rob Skrlac and the New Jersey Devil hosted 150 children  from various non-profit organizations throughout Newark in a special screening of the hockey movie “Tooth Fairy.” As the children from Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Essex, Hudson and Union Counties, the Boys and Girls Club of Newark and Youth Consultation Service  entered the Newark Screen 6 theater on Springfield Avenue, they were greeted by the players, given pop corn and soda before watching the new movie starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Ashley Judd.

“These are fun events,” said Marshall, who posed for pictures along with his teammates in the lobby of the spacious theater. “What makes it special is that these kids are very excited about hockey. They want to lean more about the game. They’re intrigued by it.” 

Since their move to Newark three years ago, the Devils have been very active in the community. The team hosts the Greater Newark Holiday Fund, the Newark Hockey and Me program and conducts  numerous hockey clinics and educational programs in the city. 

“Newark is a very good sports city,” said Marshall. “It’s a  close-knit community, even though it’s a big city. From the top of our team, to the coaches, players and staff, we want to give something back and Newark has embraced us.”

The scene of the crime...

I made the mistake of visiting a suburban pal of mine during the holidays and coming back into town in his Jeep, treating him to the Devils/Penguins game. (Nice shutout, Marty!)  He came in off I-280 onto Broad Street, which was a little congested at 6:30 PM on a Wednesday night, but not too bad.  And then we hit Edison Place.

I could tell right away this would be a nightmare. The green arrow allows for three cars to make a left turn onto Lafayette (and our final destination, the parking deck).  Good luck if you can pull that off, though, because you’ve also got every idiot in the city leisurely/illegally strutting through the crosswalk like Corey Booker’s giving away style points. Meanwhile, I watched a couple of cops on the corner staying warm – not by directing the logjam traffic, but by hanging out and shooting the shit.  Seriously, this kind of aggravation is why people kill each other in fits of rage.

This intersection sums up my disdain for driving.

I’m not going to go so far as to blame the Newark police department for not taking the time out of their busy corner-standing duty, but would it kill someone to take some effing initiative and direct the traffic on games nights so people don’t need to sit in that urban bog?  Edison Place to Lafayette Street. TWENTY MINUTES!

Rant over.