The prevailing sentiment emanating from The Rock on Saturday: relief. I wasn’t even at the game, but just by seeing the telecast of the Devils’ first win over the [expletive deleted] Icelanders this year, I could feel the weight of an irritating slump being lifted from the airspace over Newark. More than anything, I felt the relief of not having to leave Devilscast and move to Guam, because that’s probably what I would have done if Jersey lost to the Uniondale Six one more consecutive time.

So, good news all around — the Devils not only end the Long Island hex, they do it with their fourth straight win; they do it to move into sole possession of first place in the Atlantic Division; they do it with Zach Parise scoring a goal for the fifth straight game; they do it after trailing twice and stirring up that “here we go again” feeling; they do it with Martin Brodeur getting his first assist of the season (love when goalies get on the score sheet); and, most importantly, they do it to prevent another cardiac-arrest-inducing rant by yours truly.

By the way, just in case I failed to give credit before, the term “Icelanders” was coined long ago by WFAN talk show host Steve Somers. Furthermore, as a former producer of The Schmoozer’s, *I* use the phrase as a tribute to him, no plagiarism intended. When I referred to the term as “the official Greg moniker” a few blogs back, I was taking into account the entire phrase “[expletive deleted] Icelanders”, just to make that abundantly clear.

Up next: a visit to our nation’s Capitals. In addition to Parise’s streak, Patrik Elias has scored at least one point in three straight, and Madden is on a two-game goal-scoring streak. With Brian Gionta also upping his production (that was a sweet rebound goal against DiPietro, bee-tee-double u), the question now is: can the Devils keep moving in the right direction?

My answer for the time being: please do.