-Well, the Devils post yet another comeback to win an exciting shootout 3-2 over the Hurricanes. This was probably about as good a game as fans at CAA will see. It had everything. Unpredictable finish too. A game which looked like it was headed to overtime was untied by Rod Brind’Amour with a little over 4:00 to go when his shot from an angle banked off Brian Rafalski and in. After failing on a late power play to connect on a weak Brind’Amour call (players really can’t do much of anything sometimes), the unusual tying goalscorer turned out to be Brick NJ native Jim Dowd. In an odd move, New Jersey coach Claude Julien rolled the dice and put the gritty 37 year-old vet out as an extra attacker. The gamble paid dividends when Dowd was left all alone and took a Paul Martin touch pass and beat Ward with a minute remaining. And so what occurred after that was one of the best four-on-four OT’s you’ll ever see. After each team got a couple of chances early off rushes, the Canes took control by somehow keeping the puck in for an extended period. So long did they have it in that you had to figure they’d wind up winning it right there in the final minute. But only some heroic goaltending from Brodeur with big stops on Scott Walker and Brindy allowed them to escape. Amazingly, at the end of a shift in which he and his three teammates were dominated, Patrik Elias nearly ended it but was robbed point blank by Ward at the doorstep with eight seconds left, forcing the deciding shootout. In it, it looked like Gionta’s goal topshelf would be enough as Brodeur looked very tough. But Brind’Amour patiently found the five-hole to extend it. After three consecutive Devils failed to end it and Walker was denied by Brodeur, it took a tricky play by John Madden to win it. Outwaiting Ward, he flipped the puck shortside with little room to give the Devils the extra point.

There’s been a lot of talk lately about the lack of attendance at NHL arenas including the outdated CAA. Many have pointed to the lack of the game’s appeal. Okay critics and cynics. But if you watched the end of this game, there was plenty of entertainment value and bang for its buck. Those who went were fortunate and the beneficiaries of the kind of hockey that can make anyone fans. An excellent played game by two solid hockey teams who should both be in the mix again next Spring.