One half of the bracket

Now that the Senators have sent the Devils home for the summer, we know that Ottawa will contend for the Prince of Wales Trophy. I’m not surprised. The Sens are stacked with talent and have a very good, and highly underrated, goalie in Ray Emery.

If the Sabres advance to the conference finals, this should be one helluva series. Not only do they mirror each other, there’s some significant bad blood as well. Still, the Sabres win. Ottawa hasn't been tested yet.

God forbid, should the Rangers advance, it’s Ottawa in no more than five.

Sunday morning homily XXIII

To say that hockey players are superstitious is an understatement, like saying that Wayne Gretzky was a good player. Some will only eat the same dish for a pregame meal. Others have a certain way of putting on their equipment. And, during the playoffs, growing a beard, no matter how wispy or itchy, is mandatory.

I noticed another instance of superstition last night in the Ottawa-New Jersey game. Devils goalie Martin Brodeur was sporting new equipment, including a catching glove, its fresh colors replacing gear discolored by a season of frozen rubber, ice shavings and hard-earned perspiration. Now, to me, the playoffs would be the worst time to try out, or break in, not just a piece of equipment, but an entire set.

But, after giving up four glove-side goals in New Jersey's opening 5-2 loss to Ottawa, it's my guess that Brodeur realized -- right or wrong -- that the catcher had run out of saves. A switch was made and whatever his reason, it seemed to work. Brodeur's confidence gew with every nifty glove save, keeping the Devils in the game.

It wasn't until New Jersey's Jamie Langenbrunner scored in the second overtime did Brodeur's hunch pay off. Because the Devils won, this seemingly innocent change in equipment would have, for the most part, been unnoticed. It would have been easy to explain the decision, dancing around the role that superstitions may have played.

Had the Devils lost, though, Brodeur's new equipment would have stuck out like a sore thumb. Pundits, including myself, would have viewed the move as the on/off switch of panic. It may have been surmised that Brodeur was losing confidence, not only in his equipment, but in his world-class level of play as well.

Maybe, it's more intuition that superstition, but when it comes to the playoffs, smart teams go with a hot hand. In New Jersey's case, that hand is inside a new glove.

Going naked

Because I'm a 3XL kind of guy, I'm having the darnedest time finding an article of clothing that lets me show my loyalty to the Buffalo Sabres. Sure, I've found a couple of T-shirts at my local Sports Fan Attic, but the sizes down here in fit-and-buff Florida stop at 2XL.

If anyone knows where I can get my fat little fingers on a sizable T-shirt, please pass along that info. Until then, though, I'll happily settle for Colin wearing this Ryan Miller T-shirt he got Friday for his sixth birthday. And after hearing stories about the scarcity of said items in Western New York, I'm not alone.

Besides, should the Sabres' season end triumphantly in June, there's a chance I might find what I'm looking for at the local Wal-Mart. I doubt it, but one never knows.

Don't forget

It's hard to get attention when you're flying under the radar, but the American Hockey League playoffs are hitting high gear. Some teams, such as the Manchester Monarchs, Chicago Wolves and Iowa Stars, have already advanced to division finals. Still, though, there's plenty of playoff games remaining.

Today's marquee matchup is a Game 7 between the Hartford Wolf Pack and the Providence Bruins. Other teams with chances to advance today include the Grand Rapids Griffins and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

Sadly, the Rochester Americans, the Sabres' farm team, have been eliminated. We'll have to wait until next year to win the Calder Cup.

Turning point?

If New Jersey's playoff run lasts until June, and I'm not endorsing that it does, Devils fans should remember Sergei Brylin's goal in the first period's final second. It's goals like this -- an all-hustle effort off a faceoff scrum, that turn around a series. Even if it isn't, the goal, which gave New Jersey a 2-0 lead over Ottawa in Game 2, was pretty remarkable.

Here we go, finally

As promised, and I do apologize for the delay, here is that player-model goalie glove set signed by New Jersey's Martin Brodeur. Though it's not the Team Canada mask, it still is a pretty cool piece.

Soon. I promise.

With all of my newfound time, I imagine I should should keep this promise. Check back later, please.

Bedtime prayer

Sabres fans, bow your heads.

Oh, Hockey Gods, grant the Lightning of Tampa Bay the power and determination to force a Game 7 back in New Jersey.

For now, oh Hockey Gods, this is all I ask: Lightning 6, Devils 2.

Amen.

I don't feel sorry

I certainly didn't shed a tear as Ottawa closed out Pittsburgh, using a 3-0 whitewashing last night to take their Eastern quarterfinals series, 4-1. Given the youth and talent that permeates the Penguins' roster, I'm sure this was the first in a long run of playoff appearances for Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Jordan Staal and Marc-Andre Fleury.

