Yesterday's Newsmakers in the NHL: Devils Continue Slide

Things have been bleak in New Jersey ever since Martin Brodeur went down with his elbow injury, and they didn't exactly get any better on Friday night when the Devils fell, 3-1, to Washington. The Devils are now 1-5 since Brodeur's injury, and have scored just five goals in the five losses. Perhaps instead of acquiring a new goalie to replace his injured star, Lou Lamoriello should consider picking up somebody that can actually fill the net. Just a thought.

Scott Clemmensen was the hard-luck loser for the Devils on this night, giving up only two goals on 26 shots (the third goal for Washington was of the empty-net variety).

Battle of New York with the all too familiar recap for Devils fans:

It's already becoming a familiar script. A good effort by an undermanned Devils team, but the offense can't put the puck past a goaltender you wouldn't expect to play well and despite acceptable goaltending on their own end, it's all just good enough to lose. That's what's facing the Devils right now after their 3-1 loss in Washington, dropping them to .500 (7-7-2) just two weeks after being four games over.

Alex Ovechkin continued his recent hot-streak by scoring his fifth goal (empty net) of the year and also picking up an assist. He's now scored in three straight games, after going ten in a row without a goal. It was only a matter of time before he started to catch fire.

Brooks Laich and Tomas Fleischman also scored for the Capitals, while Patrick Elias scored the lone Devils goal.

Unfortunately for the Capitals, the win came with a price as they lost the league's leading scorer, Alexander Semin, to an "undisclosed injury" in the second period. He did not return to the game.

... The Red Wings completed the Florida sweep on Friday, knocking off the Panthers 3-2 just one night after winning in Tampa Bay. Marian Hossa scored a pair of goals staking the Wings out to an early 2-0 lead, only to watch the Panthers even the score in the second on goals by Richard Zednik and Stephen Weiss. It's hard to criticize the defending champs because, well, they're the defending champs, but they're not quite shutting teams down when they get the lead the way they have in the past. Maybe it's a concern. Maybe it's still early in the season. I'm guessing the latter.

Johan Franzen scored the game-winner for Detroit at the 4:40 mark of the third period. He's already scored eight goals this season despite playing in just 11 games. He's a monster. Ty Conklin earned the win in net for the Wings, turning aside 25 of 27 shots.

... Thanks to a 6-1 win in Buffalo, the Columbus Blue Jackets have now won four of their past five games, while the Sabres have dropped three of four.

R.J. Umberger scored a pair of goals for the Jackets, giving him seven on the year. Interesting Umberger fact: he scored only seven goals all of last season against NHL teams not from Pittsburgh (he scored six against the Penguins, seven against everybody else).

Eh. It sounded more interesting in my head.

The Jackets also received goals from Manny Malhotra, Rick Nash, Mike Peca (his first) and Derick Brassard, who picked up his eighth of the season. Brassard now leads all NHL rookie's in points (16) and is tied for the league lead among rookies in goals (Toronto's Mikhail Grabovski also has eight, playing in two more games).

Pascal Leclaire turned aside 36 shots in the win.