As the final buzzer sounded and the Devils took their leave of the ice, a stunned John Madden stood on the bench looking perplexed. The expression on his face said, "We should have won this game. What happened?" A lackluster performance by the Devils during the first twenty minutes allowed for the Ducks to gain control of the game by scoring two goals on Marty Brodeur. And in the final forty minutes, the Devils struggled to gain an advantage, allowing Anaheim to take their third win from the New York City area, defeating New Jersey 2-1 at the Prudential Center.

The first period was dominated by the Ducks and, in particular, recently called-up rookie Ryan Carter. Using Vitaly Vishnevski as a screen, Carter notched his first NHL goal at 10:12. He followed that up with his second career goal against Brodeur at 17:53. In the first twenty minutes of play, the Devils were practically invisible. And yet, their fans reserved the booing for former Devils player Scott Niedermayer, catcalls raining down every time he touched the puck.

After the first intermission, the Devils entered the second period hoping to turn things around. After fifteen minutes of play, David Clarkson attempted to bring the puck down low, but was thwarted by two Ducks’ players as they pinned him against the boards. He sent the puck back to Vishnevski, who sent the puck up front where Jay Pandolfo was waiting to tip it in at 15:36. Vishnevski was originally credited with the goal, but it was rescinded later and the credit was instead given to Pandolfo. It was Pandolfo’s first goal since returning to the line-up after being out 28 games with a groin injury he sustained on November 28th.

While waiting for the puck to be dropped during a face-off in front of Anaheim’s bench with just 3:25 left in the period, George Parros sat on the bench saying a few choice words to Clarkson as the players on the ice waited for the puck to be dropped. Clarkson looked back to the bench and fell backwards, bringing a few chuckles from the Ducks’ players as Parros continued harassing Clarkson from the bench, trying to distract him. Who’s to say that the defending Cup champions don’t have a sense of humor?

The final twenty minutes remained scoreless, as Ducks netminder Jonas Hiller made nineteen saves while Devils goalie Martin Brodeur stopped another 10 shots. Hiller finished 34-for-35 on the day, collecting the second star of the game in his first start against the Devils. Brodeur was 22-for-24 in his fourteenth straight start.

Notes

There has been much discussion on whether the Devils should retire Scott Niedermayer’s number.

“Sure, without question, at the appropriate time,” Lou Lamoriello stated. “Because of what he brought to the organization while he was here. He represented this organization with the highest ability and class you can ask of anyone.”

“It’s an honor,” Niedermayer said of having his number retired by the Devils. “I had a great time while I was here. We had some great teams, great memories, great friends. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Niedermayer's decision to leave the Devils to play in Anaheim for less money was solely a family decision, because he wanted to play alongside his brother, Rob.

Friday night's match-up was also Colin White’s 500th career NHL game.

The Devils will seek to advance further in the Eastern Conference when the Carolina Hurricanes visit the Prudential Center on Saturday night.