Running With The Devils - Historic Nine Game Road Trip Ends
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by MetsJetsDevils
As the New Jersey Devils complete the construction of their new home, the Prudential Center, the team started the season with a record-tying nine game road trip.
Like one of those annoying Comfort Inn commercials , the Devils have been to Florida, Ottawa , back to Florida, Atlanta , and Pittsburgh before returning to the local area for games against the Flyers, Islanders and Rangers. Finally, this Saturday, the Devils will open their new home for hockey against the Ottawa Senators.
The nine game road trip has showed that this is not the Devil's of old. Playing new coach Brent Sutter's aggressive style of hockey, the Devils have struggled to keep the puck out of their own net. With 1 game remaining on their nine game trip, the Devils have managed three wins, four regular losses, and one overtime loss. A win against the rival Rangers on Thursday, with newly acquired Devil Scott Gomez, will put the Devils at .500. As a .500 team, as one might expect, there have been some good things, and some bad things, and some things just plain ugly.
The Good
The Devils have a deep offensive roster and are playing an exciting aggressive style of hockey. With youngsters Zach Parise and Travis Zajac leading the way, and top scorers Brian Gionta and Patrick Elias rounding into the form, the Devils have proven that they can score with the best of them. No where was this better evidenced than the Devils recent 5-4 come-from-behind victory against Kid Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins. Perhaps most surprising is the offensive play of John Madden, who has been a defensive stalwart since joining the Devils fulltime in 1999. His recent offensive plays may force Devils fans and NHL followers to look up his stats and realize he averaged over a point per game while at Michigan and had 98 points in his second season with the Devils' former minor league affiliate, the Albany River Rats.
The Bad
Dainuis Zubrus was brought in to try to replace the offense lost by Scott Gomez's defection. To date, his underachieving play has led to 4 assists and no goals in 8 games. If he does not find his offensive production, the Devils are going to suffer. But as poor as Zubrus has played, it is nothing compared how bad the Devils defense has been. The reality is that the Devils will not be Cup contenders with the current roster of defensemen. Paul Martin is a decent offensive defensemen, but he is not Scott Niedermayer or even recently departed Brian Rafalski. After that, the Devils defense is highly suspect. The best of the bunch has been Rookie Andy Greene who is a swift skater and decent defenseman in the Rafalski mold. Vitaly Vishnevsky has been a solid defensive player, but his offense has been non-existent. Johnny Oduya, the Swedish import, has been maddening with his weak defensive play while Karel Rachunek has made Devils fans think he might still be on the Rangers' payroll. Subbing for the injured Colin White, whose eye injury may be career threatening, career minor leaguer Mike Mottau has played decent enough, but in reality is overmatched in the NHL.
The Ugly
In truth though, the only ugly on the Devils is where you would least expect it, between the pipes. While the Devils defense has not been good as the team transitions to a new brand of hockey, future Hall of Famer Martin Brodeur has not helped his mates out. In 6 games, Brodeur has struggled to a 3.51 goals against average and a ghastly .865 save percentage. But what doesn't show up on the stats sheet on the atrocious nature of some of the goals he has given up. Brodeur is getting older, and could be suffering the effects of years of self-inflicted over use. The reality is that if he doesn't turn his play around, not only will the Devils struggle just to make the playoffs, but his legacy will be tarnished by the uninformed who will argue that his prior success was just the result of the Devils stifling defensive system.
Upcoming
The Devils have a game Thursday at Madison Square Garden followed by their home opener against the Senators.
