Jersey Shore….insert gag reflex here.
When there are indignities like the one we saw on a Saturday Night in the Verizon Center where Washington hung a seven spot on New Jersey, that is bad enough. However, when Jersey Shore clips are played during the third period, I saw a different shade of red.
It was only Game 2 at the time but that 7-2 loss lingered for weeks like a festering wound. The Devils were not the same team and even players started searching for answers that were not there. Most players pointed to that game as the one that started to turn their team in the opposite direction.
That indignity of seeing that awful show on the Jumbotron was used as a bit of a rallying point last night in New Jersey’s 5-0 victory over the Washington Caps. Also ironically, Mike Knuble was out with an injury. Many fans and even a player or two on New Jersey pointed out he pushed Anton Volchenkov from behind which caused the broken nose and stiff neck that turned the season into an abyss.
Clearly the Devils were ready even if the real rallying point was the passing of Pat Burns. For the first time all season New Jersey played like New Jersey well in more ways than usual. They did give up 30 shots as Johan Hedberg was cool and calm on the ice, something he had not been all season.
For one night, the goals did not matter as much as the win. If it were 1-0 or 5-0, the message would have been the same. “We did this for Burnsie” was a common moniker last night but the underlying message was do not play that MTV trainwreck of a show ever again while we play in your building. Did you see the Devils play something like “White House Intern” (yes there are enough parodies)? I do not think so. Next time Caps staff, show a little more taste and oh by the way, that show, yeah most not really from New Jersey. Hopefully the message was clear on and off the ice last night.