The Senators, on the other hand, advance to the semifinals. They could be dangerous, too. It seems like Ottawa's been on a roll since that brawl against Buffalo.

The Sabres, back in Buffalo tonight, could send the Islanders home for the summer. Nashville, also at home, looks to keep its hopes alive, If not, the Predators are done.

As for the Lightning, I recognize the opportunity that awaits. Should Buffalo prevail tonight, and Tampa Bay defeats New Jersey in their series, my 2006-07 hounding season should continue with the Sabres.

M-t. No B. No dot.

Maybe it's just me, but I'm beginning to wonder whether New Jersey's Martin Brodeur and I are on a first-name basis. At first glance, this autograph looks like it says "Marty."

There's no "B." Even his infamous dot is missing. Of the four I've gotten this season, this is the weakest one. What do you think?

You won't be disappointed

For a team that's known for its businesslike approach to hockey -- from the front office right down to the assistant equipment manager -- the New Jersey Devils are, in my opinion, one of the best-signing teams in the NHL.

Every player, even the often-elusive Scott Gomez, will stop to sign. Some players, like Martin Brodeur and Brian Rafalski, will sign just one item. Others, such as Patrik Elias, John Madden and Paul Martin, will sign multiples.

Given the star quality on this team, any hound worth his or her salt should make every effort whenever the Devils come to town. With a little luck, you could have a team-signed item in less than 90 minutes.

The junior team pucks, shown above, were signed by Gomez, left, Tri-City Americans; and Jamie Langenbrunner, Peterborough Petes.

A tell-tale sign

You know you're having a good day of hounding when a player -- past or present -- is willing to sign three pucks for you. In this case, it's John MacLean, an assistant coach with the Devils.

Rather than using a DecoColor paint pen, I tried a different brand. I didn't like it; the autograph is a bit thin and sketchy. For my money, the DecoColors are the best to use.

Did you figure it out?

If you knew that New Jersey's Richard Matvichuk was a former No. 1 draft pick of the Minnesota North Stars, give yourself a gold star. I didn't know until I checked out his bio.

He also showed a sense of humor as he signed these pucks.

"Hey, Rass, come here," he said to teammate Eric Rasmussen. "Look at this."

Rasmussen, playing along, dutifully walked back to us.

"You know you're getting old," Matvichuk told him, "when you get asked to sign pucks like this (pointing to the North Stars puck)."

Following up

On Monday, it seemed like New Jersey's Zach Parise, in what I found to be out of character for him, went out of his way to avoid signing autographs. Two days later, though, he was back to normal, signing these cards. He scored two goals in the Devils' 4-3 overtime victory over the Lightning last night, giving him six in four games so far this series.

Nearly a dozen

Can you figure out what former first-round pick of the Minnesota North Stars, now playing for the New Jersey Devils, signed two of the 11 pucks added to the collection this morning. You'll find the answer in The Vault.

Any good recipes?

If Tampa Bay keeps playing the way they did tonight against New Jersey, taking a hard-fought 3-2 decision over the Devils, I just might have to eat a little crow. Teams that win the third game of a seven-game series usually advance to the next round. As always, we'll see what happens.

Gimme a few days

All I can say for now, and you’ll have to trust me on this one, is that New Jersey’s Martin Brodeur signed the blocker that pairs with this glove. Brodeur signed in the curve, so it didn’t scan well. In a few days, I’ll post a picture showing the pair. I promise.

Where's Gomer?

I wanted to show a Tri-City Americans puck signed by New Jersey’s Scott Gomez. Too bad, though, we never saw him this morning. From what we heard, and this comes second-hand, was that he slipped out the back door of the Embassy Suites. In its place, here are pucks from, left to right, Devils’ teammates Paul Martin (Devils and University of Minnesota) and Brian Rafalski.

It doesn't hurt to ask

One can never be sure when you ask a player to sign more than one item more than one time. Some days, you meet Anaheim’s Teemu Selanne. Other days, you meet Atlanta’s Brad Larsen.

After snagging four autographs, including these two pucks, from New Jersey’s Patrik Elias (two requests, made within 90 minutes), it’s pretty safe to say that he’ll do multiples.

Let's meet again

The book on Glenn "Chico" Resch , who does color TV commentary for the Devils, is that you’d never find him at the team hotel.

Given the geography of lodging within walking distance of the St. Pete Times Forum, today was the first time in six years that our paths crossed.

That’s a pretty nice autograph, too, if you ask me.

Mr. Automatic

Hounding after hounding, New Jersey’s Sergei Brylin is one of the most consistent signers not only on the Devils, but in the league as well. To me, this is a pretty sweet card, the best of 37 signed this morning.

No complaints here

Had a pretty productive day with the New Jersey Devils, coming home with another 44 autographs. Can you find the six pucks added to the collection? Check back later and I'll have a full report.