Puttin' The Devils Behind Us

"Accursed be he who plays with the devil(s)."

Author: Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller

Let's just hope that the "curse" was only a one-time thing—just a one-time "non distinct kicking motion" goal.

After scoring three, third period goals to take the lead, the Boston Bruins lost to the visiting New Jersey Devils Thursday night, 4-3 in overtime. An absolute heart-breaker.

Devils forward Patrick Elias scored his 22nd goal of the season as he stopped on a dime (conveniently) to "tip-in" the game-tying goal, with just under two minutes remaining in the game. A true heart-breaker.

The Black and Gold finally had their healthy lineup back in action, with Phil Kessel returning early from mono, and Michael Ryder suiting up after recovering from the flu. But the reunion just resulted in one-point, sort of an anti-climactic reuniting.

The B's host the New York Rangers today's matinee at the TD Banknorth Garden.

The Rangers are just 6-4-1 in the month of January, with their most recent contest, a 6-2 defeat back on Wednesday, in Pittsburgh.

All-Star goalie Henrik Lundqvist was solid between the pipes up until the third period, where he allowed five goals in the final 20 minutes. The Penguins peppered the netminder with 34 shots on goal en route to the victory.

Friday's practice lineup notes for the B's:

Tuukka Rask backing up Tim Thomas in net. (Seriously, what is going on with Manny?)

David Krejci with a 'maintenance' day off.

The Bruins look to end the month on a high note—as they did entering the All-Star break. A win today would make it 8-3-1 for the month of January for Boston.

Not to mention that they immediately head north of the border to Montreal, as they battle the Original-Six adversary Canadiens on Sunday evening.

Get the Devils off your back and do work.

Mark is also the Boston Bruins Examiner at www.examiner.com. To check out more of Mark's stuff, click this right here.